"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." These words have been finding space in my thoughts and my work with your children. Every student has their own hurdles as they navigate their own journeys. Some of these hurdles are in plain sight and some of them are not as obvious. Your child may have talked to you about hurdles they see their peers working to jump over. Sometimes it takes a team to help a person clear these obstacles. This week the whole class helped a peer clear a hurdle and the team worked together to allow for this success. The kindness, empathy, and genuine care that has been present is absolutely amazing and a huge reason for success that happened this week. Give your child an extra hug and congratulate them on working as a team and supporting a friend. In celebration of this success the class has requested a little celebration. We will do this on Tuesday afternoon after art class.
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Global Read-A-Loud:
We entered our 5th Week of the Global Read-A-Loud and Mr. Mongeon came in and read us the book Everybody in the Red Brick Building. Everybody in the Red Brick Building is a cumulative picture book by Anne Wynter and Oge Mora about a chain reaction of nighttime noises in an apartment building that ultimately leads everyone back to sleep. It begins with a crying baby, which wakes a parrot, then flashlight-tagging kids, a cat, and a car alarm, creating a cacophony before calming down to the sounds of the city and familiar lullabies, like a mother's heartbeat.
After the reading, the students created their own reactions to a loud awakening as they drew what would happen in each building window and then wrote about the events. The students will finish these on Tuesday.
This week's writing focus has been on how to end a small moment story. I talked with the students about going into detail about the very next thing that happened in their story. I am pushing them away from endings like, "then we went home." We also focused on nouns and adjectives and have challenged them to include this in their writing (especially the 2nd graders). For 1st graders, this was the first time we talked about this and it will take many more opportunities to gain a sound understanding of this.
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In math the 1st graders played a variety of games that focused on counting on and counting back in addition and subtraction situations. The counting on strategy was review of a taught concept.
First graders should learn to count back in subtraction because it builds number sense, helps them understand subtraction as a process of taking away or finding the distance between numbers, provides a foundational strategy for solving problems, encourages flexible thinking, and prepares them for more advanced math concepts by developing crucial cognitive skills like memory and concentration.
Key Benefits of Counting Back:
- Deepens Understanding of Subtraction: It visually and mentally represents "taking away" a quantity, linking it to the concept of a smaller number remaining from a larger one.
- Develops Number Sense: Students see the relationship between numbers and the sequence of counting, which is a foundational math skill.
- Builds Mental Math Skills: It's an efficient strategy for smaller subtractions, reducing reliance on objects and fostering quick fact recall.
- Connects to Addition: It helps students understand subtraction as the inverse of addition, recognizing that if you count back from 8 to 3, the number of "steps" is 5, which is the answer to 8 - 3.
The 2nd graders worked on measuring with different sized non standard units of measure.
Second graders learn to measure with different sized non-standard units to build foundational measurement concepts, understand the need for consistency, develop estimation skills, and prepare for standard measurement by recognizing that different-sized units yield different results for the same object. This hands-on approach makes math engaging, boosts confidence, and highlights the importance of universal measurement systems.
Here's Why It's Important:
- Focus on the Concept of Unit: Using everyday items like blocks or paper clips helps students focus on the process of measuring (comparing a unit to an object) without the distraction of complex standard units.
- Develop Estimation Skills: Non-standard units allow for creative exploration and estimation of length, width, and height.
- Build Confidence: Fun, hands-on activities with familiar objects increase engagement and build confidence in measurement skills.
- Prepare for Standard Units: The experience provides a clear rationale for standard units (like inches and centimeters), making their introduction more meaningful and less abstract.
- Non-standard units provide a concrete, relatable first step for children to grasp the core principles of measurement before moving on to the more abstract concept of standard units like rulers and tape measures.
We are quickly wrapping up our Financial Literacy Unit. Several students have already saved up enough money to purchase their movie ticket. Many more will hit the $17 target next week. Some kids have now started spending their extra money on other options. I did make a mistake with the date of the event (the movie ticket has the wrong date). We will have this event right after school on Wednesday, November 19th. The students will just stay after school and will need to be picked up at 5:00. I will set up the classroom like a theater. If a kid doesn't save enough or spends their money on other things, they will not be able to attend the movie. This is part of the teaching concept for this unit of study.
Student of the Week: This week's Student of the Week is a first grader and is 6 years old. She is part of a family of 4 and really loves her mom and dad! She wants to be an artist when she grows up. her favorite place to go is the ocean and she loves to ride her bike. Her favorite food is Ramen and her favorite color is turquoise. Congratulations to this Week's Student of the Week!
This Week's Read-A-Louds:
This week's books focused on the belief in one's self and more strategies to self regulate ourselves. There was also a book about respecting one's space and body. Click the links to hear each book.
NOTES:
*I am really pushing kids to find time to read a book, be read to, or read a book together each night. It would be great to set up some kind of consistent routine with your child. They do bring home a book every Monday-Thursday.
*Students need a coat for recess time and should start bringing in boots to wear at recess time (if it is muddy or snowy). It really helps keep the dirt out for the classroom and to also keep the carpet dry. Kids can leave a pair of boots or sneakers in the room. I did have everyone bring home their cubbie items today as Austin is going to clean our carpet and cubbie area over the break.
*I have set up another book order that will allow the books to arrive before the December break. The book flyers will go home on Monday. Here is the information:
Order due date: 11/22/25
Shop our class page: https://orders.scholastic.com/K3277
Class code: K3277
I hope you all have a great weekend. Go STEELERS!
Peace,
Tommy
We have had a busy and productive stretch in the classroom! It is wonderful to see the growth and independence the students are showing as we wrap up several projects before the holiday break.
Field Notes: Students have chosen an animal local to our area and began taking notes on their
NOTES:
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