Second Step: Focusing Attention

Building on taught strategies for listening to learn, our current Second Step social emotional learning lessons helped first graders understand that focusing attention and following directions involves using your eyes, ears, and brain and that the more we practice focusing attention the better we get at it. Strategies to avoid distraction include using self talk and putting on our "attent-o-scopes"!

Picture Day!

 

Fire Drill

Woodstock Elementary School had its first emergency drill of the school year this week. First graders did a fabulous job being safe (quiet and attentive in our designated space) while participating in a fire drill during Spanish.

Literacy: Word Play and Word Study

As part of our district transition to structured literacy instruction, a "word play" block is woven into our daily schedule focused on phonemic awareness.  Phonemic awareness is the understanding that spoken words are made up of individual sounds, which are called phonemes. A child who is phonemically aware is able to isolate sounds, manipulate sounds, and blend and segment the sounds into spoken and written words. "Word Play" is quickly becoming a favorite part of our learning day. Ask your child to show you how to change the first sound in a word to another sound to create a whole new word! For example, change the /b/ sound in back to an /r/ sound and create the new word rack. 

In Word Study we are finishing up our first unit on letter and sound review. Next week we will begin a new unit with an emphasis on segmenting and blending three-sound short vowel words.  Kindergarten heart words came home in folders this week.  Please review these words at home with your child.  Thank you!

Math: Organizing and Representing Data

Unit 1 of our new math program has first graders focusing on organizing and representing categorical data. During this exploration, mathematicians began by sorting objects into categories of their choice, describing their categories, and counting the number of objects in each category. Currently, students are learning to collect data by conducting a survey and recording and organizing that data in a way that makes sense to them. Some represented the results using objects, symbols, tally marks, or numbers. They are also making sense of one another's representations. 

Second Step: Listening to Learn

As you may know, part of the Windsor Central Supervisory Union strategic plan includes developing  social emotional competence and wellness in district students in Kindergarten through 12th grade. Studies show that to be successful in school, students must be able to regulate their emotions, thoughts, and behavior. This ability to regulate allows for more productive participation in learning activities and successful relations with peers and adults. This year, first graders are participating in the social emotional learning program, Second Step, to provide students with opportunities to learn, practice, and apply skills for learning, focusing attention, empathy, and problem-solving. On Wednesday, your child was introduced to the concept of Listening to Learn. Listening is a fundamental skill for learning that helps children focus and pay attention.  Learning and following the "listening rules" helps children comprehend directions and improves their ability to engage with content instruction and class discussions. They also learned "My Turn, Your Turn" a brain builder game that supports the development of attention, working memory, and inhibitory control.

PBIS PomPom Popsicles

First graders worked hard to learn new classroom routines, procedures, and expectations this week. They earned pompoms for acts of safe, respectful, and ready to learn behavior and we celebrated their efforts Friday afternoon with a popsicles and friendship.