Read Alouds

Here are some of the read alouds we've read over the past two weeks. Themes include: community building, hopes & dreams, and peace.

The Kissing Hand
It's Okay to Be Different
Reading Makes Me Feel Good
Me.. Jane
Elephant & Piggy Series
Big Al
The Curious Garden
The Tin Forest
Ish
The Peace Book
What Does Peace Feel Like?

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School Wide Morning Meeting

Join us for a School Wide Morning Meeting this Monday, September 29th.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Tentative Family Share Schedule

Mark your calendars! We have lots of interactive and enjoyable shares coming up!

Friday, 10/24 - Personal Narratives Writing Celebration
Friday, 11/21 - Thanksgiving Potluck
Friday, 12/19 - Block Neighborhood Share
Friday, 2/6 - Post Office Opening
Friday, 2/27 - Poetry Slam
Thursday, 4/2 - Farmers Market Share
Friday, 5/15 - Opinion Writing Celebration
May/June TBA​ - Drama Share with Kevin
Tuesday, 6/23 - End of Year Potluck Goodbye Party

Reading Buddies

Today we met with our fifth grade reading buddies for the first time this year! We went to our buddies' classroom, met their two guinea pigs and planted seeds for guinea pig food.  The first graders even took turns holding the guinea pigs.  Check our Shutterfly site soon for pictures of our fun times!

We'll meet with our reading buddies every other week.  Make sure to ask your daughter or son about reading buddies tonight!

No School this Thursday & Friday

In observance of Rosh Hashanah, school is closed this Thursday (9/25) and Friday (9/26).

Launching Reading & Writing Workshop

We are launching our first reading and writing workshops this week in school. We will focus on establishing rules and routines and sparking a love for literacy in our first graders!

Reading Workshop
Our first reading unit is titled "Readers Build Good Habits." This unit focuses on sparking students' love for reading and reading routines. Each first grader will also come up with reading goals. Essential questions around this unit include: How do we become more grown up as readers and take charge of our own reading lives? How can the readers in our class feel secure, safe, and confident that they will become strong readers?

Writing Workshop
This week, we are launching our first writing unit - personal narratives; the first graders will focus on sharing true, small, focused moments about themselves.

In our Personal Narratives Unit, first graders will write true stories about themselves, sharing stories about summer vacations, family memories, and everyday experiences. We will learn about each other through the stories we share. First graders will storytell both through verbal and written expression.

If something funny, exciting or memorable happens at home, be sure to point out to your child what a wonderful story it would be to share with the class!

First Grade Daily Schedule

First Grade Curriculum Overview

First Grade Curriculum Overview
	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	March	Apr	May	June
Social Studies	Community Buidling	Neighborhood Study			Post Office Study		Farm to Table		Collaboration in Action
Writing	Personal Narrative	Sentence Study	How To	Partner Writing	Letter Writing	Poetry	Information Books	Opinion Books		Elaboration & Revision
Reading	Building Good Habits		Tackling Trouble	We Can Be Our Own Teachers		Noticing & Noting	Learning About the World by Reading	Non-Fiction	Reading Across Genres	Book Clubs
Math	Sums &  Differences to 10		Introduction to Place Value through  Addition & Subtraction within 20		Ordering and Comparing Length Measurements	Place Value, Comparison, Addition & Subtraction to 40		Geometry	Place Value, Comparison, Addition & Subtraction to 100
Science	Air and Weather				Insect Study			Solids & Liquids

Mathematical Standards of Practice

Our math curriculum, Engage NY, is based on common core standards, as well as standards for mathematical practice.  Students discuss and practice these standards throughout their years in school - and beyond!

Standards for Mathematical Practice
1. Mathematicians make sense of problems, persevere in solving them.
2. Mathematicians reason abstractly and quantitatively.
3. Mathematicians construct viable arguments and critique others.
4. Mathematicians model with mathematics.
5. Mathematicians use appropriate tools strategically.
6. Mathematicians attend to precision.
7. Mathematicians look for and make use of structure.
8. Mathematicians look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

Today was our first official math workshop - and what a thoughtful, inquisitive math community we already have! We are looking forward to seeing where our math journey takes us this year.

What's a "Just Right" Book?

“Just Right” Books

What is a leveled book?

It is very important for your child to read books at their “just right” reading level. We call these “Just Right” books - books that she or he can read comfortably and fluently. These books provide some challenge, but not so much that children stumble over words frequently, lose confidence in their reading or lose track of the actual story. Most importantly, children should be reading books that are fun and make them feel like a strong reader!

Leveled books are an important part of our classroom libraries. They are used to teach reading strategies and support students as they gain more skills, becoming better prepared to independently read more complex and longer books. As book levels go up in the alphabet, books become steadily longer and more challenging to decode and comprehend. 

In Reading Workshop, teachers meet with students individually and in small groups, matching readers to books that are “just right” for them. Our leveled libraries have baskets of books at all the different levels. Once a teacher has assessed a child’s reading level, students independently select books that are interesting as well as “just right” for them. We call these “Just Right” books. Teachers routinely meet with students to foster a love for reading and to teach them new reading strategies that will help them grow as readers. When a student is ready for more challenging books, a teacher assesses their new reading level and students choose books from this new “just right” level. We then continue to meet with students to teach them new strategies that will help them tackle their new books with enthusiasm and confidence.

We provide students with “Just Right” books at school but you can also look for “Just Right” books in libraries, bookstores, or online booksellers. They can be a single book or part of a series, so children can become familiar with characters and book features that are the same from book to book in each series. It is important to understand that any book can be a “just right” book as long as it has been leveled and is at your child’s current reading level.

Tools for selecting a “Just Right” book for/with your child:

• Find out from us what your child’s reading level is
• http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/
• type any title into this search engine - make sure to set the engine to guided reading
• www.booksource.com
• make sure you go by the alphabetic level typically written next to the title
• BookLeveler
• This is an app that can be downloaded to your phone
• Scan any book’s barcode or ISBN # to find out its level
• There are other similar apps that you can get

Examples of Just Right Books

Level	Title Of Series Or Book	Author
C -D	Ethan Larry and Rita Piggy and Dad Worm	Various authors: Brand New Readers by Candlewick Press
E	Puppy Mudge Go Do, Go Mrs. Wishy Washy	Cynthia Rylant P.D. Eastman Joy Cowly
F	Biscuit Baby Bear  Harry The Hungry Giant	Alyssa Capucilli Beverly Randell Harriet Ziefert Joy Cowly
G	Sheep In A Jeep Greedy Cat The Carrot Seed	Nancy Shaw Joy Cowly Ruth Krauss
H	Life In A Polar Region, Life In A Rain Forest Just Me and…Little Critter books	Carol Lindeen Mercer Mayer
I	Dragon Messy Bessy There’s A Nightmare In My Closet Leo The Late Bloomer	Dav Pilkey Patricia McKissak Mercer Mayer Robert Kraus
J	Henry and Mudge Mr. Putter and Tabby Poppleton Fox Little Bear Danny and the Dinosaur	Cynthia Rylant Edward Marshall E. Homelund Minarak Syd Hoff
K	Arthur Commander Toad Fluffy Frog and Toad M&M	Lillian Hoban Jame Yolen Kate McMullan Arnold Lobel Pat Ross
L	Horrible Harry Song Lee Pinky and Rex Pee Wee Scouts Triplet Trouble George and Martha	Suzy Kline James Howe Judy Delton Debbie Dadey James Marshall
M	Arthur chapter books Matt Christopher (sport series) The Magic Tree House  Junie B. Jones Marvin Redpost Second Grade Friends Polkstreet Kids
N - O	A-Z Mysteries Julian books Jigsaw Jones Amber Brown Herbie Jones Judy Moody

Here is a short description of the kind of reading work that students will be doing at different levels.

First Grade: Time of Year	Expected Independent Reading Level  Description of books/reading work at this level.
September	D/E	A much wider variety of vocabulary is found in these books. Readers now must rely on their print strategies, paying close attention to the way words look and sound rather than relying on help from pictures and patterns in their books. Level E books become longer and begin to have short plot lines. At this level students should be following words with their eyes, and only using their fingers to point at tricky words.
January	G	Level G books have longer sentences, many high frequency words, and a large number of decodable words with regular and irregular patterns. They include a variety of characters and ideas and vocabulary becomes more challenging. The story line is carried by text, and pictures support and extend meaning. Readers are expected to remember information and action over a larger reading time.
June	I/J/K	At this level, books have much more text on each page and fewer illustrations/ A variety of nonfiction books are available at this level, and fiction books begin to resemble early chapter books. Readers at this level should focus on comprehension and correcting errors so words make sense in the context of the book. Levels J and K books include many early chapter books, such as Henry and Mudge and Frog and Toad. Books are longer (30-60 pages), but sentences are fairly short to help readers move through the book quickly. Readers must keep track of two or more characters, and character dialogue. Many books have episodic chapters, which can be read as their own short story.

Curriculum Night Agenda

5:30 - 6:30
Informal meet/greet with all EVCS teachers and family members in school lobby

6:30 - 7:00
Everyone gathers in auditorium, Bradley welcomes & addresses family members

7:00 - 7:45
Family members visit classroom for curriculum presentation

7:45 - 8:30
Family members visit cluster teachers (art, music, dance)

We are looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow evening!

Upcoming Important Dates

School-Wide Morning Meeting - Monday, 9/15 @ 8:50 in the auditorium


Curriculum Night - Tuesday, 9/16 from 5:30-8:00 ish


Family Morning - Friday, 9/19 @ 8:45 am - Reading with Family Members

This Week

Wondering what we're up in room 401 to these days?  Read on to find out the juicy details... and use this info to get more news out of your child!

• Community Building Activities:     Creating a safe, warm and inclusive classroom environment is crucial these first weeks. Through getting-to-know-eachother activities, whether a read aloud, project activity, or playing games in the park, we hope to establish a firm foundation for friendships, kindness, and collaboration. 
• Classroom Routines:     This week, we are teaching and practicing classroom routines, such as responding to the chime, arrival and dismissal procedures, and transitioning from activity to activity. Routines are so important in sustaining a self-sufficient and self-directed classroom community. Having routines in place from the beginning of the year only helps us later on as the work load becomes more rigorous!
• Hopes & Dreams:     After reading inspirational books such as "The Tin Garden," "Leo the Late Bloomer," and "Matthew's Dream," students will be asked to decide on their own hopes and dreams for first grade. After several rough drafts, each student will illustrate and write their hope and dream on a quilt patch.   We'll assemble all the patches together into a beautiful quilt that will hang by our classroom door all year long, reminding us that if we work together, our hopes and dreams will prosper.
• Classroom Rules: Once the students have finished detailing their hopes and dreams, the class will come together to create rules necessary for making their hopes and dreams come true. This process spans several days.
• Self Portrait Project:     Each student will draw and then paint a self portrait. We will display our water-color portraits in the hallway, and later hang them in our classroom.

School-Wide Morning Meetings

Throughout the year, our entire EVCS community will meet almost every other Monday for School-Wide Morning Meetings in the school auditorium (similar to Town Meetings last year).  Our School-Wide Morning Meetings will start at 8:50am and last 30-40 minutes.  All family members are encouraged to attend these gatherings.  Below you'll find a tentative schedule for September through December.

School-Wide Morning Meeting Schedule
September 15
September 29
October 20
November 3
November 17
December 8

Art, Music & Dance

This year, the first graders will have 3 special classes: Art with Maggie, Music with Stephanie and Dance with Reina.

Schedule:

Monday: Art and Music

Tuesday: Music

Wednesday: Art

Thursday: Dance

Friday: Dance

On dance days (Thursdays & Fridays), please make sure your child is dressed appropriately (no tights, velcro sneakers or slip-on shoes if possible, loose clothing).  

First Day Jitters

We are so excited (and a little nervous!) for our first day tomorrow! See you all in the yard around 8:15 am.

Angie

We are excited to announce Angie will be working with us as a paraprofessional this year! Angie has been at EVCS for almost 20 years! Both Stefanie and Kristin have worked with Angie in the past and we love her! We are lucky to be a team again.

The First Day of First Grade

We can't believe the first day of school is tomorrow! We are so excited to meet our new students and their families!

Here are some things to expect tomorrow morning...
1) We will meet you in the yard around 8:15 (we will leave the yard around 8:30).  We will be holding a big sign that reads "Stefanie and Kristin's class" and a sign-in sheet.  As soon as you see us, come right over!

2) We encourage you to say good-bye to your child in the recess yard.  If a child is extremely distressed or upset, we may suggest you walk upstairs.  Usually, good-byes are best when loving and brief, especially when little ones (and us adults!) are feeling anxious and nervous.

3) As for supplies - we should be able to carry most supplies up ourselves.  If we have lots of bags, we might recruit 1 or 2 adults to help us.

4) Dismissal will be in the schoolyard at 2:50 pm.  Please try your best to be on time everyday; we will, too!  Each first grader is to shake Stefanie and/or Kristin's hand before leaving.  Please remind your child to do so before you exit the yard.

Here's to a great first day of first grade :)

A little about Kristin

A born and raised New Yorker, I currently live on the Upper West Side with my husband Greg and dog Scout.  I have a big Italian family and we spend a lot of time together; my grandmothers make the best Sunday sauce!  When I’m not teaching (or thinking about teaching!), I enjoy reading, walking Scout through Riverside Park and catching up with friends. Guilty pleasures include online shopping and watching cheesy romantic comedies.

Our little family in LBI

This summer, Greg, Scout and I headed to Long Beach Island in New Jersey and stayed there most of July and August.  We lounged on the beach, enjoyed delicious seafood, read lots (and lots and lots) of books, went bike-riding and played tennis.  What a relaxing and rejuvenating vacation!

I studied English and American Literature at New York University and Inclusive Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. I'm certified in general and special education.  This is my fifth year (wow, time flies!) teaching first grade and creating first grade curricula.  I am passionate about teaching and love working with Stefanie at EVCS.   I care deeply about creating a safe, warm and engaging classroom environment where students can take risks, build meaningful relationships, think critically, and develop a love for learning.  I am so excited for the school year to begin and look forward to meeting you and your children in September!

Get to know Stefanie

Born in Haiti and raised in Somalia, Ecuador, and Italy, I currently am a New Yorker living in the East Village. After receiving my BA in English and Theater Arts at the University of London I taught at the American

View from The Dubrovnik Walls

School of Madagascar for 3 years. In 2005, I moved to New York to pursue my graduate degree in education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Upon completion of my MA I resumed my teaching career by teaching in ICT as well as general education classrooms for the last 7 years.

This summer I went to Puerto Rico, Croatia, and Serbia where I met with my parents who live in Berlin. I spent my time exploring new cities, meeting new people, swimming in the Adriatic Sea and enjoying the freedom of vacation. When I came back to New York I took my road test and finally got my driver’s license!

I am very excited to begin another year with Kristin. We both care deeply about creating a nurturing, challenging, safe, and happy environment for our students. Together, we work hard to foster the critical thinking skills that will help our students to become thoughtful, caring, and empathetic citizens of our society. I look forward to meeting you and the children very soon!