Introducing Vowel Town

 At our school we have a phonics program called Pathways to Reading. Pathways to Reading teaches vowel sounds and spellings using a visual called Vowel Town. The hill on the left is called Smile Hill because all the sounds on that side make your mouth smile. They are placed going down the hill according to how open your mouth is when you say the sound. As you go down the hill your mouth opens wider and wider. The valley is called the Wide Open Valley because your mouth is wide open when you make that sound. The hill to the right is called Circle Hill because your mouth makes a circle as you say those sounds. As you move up the hill, your circle closes more and more. The bottom sounds along the road are called taxi sounds because when you say them, your mouth moves from one position to another. The hill in the background houses the R Apartment. The /ir/, /er/, /ur/ sound lives at the top on the curve. Mr. R lives in the middle apartment. He often says /ar/, and /or/ lives in the bottom apartment by the door. (This incredibly clear description of vowel town was borrowed from this wonderful teacher.)

After students learn the vowel sounds and spellings, they are prompted to spot the vowel in words to help them decode the word. This is very helpful because often times the vowels are the trickiest part of the word. If they can figure out the vowel sound, then the word is much easier to decode. Watch the video below for more information about vowel town and how we use it in the classroom.

 

Caring for our Physical, Social, and Emotional Needs

The first graders at Lewis have been learning about caring for one another's physical, social, and emotional needs. This is a project we started at the beginning of the school year. Some of the pieces of work that have contributed include: finding problems and solutions in fiction books, writing about problems and solutions that have happened to us, and asking others in our school building what their common problems are. We have compiled some videos to help teach others how to solve their problems at school and meet the physical, social, and emotional needs of others.

Math Workshop

Math Workshop was introduced to the students this past week. The Math Workshop framework allows for students to be engaged during all of math time and to work on goals designed to meet their learning needs. Rather than working on an assignment that may be too easy or too hard, students are challenged by working on a skill that is their "next step" in learning. For example, the first grade math goal we are currently working on is adding numbers to 20. Students have been taught how to use several "tools" to help them add, including a number line, touch points, a part-part-whole mat, and a ten frame. Some students are using these tools to add to 10. Others, however, are using these tools to help them add to 20 and beyond. Through having different "stations," the students are given the opportunity to experience a variety of activities, while staying engaged and on-task at each "station."    The students are divided into small groups of 4-5 students, and they move through each of the "stations" with their group. Some of the times they are working with another student in their group, but other times, they are working independently.

The video above shows a little piece of each of the stations. The acronym MATH tells students where to go for each rotation. The "M" stands for "Math Fact Practice." The end-of-the-year goal for first grade in addition and subtraction is to be able to correctly solve 40 problems in 2 minutes. Through allowing students to practice their math facts daily during Math Workshop, this end-of-the-year goal is easily reachable. The "A" stands for "At Your Seat Work." This includes worksheet-type activities for students to practice the skill we are working on in math. This will change throughout the year based on the topic we are learning in math. Some of the topics we will learn about in first grade include: addition, subtraction, word problems, telling time to the hour and half-hour, measurement using non-standard units, and identifying 2-D and 3-D shapes. The "T" stands for "Teacher's Choice" or "Teacher Time." During this part of Math Workshop, students will meet with the teacher to continue to practice and improve upon their skills to meet their end-of-the-year goals in math. For students that have already met those goals, they will be challenged with more critical thinking and problem-solving skills related to the topic being learning. The "H" stands for "Hands-On Activities." This includes game-type activities that allow students to practice their math skills with a partner.