We implemented Work Stations over the last couple weeks and they are surely keeping the children engaged. Below you will see just one of the seven we have available, the Math Measure Work Station. What a grand presentation Monday night celebrating Christmas Around the World. First Grade represented Italy, performing "Dominick, the Italian Donkey". What fun! Happy Holidays!! Get some much-needed rest, relaxation and laugh lots!! Surround yourself with loved ones and celebrate the Season!

Welcome to ccbates.org

Welcome to ccbates.org

WOW!!! Time is marching on! Here are some more Students of the Week for weeks past up through last week. We opened up first grade classrooms to create one humongous team-teaching scenario, and the students love it. Teachers love it too:) Reading, writing, vocabulary, math and science are including more complex terminology, concepts and increased demand for higher-order thinking skills. Students are required to not only use application skills, but also analyzing, evaluating and creating, based on what has been learned. We are practicing "Dominick, the Italian Donkey" to perform at the Christmas Celebration on Monday, December 19 in the evening at The Academy of Hope, and we are making Christmas decorations for the classroom and to bring home as part of our "Christmas Around the World" theme for the school.

The Earth's Surface - List 2 of 2 1st Grade

The Earth's Surface - List 2 of 2 1st Grade

Another Science resource for vocabulary and comprehension of Science unit topics:)

The Earth's Surface - List 1 of 2 1st Grade

The Earth's Surface - List 1 of 2 1st Grade

Please click on the resources listed for Spelling, Reading, Math and Science for first grade students! Great resources for students to visit online during the Holidays also!

Compound Words

Compound Words

First Grade Math Vocabulary

First Grade Math Vocabulary

Students are working to acquire skills and strategies using spelling vocabulary (like triple-consonant beginnings in words, /thr/; word families are becoming more complex as new two-syllable vocabulary is introduced; higher level comprehension skills are required in reading and thinking about texts read; in Math, numbers and operations, algebraic concepts (analyzing numeric patterns, translating those patterns into rules, etc.) and measurement (using whole-inch units to measure length of objects) are being introduced and taught; and we are moving ahead after intense study of plants, although students will continue to keep a journal, making daily entries of observation of plant growth after having planted one variety of seed (will also continue to plant other varieties and compare and contrast and inquire more about). Students are learning about the educational aspects of IPad use, having fun while being very engaged! Allston Leggette's mom )who is in the Army) graced us with a visit for Veteran's Day, making a brief speech and presenting students with military lanyards and mini American flags. Thanks so much for all you and all other military service members do to keep our nation safe and free!!! Congratulations to Ariyana Dunlap for her strong showing of positive character traits to be Student of the Week this past week. Way to go Ariyana!!!

Teresa Carrasquillo The Academy Of Hope Charter School VocabularySpellingCity.com

Teresa Carrasquillo The Academy Of Hope Charter School VocabularySpellingCity.com

Click on link for updates to spelling and high frequency words for 1st grade:)

Saturday, November 5, 2011 What a wonderful week at The Academy of Hope last week as 1st graders experimented with planting white carnations in different colors of water (food coloring added) to see the outcomes. Unexpectedly, by Friday, the ones in purple water had not changed color; the ones in green water had barely changed. However, the celery put in purple and green cups of water had changed. Carnations placed in red and blue cups of water really changed. Students also read about plants and their parts and watched Discovery Education Streaming video of plants, their uses, and their parts. Congratulations to Student of the Week Ga'Miracle Manner!!! Way to go, you smart girl! Past Students of the Week include Allston Leggett, Kaden Harrill, Sha'Nya Lewis, Jaiya Johnson and Stacy McCray. Way to go, guys!!! Students of the Week are selected based upon scholarly, individual and personal merit, including positive character, determination and perseverance.

Students had a wonderful first week back at The Academy of Hope this past week. Teachers and staff were pleased to see how well behaved, courteous and kind students were. It reminded us how blessed we are as AOH Staff! This next week 1st grade will be incorporating Science into the new nine week period. We got a jumpstart this past week by re-examining our five senses and how they help us discover, investigate and learn. Now we head on to a unit of study (in text and otherwise) about plants. Both first grades will be planting seeds to observe how plants grow--what they need to successfully survive. This week is also Red Ribbon Week with activities for student and staff to participate in each day. Please check The Academy of Hope's Facebook page and your child's homework folder for day-specific activities:) We will incorporate plant study into all phases of the curriculum as we also read and write about different kinds of plants while integrating our Rigby ELA Curriculum. Everyday Math class and Home Links will be forthcoming, so please check your child's homework folder daily. New Spelling Vocabulary will be coming home also. Tests for Spelling Vocabulary will usually always be on Fridays. In case of change, you will be notified ahead of time. Look forward to seeing many of you on Monday, October 24 for Parent/Teacher Conferences. Have a great week!!! Don't forget to click on the links provided on last blog that take you to Spelling City (first grade word families activities by me) and Math activities:)

Sequences Games

Sequences Games

CLICK ABOVE FOR MATH GAMES!!!

Learning Activities and Games

Learning Activities and Games

CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE FOR 1ST GRADE ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS ACTIVITIES!!!
This is to jumpstart your first grader with spelling, which will be formally assessed this second nine weeks, now that all students have "practiced" writing lots of these words during Wonder Writers and Word Works sessions during ELA period. Have fun with these Word Families!

Crossing Puget Sound with the van aboard the ferry...

This is me in a rental vehicle driving into one of those ferries described above and once boarded, a view out into Puget Sound from inside the vehicle. Whoaa!!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Wow!!! Intercession came fast. Time is passing quickly. So much to learn. Although we are getting a break from the rigors of school work here at The Academy of Hope, it doesn't mean we shouldn't stay focused on learning. There is so much to learn about in the world around us that can help in our everyday lives. The local library is a great place to extend the learning. When I get back from Seattle, one of the first things I plan to do is stop by the library to return some great books I used in the classroom for Read Alouds and for students to browze and to check out some different ones I can use for the next few weeks. While here on the Pacific Northwest Coast, I discovered so many new things...like, did you know that the average adult seagull here is over three times the size of the average adult seagull on our Southeast Coast? And, did you know that there are humongous sea anemones and starfish huddled all along the docking areas, along with varying sizes of jellyfish? These are all highly visible with the naked eye from the piers, which are lined with sea vessels, personal watercraft and ferries of different sizes. Speaking of ferries, I also learned that people living around Puget Sound use ferries to travel to and from school, work and from one city to another by using ferries; some people not only get on the ferries to travel from, say, Port Orchard to Seattle, but also to put their car or truck on one of the decks of the larger ferries to have it taken across the water to that same destination as well. Learning of these things make me reflect on how easy it is to take for granted that what we know as our customary way of life and the way it looks, and how we may feel about it just may not be considered normal somewhere else in our country. How does knowing this help us in our everyday lives? Well, when we consider that what is "normal" for us may not be normal for someone sitting next to us at church, the movie theatre or standing behind us in the checkout lane at the grocery store (because that person may be from another part of the US or world, for that matter, or it may be that this person has been raised with different beliefs or feelings about something), it causes us to think twice before forming an opinion. It causes us to think "outside the box". Thinking outside the box is what we all need to begin to do more often; to consider that there are many possibilities, or phrased in the academic sense, many "right answers", not just the one we are familiar with. Being with my husband and one of my sons here at this very point in time and seeing and hearing their very enlightening commentaries helped remind me that it is always important to "think outside the box". Thanks, guys. It is something I will take back with me to my classroom at The Academy of Hope. I'm pretty sure it will help me be a better educator for my world-class students.

This is an entrance to a restaurant in the Pacific Northwest; most of the area is "different" just like this entrance!

September 17, 2011

Happy Weekend! The first graders in Ms. Carrasquillo's class have almost mastered, yes, mastered The Fab Five!!!! Those all-too-necessary life skills that help the school day ease into ultimate success because students are and tend to stay engaged, yes, engaged, in the learning process. We are so excited to be getting there. Research is quick to point out that without engagement, student learning falls away or is never actually attained. How depressing that would be, huh! Fortunately, we will not allow that to happen here at The Academy of Hope. It is motivating to teach when students come up to you and say, " I found myself saying I actually want to write about..." and " I said to myself, I am going to reread because I know I can understand what I'm trying to write about much better!" For first graders to be integrating this kind of vocabulary into their everyday "talk" is just awesome. Yesterday, lots, and I mean, lots, of first graders were writing 15 to 18 word sentences! Now we're focusing on "retelling" stories we've read by identifying beginning, middle, and ending details of the story and describing those sequential events. Oral and written language and reading, reading, reading are soaring, soaring, soaring! In Social Studies, we've been studying mapping skills as well as communities around the country and world and good citizenship qualities. In Mathematics, we've conquered number concepts 1-100; counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's; tallying and it's strategic importance in math, and addition and subtraction fact family concepts; with rolling dice, we're learning about probability, and with BINGO, we're learning much-needed focused listening for numbers and letters and learning to look in strategic rows and columns to locate them---later, BINGO can extend to locating multi-syllabic words and triple-digit numbers. Only on more week until Intercession. Hang in there, everyone! Have a blessed weekend!!!!

Week Six and Where the Students Are...

We just completed week six at The Academy of Hope in Mrs. Carrasquillo's First Grade.  What a whirlwind of activity we have happening!  Students have virtually mastered the Fab Five Life Skills so important to student success!  Of course, daily "micro-drills" are essential for maintaining our lifeskill balance, so students will continue to upgrade from satisfactory to proficient use of these lifeskills.  They include:

• Take care of yourself.  (This essentially means monitor and adjust your behavior to keep yourself doing what needs to be done.)
• Take care of your things.  (Keep your materials organized so as not to invade another's space.)
• Take care of classroom materials.  (Keep classroom materials in good working condition.)
• Walk and talk quietly.  (Use good manners.)
• Come to The Academy of Hope each day prepared to discover and learn to the best of your ability so you can be successful.  (Have in mind that you are bringing your best self to school each day.)

Everyday Math is our Core Math series; Rigby is our Core ELA series; we are utilizing Social Studies for the first nine weeks and will utilize Science the second nine weeks.  Foreign Languages are a major hit so far, with students having learned The Academy of Hope Pledge in Spanish and Mandarin as well as in English!

Students are integrating technology in all phases of academic learning, utilizing Discovery Education Streaming video, document camera use for enhanced learning using texts, and Qwizdom use for test-taking and technology enhancement.  We just started using Qwizdom this past week.  We are still working on learning how to utilize all it has to offer, and what a great learning experience this is!
More to come next week!  Have a wonderful Labor Day week-end!!!