We are growing!

These first graders are growing so much!

Here's what we're working on:

LITERACY

Reading:  We've started a unit on learning about the world through reading informational texts.  We've learned how to study each page's texts and pictures thoroughly.  We've practiced thinking inferentially.  We've learned to reread to make sure we've understood what we've read.  We're working now on fluency to make our reading sound less robotic and with more expression and intonation.

Spelling: Not only have we mastered (yes, mastered!) all of the digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh, ck), but we also have a solid understanding of the glued sounds "am", "an", and "all".  We started a new unit today on basewords and the suffix "s" to indicate plural words.  We learned that the suffix "s" can sound like either /s/ or /z/.

MATH

We've just finished our math unit on composing and decomposing numbers to 10.  The students did a fabulous job of learning different strategies to add and subtract!

We started our new unit last week on equations that have 3 addends.  Within these 3 addends, we're searching for a way to make 10.  Then, we include the third addend.  For example, if we have the equation 8 + 6 + 2, we would pull out the 8 and 2 to make 10, then add the 6.

This strategy increases flexibility with numbers and encourages efficient problem solving.

Here's a link from the Eureka program that gives parents more information about what we'll be focusing on with this new unit:  http://www.lpssonline.com/uploads/Eureka_Math_Grade_1_Module_2_Tips_for_Parents.pdf

SCIENCE

We're in the midst of our science unit on how sounds interact with the environment.  The experiments we've done so far have showed us that sounds can't occur without some sort of movement.

AND NOW...FOR FUN EVENTS:

Next week, Craig Newman for the Outreach for Earth Stewardship program at Shelburne Farms, will be joining us in the woods with a rehabilitated bird of prey.  We'll get to see this bird up close!  Craig will also be teaching us about winter breeding for birds of prey and signs of their nesting and feeding areas.  The kids are so excited about this!

Also, for their next Cat Card Celebrations, the students voted to have their faces painted!  (I love hearing their very creative suggestions!)  Sandy Hawkes - our dynamic art teacher - will be helping with this, so I'm anticipating some very beautiful results.

Fort Building Friday

Celebrating our second golden ticket! We voted on building forts in the classroom, and we got to spend our Reader's Workshop time in the forts with our books! What a fun way to end a fabulous week!

Cat Card Celebration

Gooooo, First Grade!!!


We had a dynamic day celebrating our first set of 100 cat cards!  The students chose the super special opportunity to wear their pajamas and bring a stuffed animal to school.  Could there be anything sweeter than kids in pj's? 

Wednesday in the Woods!

We had our very first Wednesday in the Woods experience today!  We went to a special space just across the street from CP Smith, a place with many opportunities for discovery.  There are many logs in which to balance on, many fallen treasures waiting to be built into fairy houses, and many forts in which to let our imaginations transport us to another time. It was wonderful to watch new friendships form as common interests were discovered.  We had an absolutely dynamic time, and we can't wait to go back next Wednesday!

Here are some pictures and drawn representations: https://goo.gl/photos/vPRkdbXD2BYcvwji7

Pattern block creations!

Check out all the different creations we made, using the same five materials!https://goo.gl/photos/1uM1PApXsdQx25ZQ6

We had a dynamic first day of First Grade!  We had lots of fun getting to know each other and beginning to form our classroom community.  Look in your child's backpack - lots of paperwork came home this afternoon!