Wednesday is Library Day!

 

Literacy: Resarch, Informational Reading and Writing, V-C-E Syllables

First Graders are engaging in small group research using the text, “Beaks” by Sneed Collard.  Students are reading, writing and talking about the text as they answer the research question, “How do birds use their beaks to survive?”  During the next week students will engage in a series of beak challenges.  Their learning from this portion of the unit will culminate in an individual writing piece about birds beaks.  

During word study students have learned a new syllable pattern: vowel-consonant-e. V-C-E syllables are syllables that contain a vowel, consonant, and silent e pattern, resulting in a long vowel sound (hike, bake). First Graders continue to practice reading with accuracy and prosody during our daily fluency block.  Please practice the following heart words at home: friend, other, another, none and nothing. 

Math: Addition Within 100 by Making 10

 First graders continue to grow their understanding of place value this week, applying what they learned about adding one-and two-digit numbers to any numbers within 100, with and without composing a ten (regrouping). Students apply the associative and commutative properties as they count on, add tens and tens, and add ones and ones. Students see that no matter which order they use to combine parts of the addends, the sum remains the same. They continue to use, interpret, and connect different methods and representations (including equations) that show a new unit of ten being composed from 10 ones. 

Second Step: Fair Ways to Play

The third lesson in our Second Step problem solving unit focused on fair ways to play this week. Students explored the idea of sharing, trading, or taking turns as a solution for solving problems. They gained experience with defining and differentiating the terms, identifying and stating the problem for a given solution, generating possible solutions, and demonstrating fair ways to play. Sharing, trading, and taking turns are solutions intended to promote the goals of fairness and mutual enjoyment, so students are less likely to use aggressive solutions. 

Silly Sock Day!

 

Math: Adding Within 100

First graders began a new unit in math this week which builds on their understanding of place value and the properties of operations to solve double digit addition problems. In the previous unit, students composed, decomposed, and compared numbers within 100. In this unit, students begin by adding a two-digit number with another two-digit number or with a one-digit number where it is not necessary to compose another ten (regroup...yet). With the support of connecting cubes and ten frames to model the quantities, two broad methods for finding sums are being explored: adding on by place (adding on tens, then ones), and adding units by place (combining tens with tens and ones with ones). This is meaty stuff for 6-and 7-year olds and sets the scene for working within 1000 in second grade. 

Literacy: Researching with Informational Texts:

 First graders continue their study of birds during literacy.  The guiding question for this unit is, “How do birds use their body parts to survive?”  Throughout this unit students will read, write, talk, draw, experiment and sing about two key bird body parts: feathers and beaks.  Students are continuing to build their research skills through whole class research anchored by the text, Feathers, Not Just for Flying.  In addition to the research about feathers, students continue to hone their scientific drawing skills through the process of close viewing. 

Fourth Grade Readers

 Each Wednesday during lunch, first graders are treated to a visit from fourth grade guest readers. Thank you Wildcat Club members Rebecca and Suzy for sharing your recess time with us! 

"Do I have to Wear My Snowpants....?"

....Yes!  At this time of the year, we understand that families are fatigued with the daily snow gear scramble and that first graders are eager to transition from winter to spring activities on the playground. We are too!  Playground conditions are still semi-wintery and, as temperatures fluctuate, this will soon transition to wet and muddy.  Please continue to send warm and water resistant outdoor clothing with your child to school so that kiddos are comfortable and ready to learn when they return inside. On days when the forecast is mild, please have a conversation with your child about which layers are appropriate to wear on the chillier and warmer parts of the day. Gaining independence for personal care is a critical first grade skill! Thank you. 

PBIS Classroom Celebration: Beach Day!

Math: Comparing Numbers to 99

First graders continue to develop their understanding of place value and our base-ten number system. This week, they are working to compare and order 2 two-digit numbers based on the values of the tens and ones digits and to record the results of these comparisons with the symbols >, <,  or =.  They are noticing that if a two-digit number has more tens it will be greater than a number with fewer tens, no matter how many ones there are. This is true because we know that the value of the digit in the ones place will always be less than 1 ten because the place value system only allows up to 9 ones. 

Literacy: More Vowel Teams and Suffixes

During word study,  Ffrst graders are learning to segment, blend, and spell words with five sounds and continuing to read words that contain vowel teams including oa, oe, ow, ou, oo, ue, ew, au, and aw. Soon, they will be adding suffixes -ed and -ing to closed syllable base words.  Heart words for our current unit include: any, many, how, now, down, out, about, our.  Please practice reading and spelling these words at home.

In our new unit in Literacy, students launched their learning about birds by focusing on their physical features. Students are considering the guiding question, “What makes a bird a bird?" as they begin to grow their research skills investigating the different physical characteristics of birds through texts, photographs, and videos  During the first part of this unit, students read an engaging mystery riddle and explore mystery pictures to stir their inquiries about the topic of birds.

Health Series: Zones of Regulation

First graders are excited to welcome Mrs. Klocek back into the classroom for another series of first grade Health lessons. They have been introduced to the Zones of Regulation, a curriculum that builds self-awareness of and strategies for emotion management and positive behavior. Information about this program went home in Thursday folders this week. 

Valentine Exchange, Valentine Craft, and All-School Celebration!

 

Wear Red for Heart!

 

Math: Numbers to 99

First graders began a new unit in math this week focued on developing an understanding of place value for numbers up to 99. Focused on the structure of numbers in base ten, unit activities allow mathematicians to see that the two digits of a two-digit number represent how many tens and ones there are. Exposure and experience with unitizing, a critical first grade skill, is also being developed as they learn that 10 ones make a unit called a "ten" and that quantities from 11 to 99 are composed of some number tens and ones. Unitizing allows for counting larger quantities more accurately and efficiently as well as sets the scene for double digit addition.