1A Classroom Update 5
November 10, 2017
Dear 1A Families,
It is unbelievable how fast we are going by with the school year as we are almost at the end of our first term! We had an amazing time on Halloween, thanks so much to parents who took time out to join us at the parade. We are also wrapping up many of our units, getting ready to share you what we have been working on the past few months at the Curriculum Share! Please read till the end about everything that has been going on as well as for important reminders.
- Friday, November 17 | Curriculum Share @ 9 - 10:15AM (more info below)
- Monday, November 21 & 22 | Thanksgiving Break Camp
- Monday, November 20 - 24 | Thanksgiving Break | NO SCHOOL
- Friday, December 01 | Picture Make-Up Day
- Friday, December 08 | NO SCHOOL
Literacy
We have continued to practice making connections in our texts with Ms. Ip's friend, Madame Fortune Teller! 1A friends made text-to-self connections such as how they also had a sleepover and how they also fought with a sibling. Soon, we will be making text-to-text connections between all the books that we have read in our read alouds. In Writer’s Workshop, we have been working on writing the ending to our small moment story while adding actions and descriptive language to it to ensure that our readers feel as if they were there with us from the beginning, middle, to the end. Friends were encouraged to include who they were with, where did they go, and what happened in their story by adding action and a more thorough setting. As the writing of our small moment ends, we will be diving into the editing world! When editing and proofreading, we utilize the COPS strategy, where we focused on capitalization, organization, punctuations, and spelling. Next week, we will tackle editing our words by using the word wall to make sure that sight words on the word wall match the ones in our writing. We also went through our writing to make sure that a period, exclamation mark, or question mark goes at the end of every thought we have. We will be continuing to edit our writing and are looking forward to publishing our writing pieces!
Math
In Math, we continue exploring geometry, including both 2D and 3D shapes. We have compared and contrasted 2D and 3D shapes by going on a scavenger hunt! Students will study the various 3D shapes (spheres, cubes, cones, rectangular prisms, triangular prism, cylinders, square pyramid) and their attributes: faces, edges and vertices. We also partitioned or divided shapes into other shapes. For example, students realized that you can make a square from two triangles or a hexagon from 2 trapezoids. You can practice shapes with your child by looking for them in your home or neighborhood! As one of our 1A friends said, "They're everywhere!"
Curriculum Share Breakfast Potluck
This term, our 1A friends have explored the differences and similarities of families across cultures. We thought it would be a great idea to incorporate what they have learned into our Curriculum Share by having a Breakfast Family Potluck. In addition to showing you what they have been working on, we would love to end our Curriculum Share with a Breakfast Family Potluck!
We have been talking about special foods our friends eat with their families on special occasions or on a daily basis. All families, please feel free to bring in food to share (please be mindful that food needs to be nut free, and if it is not, should be EXPLICITLY labeled so) on this day.
Our Curriculum Share is scheduled for Friday, November 17 at 9am. Due to the impending holiday, why not have everyone in and make a whole party out of it?!?!!? We hope that you can all join us for a fun 1A family feast. We can’t wait to see you all here!
Book Baggies
We have been sending book baggies home with books on your child's independent reading level. Read these books to you at least 4-5 times and please be sure to return them to us so that your child can receive a new book. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and ask for your support in returning books on time. This way students across the grade can switch between books and share their reading log experiences.
Book Baggies Schedule
- Friday: Books go home.
- Saturday - Tuesday: Child reads books at least 4-5 times.
- Wednesday: Books are returned.
- Friday: New books go home.
Learner Profile of the Month: Risk-takers
As an IB World School, BPCS strives to foster the growth of students both academically as well as internationally minded citizens who are aware of the world outside of their local environment. To do this, the school incorporates the IB Learner Profiles into the classroom. The IB Learner Profiles describe a broad range of human capacities and responsibilities and, in turn, embody traits of a well-rounded individual. The Learner Profiles are: Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Open-Minded, Caring, Risk-Takers, Balanced, and Reflective. Throughout the year, we will be discussing the Learner Profiles in the classroom as a way to bring to life the traits.
For the month of October, our school focused on how a person demonstrates they are risk-takers. Here are examples why 1A friends thought Mirabelle, Jack F., and Adison are risk-takers:
Mirabelle
- "For lunch, she encouraged people to try new food."
- "It doesn't matter if she doesn't finish the work, she still tries her best"
- "She tries not to cry when she is hurt."
Jack F.
- "My first friend was Jack F. and he helped me get to know everyone."
- "He tried school lunch and didn't like it but ate it anyway."
- "His friend wasn't in this class and he found new friends."
Adison
- "He was brave on his first day of school."
- "He saw new classwork and he still was doing it even though if it's first time."
- "He is trying to make new friends."
Interclass Literacy Block
Phonics Center
Guided Reading with Ms. Ip
Practicing short vowels
Interclass Math Block
What is Zoe's strategy?
Fill In Shape Challenge
Douglin made 1 rhombus with 4 rhombuses
Carmen made a triangle!
Can they fill in the shape?
Thumbs up, we did it!
Animal Show
Fun Times at Metro Tech
Halloween Fun!
Borinquen Backpack Project!
Specials Update
Hola Familias de 1A
I am happy to share that 1A is doing a wonderful job in Spanish. We have been talking about our familias and learning new vocabulary words such as: mamá, papá, hermano/a, abuelo/a, primo/a, tío/a, among others. During class they created and presented their own family trees. While exploring this topic we talked about how some families celebrated different traditions and talked about the Day of the Dead, which is celebrated by Mexican families in order to honor their dead loved ones. They created sugar skulls masks and exhibit them at an altar placed on the 8th floor. Moreover, we talked about the families in Puerto Rico and how they where affected by hurricane María. In order to help the families from Puerto Rico, BPCS created an initiative called Borinquén Backpack Project. With this project the school is aiming to send a backpack full of books and other supplies to Puerto Rican children. To send inside of the backpacks, 1A wrote letters wishing Puerto Rican families a soon recovery.
It is lovely to see how thoughtful and compassionate 1A is growing up to be. We look forward to keep getting immerse in the Spanish language and learning more about the world through it lenses.
Gracias
Maestra Nivia
Contact Us
Email: dtes1a@brooklynprospect.org