1B Update #12
April 22, 2014
What's happening in 1B
What an amazing two weeks we’ve had! Not only have we flown to Lagos, Nigeria but we also had an opportunity to see a preview of Annie. Check out the video below to see what it feels like to land at one of our destinations. (Warning: At times, you will have to adjust the position of the screen to view the video upright… It’s our first time and we may have had some technical holding-of-the-phone difficulties…)
Check out the learning that we have been doing!
Reading
We are becoming fairy tale experts! Recently, we learned that fairy tale characters often fall into two categories: good and evil. To identify those characteristics we use information from the text and pictures to identify whether their actions placed them into the good or into the evil category. After that, we explored how the problem and solution in fairy tales are unique because often times it is the evil character who causes a problem for the good character. If you have fairy tales at home, ask us to tell you what makes the characters, setting, and problem and solution unique to fairy tales.
Writing
Now that we know how to state reasons to support our opinion, we are working on persuading our reader to agree with our opinion. To do this, we start our writing with a “catchy intro” where we ask our reader a question to hook them into reading our writing. Also, we are working to add details as a way to explain our reasons and further support our opinion.Math
Our 1B mathematicians have continued our work on place value and breaking down 2-digit numbers into groups of tens and ones. During Number Stories, we have been working on part-part-whole word problems. Example problem: I had to tie 20 shoes. I tied some shoes and had 7 more shoes to tied. How many shoes did I tie already. In this problem, students are presented with the total (20) and a part (7). It’s their job to figure out the missing part (how many shoes did I tie already). Work with your child through this problem by having them show the whole number by drawing it out or using items around the house such as legos, unifix cubes, or any small item. Then have them remove 7 out of the problem explaining that those are the shoes that are not tied. Students should realize that there are 13 shoes that are tied already. This is an example of how we work on problems in class. In Term 3, we will focus on regrouping when using addition and subtraction. We are so excited for this new unit in math and cannot wait to add more strategies to our toolbox of knowledge.
Inquiry
Recently, we have have explored two different celebrations! The first celebration we learned about was Ramadan! This is a muslim holiday that is celebrated during the ninth year of the Islamic (lunar) calendar. During this celebration, people fast during the day for a month as a way to understand how it feels to be hungry, like what many people in poverty experience. We watched videos to learn more about the experience, had a read aloud, and created our own crescent moon stained glass window to represent the common, key symbol of this holiday. We focused on this celebration because many people in Nigeria are muslim. Check out the video we watched if you are interested!
Next up was exploring Chinese New Year! We looked at this celebration because it also follows a lunar calendar and has recognizable symbols that connect to it. We read a story to understand that there are many traditions that happen in Chinese New Year some being to clean out the old year in order to welcome the new year. One tradition is to light the way for the new year by using lanterns. We made lanterns and watched the traditional lion dance that is used to scare away the “bad” luck from the old year.
Annie
Head Wraps
Townhall
Coral Beads (Orange Necklaces)
Math Olympics & Townhall: Lagos, Nigeria
Important Notes
Field Trip - Parent Sign-up
On June 2nd, we are heading to the Brooklyn Grange to learn about bees, how they create honey, and their role in the environment.
If you have not yet joined us on a field trip, please sign up at: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0F44AFA72BA0F85-first
Take Home Folders
Please remember to return the yellow Take Home folders to school by Wednesday so we can send your child home with a book to read from our Backpack Book Reading Program.
Math Olympics
Our next stop is India! In order to get there, we need to solve 137,600 math problems as a school. This means that each student needs to solve 29 problems a day! Please encourage your child to solve these problems on paper and bring those papers to school to turn into the fueling station.
Physical Education Update
A Science Update From Ms. Rosabal!
We are also using our math knowledge of graphs and data to work on a weather graph at the beginning of each Science class. It's fun and a great way to share what we know about weather and seasons!
Greetings from Lagos, Nigeria!
Grade One artists explored Lagos from the air. They saw beaches, the cityscape, and a soccer game and some traditional drumming. Additionally, they investigated the Yoruba people who are known for their beading and carved wooden sculptures
In ART they beaded faux coral necklaces.
Aside from Nigeria, Grade One Artists have been investigating birds of NYC. In time for Spring, each artist is creating a bird — native to NYC. Gold Finches, Black Capped Chickadees, Blue Jays, Barn Swallows, and Darked Eyed Juncos are migrating their way to BPCS. How we have persisted!! Ask your artist about the process. While paper maché is super fun — it’s incredibly messy! 1B artists can clean up in 6 minutes and 52 seconds! (This is exceptional!) Please be on the look out for our final creations!
E DUPE (Many thanks in Yoruba) to all the parents who volunteered to help us celebrate Nigeria! We couldn’t make the trip without you!
Kendra Thomas and Emily Vandehey
Email: DTes1B@brooklynprospect.org
Location: 80 Willoughby Street, Brooklyn, NY, United States
Phone: 718-722-7634