1B Family Update
January 20, 2017
Dear Families
Happy New Year! The Rock Stars returned to school from winter break class ready to continue learning and having fun! We have continued interclass Lit Block and Math Block with students from 1A as well as exploring our Inquiry unit on Homes and beginning our next unit on Maps. There is a lot of important information in this update, so please be sure to read it and let us know if you have ay questions.
Reading and Writing
In Reading and Writing, we are applying many of the things we have learned about nonfiction text features in reading to our own All About books. Recently, we selected a nonfiction text feature to add to our book as a way to help our readers better understand our topic. A way to support us at home is to have us create books about topics we are experts on. This will help create an authentic writing experience that will also encourage us to practice our letter formation and writing conventions, such as starting a sentence with a capital letter and ending with punctuation.
Math
In Math, we explored place value by breaking apart numbers into tens and ones (or hundreds, tens and ones). You can practice this skill with your child at home by asking them "How many tens are there in 61?" (6 tens) and "How many ones are there?" (1 one).
Then, students learned how to compare numbers under 100 by using the words and symbols for "greater than" (>) "less than" (<) or "equal to" (=). Students explained their thinking, for example, by stating "I know that 61 is less than 72 because 72 has 7 tens and 61 has 6 tens" or "I know that 61 is less than 72 because 72 comes after 61 when we count." Students learned how to write the number sentence for this as 61<72.
Next, we began adding and subtracting two-digit numbers without regrouping. (Regrouping involves making or breaking apart groups of 10.) For example, 42+36 or 78-45. Students learned how to use a new manipulative: base-10 blocks (tens and ones) to solve these problems or to solve these problems mentally by separating the tens and ones. For example, for 42+36, students know that 40+30 = 70 and 2+6=8, so therefore, they know that 70+8 = 78!
Once students were comfortable with this, we introduced the idea of "regrouping" with addition. While we as adults often learned about "carrying the 1," today we teach kids the regrouping through place value so that they understand why we are "carrying a 1" rather than just memorizing an algorithm. We showed students how when we add two numbers and the ones equal more than 10, we make another group of ten. For example, with 19+6, the 9 ones and 6 ones make a new ten with five ones--that's why the answer is 25! Next week we will explore regrouping with subtraction.
Amy Czaja and Kendra Thomas
Field Trip Permission Slips in yellow take home folders - Due by Wednesday, January 25!
Addition and Subtraction without regrouping
Adding with regrouping
Armory Dates
Students in grades K-2 will begin visiting the Park Slope Armory starting this Friday, January 13th. Students will leave school at 9:30am and return at 12:30pm. Lunch will be served in their classrooms upon their return.
Please make sure that you dress your student in sneakers on days that they are slated to have gym. Please note that all students will continue to have indoor and outdoor recess, as the weather and safety conditions allow.
First grade Armory trip dates: 1/20, 2/3, 2/17, 3/17, 3/31
Reflective student of the Week #1: Maxine
- Maxine has been reflective because yesterday we had to practice coming to closing circle because we were talking and she was reflective because she fixed today by transitioning quietly.
- When she doesn't know an answer, she does not give up, she uses unfiix cubes to find the answer.
- Maxine has been reflective of when she was talking to a friend, she said to herself "hey we're not supposed to be talking" and then looks at the teacher and puts up the town hall quiet sign and looks at the teacher.
- If Maxine doesn't know what to do on a number story, she turns the paper over and tries another strategy.
- You have been reflective by listening to the teacher and hearing what the teacher has to say and then going back and does her work.
- Maxine has been reflective because before we moved seats, I would talk to her and she kept her eyes on the teacher even though I would do little things.
- Maxine has been reflective by if she made a mistake, she would be honest and say that she made the mistake and then she would fix it next time.
Reflective student of the Week #2: Lluc
- During writing I saw you talk, then you thought about how you should fix and you fixed it and wrote six pages!
- I saw you being reflective by listening to the directions and following them.
- Lluc lets other people know that they shouldn't be talking during learning times.
- Lluc turns on his listening ears and his brain.
- Lluc is reflective by when the teachers are teaching, he's not whispering to his friends. He looks at the teacher.
- When we had extra run around time today, Lluc then was calm when we came back to class so that he could learn and kept his body to himself.
- How Lluc is being reflective is because he nicely tells a friend when he does not like something.
Classroom Photos
Inquiry unit: Homes
What affects how a home is built?
AJ's share
Monster Squeeze
Monster Squeeze
Morning Meeting
Indoor recess
Outdoor recess
Math work
Trixie's Share
Math Block
Nice weather at Metrotech
POD learning
PODs
PODs
Drawing maps of our classroom
Map exploration
Map exploration
Class map of 1B
Map Exploration
Map Exploration
Specials Update
Music
Hello, first grade families!
1B kicked off 2017 by starting to learn a lovely folk song that features some cold weather -- “Fox Went Out On a Chilly Night.” Then, after reviewing musical concepts from the fall, 1B started learning songs and doing activities to prepare them for a major first grade musical concept: steady beat! We marched to “The Noble Duke Of York,” tapped heads to “Hickety Tickety Bumble Bee,” danced to “Shoo Fly,” and played a steady beat on instruments while singing “This Old Man.”
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to send me an email at jkramer@brooklynprospect.org.
Thanks!
Jacob Kramer
Konnichiwa 1B!
1B continues to develop their Spanish Brains by listening, speaking, reading and writing in Spanish. Everyday in our Spanish Classroom students read the Español Newsletter. It`s amazing how much they are developing a deeper understanding of Spanish! On January 6 we learned about El día de los Reyes Magos- a holiday celebrated in México, Puerto Rico, España, among others Spanish Speaking Countries. On that day we received a wonderful surprise- we met Maestra Rosado’s nephews (via Skype,) and asked them a lot of questions about Puerto Rico and the holiday. It was a very memorable day! Now, we are getting ready to explore “casa” (house) by reviewing all the shapes that surround us (círculo, cuadrado, triángulo, rectángulo, rombo, trapezoide…).
Ps.
Last year, at the end of December we had so much fun with the parranda (the Puerto Rican version of parranda). We made maracas with spoons, cups and rice, and then went around the school to sing and surprise with a latin touch. Check out our pictures and videos!
Ps. We are getting ready for our second stop back in time - Kyoto Japan. To begin, we are learning how to say hola, buenos días, gracias y adiós in Japanese. Please check out the video and practice at home.
Gracias,
Maestra Rosado and Maestra Nivia