Mrs. Clark's First Grade Class
Our week...
This week, we did a "mini author study" on Mo Willems. Mo Willems is one of the smartest, funniest children's authors/illustrators of today (of course, that's just my opinion, but read a few for yourself and see). His books include the Pigeon books (Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late, etc.), Knuffle Bunny, Piggie and Elephant, and more. The kids LOVED reading his books, where they learned about speech bubbles and how even though pictures can sometimes tell the story, the WORDS are often what make the story more entertaining! Students learned how to draw their own pigeons and MY MOST FAVORITE PART...they wanted to write their OWN pigeon stories! I can't wait until they finish them up--some of their ideas are so original (Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Don't Let the Pigeon Be the Teacher, and The Pigeon Wants a Girlfriend).
Also...
In Math, we are continuing to work on our addition and subtraction facts. We talked about rules to help them add faster like looking for +0, +1, +2, and doubles. Ask your child if they can sing the "Doubles" song! (If you need to help them start, it goes "Let's do the doubles, doubles. Let's do the doubles, doubles. Let's the doubles, doubles. Doubles NOW!...)
We also wrapped up our Science unit on bodies and put together these awesome "body bags". This really helped the students to see how their bodies are put together and gave us an opportunity to review the function of each part.
DOUBLES War
Subtracting with a number line
Our "body bags" (LOL!)
Reminders
Please remember to send take home readers back on Friday and to read the books every night. Not only are we working on decoding the words in the books, we are working on reading fluently. Re-reading text helps students to read with expression and ease. Parent volunteers change the books on Friday afternoons, so it is helpful to have them back Friday morning! Also, please help your child remember to turn in their homework every Friday. Students that turn their homework in on time 5 weeks in a row receive a special reward.