1A Classroom Update 10
March 29, 2019
Dear 1A Families,
We cannot believe that April is around the corner! What that means is that 1A is getting ready to share all that we have learned in the last few months with you at Curriculum Share. Our 1A friends have been working hard so check out what we have been up to below.
Important Dates
- Monday, April 1 | Narrative Reports Distributed
- Wednesday, April 3 | Family Survey Deadline
- Friday, April 5 | No School | Winter Family Conferences
- Friday, April 5 | The Incredibles at the Alamo Drafthouse {PTSO}
- Wednesday, April 10 | Winter Family Conferences
- Thursday, April 18 | Curriculum Share
- Monday, April 29 | First Grade Field Trip to Queens Museum (more info to come)
- Tuesday, April 30 | K-2nd Family Coffee Hour {PTSO}
Announcements
- We sent home yellow take-home folders with your child's work today. Some of the work is not yet finished so please feel free to complete these at home with your child. Please make sure to send your child back to school with the empty folder by Monday so that we can send home other important flyers or student work. Enjoy checking out your child's hard work!
Winter Family Conferences
Family conferences will be held on Friday, April 5 and Wednesday, April 10. While we will have a regular school day on Wednesday, there will be no school on Friday, April 5. Please make childcare arrangements for your student(s) on that date.
To sign up for conference, please use the link below:
Then, insert your classroom's entry code:
1A | QDN1126095
We understand that some families are taking time off work for these conferences and have busy schedules so please arrive to appointments on time in order to ensure that we stay on schedule. If you do not arrive on time, the conference may be shorter than what is expected (15 minutes). You will also have the option of rescheduling, we will make arrangements in our schedule in order to accommodate. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us!
CurriculuM Share
Please join us on Thursday, April 18, for our Winter Curriculum Share. This is an opportunity for parents and guardians to experience all the learning that has happened in our core and specials classrooms. Below are start and end times for First Grade. We hope to see you there!
IB
- construction paper
- air dry clay (preferably gray or white)
- woodsie dowels (various sizes)
- wood pieces
- foam bricks(white and red)
- plastic bottles/cans/caps
- artificial grass
- cardboard pieces
ELA
Our 1A friends have been doing another research cycle to study a specific bird to learn about how that bird’s key parts help it survive in its habitat. We've been using the National Geographic Kids text First Big Book of Birds for Little Kids by Catherine D. Hughes to find out how specific birds use their body parts to survive?” Throughout the research process, our 1A friends take
notes using words and pictures. At the end of the unit, we will use what we researched to create a riddle on our specific bird! Additionally, we'll be making riddles corresponding with the bird we made for our Anytime Anywhere travels to Israel (more info in Art).
Aubrei pretends that pliers are birds' beaks to crack open a seed
Writing informative paragraphs about birds get messy but beautiful
Noushin attempts to use a pasta server to crack open a seed
Math
Over the past few weeks 1A has continued to build their conceptual understanding of place value. Students have been mastering their ability to represent tens and ones in pictorial sticks and circles, and have begun adding and subtracting within these values using a variety of strategies. Diving into representing and solving problems in more abstract forms have opened up the conversation about different ways to represent numbers. 1A students have learned four different ways to represent the numbers they are working with; numeral form, expanded notation, model form (sticks and dots), and written form, as well as the difference between an equation and an expression. During the course of this unit, the class has also been refining their skills as mathematicians, and working on learning how to read and answer a problem completely and show their work.
1A students have enthusiastically embraced learning how to tell time. The introduction to telling time began with discussing how to partition a circle into halves, fourths, and what is an equal part. Currently, students are working on telling time by the hour with both digital and analog clocks. 1A has also began to measuring using various standard and nonstandard units!
We have so much fun telling time!
We learn how to tell both analog and digital times
Lilly measures classroom supplies with centimeter cubes
Centimeter cubes are used as our "standard" measuring unit
Jordyn and Jemma measure a pipecleaner
Dylan uses paper clips to measure a pencil!
Phonics & Sight Words
In phonics, for the past two weeks, we have learned and reviewed the concept of a closed syllable. A closed syllable ends in a consonant and only has one vowel.
It is important for your child to recognize a closed syllable because when the vowel is closed in at the end of a word, the vowel sound is short, as in the word "math" or "cat", rather than the long A sound in the word "make". The recognition of this structure is essential as your student continues on with the phonics program and is exposed to multisyllabic words and more syllable types.
For the entirety of the year, all of the words that your student has reviewed have been words with one, closed syllable. Later on, they will move on to more rules, such as spelling words with the Silent E. Therefore, it is very important that they internalize the meaning of a closed syllable. When practicing spelling with your child, ask them "Is this a closed syllable?" and "Why?".
Learner Profile of the March: Inquirer
Anytime Anywhere: Israel
Specials Update
Spanish
¡Hola Familias de 1A!
In the past weeks 1A has been doing a great job in Español. They learned about the parts of a house. They made blue prints of their casas in order to learn each concept and played games identifying each room. Moreover, 1A learned about the 5 sentidos/ 5 senses: oído, vista, olfato, gusto and tacto. They explored each sense using different conventions that allowed them to experience them at the same time they had fun.
Currently they are learning about La Comida /Food. They created a dictionary of food, matched words with pictures and played bingo. They also received the visit from Chef Piñero, a puppet, who helped them create their own food Menú.
Apart from all of that great work, 1A keeps working on their Spanish Dictionary every week adding more words.
¡Exelente Trabajo 1A!
Gracias, Maestra Nivia