News Update
Mrs. McDermot's 1st Grade
What is going on in reading and writing?
We have also be identifying words and phrases in poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses. For example: Our bus is a big bright, loud, bumpy, yellow box on wheels stuffed with kids. The students definitely had a reaction to that poem!!
We are also using sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. For example: What is a bantam? Do these sentences help: Some chickens are very small. They are called bantams. I am sure the context of the sentences helped you a great deal!
In writing we are using the writing process to improve our own writing. The students have each chosen their 'best' piece of writing to revise, edit, and then publish. Each day we spotlight one author and read his/her story. The readers have an opportunity to ask questions to get more details or to clarify ideas. The author can decide if he/she wants to add the new information or not. When all the details are set, we go through it to make sure we have SWAG (Starts with a capital. Written neatly. A space between each word. Given punctuation at the end.). After the piece is fixed up, the student can write the final draft in a structure of his/her choice. I am still deciding how I want the author to share and celebrate the published story and will keep you posted!
We can't forget about math!!
We will also be starting our scrolls. This is an self-paced project writing number from zero to.... infinity?? Historically students love to try to get to 1,000 and then beyond. We celebrate these milestones through applause and cheering. I could use your help. If you have empty Pringles cans (the tall ones) and/or empty paper towel rolls, PLEASE SEND THEM IN!! They make excellent storage containers for our scrolls!