February Update
Esther's Class
Reading Workshop
We continue to grow in our decoding skills, build our fluency and develop our thinking as readers! This month we will notice the kinds of connections that we can make as readers. When we make connections to the characters or to the story at hand, it helps us to best understand the book at hand and to build our reading comprehension. Not only will we be making connections to the text, but we will be making comparisons between texts. Students will be completing Venn diagrams and comparing characters. In conjunction with our Native American social studies unit, we will be reading folktales and noticing qualities of folktales and retelling them. Out folktale project is on the horizon. It is a wonderful project that will connect both reading and social studies. Stay tuned for more details!
Social Studies
We are knee deep in our study of the Southwest Pueblo Indians! Specifically we continue to focus on the Hopi. (They are considered one of the tribes of the Pueblo Indians.) We began making the homes for our Hopi Village mural. Next week we will talk about traditional foods, clothing and gender roles, and hopefully have our Southwest mural hanging in time for parent conferences. We will also be reading and acting out a Pueblo Indian tale, Arrow to the Sun. Later in the month, we will be learning about the significance of Kachinas and dream catchers to the Southwest tribes.
Math
We have completed our first workbook, 1A, and will be starting 1B this week. What an accomplishment! This month we will begin by comparing numbers. We will be graphing. We will be working with numbers greater than forty and looking for the most efficient ways to group numbers when we add, subtract and compare them. This month we will also celebrate 100 days of school. Students will be asked to bring in a 100's collection for a fun filled day of counting! Details to follow as the date gets closer.
Writing Workshop
First grade is deep into writing their non-fiction, "All About Books." We are taking it step by step each day, integrating different papers that teach different structures. They include: ways to create a labeled diagram, a how-to page, a fun facts page, a table of contents and more. We will be using books from our library and our own prior knowledge to write these books. We will finish the month with a writing celebration, where we will read our books to each other and to second graders. We are very excited about this!