1A Classroom Update 7
December 23, 2016
Dear 1A Families,
We hope you and your family have a wonderful and warm winter break! We will see you in 2017 on January 3rd! Below is an update on what has been going on the last few weeks in 1A.
In math, we wrapped up our unit on geometry. One thing that students struggled with was remembering that a triangle has 3 sides and 3 corners and that a trapezoid has 4 sides and 4 corners. If you have students draw you a trapezoid at home, remind them that we have trapezoid-shaped tables in our classroom. We began our unit on place value, exploring how many ones, tens or even hundreds there are in numbers. For example, in the number 35, there are 3 tens and 5 ones. You can practice this at home by giving your child a number and having them tell you how many tens and ones are in it. Then, have them count to that number by tens and ones. For example, to get to 35, you would count the 3 tens first then switch to ones by saying "10, 20, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35." We have learned that making groups of tens is an efficient or quicker way to represent and count numbers. Having a strong understanding of place value will help us add and subtract two-digit numbers with regrouping when we return from break!
Reading
In reading, not only worked on identifying the problem in the story but also the solution. Students realized that sometimes a character doesn't have to resolve the problem. After winter break we will begin our nonfiction reading unit! So far, we've determined what makes a book nonfiction and next we will start exploring the structure of nonfiction texts.
Writing
In writing, we started our nonfiction writing unit! So far, we began planning our All About books by selecting a topic that we feel we are an expert on. A way to support us at home is to have us share our topic with you, discuss the 4-5 details or facts we know about the topic, and why we want others to know about it. This will help us to be ready for when we start writing the stories after break.
Inquiry
We have continued with our Inquiry lessons on homes and have brought the focus on our own homes and homes around the world. We visited homes in other countries through the text Houses and Homes by Ann Morris and Home by Carson Ellis as well as our virtual world trip!
Important Dates
- Monday, 1/16: Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No School
- Monday, 1/23: 1A Field Trip to SIMS Recycling Center
Materials needed for classroom: MAPS
Our next Inquiry unit after Homes will be Maps and Geography, which we will start in January. We are looking for donations of maps for our classroom. These can be subway or museum maps that you pick up or old maps from any location. Thank you!
Writing Celebration
2D & 3D Shape Game
Interclass Math Block
2D Art
Base
10
Blocks
Writer's
Workshop:
We are Experts!
Interclass Lit Block
Independent Reading
Guided Reading
Inquiry
Inquiry
Choice Time Fun
Author
Visit:
Christopher Silas Neal
Learner Profile of the Month: Thinkers
As an IB World School, BPCS strives to foster the growth of students both academically as well as internationally minded citizens who are aware of the world outside of their local environment. To do this, the school incorporates the IB Learner Profiles into the classroom. The IB Learner Profiles describe a broad range of human capacities and responsibilities and, in turn, embody traits of a well-rounded individual. The Learner Profiles are: Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Open-Minded, Caring, Risk-Takers, Balanced, and Reflective.
Throughout the year, we will be discussing the Learner Profiles in the classroom as a way to bring to life the traits. For the month of December, we focused on students who are thinkers. Thinkers apply their critical thinking skills to make good decisions and solve hard problems.
This month, our thinker friends are Sharper, Christopher, and Roan!
Welcome to Constantinople!
Constantinople Videos!
2. Photo booth fun - say cheese!
3. Third graders explain the writing they did in their reading.
Second Town Hall 2016
Andy's Coming!
ANYTIME | ANYWHERE What are you reading?
Two traveling libraries have been created to support our Anytime Anywhere Reading Initiative.
Please Note: Your student may bring home a book with a red or yellow dot taped to the binding. When he or she returns the book to the cart, another book may be checked out. Special books have been purchased for these libraries but have not yet arrived. (We’re making due with overflow from classroom libraries until the curated selection arrives!)
Students track their reading using library cards. Each time they read a book, they write down the title and stamp their library card at one of our vintage time machines. They more they read, the further back in time we can travel!
Vacation is a great time to “Read, read a book!”
M A N Y - T H A N K S - T O - A L L who helped make our trip to Constantinople so magical!