1A Classroom Update 3
October 30, 2015
1A Crew!
Naila and Sabrina off to the parade!
Daelynne and Lyla getting ready for our special activity!
Halloweens Eve!
Check our 1A friends taking a picture after our amazing Halloween Parade! Thank you for all those who took part and made our day extra special!
Parent Update
Where has the time gone? Can you believe we are already done with the month of October! Nonetheless, we are happy to inform you that our friends have been achieving some great things these past couple of weeks. Here is a breakdown of the amazing things happening in 1A
Math:
Our scholars have been so hard at work in their math! Recently we have been continuing our work with word problems where the change is unknown (4+?=7). We have also been expanding our learning into part-part-whole number stories (There are 12 first graders and 8 second graders on the playground. How many kids are there altogether on the playground?). We've also been getting messy, practicing writing our numbers in shaving cream and making numbers with Playdough!
Reading:
In reading, our friends have been learning how to apply pre-reading strategies to make predictions using their prior knowledge as well as how to make predictions within the text using evidence from the text. Students make predictions by using the words and pictures on the cover. Then they go through a picture walk and make predictions based on the visuals they come across. Our 1A friends are now learning how to make text –self-connections where they use their prior knowledge to make connections about their lives to stories we read in class. Furthermore students are taking steps to recognize similarities among books to make text-to-text connections, and learn to how to make text-to-world connections through the international portion of the inquiry unit.
Writing
During writing, students have been writing small moments stories about their own lives. We explained small moment using a watermelon! When we think of a watermelon we think of a big idea which can mean a general topic (i.e going to the beach). When we think of a small moment we want to think of opening that watermelon up and pulling out those seeds (i.e. going to the beach and building sandcastles on a sunny day) In the next few weeks, students will practice “zooming in” on a small part of a life story and telling it across 3 fingers. These past weeks 1A have also been using graphic organizers that express a “big feeling” they had during their small moment story and sharing it with their writing partners. In order for our students to get a deeper understanding of what is considered a small moment we have read stories such as Come on Rain, Fireflies, and Rollercoaster which all talk about one setting and one small moment that happened in one day. A way to support us at home is to discuss the events of our day and help us to identify those small moments. The moments can even be as simple as a daily routine. If we come up with an idea we're passionate about, encourage us to write it down.
Cool Down Center!
In our class, we have been talking about how we can be good community members. We acknowledged that, at times, it is difficult to follow rules we have set for ourselves as a community. With that said, we have introduced the “Cool Break” chair to our classroom. We expressed to students how it is an option for our friends to use when they are having trouble following the rules or showing self-control. It is very different from the traditional “time out” since we allow students to go when they are feeling like they need it. If a teacher sends them there, it is always in a positive loving way aimed at helping the child learn coping skills. It is framed as, “it seems it is hard for you to be on the rug without calling out right now, go take a cool break and calm your body – We will wait for you to come back when you’re ready!”
Cool Down Center
Timers
Mirror Mirror on the Wall
Important Dates to Remember!
· 11/3 - Election Day (No school)
· 11/11 - Veteran's Day (No school)
· 11/25 - Early dismissal (1:30pm)
· 11/26-11/27 - Thanksgiving Recess (No school)
Reminders!
Inquiry!
We still need more shoe boxes and pictures from your child's favorite place in their home. For those of you who have sent those in thank you!
Amazon Wish List:
Most items on this list will relate to our inquiry unit, books of class' interest, or other learning tools.
If you donate something to the class, we thank you in advance and would appreciate if you could send us the itemized list so we can pass onto Operations Team so they can ensure the items get to our classroom.
Inquiry Volunteer Time:
This time will be an opportunity to help us work on building our projects to show our understanding of the unit. Our units of inquiry will be:
Term 1: Homes (Sept. - Dec.)
Term 2: Properties of Matter
Term 3: Celebrations and Traditions