Somehow we're through with the first week of November! Students had a great week! We continued to learn about weather and focused on the water cycle. We did three experiments to learn more about each part of the water cycle: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Students were excellent scientists and made great predictions and observations. Ask your child to describe our three experiments to you--oh, and ask them to sing you the water cycle song! In math students have practiced using the number line to add and subtract and to solve problems with unknowns. Students also practiced addition and subtraction fact fluency. It's the assessment window and students have worked hard and have been flexible when there's been a zigzag in our routine to do these assessments.
Hello! What a wild and wonderful Halloween Week! Thanks to everyone who joined us for the PPS Halloween Parade and for those who donated food for our celebration. Even with all of the Halloween excitement, students did fabulous learning this week. In math students have worked hard on counting with precision. On Monday students explored counting large numbers like 50 and 100. Students also explored doubles and comparing objects by length. The rest of the week students worked on solving number stories and using different strategies. Students also practiced using "Chip" to make hops on the number line. Students were experts and got Chip exactly where he needed to go! We also did a Halloween math craft to decorate our classroom and practice our subtraction facts.
In literacy students are practicing doing a five finger retelling including: characters, setting, problem, beginning, middle, end, and the solution. This week in science students learned about seasons, different types of clouds, and types of precipitation. Students did a cloud craft using cotton balls to mimic three types of clouds: Cirrus, Cumulus, and Stratus.
Students got right back to it after a short week last week!
We are finishing up our Community Helpers unit and have started our final projects. Students chose a community helper and are writing and drawing about the role of their community helper! Students will also record their writing on Seesaw for you to listen to! We also had a visit from Officer Bresslar!
We've started our first science unit: Weather. We have learned that there are four parts of the weather: wind, temperature, cloud coverage, and precipitation. We've learned more about wind and temperature. We huffed and puffed to create moving air. We also learned about the different tools used to measure weather: thermometers, rain gauges, and anemometers.
Here are some pictures from our Walking Field Trip and a community helper visit!
We had a such a great week that I forgot to take a single picture. Whoops! There will be more pictures next week for sure! Students have been hard at work in math learning about the change-to-more and change-to-less diagrams! Students have used these tools to help them solve number stories and are doing a fantastic job! They have also practiced explaining their strategies like mathematicians do. We are continuing to practice using tools like the number line, hundreds grid, and practicing precise counting. In reading students continue to learn how to be word detectives and learned new strategies for figuring out puzzling words! We put on our detective hats, our trench coats, get out our magnifying glass, and get to work! Students are excited and love to share how they used their strategies when they are reading! In writing students learned how to add transition words and had a great discussion about what makes a great small moment story. We've shifted our focus to community helpers and students are learning about the different roles and jobs that help our community. This week students learned about teachers, farmers, and police officers. We've read books and articles about each community helper and discuss what they can, have, and are.
Students were so hard at work this week that I often forgot to take pictures! Here are a few highlights from our week.
Students learned about three types of communities: rural, suburban, and urban. We read books, had a class discussion, and made a class mural to represent the different types of communities. Students also talked about their role in the community.
One of my favorite parts of the week: our Friday dance party! It's a great way to have fun and get up and moving before starting our day!
Students worked so hard this week!!
Students took the first unit assessment in math. It was tough but students persevered and did a great job! We celebrated by doing a math craft on Wednesday. Students did a "Math about Me" craft that got them thinking about the numbers all around them and we got to learn more about each other. We also started Unit 2 which focuses on addition strategies.
In reading we've worked hard on building our reading stamina during read to self. Students learned the strategy: retell and jump back in to help them when their mind starts to wander.
Students are starting to master our Word Work routine and learned how to use our "Sight Word Task Boxes" which are a big hit!
Our theme for the week was feelings. Students learned about different types of emotions, read books, and talked about times where they experienced different emotions. Students also wrote in their feelings journal. My personal favorite from the week: I feel excited when we get homework! Each day we painted a feeling and on Friday did a museum walk of each others paintings.
We also had our first Four Winds lesson on Friday! We learned all about the sun and shadows! This is a great connection to our light and sound unit that we will do later in the year!
We had another amazing week of first grade!
In literacy we are hard at work building our reading and writing stamina! Students are working hard to stay focused and engaged while. We learned how to keep our eyes and our minds in our books to help us when our brains start to wander. In writing we're learning how to add detail by stretching our sounds, checking our sketches, adding dialogue, and adding the setting.
In math we explored math tools we will use this year. Students had a blast exploring base 10 blocks, pattern blocks, and geoboards. We have also started solving number stories (word problems) within 10 and have begun to use the number grid as a tool for counting.
Our PPS Pandas are having an excellent start to their year! We had our third celebration on Friday and we celebrated with some refreshing ice pops! What a treat!
We made it through the first full week of first grade!
This week in social studies we focused on Respecting Others. We watched videos and read books about respect. Students learned about the golden rule, sorted respectful behaviors, practiced using manners, and did their first compliment circle. Students have done a great job being repectful to each other and teachers, using kind words, respecting materials, and using their manners!
This week students helped create our class rules. We started by sorting PAX and Spleem behaviors (expected and unexpected behaviors). Then students came up with ideas for what we want our classroom to look like, sound like, and feel like. We had an awesome discussion and their ideas were so thoughtful. We then brainstormed a list of what it looks like to be safe respectful, and ready to learn in our classroom created pictures to display.
Students created their own Molly Lou Melons and wrote about the ways that they are special and the ways they "Stand Tall." Students also got to know each other by creating rainbows about their favorite things! |
Welcome!Read all about our days in Ms. Carilo's first grade class at Porters Point School! Archives
November 2019
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