Our opinion pieces are getting stronger and stronger! This week we've practiced supporting our opinions with a reason and an example from a mentor text. We also wrote about our favorite recess activities and used three reasons to support our examples.
We earned another whole school celebration and had an awesome dance party. Here are a few blurry dance photos!
Here's a delayed blog post from last week!
We had a great week and an unexpected snow day--read all about what we were up to!
We started our week of with a great lesson with Four Winds all about worms! Students loved getting a chance to observe and touch worms. We also went digging through dirt to see what we could find.
In reading, students practiced describing characters and character's feelings. Students created Feelings Maps to show how a character's feelings change throughout a story. In writing, students practiced supporting their opinions with reasons and examples. We played games like Would You Rather and Toe the Line to help practice this skill. Students had a blast and are getting really good at it! I can't wait to see them put their hard work into their opinion writing. In math, students finished up Unit 3 and did some Thanksgiving math crafts to celebrate! Here are some pictures from the week--there's not enough for individual slideshows so I put them all in one!
We've been hard at work in first grade!
We've focused on number patterns in math this week. We looked at patterns on the number grid, number lines, and used frames-and-arrows diagrams to follow a number pattern and determine the rule.
We're wrapping up our weather unit with an exciting day of experiments on Wednesday. We did experiments for each part of the water cycle that we've been studying. Students made predictions and observations about how much water in a cup will evaporate when left in a windowsill. They observed warm air meet cold air and saw condensation form. They also saw food coloring get heavy enough to "rain" through a shaving cream cloud! Students were expert scientists! Students also wrote about what happens to a water droplet in the water cycle and created a cloud craft about what they've learned in our weather unit.
Students have worked on retelling a story and including important details. This week we practiced retelling across our fingers. Students also began learning about character traits, practiced the short u sound, and practiced their handwriting.
Happy Halloween!
Thanks to everyone who brought treats and helped us celebrate Halloween on Wednesday!
We've had a great week in first grade! We celebrated Halloween, had our last DARE lesson, and and did a lot of great learning!
In reading we have learned the parts of a retelling: characters, setting, problem/solution, and plot events. We'll continue to practice and dive into character traits next week. We're also working on short u in word work.
We are busy busy in first grade!
We wrapped up our Community Helpers unit with some great visits from the community helpers in our lives! We had a visit with Colchester Police Officers, the Deputy Director of Burlington International Airport, and an Adirondack Guide Boat builder! Thank you to everyone who came to visit our class! We had so much fun and learned A LOT!
When trying to solve 12-4 these students realized they only had 10 fingers...so they worked together to make 12!
Students learned more strategies for being engaged readers. They have also started learning the parts of a retelling; we will keep practicing for the next couple of weeks! In writing, we've been hard at work putting the finishing touches on one Small Moment story. Students have also been writing about different types of Community Helpers!
What a week!
Students have been working hard in math using change-to-more and change-to-less diagrams! They are also practicing putting the numbers from their diagram into a number model or equation! Students explored calculators and labeling their units!
We had our First Four Winds lesson. We learned about Ecosystems and different types of Leaf Eaters. We also had our first visit from Officer Mellen as part of our DARE program. Students learned about what to do in an emergency and the importance of knowing their address and phone numbers. Check to see if you child know theirs!
This week we started our first Social Studies Unit. This unit is about Community Helpers. We read The Little House and talked about three different types of communities: rural, suburban, and urban. Together we made a visual representation of each type. We also talked about the places in our own community and our role in the community. Next week we will look at specific types of Community Helpers. We also made torn-paper trees to celebrate Fall!
Students have been practicing pairs to 10, explored subtraction, and practiced the addition strategy of counting on this week in math. Students learned three new games to practice these skills! They learned Penny Plate, Subtraction Bingo, and High Roller. Ask your child which one is their favorite!
We had a busy and wonderful week in first grade!
This week in math we took our Unit 1 Assessment. Students amazed me with their focus and hard work. We celebrated with a "Math About Me" craft! Students also learned a new game: Roll and Total and practiced counting on. We've been discussing the strategies we use to solve problems. We also learned about ten-frames!
We learned about feelings this week. Each day we painted a feeling and them took a museum walk to observe all the art work. At the end of the week we walked around to see how we each represented the four different feelings (mad, happy, sad, and silly). Students noticed that they were all unique but still showed the same feelings! We also learned about growth mindset and the things we can't do...YET.
It was so nice to see so many of you at Open House!
We learned how to take care of books, be respectful readings, and what book bins are during Reader's Workshop. This may seem simple but is an important part of building independence in reading! By the end of the week students were ready to "book shop" for books to fill their bins. We also tried out our new reading mats to help us build our reading stamina. We focused on friendship this week in Social Studies. We read books about friendships including Big Al. Students then wrote about how to make friends and characteristics of a good friend! Check out our "Big Al's" hanging in the hallway! We also spent one of our Friday literacy rotations making a Birthday Book for a student celebrating their birthday! |
Welcome!Read all about our days in Ms. Carilo's first grade class at Porters Point School! Archives
November 2019
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