Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Wednesday, January 31, 2018


As part of our health studies, we are learning about proper hand washing.  Yesterday, the school nurse came in to do a demonstration of proper technique.  She squirted a special "germ potion" into our hands and then we had to wash it all off.  Then, the lights went out and we used a special flashlight to see if we missed any of the "germs."  When washing hands, we know it is important to scrub in between our fingers, under our nails and down to the wrists for as long as it takes to sing the alphabet song.  Another important tip that the nurse gave us was to use paper towel to turn off faucets.




In math, we have changed our daily stations to include time with the teacher, workbook practice and independent game play.  Today, our math strategy we focused on was "Friends of Ten."  These are combinations of numbers that add together to make ten.  Much like our doubles facts, the friends of ten need to be practiced, so that they can be automatically recalled.  Practice them at home!


In our new workbooks, we have addition and subtraction practice pages that are inside a plastic protector sheet.  This allows us to practice our facts again and again.  At the bottom of the pages, we have an answer key, so we can mark our work and self-correct.  


Reminders:
  • February 2- Movie Night
  • Please make sure you have subscribed to receive important school emails (follow the steps below if you have not already done so).



Thursday, January 25, 2018

Thursday, January 25, 2018

We are in the process of wrapping up our science unit on the five senses and will next be moving onto a unit about building things.  To help with this shift, today we had a special presentation from a local engineer named Alex.  Alex taught us about the different types of materials we use to build and connect.  She also talked about key aspects of buildings, such as foundations, roofs and walls.  Our fun challenge after the talk was to work in small groups and build a house out of paper and tape.  The house had to be strong enough to withstand "snow" and "wind."  It was a challenging, yet memorable activity!



Reminders:

  • January 26 and 29: No School
  • February 2: Movie Night

Monday, January 22, 2018

Monday, January 22, 2018

In our science unit on senses, we are now learning about ways that animals use their senses.  Today we learned a little rhyme to remind us about how different eye positions provide different sensory benefits for particular animals:


In math, we are continuing to practice single digit addition and subtraction.  Today, we used dominoes and number lines to work on subtraction.  The hardest part for many students is not including the initial number in their backwards counting.  For example, in the question 6-2, some students are still working on counting 5, 4 instead of 6, 5.  We will keep practicing this over the course of the week.



Many students are now using a dictionary to look up unfamiliar words we encounter in our guided reading books.  Try incorporating a dictionary into your nightly home reading routine to develop vocabulary and deepen comprehension.   


After spending some time last week learning about subjects and predicates in sentences, we are now moving onto editing.  Today, we had to copy a message from the board and then try to correct all of the errors.  Rereading our writing is becoming increasingly important, so as to ensure our message is clear.



Reminders:
  • January 25: Scholastic book orders due
  • January 25 and 26: Conferences
  • January 29: No School

  

 

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

The students in our class have now been paired up into reading buddies.  Today, we supported one another with sight words, reading passages and books.  Our goal is to build confidence reading aloud, so that sometime soon the students can read to the entire class.  Remember to re-read again and again at home to increase fluency!  


In math we have begun to discuss our doubles addition facts (e.g. 5+5, 6+6, 7+7).  We are using oral stories and picture clues to help us memorize these facts.  Use the following to help you practice at home:

Reminders:


Friday, January 12, 2018

Friday, January 12, 2018

This week in math we began practicing addition and subtraction.  We learned that the "+" symbol means adding more/getting bigger/counting forwards, and that the "-" symbol means taking away/ getting smaller/counting backwards.  The strategy we learned this week to help with adding and subtracting was "counting on and counting back."  For example, in the question 17 + 2, we know that we say the bigger number and then keep counting until we hold up two fingers (e.g. 18, 19).  Our current goal is to be able to solve +/- 1 and +/- 2 questions.



This morning we were lucky to have Richard Young, the magician return to Grade 1.  We went to Ms. Mann's class with our friends from the other classes.  This time, Mr. Young based his presentation on our science unit, "Our Five Senses."  We learned about how humans and animals use their senses in the world, and also ways we can protect our senses (e.g. wear sunglasses, earplugs).



Next week, we will be exchanging our home reading cart with another class, in an attempt to make new titles available to students.  Please return all home reading books on Monday.

Reminders:

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Wednesday, January 10, 2018


We started our week off discussing how to set and work towards goals.  The students are now responsible for setting goals each week and then spending time during the morning entry routine working on them.  We are tracking our achievement on a sticker chart.  Ask your child to share his/her goal(s) with you!


The videos below show how we practice our blends and digraphs at the reading table each day.  Please feel free to incorporate them into your home reading routine.  




Reminders:
  • January 17 and 18: Popcorn Days ($2.00/bag)
  • January 25 and 26: Conferences (You should have received an email regarding how to sign up.)
  • January 26 and 29: No school
  • Please return signed report card envelopes as soon as possible