Word Work Update

This week we are continuing to work on our chunk from last week: -ame. With the holiday and the snow day, we did not get a lot of chance to work on it much.

Here are the spelling patterns we have already learned:
-at  -an  -all  -ad  -ap  -ack  -sh  -ash  et  -ell  -ent  -est  -in  -it  -ill  -ick

-op  -ot  -ug  -ump  -ing  -plurals (adding s and es)  -ch  -th  -ame

Here are the accountable words we have worked on so far:
all
had
back
the
no
she
get
tell
webt
best
am
did
will
if
stop
got
he
big
up
him
you
your
has
or
be
by
with
that

Soon we will be taking the accountable word assessment again, so at conferences I will be able to share with you about your child's progress!

This is Our Country

We have begun our next Social Studies unit - This is Our Country. During this unit students will learn about important American figures and symbols. This week we have learned what a symbol is and had a brief overview of the American symbols we will study more in depth in the coming days. Each day we will study a different American symbol and work on making a book about what we have learned.

After this unit, students will be able to:

Students will be able to...

- recognize leadership traits in famous people from the past and describe their contributions to our country.
- recognize some of those leadership traits in themselves. (which correlates nicely with our 'Leader in Me' curriculum also!)
- explain how different people have demonstrated leadership, including (but not limited to):
George Washington
Abraham Lincoln
Martin Luther King, Jr.

describe the ideas represented by national symbols, including (but not limited to):
American Flag
Bald Eagle
Liberty Bell
Statue of Liberty
Washington D.C.
White House
Capitol Building

When we go to the Magic House we will be using this knowledge as we participate in activities! Remember, the trip is on February 10 and permission slips are due THIS FRIDAY!

100th Day of School!

Thursday we celebrated 100 days of school! We are 100 days smarter - wow! We participated in various math, reading, writing, and social skill activities to help make the day special. The first grade teachers aged to 100 years old! We had so much fun! 

Math - Missing Piece and Place Value

As the school year goes on, the concepts and operations in math get more complex.

 We have been focusing a lot the last week on "missing part" type of story problems. This is an advanced concept and requires number sense and an understanding of how numbers fit together. It also stretches the learner to think of our equations in a different way. Instead of solving for -   3+3=___ they are trying to solve for a missing piece in ANY part of the equation - ___+2=6     or  1+____=10. Here is an example of a story problem we've been working on: Lola was making a necklace. She had 12 beads on her necklace but some of them fell off. There are 2 beads left. How many beads fell off? This concept has been challenging for the students. First we have been trying to identify the question the students are needing to answer. In this case: how many beads fell off? Then we look for information that is given to us: She started with 12 beads and there are 2 left. From there we decide if we need to add or subtract to solve for the missing piece. We will continue to work on this.

This unit develops a more abstract understanding of place value, viewing 2-digit numbers as tens and ones. This understanding of place value supports counting on and making ten strategies that students can use to become more efficient in addition and subtraction situations. In this unit students build on their understanding of adding and subtracting within 20 to develop strategies for adding and subtracting larger numbers. Students are also introduced to mentally adding to 10. These standards are grouped together because the ability to compose a ten and the ability to add and subtract ten is a crucial understanding that can help students develop number sense and proficiency with numbers and operations. Included in this unit are “Add To/Take From and Put Together/Take Apart” problems with unknowns in different positions. These problem types give students the opportunity to see subtraction as the opposite of addition in a different way than as reversing the action. Counting on strategies reinforce that subtraction is an unknown addend problem, which help students view subtraction as being just as easy as addition and emphasizes the relation between subtraction and addition.

Writing

We are still working in our Telling Good Stories unit and focusing on sequential order and many details in our stories. Students have used graphic organizers to plan out the beginning, middle, and end of their stories. We have talked about strong beginnings and strategies to hook the reader. We have learned that good story tellers include at least 3 details in the middle of their stories. We have also learned about effective endings that wrap up the story and leave the reader feeling satisfied.

At the end of this unit, students should be able to:

- compose using pictures and words.
- write narratives to recount two or more appropriately sequenced events.
- use details throughout the writing process.
- use temporal words (time) to signal event order.
- provide some sense of closure to writing.
- use vivid verbs that make the actions of characters come to life.
- use correct verb tense and stay in the correct verb tense.
- use adjectives to make the setting and scene seem real.
- use prepositions to add specific details to the story

Last Week's Special Guests

As part of our school's 40th birthday festivities last week we had a special assembly! Look who came!

Essential Questions

Here are the essential questions we are focusing on during our learning:

Writing: How do people compose a good story?

Math: How can understanding place value help me solve problems?

Reading: How do readers read non-fiction texts?

Science: How does weight affect balance?