Students spent their literacy period using their reading skills of visualization while listening to a lengthy piece of informational text writing about Rockhopper Penguin. While stopping to check for understanding throughout, students were able to learn an abundant amount of information on the first animal spotted while traveling in Antarctica. Students then partner read, whole group read, and individually read a fact-filled poem on this type of penguin. After reading this poem, we talked about finding important pieces of information and learning how to highlight this information after reading it. INQUIRE with your child what they learned about the Rockhopper Penguin (what they look like, characteristics, how many eggs they lay, where they live, what they eat, how tall they are, and how much they weight).
In math, students further explored the Rockhopper Penguin. Students used their measuring tape to show how tall these penguins are (16-18 inches) and compared this to their own heights. The children also filled a paper shopping bag with cans of food to match the weight of an adult rockhopper penguin using a scale (5-6 pounds).
Don't forget to check out Kristina Schultz's ART blog every once in awhile. She routinely posts updates on what your children are learning and creating in the art room on Wednesday afternoons.
http://uesart.blogspot.com/
If you have any extra time to help her out in the art room or to help hang up artwork, she would greatly appreciate it! Please contact her via email - KristinaS@mpsvt.org or let me know and I can have her get in touch with you. Thanks for your help!
Students learned a little about how penguins are adapted to survive the cold temperatures of Antarctica today and observed the different continents and bodies of water on the world map. Our class then used thermometers, warm water, cold water, and ice to try and match various ocean temperatures at the equator, the poles, and locations in between. Students had to work cooperatively in table groups to use these materials to get their bowl of water the same temperature in various places (and of course practiced their skills of reading a thermometer!) INQUIRE with your child what the air and water temperature is like along the equator compared to that near the poles.
We couldn't have asked for a better afternoon to spend at the Northbranch Nature Center. Enjoy the slideshow below and check out the video showing and explaining about how a roach molts. Inquire with your child what their favorite part of the day was.
(I apologize for the lack of variety of kids in the photos - unfortunately, we were divided up into 3 different groups and I wasn't able to get shots of everybody!)
In flight entertainment on Jet Blue showed this video from national geographic to prepare the class for their stay in Antarctica. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6M5hw2eTWY&feature=related
The flight was long, but students brought along their travel suitcases, filled with a variety of games to play. Many students were seen playing, Journey to Antarctica, a game in which players move around a gameboard spending money on items to prepare for their trip to Antarctica. Each person has $100 to begin the game. They color the amount on a 100's grid each time they have to buy something. The person with the most money left over wins the game.
Please mark your calendars - and think about whether you could help out one of these days. We'd appreciate parent volunteers or parents to help provide a classroom snack. Keep your eye out for a volunteer form in your child's red folder next week!
February 6
February 20
March 26
April 9
May 7
June dates TBD
Did your child come home today and inform you that they were going to be traveling on Jet Blue to Antarctica? Well, put on your imagination caps and join us in our 17 day fantasy trip to Antarctica!
(Sometimes I forget how literal 6 year olds are..if you're child is still really waiting for the day and has started packing their suitcase, please help me out to explain to them that we really aren't going!!)
After completing several lessons focused on non-standard measurement to conclude unit 3 of Bridges Math, grade one students have embarked on a new journey. We are traveling to Antarctica. For the next 17 days we will explore the land of ice, snow, well-below-zero temperatures and learn a lot about some interesting animals such as penguins! Mathematics learning in this Penguin Unit (4) will focus on measuring (depth, height and units of measurement), sorting (like/unlike factual information), computation, data collection and comparison/synthesis, subtraction, growing patterns and more. To help us prepare, students completed a passport - official information included, of course... first we created our own tape measures out of integers of five. This was a fine opportunity to see the incredible progress students have made in number sequencing and following muli-step directions.
Then we measured and recorded our height.
We also weighed ourselves using a typical bathroom scale. Students then recorded their weight. First and last names, birth date with the year are other pieces of information for travel. The students passports will serve as an important source of data about themselves as they begin to learn more about the lives of other inhabitants of Antarctica.
Next we made creative penguin cover sheets for our travel folders, which will hold materials such as our tape measure and future math tools we'll use throughout this unit of study. INQUIRE with your child about what s/he knows about penguins, and wants to learn more about.
During literacy, students spent individual working time making a packing list of what they needed to pack and some even began journal writing about their trip.
Oh, look....I just finished watching the channel 3 news...check out this clip that covered the story (we had an impromptu, child created and led news show happening during snack today).There were many other videos created, covering different aspects of our trip but the sound is not the best quality. Sorry!
Our first grade students have been immersed in reading and writing procedural (often called how-to) pieces of writing over the last week. This unit of study introduces students to informational text writing and is preparing them for a unit on writing animal reports. We have been reading a variety of informational texts on how to complete a certain task. Last week, we completed a shared writing as a class on how to do morning meeting sharing. We've read about how to feed fish, how to brush our teeth, how to get ready for the day, how to ride a bike, etc. We've explored a variety of topics that would be good to write about - those that we know a lot about and can actually teach a friend to do by reading them specific instructions. Through this writing, students are learning how to use transition words (First, Second, Next, After, Finally, etc) to help make our writing more smooth. INQUIRE with your child what they plan to write about.
Our focus the last 2 weeks in spelling has been on building our knowledge of glued sounds. A glued sound (which you might see your child putting a box around) is one in which the letters carry their own sounds but are difficult to separate - hence they're 'stuck together.'
When students tap these words that include a glued sound, they keep either 2 or 3 fingers together and say the sound with 1 tap. For example to tap the word, hang, students tap /h/ (1 tap) then /ang/ (1 tap - 3 fingers). INQUIRE with your child how to do this with the word -thing. Last week, our focus was on -ing, -ang, -ung, -ong, sounds, while this week we are looking at -ink, -ank, -unk, -onk glued sounds. Previously, the students were introduced to the -am and -an sounds. Check out the list of words your children came up with this week. Test your child to see which words they have mastered!
Trick words for last week were out, are, and so. This week's focus has been on about, two, and into. Students complete a 'check-up' each Friday. You may have been seeing these in their red folders. Please review these with your child each week.
Due to the weather, the Northbranch Nature Center Field Trip is postponed until Friday, January 27th. We will follow the same schedule. If you'd like to volunteer - PLEASE let me know.
On Friday, Jim and Heather engaged the students in a lesson about birds. Through a puppet show, charades, mapping, and an obstacle course, we learned about different birds that stay in Vermont and how they adapt to the brutal winters, about birds that migrate and where they go, and learned about the challenges that birds are faced with as they migrate south. INQUIRE with your child, whether they think a bird's home is in the northern region or southern and why?
Our class visited the computer lab for the first time this year today. We learned about a new program called XtraMath. This program allows students to increase their speed and accuracy in arithmetic. Your child will be using this program both in the computer lab, and also during work places at math in the classroom. If you'd like, you can have your child use it on your home computer. What they complete at home will be tracked here at school. I am able to see the results of how they are doing. This will allow me to alter my instruction in the classroom to meet each student's needs and also track each student's progress as they become more and more accurate and fluent when solving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems. If you'd like your child to participate in this program at home, go to https://www.xtramath.org/. Look in your child's red folder today to receive their individualized pin number. Thanks for supporting your child's learning at home!
Our class is currently reading, Stuart Little. Inquire with your child who the characters are and have them describe some of the adventures Stuart has stumbled upon!
Mrs. Pierce's 5th grade class is holding a fundraiser tomorrow to benefit their field trip to Boston. Each item at the bake sale will be $.25. We will attend tomorrow morning (Friday, January 20th). Please send your child in with $ if they want to purchase an item.
The students are learning how to measure objects using non-standard units. Before we practiced measuring, we discussed why we need to know how to measure and also made a list of non-standard units that we could use in the classroom - we settled on using popsicle sticks today. Then, the students observed all the WRONG ways I was measuring one of our friends. They realized that to get an accurate recording you can't leave holes, you can't go zigzag, and you have to start and end where the object starts and ends. To get us familiar with some non-standard units, we set up measuring stations. Working with a partner, students measured various objects around the classroom using popsicle sticks. Before figuring out how long something was, students made an 'educated' estimate as to how long they thought it was. We then compared and contrasted the size of these objects in comparison to each other. INQUIRE with you child what was longer than the rug and what was shorter than the rug. Were there any objects that were the same?
During in-service on Monday, one thing teachers did at our school was learn about some new-age technology. My time was spent exploring Ipads. I was impressed with the amount of educational opportunities that were available for students to use that could have the potential to provide additional practice in so many academic areas - especially that of literacy and math. If you have an Ipad at home and are interested in providing additional academic practice using this form of technology, be sure to inquire with me. Unfortunately, I do not have the funds to purchase one for our classroom at this time, but am hoping that in the future, this could be another tool that is used by our students.
Our learning focus this week is making change for peace. We are studying the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the many ways he helped make change for peace. We have been closely reading and studying a text called, Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Dreaming of Change to understand what M.L.K. Jr. did and explored the various ways that we can make the world a better place.Tomorrow, we will listen to and watch Dr. King's I have a Dream speech.
Our class is participating in the NAP field trip to the North Branch Nature Center on Monday, 1/23 in the afternoon. We will be leaving before lunchtime, so plan to send a lunch in from home, as we will be eating in the classrooms around 11:00. We will bring a snack with us for the afternoon. If you are willing to contribute to a healthy snack for our class and Mrs. Koch's class, please let me know. If you would like to come along on this trip, please contact me via e-mail... the class and I are looking forward to it!
Decorating our hallway, along with the mural, students have completed their second self-portrait of the year. Alongside these portraits, are our own new year's goals in the area of C.A.R.E.S. Students reflected on themselves, and set goals related to cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control. Inquire with your child what their own personal goals are for the next few months.
First graders in our class have joined Mrs. Wrigley's classmates in an in depth study of the book, Snowmen at Night. We have activated our schema and made connections to the story over the last week and have compared and contrasted it to, "Snowman All Year." Students retold parts of the story through an art project which resulted in a mural that lies between our two classrooms. Students worked together to create snowmen doing the various activities in the book, and created a background for them to engage in their winter sport. Inquire with your child about the story, asking them to re-tell the events and share with you how we worked together with grade one peers to create this special project. Thanks to Chris Lumbra for his dedication in helping us. Enjoy a few photos captured from our cooperative learning together...
Students are moving from using lobsters to help them count by 10's to using whales to count by 2's. We are learning all about whales in another integrated study of math, science, and literacy. Did you know that each whale has 2 flukes? If you aren't sure what these are, be sure to inquire with your child. We have created a whole class growing pattern using hand sketched whales, have counted by 2's in a number of different ways, read all about whales, and learned a new song along with Mrs. Wrigley's community of math learners. Make sure you check it out, and just for your information, we've improved in our singing of this song immensely since the recording!
Throughout this unit, we continue to learn about telling time. Students have been using the bean clock to learn to tell time. Each bean represents a single minute, allowing students to see in a concrete way that each number on the clock face marks another group of 5 minutes (or beans). Counting minutes on the clock face provides a natural context for counting by 5’s and 10’s. As they become more familiar with the clock face, students might start counting from a landmark position, like the 6, rather than starting from the 12, to find how many minutes have passed.
First graders are continuing to practice counting the value of coins. We have shifted our focus to counting in terms of groups as opposed to individual amounts. Students continue to also think in terms of groupings as they solved lobster number problems.
Throughout number corner, we are continuing to focus on 3 dimensional shapes, probability, temperature, and using different ways to show given numbers.
Here are some frequently asked questions provided by the Math Learning Center:
Q: Why do you spend time having students make their own picture problems?
A: In this unit, students learn about different sea creatures and create picture problems about
them. Then, students solve one another’s problems. When mathematical problems are
embedded in a context that students understand well and find interesting, students can draw
on their familiarity with the context to make sense of the math they are learning. Sea creatures,
with their different numbers of legs and other body parts, lend themselves well to solving
problems involving equal groups, a major theme of this unit.
Q: Why are time and money part of a unit on sea creatures?
A: The topic of the unit is sea creatures, but the mathematical theme is equal groups. Sea
creatures’ bodies, coins, and the clock face provide three different ways to represent equal
groups (of 2, 5, and 10). We want students to move beyond counting one by one when solving
problems. The scenarios and problems in this unit encourage them to begin counting equal
groups by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s. It’s a more efficient way to solve many problems, and it’s also a
precursor to understanding place value and to calculating efficiently in our base ten number
system.
Students spent their literacy period using their reading skills of visualization while listening to a lengthy piece of informational text writing about Rockhopper Penguin. While stopping to check for understanding throughout, students were able to learn an abundant amount of information on the first animal spotted while traveling in Antarctica. Students then partner read, whole group read, and individually read a fact-filled poem on this type of penguin. After reading this poem, we talked about finding important pieces of information and learning how to highlight this information after reading it. INQUIRE with your child what they learned about the Rockhopper Penguin (what they look like, characteristics, how many eggs they lay, where they live, what they eat, how tall they are, and how much they weight).
