Writing Stories from our Lives

In writing we are working on writing true stories that have happened to us in our lives. We began by learning the parts of a good story - the beginning, middle and end. The beginning of the story is where we introduce the people in the story (characters) and tell where the story takes place (setting). The middle of the story is where we explain the problems,issues and events that happen in the story (plot). The end is where we describe how the character solved the problem (resolution). We noticed that we can see these parts in a story when we are reading another author's story and when we are writing our own. Some of us have begun to use the words in parentheses above. We have some great stories and we can't wait to share them with you.

Social Skills and Emotions
Mr. Bill, Ms. Noreene, Ms. Josie and Ms. Jodie came to our room today to work with us in small groups on various topics around social skills and emotions. Each group will eventually meet with each teacher over the next couple of months. It was lots of fun. Ask your child to tell you all about it.

Homework
Reading ~ Read a good book or two.
Math ~ Home Link 5.7 Comparing Amounts of Money

Problem Solving in Math

We do lots of problem solving in math. Sometimes the problems are just number stories that require using addition or subtraction to solve the problem. Sometimes the problems are multi-step problems that are similar to the Open Response problems that we do on test days. On Friday we did some problems like the second type. Our process was to read the problem together as a crew and make sure that we all understood what the problem was asking. Then we worked on solving the problem by ourselves for a few minutes. After that we worked with our table groups to come up with a solution. Working by ourselves first helped all of us have something to contribute to the group discussion. Finally we shared our thoughts with the whole crew and talked about how the process went. We are learning to collaborate with each other so we had lots to share. Below are the problems we worked on and some examples of the work done by a few students. The problems came from the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) website, here.

Curious Cats 
Five curious cats went exploring in a freshly painted room. Four got paint on their front paws and one got paint on its back paws. How many paws didn't have any paint on them?

Use a Model 
Imagine that you have one penny, one nickel, and one dime. What amounts of money can you make using one, two, or all three coins? 

Homework
Reading ~ Read a good book or two.
Math ~ Home Link 5.6 Relation Symbols

Contractions

During our word work lessons we have been and will continue learning about contractions. Contractions are words like I'm, I'll, can't don't, etc. These words can be tricky at first for first graders. But once they are exposed to them, they enjoy finding them in their books and other reading. Don't be surprised when your child begins to point them out to you, too.

Kidblogs
If you haven't checked out our Kidblog page lately, you might want to drop by. We have been busy bloggers this week. The link is on the sidebar of this blog page so you can find it easily in the future. Right now you can just click here.

Homework
No homework for the weekend. Enjoy some great books with your child.

IA
Our IA next week is PE. Please help your child remember to dress appropriately.

Math Explorations

When we first learn about a new topic in math,  we try to just explore it to begin to build definitions of various concepts. Today we explored three new topics: surface area, comparing weights using a balance scale and trying to use efficient strategies to count large numbers of items. We didn't learn any formulas or symbols to use with these topics yet. Our goal was just to begin to develop an understanding of area, weight and using efficient strategies. We will revisit these topics again (and again) in the future.

Trying to figure out how many dominoes it takes to cover the surface of an individual white board.

Comparing the weights of various items using a balance scale.

Trying to efficiently count a large number of items.

Homework
Reading ~ Read a good book or two.
Math ~ Home Link 5.4 Counting Coins

Introduction to Addition of Two-Digit Numbers

In math today, we were introduced to addition of two-digit numbers. We did this by using our base-10 blocks. We created silly stories about animals and how much they would weigh together. Then we represented the weight of each animals with base-10 blocks and added the blocks together. We did not use regular math notation for this yet. We are working on building a deep understanding of place value and how addition works and then we will learn how to write it in symbols (25 + 36 = 61) at a later time. (Some children may begin using the symbols now. It just depends on how ready they are for that step.) Check out the pictures below for some examples.

You will notice that your child's homework is still adding only 1-digit numbers. Our homework is always related to what we do in class but is never as challenging. We want homework to be an easy review of skills for students. Eventually, you will see some of the 2-digit problems showing up on the homework - once we have had more experience working this type of problem. You can always increase the challenge of your child's homework with problems on the back of the page if you would like.

This is a way that you can draw the blocks to use this system at home.

Homework
Reading ~ Read a good book or two.
Math ~ Home Link 5.5 Domino Addition

Library
We have library tomorrow. Please help your child remember to return his or her library books.

Patriotic Symbols

When we write our Expeditions, there are often standards that don't "fit" into either our Social Studies or Science Expedition. We still learn about these standards but we do it as a "stand alone" unit. This week we started one of our "stand alone" units. It is on civics standards. We are taking a look at some of the patriotic symbols of the United States. We will also look at a few famous Americans and some patriotic holidays. Each year, the first graders are always fascinated by this unit. It only lasts a couple of weeks but we enjoy it while it lasts. Below are some of the resources we are using for this unit.

Shiny
This week we will also begin taking turns bringing home, Shiny the Kangaroo, our gift from Mrs. Price's class in Australia. Each child will have a day to bring Shiny home and write a story of his adventures (real or make-believe) with that child. Shiny will have his own book to record the stories in or your child could choose to write a blog post about it instead (or they could do both). Be on the look out for Shiny and his notebook in his black bag.

Homework
Reading ~ Read a good book or two.
Math ~ Home Link 5.3 Relation Symbols

Welcome Back!

Dear Crew,
It will be time to come back to school tomorrow. Look at the book collections I have gathered for us to look at when we do get back to school - Fly Guy and Little Critter books. I think you will really like them!

Other things to look forward to include: We will have Music this week. Mr. Bill and some of his friends will be coming to our classroom once a week to work with us after break. We will begin to learn some very basic coding/computer programing next week.

We have some cool building tools in our Build and Create station right now.

We also still have our Australia station to explore.

Finally, we will be starting something new during our Expedition time. I will tell you all about it tomorrow.

I don't know about you but I am excited to get back to school! See you soon!
Love,
Ms. Jill