Thanksgiving and More
Good morning Firstie Families! It has been a couple of weeks since our last blog post and so I want to update you on all of the things that have been happening in our class.
Math:
We are working hard at solving addition and subtraction problems with unknown partners and totals. Our focus on this current unit is solving both equations and story problems within 10 that have unknown numbers in all parts. We are learning to use context clues in the story problems to determine if they are asking us to add or subtract. We are also working hard at relating addition to subtraction and using addition to help us solve subtraction equations. You can watch this short video to get a good picture into our math lessons! Pause the video throughout and ask your child to show you the strategies they are using to solve the problems!
Reading Skills:
We have been learning the spelling code for the magic_e. We have been having a lot of fun changing our short vowel sounds to make the vowels say their names in words that we are reading. You can watch this short video to practice (this is often a request every day we practice our magic_e code)!
During skills, we also read stories every day that apply all of the spelling codes we have learned so far. These stories also include tricky words we have learned. These tricky words are words that do not follow a normal spelling pattern/code. They are words that we just simply have to memorize. The more practice we have with these words the more we will remember them. We enjoy doing tricky word practice every morning as part of our morning routine!
Knowledge:
Before Thanksgiving break we wrapped up a unit called Similar Stories, Different Lands. We heard multiple versions of 3 different stories and took time to compare and contrast them. We had a lot of fun listening to the familiar Little Red Riding Hood story and then hearing two others that were similar in some ways, yet very unique as well. At the end of this unit, we took an afternoon to complete a fun STEM challenge where we got to take on the task of trying to design and build a basket for Little Red to deliver cookies/cakes to her grandmother. Our friends worked with a partner to design and create their basket, fill it with 50 cubes (if the cubes didn't fit or stay in the basket they had to redesign their work) and then walk 120 steps to see if their basket would hold.
The class had a super fun time working together, using their engineering minds and designing, building and problem solving!
This week we have started a new unit in Knowledge that is all about The New Nation - American Independence. We are getting to learn a lot of new information about how our country was formed. So far we have heard about Christopher Columbus, the original 13 colonies, The Boston Tea Party, The Shot Heard Around the World and The Declaration of Independence. We have also been able to watch some extension videos made by the Liberty Kids that talked about the same information!
Friends-giving:
On Tuesday, the 21st, we were able to celebrate a First Grade Friends-giving. We had been talking about many reasons to be thankful and had been reading many stories about the first Thanksgiving and so we celebrated with a Friends-giving Feast of our very own. We are so grateful to all of the parent volunteers who came in to help, as well as everyone who donated food to make our feast a success. Without your support and involvement this would not have been possible. You can see the fun we had below:
Genius Hour:
We have missed a couple of week of Genius Hour due to not having school on Friday or having assemblies. We were excited to get back to our Friday morning routine and get onto SeeSaw for a fun activity. We have been talking about ways that we can be kind to others - always a good reminder right?! To start our morning we listened to the story The Invisible Boy by Trudi Ludwig.
After listening to the story and talking about how the boy in the story felt, we came up with ways that we can be kind to others and why that is important. Next, our friends went onto SeeSaw and each one of them uploaded ideas of ways that they can be kind to others. Make sure to visit your child's account from home to see what they said! If you need another login for your child's home account let me know, as I would be happy to send home another code!
Looking Ahead:
There are a few things to look forward to as we move into December (how is it December already?!):
*Christmas Concert: Our K-2 concert will be on Monday, December 10th at 7:00. Please drop your child off at the High School Choir room at 6:45 and they can be picked up from the same location when the concert is over.
*Project Christmas: We are having penny wars in our classrooms. Each classroom is raising money for Project Christmas during the month of December. If you have spare change that you would like to send in with your firstie, please consider doing so! All of the money raised will go toward helping children in our community during the holidays! Our fourth graders will be collecting all of the change and going shopping to buy hats, gloves and mittens for students in need!
*Santa Shop: Santa Shop will be open for business December 12th and 13th. Every item in the shop will cost $2.00. Your child can bring in their money and go shopping for family members for Christmas. This is a great way for them to pick out personal items for family members that won't break the bank! They will be able to wrap the presents and then take them home to put under the tree! If you are willing to be one of Santa's Helpers and volunteer in our Santa Shop please let me know! Our PTO is also looking for donations of bows, which can be sent in any time!
*Class Book Exchange: Be on the lookout on Monday for information about our Christmas Book Exchange. This will be happening as part of our Holiday Class Celebration on December 21st!
*Our homepage will be updated this weekend with important dates for December! Make sure to check back there for important information!
