Hello, Room 13 Families! 

Happy New Year! It has been so great to see everyone in the new year and I'm so thankful that our class has stayed pretty healthy despite a pretty rough cold and flu season. 

We enjoyed the sunshine and the break in the wintery cold weather this week. Your child made four new year's resolutions and they are hanging up in the classroom. You are welcome to come and peak at their work any time! We are working our way through the fourth Eureka Math module, we will be finishing our fifth unit in our Benchmark reading curriculum next week, and we started our study of the changes in the daytime sky and shadows in our Foss Science unit. Last week we painted a watercolor resist in MakerSpace and had fun doing different movement skills in Motor Skills. This week we had Art, PE, Library, and Music. 

Here are some of the learning topics that we discussed recently:

• We are in the midst of the fifth unit of our Benchmark Reading and Phonics curriculum. The fifth unit is entitled Technology at Work. Whole class and small group lessons and informational texts are focusing on:

  • • Technology and learning how tools are created and how they help people solve problems. (Ask your child if a pencil or a book is technology. Hopefully they say yes!)

    • Four Types of Sentences:  Declarative, Interrogative, Exclamatory, and Imperative

    • Using Contractions: It's, You're, We'll, I'm

    • Introduced Prepositions: above, below, behind, during, at, on, etc.

    • Focus sounds for the past two weeks: long i and long o, focusing specifically on the spelling of those sounds that end with a silent e. Examples:  ride, nose. Next week we will focus on the soft c and soft g sounds. Examples:  nice, cage
      
      

• In Math, we are in unit 4 of the Eureka math curriculum. Lessons are focusing on:

  • • Comparing numbers using the concepts of less than, greater than, and equal to

    • Addition of tens or ones to a two-digit number. There is an example of two different addition methods in the image to the left. Method A is "making a 10" by separating the 24 into 20+4 and then adding the 4 to the 6. Once you have "made a 10," you add it to the remaining 20. The final total is 30. Method B is to "count on" to solve. Start with 24 and draw 6 more. Count 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30. The final total is 30. 

• In Science, we are in our second (of three) units in the FOSS Science Curriculum. The title of the unit is "Changes in Our Sky." Last week we focused on our observations of the sky in the daytime and compared changes between morning and afternoon. This past week we focused on shadows created by the sun and we observed how they change during the day. Students noted that the sun starts low in the sky in the morning, goes higher in the afternoon, and lower in the evening, but on the opposite side of the sky as the morning. We describe the sun's position in our view of the sky as changing, but we make the distinction that it is not the actual sun that is moving since we revolve around the sun. Next week we will study temperature and how it changes during the day.

• In Social Studies, we learned about the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

• Every day, we discussed the importance of being aware of personal bubbles, staying focused on the speaker during class time (whether that is a teacher or a student), and sitting with a calm body while on the carpet in the front of the classroom. (Each student now has an assigned spot on a small colored star on the carpet in the front of the classroom.) 

On Friday afternoon, we taught about the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

• It is very important to me that students at this age understand that Dr. King is to be remembered for all that he accomplished. In my experience, young students get very focused on the way historical figures die and then they miss the true reason why history remembers these people. So in 1st grade, we do not discuss how he died. We keep that part of the discussion general and only say that he lived a long time ago and he has died. If questions about his death arise (none did this year), I direct the students to talk more with you at home so you can guide that discussion. If a student directly asks me if someone killed him, I say a comment like this: "Yes, there was someone who did not like what Dr. King was doing and he did take Dr. King's life. However, Dr. King would want us to remember him for all the good and important things he did to help spread kindness, not hate, and being inclusive of all people, so we will focus on that for now."

• This year, I read the story, My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. written by one of his children, Martin Luther King, III. It is a different way of looking at the events of Dr. King's life through the eyes of one of his children. There is a link to a read aloud of this story down below in the reference links section of this newsletter.

• We also watched a short video about Dr. King and then introduced the national monument in Washington, D.C. The short video is linked below.

• Ms. O led the class to ponder on Dr. King's famous I Have a Dream speech. The class wondered about what their dreams might be and then they wrote them down and drew a picture. Their dreams for a better world are on display in the classroom and you are welcome to visit and see them. 

The 100th Day of School is next week on January 27th. This past week, students were sent home with a 100th Day of School project. Students can start turning them in as soon as they are ready; no need to wait!

• Please work with your child to gather 100 small items to put in the ziploc bag that was sent home. You may use anything small enough to fit in the ziplock bag. Some suggestions are: macaroni, stickers, paper clips, rhinestones, buttons, beans!  Please no candy or other food items that mice would enjoy. Dried macaroni is okay.  

• Be sure and count the items with your child, put them into groups of ten and fives to practice skip counting.  Enjoy this fun project with your child.

• Bring your bag into school no later than January 27th! 

In the previous newsletter, I asked you to have conversations with your child regarding responsibility. It must have gone well since we are seeing an increase in students returning their Thursday envelopes and weekly Homework on Friday mornings. Please keep up the great work helping your child to become more independent and taking on more responsibility.

• Room for Improvement:
  We still have several students forgetting their library books each Thursday morning. Please keep those books in your child's backpack when they are not in use. If they read the books in the car, please help your child remember to pack the books back up when you reach your destination. Thank you!

• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: As part of our lesson, I read this book to the class. If you watch the read aloud video with your child, I did not read the last page, so you may choose to stop the video at 6:06. We also watched this short video. We stopped the video at 3:53.

• Classroom Wish List: From dry erase markers to outdoor seats for reading to pencils and baby wipes, take a look here at our Classroom Amazon Wish List. Feel free to share with others. Thank you!

• Volunteer Sign Up: Not sure where you can help? Take a look here at our volunteer opportunities on this sign up sheet. Thank you for your help! 

• Sartorette School Newsletter: Want more information about all the happenings at Sartorette? Click here for the most recent Sartorette School Newsletter.

• Old Room 13 Newsletters: Looking for a previous Room 13 Newsletter? Click the Newsletter Archive page.