*scroll down for the most current monthly information!*

Welcome to Grade 1
In September, we're Learning to Learn

In these first weeks of school, we'll be doing what I like to call 'Learning to Learn', where we settle in to new routines and begin to build our class community through various activities, like reading together, playing together, spending time outdoors, meeting as a class to chat and listening to each other. It's through this variety and repetition that we'll establish our core classroom routines and expectations. It's so important to become aquainted with our classroom and each other in this new grade one context. I'm enjoying getting to know each of these kids and how they learn best so I can support them this year. 

As part of our first unit of inquiry called Who We Are, we'll be exploring our rights and responsibilities as members of our grade one class and thinking about all the ways our choices and behaviour can impact others. It's through these discussions that we'll build our Essential Agreements and start the year off with a clear set of expectations for everyone. We structure our agreement with the headings: Respect Ourselves, Respect Others and Respect our Environment with lots of discussion about examples for each section. It's with these agreed upon expectations that we can find the all-important balance between fun and focus as we start our learning journey together in grade one. 

Here's an overview of our Who We Are unit (early September to mid October): 

Central Idea: We all have rights and responsibilities in the community of our classroom.

Key Concepts we're focusing on: Perspective, Responsibility, Causation 

Approaches to Learning (Transdisciplinary Skills) we're focusing on: Self-Management Skills, Social Skills and Thinking Skills. 

Learner Profile traits we're focusing on: Reflective and Inquirer

Subject Connections: Social Studies, Language Arts, Health

In math we'll be reviewing our KG learning about patterns in math and building on those skills with various manipulatives in our classroom (pattern blocks, cubes, links, etc.) and we'll develop our skills with identifying and continuing number patterns. Next, we'll begin our focus on number sense. We'll by thinking about how we talk about numbers (greater than/less than, even/odd, single-digit/double-digit, etc.) and develop our skill and understanding with related learning (number sense games, open-ended math talks, etc.). Towards the end of September, you'll start to see related activities come home as homework games or worksheets. 

In language arts, we'll be developing our Daily 5 skills and introducing the 'how and why' we Read to Self and Read to Someone in order to develop our skills. We're working to further develop our stamina while reading and writing every day. 

October 2025

In Math this month, we're continuing to focus on our development of Number Sense. We're exploring how we talk about numbers through various concepts like: less than/greater than, even/odd, one more/one less, etc. Keep an eye out for homework that relates to our classroom learning each week. I've also been posting related games and activities that can complement homework on the Homework Help part of this website. Later in the month, we'll explore our knowledge of 2D and 3D shapes and related concepts up until the winter break. 

In Language Arts, we've been enjoying seeing our reading stamina grow each week and we've gotten really good at choosing good fit books so we can make the most of our Read to Self and Read to Someone time during Daily 5. We've been working hard during Word Work (spelling skills) time and we're gaining in confidence when stretching out the sounds we hear in words we want to use in our writing.  

Our Who We Are Unit of Inquiry is coming to a close and we'll be starting our Where We Are in Place and Time unit of inquiry soon. Details to follow! 

Here's an overview of our Where We Are in Place and Time unit (late-October to early December.): 

Central Idea: Looking back through history shows us how communities have changed over time. 

Key Concepts we're focusing on: Function, Change, Connection

Approaches to Learning (Transdisciplinary Skills) we're focusing on: Research, Social, Communication

Learner Profile traits we're focusing on: Inquirer and Thinker

Subject Connections: Social Studies, Language Arts, Math, Art 

November and December 2025

In Math this month, we've completed our unit about Number Sense and I have a good sense of their understanding of all related concepts. We've begun a short unit about the features of 2D and 3D shapes and the kids have been enjoying the hands on activities on offer so far! Keep an eye out for homework that relates to our classroom learning each week and any related online games will be added to the homework help page of this site. 

In Language Arts, I've seen so much growth in reading and writing skills this term! They have been so much more able to focus on their reading during Daily 5 and their confidence is growing by the day. Some of them need a nudge to challenge themselves and to pick better fit books, however! 

Our unit of inquiry continues to be about Where we are in Place and Time  and they've continued to enjoy discussing the photos we've got around the room that show how communities used to meet thier needs, get around, the clothes they used to wear, how cars used to look, etc. We've been choosing photos that we are curious about and writing/drawing about what we see, think and wonder about particular photos. They've had the opportunity to share their understanding and questions with each other and they're enjoying reading books and watching short videos about how life used to be in the past.

We're starting to understand more about what has changed in the past in terms of businesses, jobs and our general environment. It's led to conversations about what we think the future might be like in these ways and how we might be different ourselves. We created individual 'time capsules' and wrote about and measured ourselves so our older selves could look back on it in the future. Keep an eye out for our (Pringles can) time capsules and keep them in a safe place for years to come! 

*Updated: December 18th

January and February 2026

In Math, we're digging into Addition and Subtraction and we're developing mental math strategies to help solve problems with smaller numbers efficiently.  We are also exploring the tools that help our strategy development along, like using numberlines to 'count on' or 'count back' or base 10 blocks, counting cubes and even our fingers. The goal is to develop confidence in mentally and efficiently solving basic addition and subtraction equations, but for many of us in Grade One, there are baby steps involved and the skill will continue to get worked on in Grade Two.

In our new unit of inquiry, we're learning about the value of teamwork and how it plays a role within the jobs we know in our community. Does your job rely on teamwork in a way that our Grade Ones would easily understand? Maybe you'd have some insights to share with us? Let me know! Our central idea is: When we work together on a shared goal, our community gets stronger. The key concepts that focus the learning are: function, connection and causation. The Learner Profile traits we'll be focusing on are: communicator, knowledgeable and principled. The Approaches to Learning (skills) we're focusing on are social and self-management skills. We'll use the skills we've learned to work together to create a cardboard arcade in our classroom. Stay tuned for information about that! We're hoping to get it done before our Student-Led Conferences on March 18th, but these weather-related delays might make that challening!  

In Language Arts, I'm proud to report such improvement in our writing skills! I notice many more of our Grade Ones are willing to add to what they've written and explain things more fully (telling more about their weekend, for example). One-on-one, we've been developing our editing skills together and that's going to be a major focus this term. 

Updated February 24th 

March 2026

The best part of our How We Organize Ourselves unit of inquiry has begun and we're putting our teamwork learning to good use in the creation of our very own Cardboard Arcade. Stay tuned for details! (Update March 1st)

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We are learning that great teamwork is easy to understand in theory but when we apply what we've learned and try to be both leaders and followers, be flexible about what we planned and pictured, it's actually quite difficult! They've been incredibly reflective about their strengths and challenges when working with a partner or in a small group, and they've grown so much as a result. On SLC day, we're proud to show you our cardboard creations, which is the culmination of all we've been learning about teamwork! 

In language arts this past week, we have been working on our comprehension skills while reading Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato (leading up to St. Patrick's Day). We're thinking about cause and effect as it relates to the story and in our own experiences and writing about what we understand. We continue to read every day in a variety of ways. 

In math, we're going to start our place value unit soon and there will be homework activities going home/assigned on Splash Learn that will reflect our in-class learning. 

(Updated March 19th)

April 2026

We're back at school now after what I hope was a lovely break for everyone and we are doing our best to hit the ground running as we are already half-way through April!  

In Language Arts, we're developing our skills in brainstorming our writing ideas and then building on our ideas in complete, varied sentences (we call them 'super sentences'). We continue to develop our editing skills, particularly with capitalization and punctuation. This week we're writing about our Spring Break and trying to include interesting details. In word work, we're still working on our spelling skills with r-controlled vowels like -ir in stir, -or in snore, -ar in spark, etc. and we're beginning to think about vowel teams that make long vowel sounds (-ai in chain, -ay in play, -ee in been, -oa in throat, for example). Related games to practice learned skills will continue to be sent home weekly. Later this month, we'll revisit our classroom rules and expectations for respectful, kind, safe behaviour at school and that will be a focus of a writing session as well. With the end of the year so close, we want to be sure to that what remains is full of positive and fun learning engagements before they're really ready for Grade Two.

In Math, we're continuing to explore place value using base-10 blocks and smart board manipulatives. We'll continue with activities that help us compare numbers through the lense of place value, with some of us feeling most comfortable working with two-digit numbers and others already comfortable working with three-digit numbers. They'll all get the chance to solve a math mystery using their place value skills, which I know they'll enjoy. We might also send some of it home as homework so they can show you as well. Keep an eye out for it! 

Our How the World Works Unit of Inquiry is well underway and the kids are loving the hands on potential already. 

Our central idea is: We make observations and collect evidence to understand how things work.

To start the unit off, we're thinking about what science is, what scientists do and how we are scientists as a result in the curiosity we show in our day to day lives.  

The questions we'll be focusing on are: What is data? How can we record and analyze data? How can we use what we've learn to find out more? 

The Learner Profile traits we'll focus on are: Inquirer and Thinker

Our Key Concepts are: function, connection and causation.

The Approaches to Learning we're focusing on are: Research Skills and Social Skills 

And we're applying what we're learning already! You may recall the plant that appeared to be at death's door during our Student-Led Conferences? Many of the kids wanted to share their hypothesis with you about whether or not the plant would survive. We've expanded our thinking to ask questions about what might have made the plant sick and what might help...and for the last two weeks, we've been testing out the effect of a grow light. Stay tuned! With our magnifying glasses, we may have seen a tiny bit of green returning...

We'll also be learning about our senses through various activities and investigations and later, we'll conduct experiments where we will make a hypothesis and record our observations and conclusions. 

May 2026

And here comes the last stretch of the school year! May already. (How?!)

In Math, we're moving on from Place Value in the coming week and we'll begin to explore Measurement in a variety of hands-on activities that relate to ourselves and the items we see in our classroom. We'll explore time, length and capacity, and we'll make connections with our science-focused unit of inquiry as well when we're investigating different things and need to measure exact time or our materials in relation to our experiments. 

We've continued on with our unit of inquiry that focuses on being scientists in how we ask questions, test things out, make observations, record our data and make connections about how things work. We'll also introduce a new unit to complete simulaneously as it is a Language Arts based unit under the theme How we Express Ourselves. We'll explore a variety of authors and illustrators and learn about how they express their ideas and feelings similarly or differently from each other.