Current Month

March 15-19

Math Report: We ended a unit and started a new one! We are now working on data collection and representing data. We focused on sorting, categorizing, and comparing. We made comparison drawings and matched pairs when looking at two sets of categories. We sorted and organized bottle caps, beads, buttons, Lucky Charms, and bugs. We wrote our own comparison problems and illustrated them, and we had lots of fun!

Reading Report: We worked on strategies to understand books as we read. We learned to keep track of characters voices. We learned that readers don't just read words, but they understand words too. We learned that when we come across a word we don't know, try to replace the word with one we do know to see if it makes sense. We also mark it with a post-it or write down in our notebooks to make sure to come back. We also worked on acting out our stories to get a better sense of what the characters are feeling. Then we ended the week with our literature circles!

Theme Week!: We also had theme week this week where students practiced the Design Thinking model. Students were tasked with identifying a problem within the Roycemore community and create an invention to solve that problem. We solved problems like messy cubbies, walking to get paper from the hallway printer, messy floors after lunch, and staying 6 feet during the pandemic. For the messy cubbies there were unique organizers created. For the printer paper, drones and robots were created to pick up the paper and bring it back to the classroom, for the messy floors mops that use no water were created, and finally robots that grab people to keep them 6 feet and detectors to notify you when too close, were modeled to solve the 6 feet issue. Lots of creators, innovators, and questioners were among us in the first grade classroom. It was so much fun!

March 8-12

Math Report: This week in math we worked on adding and subtracting decade numbers. We introduced the hundreds chart as a new tool. We noticed patterns within the hundreds chart and worked as a team to use the chart for adding and subtracting tens. We played games like Leap Frog, Guess How Many, and One More Ten More, to reinforce this skill. We read books like Chicka Chicka 1,2,3 by Bill Martin, Jr. and Michael Sampson and 100 Hungry Ants by Elinor J. Pinczes to demonstrate composing and decomposing 100.

Reading and Writing Report: In reading we are still keeping track of what is happening in our stories as we read. We are learning to use tools like making movies in our mind, acting out the stories, and remembering not just the characters in stories but also noticing time and place. We are also continuing our practice with literature circles where we are learning to discuss our books. In writing we continued our revisions!

Thematic Unit Report: We have concluded our Ancient Egypt Unit with wonderful Expert Beetle Presentations and detailed models of beetles. I am impressed with students' representations of their understanding of scarab beetles in ancient Egypt. They had fun learning about how the ancient Egyptians used scarab beetles to help guide and protect their dead in the afterlife, how the scarab beetle design was used for seals and stamps in written documents, many pharaohs wore jewelry with scarab beetles as a major component of the design, and how the Dung Beetle represented the Sun God, Ra rolling the sun across the sky.

More Fun Pictures!

March 1-5

Math Report: This week in math we worked on number stories with teen numbers. We wrote our own teen number stories and will publish them for our classroom to use for years to come. We also introduced multiple addends which was a cinch for this group! We also looked at numbers in other languages and a few students got to share their language expertise. We then examined how some languages use place value to define numbers (Spanish and French) and some do not (Hindi, English, and Polish). We also played some new games including a matching game for written numbers, numerals, and ten sticks and circle drawings.

Reading and Writing Report: In Reading this week we worked on new tools for understanding the meaning of our stories. We revisited rereading, reading smoothly, solving tricky words, and keeping track of the stories as we read (since so many of us are reading chapter books now!). Then ended the week with our literature circle book discussions. In writing workshop we wrote a story as a class about a way to solve a recess issue appropriately, and we worked on revising. We thought about adding dialogue, making sure our stories have good leads, and used a new writing checklist to keep us on track!

Thematic Unit Report: We are finishing up our beetle building and next week we will finish our expert presentations! The beetles are incredible so far!

More Fun in First Grade