April 2022

Week 31: April 18th-22nd, 2022

Math: This week, we represented two-digit numbers in more than one way based on place value. We learned that there are different ways to represent a two-digit number with tens and ones. The purpose of this lesson was for us to represent two-digit numbers with tens and ones in different ways and identify two-digit numbers when they are represented with different combinations of tens and ones. For example, we were invited to represent 94 with tens and ones in as many ways as we could and were asked to discuss how we knew that we found all of the ways. In another activity, we determined how many connecting cubes were in each "mystery bag" and how they were grouped, given clues based the number of tens and ones in each bag. We compared two-digit numbers that were represented in different ways. We used what we have learned about tens and the structure of two-digit numbers to compose or decompose tens to make sense of representations and compare. We considered two collections that were represented in different ways and determined which has more. Additionally, we compared numbers shown as different base-ten representations and wrote comparison statements using the symbols <, >, and =. We learned a new center called Mystery Number. In this center, we gave clues to help our partner guess a two-digit number. Next, we explored quantities of objects in order to develop a sense of how big various two-digit numbers are and to leverage our understanding of tens and ones to practice counting methods.

Language Arts: In reading workshop we worked together during partner reading to cheer each other on, to track what is happening in the stories, to figure out tricky words, and played lots of games to practice these skills! We had time to read independently, read with partners, and to work in our reading groups. We ended the week working in our literature circles, a current favorite! In writing workshop, we continued our work with poetry--thinking about hearing the music in our poems. We practiced with rhythms, rhymes, line breaks, commas, and even practiced reading out loud to one another.

Integrated Unit: We took one more needed day to finish our nests. And they look wonderful!! Ms. Lorenz, our wonderful art teacher, is working on a display combining her work on drawing birdhouses with our work of our nests! Beaks are our next focus. We started with a challenge to think about why birds have differently shaped beaks. What is useful for them and why and what types of beaks work better for different types of food gathering. Next week we will create our own bird beaks using recycled materials.

Lego Club, Show-and-Tell, 3rd Grade Wax Museum: We had lots of fun this week! We were challenged to create a garden with an animal visitor for Lego Club. We were such super first-graders last week that we earned a show and tell! And we had the opportunity to visit the 3rd graders presenting their biography projects in their Wax Museum.

P.E.: Yoga Stations!

Week 30: April 11th-14th, 2022

Math: This week, we learned the symbolic notation for greater than and less than. We observed that the larger open space of the symbol faces the greater value. We intentionally related each symbol to the language ”greater than” or “less than”. We read comparison statements aloud to determine which statements were true and which were false. Writing our own comparison statements was another task. In the first activity, we played a game in which they make the greatest number possible by strategically placing digits in the tens place or ones place. Comparison statements were made true using <, >, or =. In another lesson, we compared and ordered numbers up to 99. Ordering numbers requires us to apply what we learned about comparing two numbers, and allowed us to see that a number can be greater than one number, while less than another. As we reason about how to place numbers and explain how we order numbers, we deepened our understanding of the structure of whole numbers and the base-ten system. We began comparing and ordering familiar representations such as base-ten diagrams, words, and expressions that show the value of tens and ones. These representations allowed us to use the value of the digit in the tens and ones places to help us put the quantities in order. Next, we compared numbers less than 99 to the benchmark numbers 5, 10, 50, and 99. We learned a new center game called Get Your Numbers In Order in which we organized, counted, and represented collections, and wrote numbers.

Language Arts: We started the week with reading a book, Birds by Kevin Henkes. We were then asked to visualize one of the images portrayed by the question, "What if birds could paint the sky with their tails?" This helped students think about ways words can inform the reader's imagery. It also sparked imagination and prepared us for our writing task of Bird Poems! We were challenged to ask questions, provide language that can support the reader to think differently about the world around them. To inspire more poetic language we read from Valerie Worth's poetry book, Animal Poems, and of course read the ones about birds! Later in the week during our reading workshop, we continued our understanding of becoming a boss of our own reading and learned that as readers grow stronger, readers need bigger tools. We learned that we have to think about what is happening in the story to figure our tricky parts in our books. We practiced this together by reading the story Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways by Laura McGee Kvasnosky. We then were asked to practice this strategy with partners and independently and we met in small groups to solidify this new skill. The week ended with our literature circles where we each read a new book about birds and practiced our learned strategies and continued practicing our book talking skills. It is also worth noting that a particularly observant student noticed a mistake in a book we read about birds! We read about birds that have gone extinct and the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker was mentioned, and one student raised his hand and shared that this bird is actually not extinct. He read this in a recent article! So we will be writing a letter to the publisher to have this corrected in the book! Way to go first graders!!

Integrated Unit: We have continued our work with nests. Due to the attention to detail of this group, we have not yet completed our nests and will need another week! We hope to finish them on Monday and start our exploration beaks later in the week. Lots of hard work has been put into the creation of these nests. Lego Club also included our work on birds and we were challenged to build our own birds!

PE: We practiced Hurdle Jumps, Shot Put, and Discus Throwing!

Week 29: April 4th-8th, 2022

Math: This week we created a collection with connecting cubes to represent a two-digit number and used what we learned in previous lessons to represent the collection in as many ways as we could. Our gallery walk was successful and we observed others' collections, represented the collections in as many ways as we could, and compared our representations with our partners. The purpose of this lesson was to write numbers to represent different base-ten representations including base-ten diagrams, _____ tens _____ ones, and expressions that show the value of the tens and ones digits. We also wrote two-digit numbers to match different base-ten representations. We learned a new center that provided practice counting and writing numbers up to 99. Another task we practiced was reasoning about the value of expressions where both addends are two-digit numbers; one addend is a multiple of 10 and the other is not. We used and explained methods that made sense to us and demonstrated what we understood about what the two digits in a two-digit number represented. Finally, we read a story by Steve Jenkins, Biggest, Strongest, Fastest and learned how to use comparative language to talk about the animals in the story. Then we compared numbers on spinners using the language “greater than” and “less than.” In the first activity, we represented two-digit numbers and then compared them. In the second activity, we made sense of and critiqued the way others used the digits in two-digit numbers to compare values.

Language Arts: This week, in reading, we continued to learn how to be a boss of our reading. We thought about ways to talk about books using phrases like, "I wonder..." or "I think..." We wrote our goals again, to think about our own reflections. Are we doing what we need to do, to be strong readers? We ended the week with literature circles and it was great fun to use our strategies to talk about books. In writing, we started our poetry unit! We thought about ways items reminded us of other things. So, with poets' eyes, we saw a pinecone in a new way--some say a water fountain, or a porcupine, or a tree! We then practiced with objects that we chose. We read poems about the ceiling and a pencil sharpener for inspiration!

Integrated Unit: We started our City Critters unit with learning about birds and how they build their nests! We watched videos of birds weaving, stomping, hanging, gathering. We read books about many different types of nests. Some look like gourds, some are like ovens, some are made completely out of mud. Some are teeny tiny, some are very large. We gathered materials, we observed birds outside, we thought about all the different ways birds might build their nests and with our own natural materials (and crafting materials) we are challenged to build a nest that demonstrates our understanding of different birds.

PE: Baton Relay Races!