Collaboration, Communication & 4th Grade Buddies!

Good evening!  I hope you have had a joyous holiday celebrating togetherness with your loved ones.  A lot of exciting things have been happening in 1st grade lately, but if your kiddo is anything like mine, you hear nothing about school!  I feel like I am pulling teeth to hear what my son ate for lunch!  Perhaps this post will help generate conversation with your firstie!

Meet Sam!

Have you met Sam yet?  Sam has a pretty neat hairstyle that all of the 1st graders love to touch!  Thanksgiving must be the perfect holiday for Sam because he loves Deviled Eggs!  Sam has two big brothers and is an amazing friend.  Coincidentally, Sam was also this month's Character Champion!  Sam was caught helping numerous peers without being asked.  He always demonstrates the character traits that Mr. Carlson so passionately promotes at Washington.  It is students like Sam that make this school the great place that it is!  Keep up the great work, Sam!

It was also Ethan's big day on Thanksgiving!  Happy Birthday, Ethan!

Last week the 1st graders got a first hand experience in 21st Century skills with Mrs. Cain in the library!  Following several stories, students were greeted in the library to find out that their book for the day was locked in a box!  They had to communicate and work collaboratively to solve five clues to open the box.  The clues eventually opened 5 locks, and the students found their final book, The Reader. Thanks Mrs. Cain for this awesome experience.

The excitement continued when the 1st graders were introduced to their 4th grade buddy class.  This year, our class has joined forces with Mrs. Clarey's class for some activities to promote friendship.  Our first activity allowed for students to meet their buddy as well as read to one another.  It is so fun to see so many of my former students and how they have changed over the past four years.  I had this bunch of kiddos in kindergarten!

A Peek at Our Week

Reading: Students have been working hard to stretch and segment words to hear consonant blends.  We practiced our blends by playing "Blend It" with a partner.  Students are also learning about subjects and predicates and sentence structure.  

Math: In math students are working hard on addition number sentences.  Students are learning a variety of efficient strategies to solve their number sentences.  Our goal is fact fluency to 10 and an understanding of addition to 20.  We will begin subtraction soon!  

Science: We will begin a study of the seasons next week.  Students will work in their science journal and a flip-book to draw, write and describe the seasons.  

Upcoming Reminders

December 5: Holidays Around the World Donations Due (THANK YOU!)

December 9: Book Order's Due

December 11-17: Mrs. Sterling's class rings Salvation Army Kettle Bell

Artists in the Making

What a busy couple of weeks we have had in 1st grade!  I am so looking forward to visiting with you this week at Parent-Teacher Conferences.  I have been busy gathering information to share with you and am looking forward to CELEBRATING your child's individual achievement!

Our field trip the Plains Art Museum was a huge highlight of the week!  We had a great time on the bus, in the exhibit hall and in the creative art studio, making our penguins!  Those of you that participate in Remind should have received a cute text message photo of your 1st grader!  If you haven't signed up yet, please see me and I'll help you register!  In the meantime, check out these cute photos!

Meet Mason

Mason was our Star Student October 31-4 and is a shining example of what it means to be kind and caring.  Mason always wants to make sure everyone is happy and has a smile worth a million bucks!  After meeting Mason, you will quickly learn that he loves the color red, his dogs Loki and Sif and of course, his Mom and Dad and little sister, Claire.  Check him out below making his penguin!

Meet Iris

Iris was our Star Student this past week in 1st grade.  Iris leads by example in first grade, always staying focus and on task, wanting to learn.  Iris loves crafts, all subjects in school and her family of 6.  I think Iris may perhaps be a future teacher in the making!  She was quite the helper this week, even helping me check student word sorts.  Check her out below taking her job VERY seriously!

A Peek at Our Week

Reading: In reading we have been working hard to practice our standard, Key Ideas and Details, by asking and answering questions about texts, retelling stories, and describing the characters, setting and plot.  Students have learned about nouns, verbs and adjectives as well.  In phonics we are working on R blends.

Math: In math we are working on addition fact fluency to 10.  Students are learning how to make combinations and solve equations efficiently.  We will learn about Number Bonds next week through several hands on activities.  We made turkeys to show off our knowledge of combinations of 10!  

Writing: Students are learning how to add details to their small moment stories by using vivid verbs, transition words, feeling words, speech bubbles and more!  The students are really mastering the Revising and Editing table and are supporting one another nicely to make corrections to their writing.  I can't wait to share writing with you at conferences!

A story plan a student uses to craft her writing idea.

Students use post-it notes and red pens to revise and edit their writing with partners.

Anabelle and Alexis work to revise each other's pieces.

Science: In science we began our Earth science unit.  Students have learned about natural and man-made resources.  We learned about the importance of water on Earth and even created our own water cycle.  Thank goodness my experiment worked!

Upcoming Reminders

November 15, 17, 21: Parent Teacher Conferences

November 22: Spirit Day

November 23-25: No School (Thanksgiving Break)