Sterling's Snippets: February 2019

It has been a busy few weeks in 1st grade with the 100th Day and Valentine's Day! We even squeezed in a Raider Reward Celebration! Ask your 1st grader if they have earned Raider Reward slips. Students are working hard to be safe, respectful and responsible in our classroom and surrounding areas of the school.

Valentine's Day Breakfast

The 100th Day of School was a blast! While students felt as though they weren't working on their learning, tons of practice was taking place! The 100th Day allowed us great opportunity to practice the 4 C's: creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication. In spite of a weather related delay, it was a wonderful celebration of learning!

Have you been busy reading for the Reading Medalist Program? We are nearing the half-way point of the program and would like to see all students at a minimum of 25 books. I have noticed that some students have not turned in any medalist forms. If you have lost your packet or need help selecting books for your child to read, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. We want to make sure that each student earns a medal at the ceremony in May.

Star Student

Gunnar was our Star Student a few weeks ago in 1st grade. Gunnar also celebrated a birthday during his time as assistant teacher. Gunnar's favorite color is camouflage and he is excellent at art. When he grows up he wants to be an art teacher.

A Peek at Our Week

Reading: Students are becoming more and more confident readers in 1st grade. Now, more than ever, reading at home is essential. This week in phonics, students will begin to learn about more complex vowel teams such as /ee/ and /ea/. Through practice in our reading and in games, students will become more confident in these complex patterns. Additionally, many of their spelling sorts will practice these skills.

Writing: Students wrapped up opinion writing this week with a culminating project. A copy of this project will be available during conferences. We will dig back into narrative writing this week. Students will practice zooming in on their topics and ordering their story parts using transition words.

Science: In science students are learning about rocks and minerals. We used cookies as a model to dissect minerals from a rock. We will complete a rock investigation this week. If you happen to have a rock visible outside, please send it to school with your child (I realize we have lots of snow on the ground! :)).

Math: In math students will begin to explore numbers through place value. This week we will work hard to understand the teen numbers using manipulatives. In small group math students are working hard on differentiated activities to support their structuring of numbers. Students will play games such as Make 5/10/20 and Tenzi during Math Workshop.