Thank you again for signing up to donate an item to our basket! If you have not done so already, please send your items in with your child!
Thank you! Miss Gleason & Ms. Colapietro Here is the link if needed:
0 Comments
Earlier this year, students began to explore concepts about water, water scarcity, and the water cycle. The students have been involved with reading many books, articles, as well as conducting some of their own research and questions they have on the topic. Collaborating writing, art, as well as music the first graders wanted to take their learning to the next level. They began to explore poetry. They listened to an array of different water sounds and described what they heard and made connections using their senses. Each student wrote their own pieces about what water means to them.
The process continued, when a parent sent to me information about ASAP. The After School Arts Program ®, which appreciates the arts and the hallmark of both a complete person and a healthy society. ASAP's mission is to enable children to engage in artistic and cultural activities that otherwise would not be available to them. They were seeking students who embraced this. All fourteen of our students entered their pieces to the 11th Annual Celebration of Young Writers on April 1st. ASAP received over 200 wonderfully written submissions for Celebrations of Young Writers. I would like to congratulate Francesca whose piece was selected to be highlighted at the event on June 4th. Congratulations to ASAP's 2016 selected young writers, as well as the whole class who worked so hard! All of their pieces will be on display at our Region 6- Celebration of Learning on Thursday, May 26th! It is almost May! And there is a lot coming up! Take a look below to see!
Screen Free Week Monday, May 2nd- Friday, May 6th! Check your folders for some great ideas! Thursday, May 5th- Taco Fiesta Night Wednesday, May 18th- K-2 grade Field Trip Thursday, May 19th- L.I.F.E. Event at GCS Thursday, May 26th- Celebration of Learning at Wamogo Wednesday, June 1st- Field Day! Wednesday, June 8th- Field Day! (Rain Date) Wow! I can not believe the month of April is almost over! It has been been such a smooth transition back into the groove of the classroom after our Spring break!
This week students moved into the third bend of the opinion writing unit. Our lesson started off with a connection towards going to a doctor and how they have a clipboard and a long checklist to take notes about our eyes, ears, height, weight, etc. The doctor, or even dentist, is very thorough and they ask us questions about our ears, or nose, and write notes based on how we answer. Well, in writing we can use our writing partners as another tool to give us a writing checkup with our pieces! We have been using our anchor charts, as well as writing checklists to read our pieces and fix up- adding a note- areas we can make better. We called it a "writing prescription!" The Standards for Mathematical Practice, which are integrated throughout our math mini-lesson content instruction, as well as math workshop time require students to explain their thinking when making sense of a problem. The first graders have been going deeper into their thinking and this week have made huge gains! They have been constructing viable arguments and critiquing the reasoning of others during their latest performance task "The Wheel Shop."
The ability to express their thinking and record their strategies in written form is critical for today’s learners. According to Marilyn Burns, “Writing in math class supports learning because it requires students to organize, clarify, and reflect on their ideas--all useful processes for making sense of mathematics. In addition, when students write, their papers provide a window into their understandings, their misconceptions, and their feelings about the content.” (Writing in Math. Educational Leadership. Oct. 2004 (30).) The use of math journals is an effective means for integrating writing into the math curriculum. Math journals can be used for a variety of purposes. Recording problem solving strategies and solutions, reflecting upon learning, and explaining and justifying thinking are all uses for math journals. Additionally, math journals can provide a chronological record of student math thinking throughout the year! This week we have been focusing on the math standard: 1.OA.2- Solve word problems that call for addition of three whole numbers whose sum is less than or equal to 20.
We have been focusing on the following essential questions: How do I choose the most efficient strategy to solve a problem? How do I represent the problem I am trying to solve? How do I use different expressions that represent the same quantity? One of the word problems we looked closely at this week was: Tables in the classroom It is time to do some math problems. The teacher puts three square tables in different parts of the classroom. One student can sit at each side of a table. How many students can sit around the tables? Show all your mathematical thinking. This week we have been working on comprehension. Students have been tackling word solving in the previous reading bends, but now students are being encouraged to read more for meaning.
We have been asking research questions to our partners, as well as ourselves. Questions such as: -What's going on in your book? - What is this book (or chapter) making you think right now? - Why? Or even pretending to be confused and asking... - Wait, I am not getting this. Are you? and if we don't get it we need to reread to understand it better. With our reading partners, as well as in our reading groups students have been playing "reporter". They have been asking each other what might happen next to understand more, checking that they get it, and making a movie to picture what's happening. |
Miss GleasonWhat we're learning in first grade. Students are also making comments in class! At home add to the posts, too. Archives
June 2017
Categories |