Happy Snow Week!

I hope everyone is enjoying this week of snow as much as these first graders are on the playground!

We wrapped up our How To writing unit this week. On Friday we shared our published books with our kindergarten friends!

Next up in writers' workshop: persuasive letter writing!

In science we used our knowledge of balance to make mobiles!

In math we finished up unit 5.  Our next unit will focus on:

-Subtraction!
-Fact families
-Fact triangles
-The centimeter
-Quarters
-Digital clocks
-Using a reference book for math

Happy weekend, everyone!  Enjoy the snow!

First Grade Happenings...

Our week was short in order to honor the big dreams of Martin Luther King Jr.  Its only fitting that upon our return to school we celebrated MLK Jr. with a community meeting.  Students learned more about MLK Jr.'s childhood, courage, and life work.  They then had an opportunity to share their own dreams!

In math we've been learning math fact strategies to gain fact power!  So far we've practiced:
+0
+1
Doubles
Doubles +1
Friendly 10's

Students use color coded math fact cards to practice their addition skills and gain fact fluency.

In science this week, students had a chance to use all of the knowledge they've gained over the last couple of balance experiments to figure out a way to use wire and counterweights to make a pencil balance on it's point.  Here are some of the creative results!

Weekly Snapshots

Here are some snapshots and video from our week!

Students partnered up during writers' workshop and acted out each others' how-to books to help with the revision process.

We gained fact power by making math facts with dice.

Our balance experiments this week focused on the use of 

counterweights to make objects stable.

Happy New Year!

This first week of first grade in the new year proved to be one filled with lots of new beginnings.

We started off the week by creating a new set of classroom rules for 2015.  The students were completely in charge of the content and wording...I was merely the scribe.  Everyone seems very happy with the outcome.

Each student also created a new hope or dream for the second half of first grade.  Students were very thoughtful, taking the time to think about the thing they most want to achieve in the coming months.  They are now hanging in our classroom as a reminder of what each of us is working toward.

We started new reading and writing units as well!  Students are writing how-to books in writers' workshop, and are digging deep into nonfiction texts in readers' workshop.

In science we started our Balance and Motion unit.  In our first balance experiment, students discovered different ways to balance an oaktag crayfish on their fingers with and without counterweights!

Happy Holidays!

This week in first grade had a little bit of everything!

In word study, we've been learning about silent e.  Students have been spelling silent e words, sorting silent e words, and noticing silent e words in their reading.

We have started studying the traditions and holidays happening this time of year that focus on light.  On Wednesday, we were lucky enough to get a visit from Linnaea's mom, Kristin.  She shared the tradition her family takes part in each year on the winter solstice.  They make a bonfire and each family member throws an object into the fire that symbolizes something he or she would like to let go of in the new year.  Kristin made us a 'fire' so that we could try out this ritual as well!

We learned about Snowflake Bentley and then made our own snowflakes to decorate our classroom windows!

On Friday, Rowe School participated in the Hour Of Code.  Students had an introduction to computer science and used the app Kodable to practice basic programming.

*Finally, a reminder that next Friday 12/19 is PJ Day at Rowe School!  Please remember: stuffies, blankies, and other special items stay at home on this day.*

Welcome December (and chilly weather)!

We've been measuring EVERYTHING we can get our hands on this week!  Students have been using 12 inch rulers, 6 inch rulers, and tape measures to practice accurately measuring objects and body parts.  We've even done some estimating of object lengths to the nearest inch using terminology such as  about, almost, and between _____ and _____ inches.

In reading we are focusing on marking the pages in our books where we notice character feelings changing.  We're also beginning to work on reading fluency: sounding more like a storyteller and less like a robot when we read!

Our science and social studies unit on the Winter Solstice also began this week!  We've been reading lots of science books about the Earth's tilt, rotation, and orbit and doing some experiments with our bodies to better understand these complex concepts!

In writers' workshop we've started the publishing process for our realistic fiction unit.  Next week, we will celebrate the unit by sharing our published books with other first grade classrooms!

Out on the playground, students are having a blast playing in the snow.  Please remember that your child needs ALL winter gear in order to play in the snow:

BOOTS
SNOWPANTS
WINTER COAT
HAT
GLOVES

Please consider sending a pair of 'inside' shoes to leave here at school during the winter months.  Extra socks are also a good idea!