Welcome to 2013. This year will be jammed packed with fun activities and you will see your child’s progress begin to zoom like a rocket taking off. I can hardly wait.
In the past few days I have started to ramp up the adding and subtracting activities in class. As part of our Common Core Curriculum, 1st graders need to be fluent in adding and subtracting 0-20. So please continue to use the shake and take games that we made in the classroom in the fall. I will be sending home more flashcards to add to the game. Also I am asking the children to start to mentally think of the sums and differences. Not all are ready to put away the fingers or manipulatives to count with and I understand that this will take time but please continue to practice daily at home. It is an important skill to master.
January also brings new reading and writing units of focus. We are learning how to write “How to” books in Writer’s Workshop. Our first attempt to write came by way of a very yummy and sticky activity. We made smores in class using the microwave. Who knew.. smores by microwave. It was a neat hands-on, brains growing lesson. We saved half of the smore to go home and show you. Over the weeks your child will learn to write their own how to books of their own topics.
In reading we are now focusing on informational texts (non-fiction). So far we have sorted non-fiction vs. fiction and also learned the impact of print in text. We found various types of print in our book bins.
This week the students have also been experimenting with the cold. We have placed a cup of water outside our window and check it to see if it has frozen. This daily, and sometimes bi-hourly, checkup also reinforces temperature and thermometer readings too. In addition, I have stressed to the students that we need to dress appropriated for the season. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for outside recess too.
Speaking of winter and cold weather… next week’s theme is snow.
