Time flies....we have only two more days before our Holiday break from school. Remember, Thursday is our last day (no school on Friday this week). We resume school again on Tuesday, January 3rd 2017.
Reading:
We will finish our last Kate DiCamillo book this week. We are currently reading a book about the character Baby Lincoln. In January, we will start exploring non-fiction books and the features commonly found in such books.
Writing:
All the students finished their small moment stories. This week, we worked more on creating titles and covers for our books. In January, we will start writing "All About" books. These books contain many non-fiction elements but they do not require any research. The children will choose a topic that they know a lot about and write about that over many pages. We will also explore content-specific vocabulary. If a child chooses to write about soccer, for example, some of those words might be cleats, shin-guards and goalie. The children will create their own glossaries and begin their books with a table of contents section. Stay tuned for more details. This is always one of their favorite writing units.
Math:
First grade mathematicians started some December problem-solving this week and they did an amazing job. We are currently tackling "some more" problems in math. These types of math problems are problems such as "Sara had 5 marbles. Lisa gave her some more. Now Sara has 14 marbles. How many marbles did Lisa give to Sara?" I hope you also received the math unit letter to parents, which was sent home in last Friday's folder. Thanks for supporting your child's math learning at home.
Social Studies:
We have our last Africa workshops tomorrow. All of the Harmony students rotated through 4 workshops. They learned about Africa's geography, weather, daily life and cultural celebrations and traditions.
Technology:
I added a gadget to the blog so you can sign up with your email if want to get an email reminder that I posted something new on the blog. Periodically, I send out reminders, especially if it is important that you all receive the same information quickly, such as when we have school-wide celebrations, etc, but if you enter your email to this gadget, which is located on the top right corner, right next to this letter, you will receive in your email updates that I posted something. Thanks Adam Deyo for telling me about this and for teaching me how to get it onto my blog!!! I hope this will be helpful to all.
Upcoming Events & Reminders:
- Our last day of school is PJ Day (no slippers and stuffed animals please). Harmony students will watch the movie "The Polar Express" and eat popcorn. Please bring in a ziplock bag with already popped popcorn if your child wishes to eat popcorn with the movie.
- We will start our Holiday celebration in the classroom around 1:45. Thank you to those who are donating sweets and treats for the children. If you wish to join us for some goodies, please stop by.
Best,
Maria
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