Family Newsletter

Dear Families,
I hope you had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the sunny, warm weather!  It is hard to believe that we only have this week before our Spring break, which starts on Monday, April24th!

Science:
The students continued learning about the Solar System last week.  We continued to explore shadows, which encouraged the children to think about the sun and the earth's rotation in space.  We used flash-lights and the children created shadow puppets.

We also created a paper gnome, which we placed in a sunny spot in our classroom window.  As a class, we are tracking its shadow.  The children also brought home their own paper gnomes for tracking shadows.  This is voluntary.

Lastly, we created a mural for the classroom showing the phases of the moon.  We will continue our explorations and inquiries about the moon this week. 

We watched some videos about a Canadian astronaut named Chris Hadfield so we could learn more about space and the lack of gravity in space.  Here is a link to some of his videos which I placed on our wiki.

Literacy:
The students continued reading non-fiction books in our reading groups last week.  We will switch over to fictional stories in the upcoming week, focusing on various comprehension strategies for deeper understanding but also fluency as we will start a new unit on poetry in writing.

Math:
First grade mathematicians are working so hard on the concepts of equality.  They are currently learning that two expressions can be equal in number but not necessarily the same.  For example, 3+1=2+2 in numbers but if we look at these parts in terms of unifix cubes, crackers or any visual model, they do not look the same.  Ask your child to explain.  
First grade mathematicians also explored 3D shapes through various stations as well.  Half of the class brought home modeling clay for further explorations at home.  The other half will bring home their modeling clay on Friday this week.

Have a great week.
Best,
Maria