We have a busy week before our holiday break. We hope to wrap up our literacy units and our science unit on light and sound. When we return next year (!), we will start non-fiction reading and writing and a new science unit on earth structures and processes.
Friday, December 20th:
Friday, 12/20/19, is our last day before our holiday break. We will celebrate with pajama day and a movie. We will have regular recess on Friday, and children must wear shoes at school, so please make sure your child does not wear PJs with built-in socks as they tend to be uncomfortable in shoes and boots. No slippers, blankets or stuffed animals either please. Your child does not have to wear his/her pajamas to school. Some kids choose to wear hoodies and athletic pants or sweatpants. Regular clothing is fine too, of course!
This year, Harmony House will show the movie Frozen. The students at WCS will perform the play Frozen in the Spring so we are excited to be able to discuss the similarities and the differences between a movie and a play.
Literacy:
The students are in the midst of practicing their Reader's Theater scripts. They are doing a great job taking turns reading out loud, with expression and fluency! They are using props to indicate their different parts and they are all getting more and more comfortable reading out loud.
Our small moment stories are done and we are so excited to get them ready for Reading Restaurant now. Our last instructional focus was upon sound words and how authors use different text features to show sounds.
We read the book "The Listening Walk" by Paul Showers. As I read the book to the students, we looked at the pages on the smart board so we could all see how the author presented each sound by changing the font, the direction of the text or the size of the letters.
Lastly, the students used sound words in their own stories! They did an amazing job throughout this process! They are so kind to each other and show collaboration and patience every day.
We also finished our read aloud about Helen Keller. The students learned about her incredible life and hardships, growing up blind and deaf. We also learned that Helen did not give up. She persevered and her passion for learning has inspired millions across the world. We were inspired too.
Math:
First grade mathematicians explored more data collection. The students learned about bra graphs and pictographs while finding ways to calculate "how many more/how many fewer" more efficiently. They also continued developing a deeper understanding of greater than, less than and equal to, when comparing two numbers. Lastly, we worked on counting forward and backward between a set of numbers, always crossing decades. We learned a new math word too; decuple. Ask your child to explain what this is. Lastly, we had a special buzzy celebration with Ms. Fisher's first grade mathematicians. We played different math games together. The students learned more about subitizing on the ipads, and the practiced their addition strategies of 2 or 3 addends playing egghead or bump.
Technology:
Last week was Hour of Code. Hour of Code is a world-wide celebration of computer technology and coding for children. We kicked off this celebration with Ms. Wilson, looking at a map to see how many students around the world participate. Check this out: It is amazing and we were part of it. They were so excited to see us on that map too!
We used kodable and code.org
All passwords and usernames were sent home in your child's Friday folder. I hope you will support this incredible online learning at home. Coding teaches perseverance, problem-solving and patience. The students did great and were also motivated by the various levels and stars/points earned.
Have a great day today!
Best,
Maria
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