We have had a great week in our classroom, with many new units starting.
In math, 1st grade mathematicians began a new unit on geometry. We will learn all about the different 2- and 3-dimensional shapes, their attributes and specific characteristics, such as edges, faces, and corners. We will also learn about how geometric shapes can be flipped, rotated and created by combining many other shapes. Please look for math homework again as the students will begin to bring that home in the Homework folders. Although our previous unit on penguins have come to and end, we hope that you still play and explore the many games and materials sent home to you. Our Digital Portfolio has also been updated with many new pictures from this wonderfully interactive and hands-on unit. Please visit our Digital Portfolio under “Best Practices in Math.” 2nd grade mathematicians have continued their work in structured math dyads and practiced the importance of listening and learning from our partners and friends in various discussion settings. They have also finished math problem-solving.
This week, Team Harmony began “Mad Minutes” in math. “Mad Minutes” are small, sequential mathematical probes into the different strands of math, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The students participate in the “Mad Minute” math probe inside the classroom a couple of times a week. They have 20 math problems to solve in one minute and they get corrected. If the student gets 20 correct, he/she leaps to the next step. There are 10 steps in each strand. We do the “Mad Minutes” to encourage and practice math fluency facts. Every week, your child will take home these math probes so you and your child can look over these together. Please practice these at home, if necessary and integrate math into your daily conversation with your child. We love these “Mad Minutes” in school and look forward to practicing our skills together. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.
We are also preparing for our new unit in science, which is going to be on the Rainforests around the world. Once again, the students will participate in team-wide workshops. Through rotations between the classrooms, the students will learn about the different types of rain forests, the vegetation and layers of the rain forests, and the animals and plants of the rain forests. Each student will also write a report on a rain forest animal. The students will research what “their” animal’s habitat, its food, how it takes care of its young, and how it survives in the wild. They will also have an opportunity to gather interesting facts about “their” animal. Some students have already decided which rain forest animal they wish to research. Please discuss this at home with your child. We will do all the research in school and write the report in school, but if your child wishes to share resources, such as internet web-sites, links, books, magazines and pictures, please bring them in. In school we have started our research in books and on the web-site www.enchantedlearning.com (there is a direct link to rain forest animals on the left, in green). I will add a new “Rain Forest” folder to our Team Wiki, so your child can access games and resources to help in this learning. It is being constructed still, so please visit the wiki in the next few days. Thank you.
In reader’s workshop, we have also started a new unit. Our new focus is non-fiction reading. The connections between reading and writing are very clear in non-fiction as we explore captions, headings, titles, labels, indexes and glossaries. Your child will take home non-fiction books for the next few weeks. When your child reads these at home, please discuss these features. How do headings and table of contents, for example, help us be more efficient readers? What is the purpose of photographs or charts?
In writer’s workshop, we have started our new narrative unit. This writing unit is based upon creative writing skills and imagination. The students love it! In these stories, we develop characters-characters with names and traits that make them real. We get to know them through their actions and through what they say. The students are writing conversation between characters now and have learned how to use effective dialogue and quotation marks to convey meaning. This writing unit will be part of our end-of-the-year Reading Restaurant, when parents and family members are invited to our team-wide celebration of writing. The students will also select their favorite pieces from other writing genres, such as small moments, personal narratives, book responses, poetry and report writing. More information will follow.
Our unit on the Iditarod has ended, but the students will not take home these Book Summaries yet. We are reading the summaries together as we discuss literature together in our classroom. The students will also choose a piece for our Reading Restaurant. Please remember that we are writing an article on this for the school newspaper, “The Blue and Gold”, which will be linked on the school web-site when it comes out.
Lastly, I wanted to remind you that the school will also link a parent in-put survey for placement of 2nd graders for next year. You have the opportunity to share how your child learns best. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about this. Thank you.
Have a great rest of the week! Also, thank you all Nature Detectives who have shared on our KidBlog about “Signs of Spring”
Regards,
Maria McCormack
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