Thank you so much for all of your support with getting your child to complete his/her Valentine Hearts Project. It was a really sweet moment in the classroom when all of the hearts were passed out and the students were reading through the kind things that their classmates wrote about them for the first time.
Here's what we've been doing in the classroom :
Reading : The students are devouring nonfiction books. It's so nice to see them so interested in seeking new information on their own. We continued talking about nonfiction conventions the past couple of weeks. Nonfiction conventions are things that the authors of nonfiction texts use to organize and share factual information with readers. We went over the index, photographs, labels, captions, maps, and how nonfiction authors use different types of print. As we learn about each convention, the students find examples in their own nonfiction texts and record them in their nonfiction convention journals. We'll keep learning about more nonfiction conventions this week as well.
Writing : We expanded our opinion writing unit last week by talking about persuasion. To start this unit off, the students were simply writing their opinions about various matters. Now, they're thinking about things that they want to change and are writing pieces to try to persuade others to agree with them. It's a lot of fun to see what sorts of things the students want to change. Ask your child what he/she has been writing about!
Math : Math has been all over the place. First, we talked about telling time to the hour. Then, we worked on solving two-digit number stories. After that, we talked about how we can use doubles facts to help us solve 'near-doubles' math facts.
Technology : The students have all shown me complete mastery of first grade Google Drawings skills. They continues to impress me with how quickly they learn and apply new skills. Last week, they used tools in Google Drawings to invent new flowers. We've also been having lots of fun recording videos on Flipgrid. Ask your child to tell you about it!
Here are some pictures of 1-Bu over the past couple of weeks :