The students had a great time celebrating Halloween in school last Monday. They went to the Boo Bash in the morning and did lots of fun crafts and played fun games. Thank you so much to the parent volunteers who helped it go so smoothly. The parade was a hit in the afternoon as well. I barely recognized some of the students in their costumes!
This week is a short week of school! Please remember that there is no school on Tuesday November 8th, Thursday November 10th, or Friday November 11th.
Here's what we've been working on in the classroom :
Reading : We learned a couple new print strategies last week. These are strategies that help readers decode tricky words. We learned about 'Stretchy Snake,' who goes sound-by-sound through a tricky word to try and sound it out. This is the strategy most adults are familiar using. We also learned about 'Chunky Monkey,' who says that one way you can figure out a tricky word is by looking for smaller 'chunks' you might know inside the big word. Ask your child which animal strategy works best for him/her!
Writing : The students are doing a great job with their Small Moment writing pieces. Last week, we went over the writing process to help students organize their ways successful writing pieces. We said that first, writers come up with an idea. Then, they stretch the story out across their fingers. After that, they get paper. Next, they sketch the pictures and write the words. Finally, they go back and re-read their pieces to make sure they make sense and are easy to read.
Math : In unit 3, the students have been spending a lot of time focusing on adding and subtracting. First, we went over a new diagram, called 'Part, Part, Total,' which may help the students solve some number stories. Then, we spent a few days coming up with different strategies people use to solve number stories.
Computers : After focusing on trackpad skills for a few weeks, last week, we turned our focus to word processing. The students learned about how to highlight text and change its font, size, and color.
Social Studies : In first grade, we flip flop science and social studies units. Now, we are in the middle of a social studies unit on communities. So far, we've talked about what communities are, how different communities look, and how the rules are different in various parts of a community. We're also taking some time going over elections.
Here are some pictures of the students last week: