Another important event this week is Picture Day. We will be getting our pictures taken on Thursday afternoon. If you are purchasing pictures of your child, please make sure that your child brings the completed form and money to school by Thursday.
The big event last week was the butterfly release . On Monday, we released our butterflies on the back blacktop with the rest of the first grade. The butterflies were quite hesitant to come out of the cage, but, with some assistance, they made it out and flew away. (There are some pictures of the butterfly release below.)
Here's what we've been working on in the classroom:
Reading : The students have been doing a great job during reading workshop. They have really gotten a hang of independently selecting appropriately leveled books and reading independently. Without the students even knowing it, I've slowly been stretching the length of time they read for each day. I'm impressed!
Last week we spent a lot of time learning about different ways that we could read and talk about books with our partners. This week, we're going to be learning about ways that readers get their minds ready for a book before reading, rather than just diving right in.
Writing : We are nearing the end of our first writing unit! This week, the students will select a piece that they want to work on to publish. We'll spend all week getting our pieces ready for our publishing party.
Math : Last week, we spent quite some time learning all about the complements of ten (i.e. two numbers that go together to make ten, like 4 and 6 or 7 and 3). We also learned a new math game called Rolling to 50. The directions for the game are in the math section of your child's binder. Thank you to those of you who have been playing math games and filling out the recording sheet.
Science : We went to the Discovery Lab twice last week! On Tuesday, we learned about the differences between complete metamorphosis (like a butterfly goes through) and simple metamorphosis. On Friday, we learned about how insects use camouflage in order to help themselves survive.
Here are some pictures from last week: