Happy New Year, Cedar One Families!
I’m excited to get back into what I like to think of as the second half of the school year (even though we’re not quite that far in). I have big plans–big plans!–for your children.
We will continue our study of animals of the world. We have studied animals of North America, South America, and Europe. Next stop: Africa! This week we will read about zebras and lions. Next week we will create some mixed-media lion art.
In math we will be beginning number talks. Number talks are part of the district’s new math adoption. It involves having class conversations about math in which all students participate. Students will share different strategies for solving problems mentally. We will look at decomposing numbers (e.g. 9 + 5 is the same as 10 + 4 because 10 can be thought of as 9 +1, which would take 1 away from the 5), using “friendly” easy to add and subtract numbers (such as 10 in the above example), and other useful strategies for developing number sense.
Also in math we are finishing up a unit on shapes and classifying and sorting them by their attributes. This week we will work on the difference between a defining attribute (such as a triangle has three sides), and a non-defining attribute (such as the triangle is blue). Some heady math concepts for first grade!We have also been working on steps for solving story problems in math. You’ll see an example in the math homework coming home on Friday.
Around the turn of the semester spelling will be part of the weekly homework. The handwriting and grammar parts of the homework will go away, so the homework shouldn’t be any longer. I do a somewhat complicated spelling routine with the students that allows students to have weekly lists that meets each of their needs. Some students may have went for a spelling work, while another student has photosynthesis! We will practice spelling routines in class for a few weeks before launching the homework portion.
In science we will start a unit called Sound & Light. We will also continue our study of weather by recording the temperature each day and looking for patterns over time. We will do the same with the length of day, so students can see how the period of daylight increases as we move away from the winter solstice toward the equinox. And although not weather related (though it’s in the sky!) we will track the phases of the moon.
I am TENTATIVELY scheduling in a musical play performance for families on Thursday, March 1. Last year we did two plays and they were a rousing success. The students love them, they provide a lot of reading practice, and allow students who are theatrically talented to shine. I’m still wavering about which show to do. I order them from a company that provides scripts and recorded music. I have some old standbys (Aesop’s Fables), but I’m aching to try something new. The play will most likely be a 6:30 (after dinner) and we always rearrange furniture in the classroom, so it will take place right in Cedar One. So save the date!
That’s all for now–
Will
