It is getting warmer outside, so you may wish to send some extra things to school with your child for park time and outdoor P.E. classes.
- Mosquito spray
- Sunscreen
- Hat
Thank you!
Nonfiction Readers
Our current reading unit is all about being a nonfiction reader and building a base of knowledge on a topic by reading deeply about the topic. Our G1A students are in Reading Club groups studying an animal topic they are interested in. This week students reviewed that nonfiction books are made up of parts and each part of the book can teach them something new about their topic. They worked together to pick one section and identified the main idea of that section, then they used the text features to find evidence and support the main idea.
Our class also learned that readers write down information they think is important from the books they read so they won't forget it. They chose two books to read and began writing notes about the facts they were learning from each book (1st book - blue post it notes / 2nd book - green post it notes). Afterwards, they learned that readers can compare and contrast the information they learn from books. Each student practiced completing a Venn Diagram to share how the information in the books was similar and different.
Persuasive Writing
Students are working on their persuasive writing pieces and will be ready to publish their writing soon.
Mental Math
This week we focused on solving addition and subtraction problems mentally. This means students can solve a problem in their head without paper and pencil.
Mental Math - Addition
*Use double facts
Example: 7+6=__ "I know 6+6=12 and 7 is 1 more than 6, so the answer is 1 more than 12." OR "I know 7 is 6+1. 6+6=12 and 12+1=13."
*Add the ones
Example: 12+1=__ "I know that 2+1=3 and there's 1 ten, so the total is 13."
*Add the tens
Example: 23+10=__ "I know that 20+10=30 and there's 3 ones, so the total is 33."
Mental Math - Subtraction
*Think of addition / Use number bonds
Example: 9-4=__ "I know that 4+5=9, so the answer is 5.
*Subtract the ones
Example: 26-3=__ "I know that 6-3=3 and there's still 2 tens, so the answer is 23."
*Subtract the tens
Example: 34-10=__ "I know that 30-10=20 and there's still 4 ones, so the answer is 24."
Sound
This week we completed our Science unit all about sound. During our Science investigations, students answered two questions.
Question 1 - How does sound travel from the source to the receiver?
Students used spoon-gongs to investigate this question. They learned that when you hit the spoon, the spoon vibrates and makes a sound, so the spoon is the sound source. The vibrations move to the string and then to the cup. Finally, the sound is received by the ear because our ears are sound receivers.
Question 2 - How can we use sound to communicate over long distances?
We discussed the question, "How could we use a spoon-gong to send a message?" We cut the spoons off two spoon-gongs and attached the strings with a piece of tape to create a string-cup telephone. Students shared their observations and we drew a diagram on the board (see the photos below). I explained that when we talk, our vocal cords vibrate to make sound, so during the investigation, their voice was the sound source and their classmate's ear was the sound receiver.
My Past, My Present
Our current Social Studies chapter focuses on comparing the past to the present. Our question is, "How does life change throughout history?" This week students were introduced to timelines and began learning about past (then), present (now), and future (tomorrow). We read about schools and communities, comparing and contrasting then vs. now.
Social Studies Timeline Projects
Due: Friday, June 8th