First Grade News

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Posted by Alissa | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on September 27, 2019

Our school uses the PATHS program for our social emotional curriculum.  We spend a lot of time reading books and talking about how to be a good friend, how to work together as a team and how to manage our feelings.   This is the beautiful “Hopes and Dreams” butterfly we made in our hallway, where we wrote about our hopes for first grade and our dreams for our future.

One way we work together as a team is by cleaning up the room during transitions.  If we can help each other clean the room by the time the clean up song is over, we put a cube in this jar.  When the jar is full, we get to do something special together as a class.  We recently filled our jar and the class voted to go on a hike.  So today was the perfect day to head out to the special island (between two streams) in the woods behind our school.  We all looked for treasures and you wouldn’t believe how many we found!  Your child can tell you about them.  Then we came back to school to write about them and make a class book.

Here are the Insect Habitats we worked so hard on.  Thanks for all those dead bugs!  They found new homes in the habitats and were a great learning experience for the kids.

During Fundations time we are learning correct letter formation.  As soon as the kids arrive every morning they practice writing their names with neat letters using “pincher” pencil grip.

Have a great weekend!

 

What did you do in school today?

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Posted by Alissa | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on September 20, 2019

In science, we have exciting news!  Our chrysalis hatched and we have a beautiful new Monarch butterfly in the room.  This conveniently happened on the same day we were learning about the word metamorphosis.  We did lots of activities to learn about how insects change and take care of their young.  Then we went out to the courtyard for snack and to set our butterfly (whom the kids named Crystal) free.  We never did see her fly away.  The kids insisted it was because she had been with us her entire life and didn’t want to leave us.  They convinced me.

In computer lab, we read non fiction stories from Pebble Go to learn more about insects.  Pebble Go is a great way for young readers  to do research and learn more about the topics we are learning about in science.

In math, we made number lines and learned how to compare numbers by playing a game called Top It.

In reading, we started meeting in small groups for reading instruction.  When children are not meeting with a teacher, they are working independently on other activities like read with a friend, Lexia, creating a poetry notebook and other language arts games.

In writing, we now have magic writing pencils.  The main reason is to encourage our young writers to spend more time writing and less time coloring.  One writer said, “This pencil really works!  I tapped it against my head, because that is where my brain is, and it gave me a writing idea.”  Wonderful!  We are slowly learning how to become more independent in our writing, how to get a story idea, and how to spell words the best we can.

Our builders of the week!  The block corner is a popular place to be at choice time.

Climate Change March

Today the First Grade joined other LES students to march over to the Leverett Library in support of creating a clean, healthy planet!  We made signs and talked about what it meant to be part of a protest.  When we got there, we listened to some 5th and 6th graders share their thoughts on climate change and protecting our environment.  The kids were definitely inspired, because when we got back to the classroom for choice time a group of students spent time creating their own signs so they could join together and create their own protest in Montague Center!  You may see them there…

Bugs!

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Posted by Alissa | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on September 13, 2019

The excitement in the room this week has been all about BUGS!!  All those dead bugs your children have collected and brought into school have been put to good use!  We went down to the science closet and dug out some microscopes and magnifiers.  The children have been  observing closely and looking for bug body parts.  What do they use those parts for?  How do they help them survive?  These are some of the conversations we’ve been having.  I’ve been hearing a lot of “WOW!!  LOOK AT THIS!!” float around the classroom while children excitedly show their friends what they’ve discovered.  If your young scientist finds any more dead bugs at home, bring them in so we can continue to learn from them for the next couple weeks.

What did you do in school today?

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Posted by Alissa | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on September 6, 2019

Our schedule and routines in First Grade are up and running!  The children are doing great adjusting to the expectations of a new classroom.  We are learning new things about each other and our classroom, and having fun along the way.  If you click on one of the tabs above, you can see what our typical daily schedule looks like.  Here are some photos of the kids at work.

MATH WORKSHOP

READING WORKSHOP

SCIENCE

 

It was a busy week!

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