What we've been up to...

News from Ms. Little’s 1^st Grade Class

May 7, 2015

Upcoming Events

·      Friday, May 8^th – Dismissal at 11:45

·      Friday, May 15^th – Scholastic Book Orders due

·      Monday, May 25^th – Memorial Day (no school)

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Hello Families!

In Math, we are working on place value. Using manipulatives such as unifix cubes and place value blocks we have been breaking down numbers into tens and ones. For example, 16 can be thought of as 1 ten and 6 ones, or 10 + 6.

We made place value pictures/designs out of the tens and ones place value blocks and then counted by tens and ones to see how much our picture was worth.

We have just begun writing “All About” books in Writer’s Workshop. First, we went on a book walk around the classroom to explore nonfiction books about different kinds of animals. Then, we decided which animal we found the most interesting and would like to research. After that, we read some of the books to find facts about our animal and wrote them down. When our books are finished, not only will they include facts about our animal, but a table of contents and a glossary as well!

In Science, we are continuing our yearlong study of plants. After reading The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle, we discussed how plants have a life cycle that repeats itself again and again. Then, we decided which type of flower seed we wanted to plant. We chose from sweet pea seeds, viola seeds (Johnny jump ups), or pansy seeds, planted them each in our own cup of soil, and then drew and wrote a prediction of what we think our plant will look like when it sprouts.

We also thought it would be interesting to see what would happen if we “planted” green bean seeds in plastic bags with a moist paper towel and taped them to our window. So far, we have been able to see the roots emerging from the seeds. We have been recording our observations and we’re excited to see what happens next!

Classroom Supplies

Thank you to families who have sent in shared classroom supplies throughout the school year! We are running low on tissues, dry erase markers and disinfecting wipes. Any contributions would be greatly appreciated.

Enjoy the weekend!

Ms. Little 

What we've been up to...

News from Ms. Little’s 1^st Grade Class

April 9, 2015

Upcoming Events

·      Wednesday, April 15^th – Open House (6:30pm-7:30pm)

·      Wednesday, April 15^th – Book Fair (6pm-8pm)

·      Friday, April 17^th – Scholastic Book Orders due

·      April 20^th – April 24^th – April Vacation

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Hello Families!

In Math, we are exploring addition and subtraction relationships. One of the strategies we’re working on is using addition to check the answer of a subtraction problem. For example, if you’ve solved 12 – 9 = 3, you can check it by reversing the order and adding 3 + 9 = 12.  Another concept we are learning about is how to use addition to find a missing number. For example, 12 - ___ = 3, we think, “3 + what number = 12?” Using manipulatives such as unifix cubes and counters and drawing pictures has helped us practice these concepts. We have also been learning about fact families and made fact family flowers to create a springtime sight near our classroom.

In Social Studies, we are continuing our study of maps. We learned how to read a map key and discussed how symbols are used to represent different things on a map. With that knowledge, we chose a room in our house to create a “bird’s eye view” map of with a corresponding map key.

Open House & Classroom Supplies

Open House will be on Wednesday, April 15^th from 6:30-7:30pm! Students will be in charge of guiding their families through our learning space and “showing off” their work that is displayed in and around our classroom The Book Fair will also be open the evening of April 15^th from 6:00-8:00pm.

Thank you to families who have sent in shared classroom supplies throughout the school year! We are running low on tissues, dry erase markers and disinfecting wipes. Any contributions would be greatly appreciated.

Enjoy the weekend!

Ms. Little