Oct 28, 2022

Hello Families,

We enjoyed another exciting week in Grade 1!

Literacy

* I can set learning goals for literacy.

Our journals this week focused on Halloween. Students worked on giving each other feedback to improve their work.

Success criteria included:

1. Copying student generated sentences (e.g. I am)

2. Rereading the sentences

3. Creating a detailed picture that matched the writing

4. Illustration and writing were neat (letters on the line etc).

Math

* I can count on.

This week we began exploring numbers. We read the story "The Napping House" and drew a picture of the people in our homes. We labeled them and identified how many feet are in our house. Ask your child to share how many feet are in their house (pets included).

Student Voice

*I can talk with others about something recently learned.

"I learned about finger spaces in my journal. We need them or you can't read our words."-Casen

"This week I practiced spelling words with my eyes closed." -Addison

"In Science, I learned about tools and their names." - Everly

"I learned about keeping my letters on the line in my journal." -Oliver

"I learned to write sentences. My sentences need a period at the end." -Kendrick

Exploration

* I am a scientist.

* I can participate in collaborative conversations with partners about topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

*I can follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).

We recently started a new Science inquiry. Students are building their literacy and citizenship skills as they engage in a study of tools and work. Students first learned about how tools help to do a job. They extended their understanding of what it takes to do a job when they learned about the "habits of character" or initiative, collaboration perseverance, and responsibility. Students were introduced to hand tools through a series of "tool challenges." In each challenge, students were presented with a dilemma and the question, "Which tools is best for the job?" Students discussed by asking and responding to questions.

Building background knowledge: What do tools help us to do?
Developing language by playing exploring tools.
Recording our thinking by drawing and labeling.
Informational conversations: what job does this tool help to do?
Do we use tools in our classroom?
Speaking and listening: sorting photographs of tools.

We also learned that scientists ask questions and act safely when working with others. Check out our class generated lab rules below.

Buddies

Wow! This week met with our Grade 4 buddies to explore a Halloween escape room. Our locked room problem was: Help! A Halloween witch has cast a spell on me and turned me into a pumpkin. I need your help to find the answers to these clues to be turned back into a teacher. Thank you to Mrs. McKay for creating such an engaging task for all ages!

Ask your child who their buddy is (Mrs. Pols Class).