Hooray for Teddy Bear Day!

This week was full of joyful learning in 1H! The first graders were introduced to nouns and proper nouns. They learned how to identify a noun in a sentence and describe whether the noun names a person, place, or thing. We read the book A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink: What is a Noun? Of course that led the children to wonder about a mink. This is an animal they have little background on, so we took a few minutes to watch a video clip of a domesticated mink on our whiteboard.

The children began a life science unit on birds this week. They have learned a great deal about birds and their feathers so far. For instance, the first graders understand:
Most birds fly, but some do not.
Some birds migrate during certain seasons of the year.
All birds have feathers that vary in size, color, and uses.
Feathers have three parts: quill, shaft, and barbs.
They also participated in an activity that demonstrated how birds mend or preen their feathers by hooking the barbs of their feathers with their beaks.

The most exciting part of our week, however, was National Take Your Teddy Bear to School Day on Friday. The first graders had a great time having their teddy bears join us in our daily activities. They learned about the legend of the teddy bear and then participated in a great writing activity in which they were required to write in their teddy bear's voice. These pieces of writing will be on display outside our classroom soon. We welcome you to come and check them out!

Our spelling words for the week of October 12 - 16:

1. up
2. bug
3. mud
4. nut
5. hug
6. tub
7. the
8. my
9. for 
10. you

It's the doubles, baby!

We've been reading, writing, and rapping in 1H this week. The first graders are particularly fond of learning the doubles rap. They have reviewed the doubles facts from 0+0=0 to 10+10=20 many times and will be utilizing their own set of flash cards in the classroom to help commit them to memory. These flash cards will be coming home in the weeks ahead to have parents practice these facts with their child as well. The first graders have also worked on the following concepts in math this week: writing addition number sentences, identifying the attributes of pattern blocks, and creating and reading a repeating pattern.

The children also completed their first unit in social studies and their first social studies assessment. The entire assessment was read to the children and much time was spent making sure all directions were understood. It was a challenging effort for everyone! This first assessment was unlike anything they had ever seen before. They will get use to the format and the fact that they will be responsible for listening, participating, and learning the content even though social studies instruction typically comes at the end of the day.

The first graders also had a great time learning about St. Francis of Assisi this week. They are currently learning the St. Francis prayer and having a great time creating their first paper bag saint puppet.

Due to our four day school week with the children being off on Thursday, we have decided not to begin a new story in our reading books and not to introduce a new spelling list. We plan on tying up some loose ends with grammar and vocabulary. We also look forward to great, descriptive writing on "National Take Your Teddy Bear to School Day". Please remember to have your child bring their teddy bear in on Friday, October 9th.