Announcements for April 29th, 2021

The following scholars have been chosen for showing the virtue of wisdom.

1A: Violet Freitag

1C: Ava Ybarra

1D: Marcus Cherepes 

Science

We are officially wrapping up our unit on animal and plant survival. We've had so much fun observing and learning about animals and plants! I've been so impressed with the connections your scholars are already making about the world around them!

Look out next week for a Unit 2 Ch. 1-4 Cumulative Test take-home study guide in your child's homework folder. Study with them! Talk to them about what they've learned! Have a discussion at the dinner table or right before bed! Thank you!

History

History For the week of May 3^rd:

We will be finishing our unit of Early Explorers.

A review worksheet has been sent home with your scholar. Please make sure your student studies.

Our next  Unit is The Boston Tea Party.

Literature

We have nearly completed Elmer and the Dragon.  Scholars will need The Dragons of Blueland next week! If your scholar has the three adventures of My Father's Dragon, that book is a trilogy and all three books are together. If you are purchasing them separately, then your scholar will need the third book to follow along in class.

To celebrate our wonderful book(s), we are going to have a quarter party! We will play a game, have a snack, make a craft and have a little competition! Thank you to all the volunteers who have sent in items for this party and who have given their time to make this party special!  It is going to be loads of fun! We will be sure to take photos of this exciting day.

Math

Our math scholars learned about the “more than, less than” symbols and how to compare and order numbers within 100. With practice they have been able to understand these concepts. This week, first graders will learn how to add a two-digit number and a one-digit number with and without re-naming. They will be adding the ones first and then the tens. By the end of the week, the students will have learned how to add two, two-digit numbers as an algorithm. They will be adding their numbers vertically.

Spalding

Please continue to practice Spalding words with your scholar. We have noticed Spalding grades taking a nosedive! This is not the time to let up. By encouraging scholars to keep practicing and to give it their all, you scholar will finish this school year strong! Together we are Spartan Strong!

Announcements for April 23rd, 2021

 Science

We are in the final chapter of Unit 2 Plant and Animal Survival. We will be wrapping up the unit with animal parents helping their young to survive.

History

We will be ending our unit on The Early Explorers and Settlers next week.
A review worksheet will be sent home. Unit test on Tuesday. Please have your child study for it. The test is worth 10 points.
Our next unit will be on From Colonies to Independence.

Math

This week our scholars will be learning how to order numbers from 50 to 100. They have already learned this concept when working with numbers 1-40.  Specifically, they will be re-learning the concepts of one more than, one less than, ten more than and ten less than a given number within 100. At the end of next week they will learn the symbols, “<” and “>.”

Literature

This week, Elmer met a darling canary named Flute. Flute lives on Feather Island - the place where all escaped canaries go! Elmer finds out King Can, the king of the canaries, is dying of a very serious disease called (drum roll....) - CURIOSITY! What in the world could he be so curious about? Well, we'll have to wait until we continue reading to learn the answer to that mystery!

Spalding

We have noticed that Spalding scores are starting to drop! Even though the end of school is near, school is not out yet! Scholars are still being held to a very high standard. Please continue to practice Spalding words nightly so that each and every scholar may finish the year strong!

Other Announcements

As always, please send your scholar to school with a labeled water bottle everyday.
Thank you for your support!

Announcements for April 16th, 2021

Science

Your scholar should have received a Unit 2 Ch.3 take-home study guide. Please run through these questions and answers at home to help prepare them for the test on April 21st. Next week we will start our chapter on growth and development!

History

We will still be discussing Unit 7, which is the Early Explorers and Settlers.

This is a great unit and the students are really enjoying it.

Math

This past week our first- grade students had quite a time learning how to tell time to the hour and half hour! Talk with your child about “how long” or “how short” of time it is to do a variety of activities. For example, it takes about 5-10 minutes to eat a snack, but 30 minutes to eat dinner.  Ask them, “Which takes longer?” Hopefully, they respond, “It takes longer to eat dinner.” Also, continue to help your child practice their “time-telling” skills at home as much as possible.   

 

This week our math scholars will learn to count, read, and write whole numbers to 100. They will first be introduced to the tens, i.e., 50, 60, the number symbols and the number words. Then, using countable items and number cards, students will be led to see that they can count in tens and ones to write the corresponding number symbols. They will also continue to practice telling how many tens and ones a given-number is. At the end of the week the scholars will begin to learn how to estimate the quantity of an item within a container by comparing the proportion of the unknown quantity with a known quantity within another container of the same type. This method of estimation is useful for quantities that differ by about ten or in multiples of ten.

Literature

We are enjoying Elmer and the Dragon thus far! We have learned that Elmer and the Dragon have not travelled very far due to a storm. We have also learned that pink lollipops are a treat that makes everyone feel better!

If your scholar does not have this book, you may order it by Clicking here. 

Other Announcements

Encourage your scholar to persevere striving for excellence in their schoolwork,  and behavior until the end of the school year. This will build the virtue of integrity!

 

It is best practice to help your first grader check their take-home folder daily to clean out their folders and keep graded papers home (unless it needs a parent signature), and make sure that homework is completed and put back into their black folder. Thank you for your support in helping your child be organized and responsible for their homework and folder.

 

Reminder: Please send your child to school with a book from home so that they may read quietly during dismissal time. Thank you.

Announcements for April 9th, 2021

 Science
This week we observed, compared, and contrasted farm animals and their babies. We found out that baby animals look like, but not exactly like, their parents. We also discovered that two adult animals/plants of the same type look like, but not exactly like, each other.
Next week we will be finishing our chapter about plant and animal traits and inheritance with a review of the chapter. Your scholar will receive a take-home study guide for that chapter on Thursday, April 15th. The test will be Wednesday, April 21st.

History
In History we will be finishing Queen Elizabeth and the Lost Colony.
Next week, we will be studying The English Travel to the Lost Colony and John Smith & the Powhattan.

Literature
We are nearing the end of the first story in the Trilogy of My Father's Dragon and will be moving to the next story called Elmer and the Dragon. If you have the book with all three tales in it, then no need to purchase the next book as the story will be included. If you have purchased the paperback of My Father's Dragon, you will need to purchase the next book here: https://www.amazon.com/Elmer-Dragon-My-Fathers/dp/0440421365

Poetry
We will take a short break after the recitation of Wynken, Blynken and Nod.

Math
This next week our math scholars will learn to tell time on the hour and at half past the hour. Students will learn how to tell time as the hands on the clock are placed at different positions to show different times, some on the hour and some at half past the hour. They will also learn to sequence daily events according to time. First graders will also learn to estimate time relative to the hour and to half past the hour. Students will express times that are not on the hour or at half past the hour using words and phrases like “about”, “a little before” and “a little after.” The scholars will also learn to express relative durations of time. They should be able to tell which event will take up a longer duration of time compared to other events. At the end of the week the first graders will take another cumulative test on Units 1-17. Continue to have your child memorize the addition and subtraction math facts.

Other Announcements
- Our scholars are expected to continue striving for excellence and persevere in their studies for the next 7-8 weeks. Expectations of using their best printing on all assignments, completing homework assignments to the best of their ability, remembering what they have learned in their lessons, and reading every night are required so that our first graders are well-prepared for second-grade.
-Dismissal is an important time of day and therefore student voices are at a level zero. That means scholars, school wide, are not allowed to talk. All students need to bring a book, of their choice,  to read during dismissal. 

Announcements for April 1st, 2021

Science

This upcoming week we'll be observing videos of cute animal parents and their babies to understand that babies look like their parents, but not exactly. We will also investigate how plants of the same kind are alike and different.

History

We will be reviewing Unit 6, The Culture of Mexico.

A test will be given on Tuesday.

 Literature

Tigers that chew gum?  A rhino that brushes his tusk??  A gorilla full of fleas??? These are just a few of the characters Elmer encounters! Be sure to ask your scholar all about them! 

Next Novel

After reading My Father's Dragon, we will be reading the next book in the trilogy. This book is titled Elmer and the Dragon. If you have not purchased this book you may do so here: https://www.amazon.com/Elmer-Dragon-My-Fathers/dp/0440421365

All scholars will be expected to have their own copy by April 12, 2021. 

Poetry

We had a lovely treat this past week. Mrs. Shallue, a 1D parent, came to sing the poem Wynken, Blynken and Nod. It was absolutely beautiful and such a treat! Poetry recitations will be April 8th.

Math

This next week First Grade will begin Unit 16 “Making Halves and Fourths.” The concept of division is extended to using shapes to make halves and fourths. The notion of equal parts will come into play in this chapter where students will recognize one out of two equal parts as a half and one out of four equal parts as a fourth. To familiarize students with these new concepts, encourage students to find different ways of getting halves or fourths from a piece of paper in shape of a square or circle. Once our scholars are able to recognize halves and fourths, they will be able to tell patterns involving shaded parts and deduce the next shape in a given pattern.

Other Announcements

PLEASE SEND IN LABELED WATER BOTTLES EACH DAY WITH YOUR SCHOLAR. THANK YOU!