VAFIRST GRADE

FIRST GRADE MARCH

2012-02-25T19:33:00.002-08:00

WEBSITES OF INTEREST

http://www.mathletics.com/
http://www.raz-kids.com/
http://www.pbsforkids.org/
http://www.beatrixpotter.com/
http://www.nationalgeographicforkids.com/
http://www.shelsilverstein.com/

We will be celebrating St. Patrick's Day, St. Joseph's Feast Day and the Feast of the Annunciation this month.

It does not seem possible that we have passed our 100th day nor that we are entering Spring! . Our work with solid shapes is rounding down as is our exploration of plane figures. We are looking forward to fractions and linear measurement. The girls are doing very well with mental math as we use addition and subtraction facts to reinforce doubles, doubles plus one, and doubles minus one.

Our smartboard is proving to be invaluable as we use it to begin a topic, research information and look up author pages. The girls are becoming very proficient with the tools that are available!!

Our use of non-fiction books has enhanced our work . We are still working on biographies and will begin to investigate some famous women in history. We have been looking a great deal at the history of The Underground Railroad and discovered how the making of Quilts played an important part in map making for escape. Our Quilt Study is a very interesting part of our year.

As we look at the quilts as maps, we return to our prior knowledge of map study and move into land resources and their importance to us. Our work with the Frozen continent of Antarctica has become a full STEM lesson. Our experimentation is yet to come but should be interesting as well as educational for all.

Our Balanced Literacy is going smoothly and the girls are eager to move into new levels. Their comprehension and inference skills are improving and their self assessment will be enlightening and a "tool" from which I can plan.

They are maturing and developing quickly as I hope you see. Their independence and confidence has grown and this is the time that I call their "growth spurt".

*Please continue to read with them at night as this is crucial to their continued success.
We will be having another marking period this month and I look forward to all the good things that I can share.

Our work with each little virtue moves on as we choose one for each day to practice. We will be offering up silent acts of kindness for Lent.

Our writing workshop is ongoing. We are currently working on writing about a Main Character; not the retelling of a story but the character and what, in the story,points to the traits of the character.

Our literacy will be taking us to the study of Women in History. The women chosen and their work will span across different areas of our curriculum. Most importantly, I hope to impress upon the girls that THEY are women making history.

" Let our worth define our goals." - Jane Eyre

VAFIRSTGRADEJANUARY-FEBRUARY

2012-01-15T21:03:00.000-08:00

Welcome!

Remember to visit our links:

www.mathletics.com
www.raz-kids.com
www.nationalgeographicforkids.com
www.shelsilverstein.com

Our biographical research about Martin Luther King Jr. was connected to the ideologies of PEACE, KINDNESS & ACCEPTANCE of the LITTLE VIRTUES taught by our Founding Sts. Frances de Sales and Jane de Chantal. [Feast Day this month]. We visited a piece of literature created by school children entitled We Have a Dream as well. As part of a reading response, our bulletin board now holds your daughters' creations of WE HAVE A DREAM which express their wishes for all of mankind.

We will be embarking on our study of Presidents Washington & Lincoln using the internet as well as the biographical genre. This will bring us around to a virtual visit of Washington, D.C., our country's Capital filled with symbolic monuments and artifacts. We will using our past work on map study for locations of birth places and landmarks.

Our continuing exploration of climate, seasonal changes, habitats, mammals,fish and animals as well as land formations previously studied and new ones :tundra,Arctic,Antarctic. These will be connected to our scientific investigation of MATTER and properties of matter.

The girls will need a package of model magic and a regular-sized shoebox by the beginning of next week [January 23]. A note will also be sent home as a reminder.

2D and 3D plane figures will be a continuing part of our Math Study. We will begin to see symmetry and congruency of shapes, X/Y graphing of shapes,
and places we can see these shapes within our city architecture. We will continue with our use of double digit numbers within addition and subtraction. { Reminder: We continually build on prior knowledge and revisit concepts already presented}. Reading in Math continues with our solving and "creating" of word problems.

Our study of Black History Month will bring us to a fantastic discovery of Quilts and how they were used in connection to the UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. Here, again, we will be using the biographical genre to study some very important people involved with this movement and the Civil rights Movement.

We will be celebrating Chinese New Year, Groundhog Day, 1ooth Day of School, and of course, St. Valentine's Day!
As you can see, the next 6 weeks hold a great deal of content. We cross the entire curriculum with all of the studies mentioned. Anything that is not completed will continue into the next month.

Most importantly, we will begin the Season of Lent on ASH WEDNESDAY. This falls during our Winter Break.

I will add any new information and links to this blog as well as sending home a note.

VAFIRST GRADE DECEMBER/JANUARY

2012-01-15T19:42:00.000-08:00

VAFIRSTGRADE.

2011-12-10T22:12:00.001-08:00

Saturday, December 10, 2011

1ST GRADE DECEMBER & JANUARY

Welcome to our 1st Grade December/January Blog!

Our Work & Play Links
www.mathletics.com
www.raz-kids.com
www.nationalgeographicforkids.com

We have been very busy during our first trimester. We are already working on our next piece in our Writing Workshop. As you may know, we are writing in the "1st person" which makes for an interesting read! Our use of Graphic Organizers is really helping us to manage our thoughts. We are concentrating on The Nativity for this piece and I know it will be wonderful:)

Since we always try to work across the curriculum, we are using many genres for our studies. [Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Legends]. Strategies that are modeled by me are incorporated into our Guided Reading Groups as well as our Word Study. The girls are becoming experts with these.

We are looking especially at Legends of Christmas and Christmas Customs from around the world. This is a great deal of fun in our learning. We have a wide variety of Seasonal Literature and the girls are truly enjoying Our Shared Reading, Read Aloud Selections and their OWN self selections. We list our readings, choose favorites, tally the votes and post the FAVORITE story.

We have been placing NOUNS and PROPER NOUNS into bins with the label for people, places, & things. The girls love to challenge me with "Catch Me If You Can" noting any and all grammatical errors that I have purposely made. All of these components as well as our Calendar work, weather, opening Circle, discussions, reading, following directions, and Sharing Circles add daily to their knowledge of language in Oral and written forms. We are also placing a great deal of emphasis on PRIOR KNOWLEDGE in all subject areas. What they already know is built upon and what we want to know, well, we just turn to our Smart Board and find what we need.

We use our Smart Board on a daily basis and the girls are becoming quite proficient in the interactive use of the Board.

Our Math component will continue to build on the foundation we have set and we will be moving into the GEOMETRIC ZONE for some great learning and fun! We will be using many manipulatives for understanding and these will also help to finely hone their fine motor skills. Of course, Virtual Manipulatives within our Smart Board will also be a prime source for understanding and practice.

You can always refer to their daybooks and Home Folders to View any work we have done, for homework assignments and for completed work.

Please continue to read WITH your daughters. This is such an important component to all subject areas.

I will keep you updated on anything we may need. Please refer to our calendar for events and the Tuesday folder for reminders.

Blessing to all!

2011-06-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

I have found the place for some travel and science investigation!
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/

LinksLearning

2011-06-24T08:49:00.000-07:00

A fun site for Math and Reading.

Click below for the site

Math - Ilustrated Lessons

Reading - Audio stories

Beestar

2011-06-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a site to help you practice your math skills! Have fun.

http://www.ixl.com/?gclid=CMLnvfnuzqkCFU175QodOzatPQ

2009-10-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

VAFIRSTGRADE

This month, we will be taking a voyage with Columbus and his crew to the New World. Our map study will come in handy as we look to the heavens for the stars he might have used to navigate. Learning about how the trip really was and how the crew lived on board the ships will lead us to discovering means of travel then and now. Our study of seed growth will move forward into an investigation of root vegetables and vine fruits and vegetables; how they grow, are harvested now and were used by the colonial people as a means of dying cloth.
We will also be looking at the seasonal celebrations of Harvest Time and All Hallows Eve[Halloween]. Our reading will encompass biographies, a continuation of poetry and non-fiction genres for these celebrations and historical events. As we move along with our Math Study, we will look at how our days grow shorter, nights longer and the movement of the Earth. Math is in the nature around us as we compare the shapes of falling leaves to symmetrical shapes and following to 3 dimensional or solid shapes. We will begin our study of the Pilgrims and Native Americans through folktales,legends and non-fiction. This will continue through November.