We had a very busy month in first grade, and we'll be keeping up the hard work for the next 3 short weeks until winter break! Then we'll be halfway done with our year- I can't believe how quickly it flies! Here are some things we've been working on...
Writing:
During Writer's Workshop, our authors have been hard at work publishing their second narrative pieces of the year! We call these our "Small Moments" because the students zoomed in on a memory, then focused on adding lots of descriptive details to paint a picture in the reader's mind. We use our peers a lot in the writing process, to share ideas and give and receive feedback. I am SO impressed with how our students talk to each other about their writing- I have heard really amazing conversations during this time, and students are getting great practice really listening to each other in order to provide useful feedback on a piece of writing. Often, I'll hear students read their work to each other, and the listener will say, "Hmm, I'm not sure that ending gives closure. Can you change the last sentence so I know its over?"
Snake Time!
Every time we have a few extra minutes at the end of the day, I have kids come up and hold Stella. While we have time to observe her every day, it's great to be able to hold her and get really up close and personal. We also got to examine her first shed up close! All our students have done a great job being respectful, gentle zoologists.
Math:
We are just starting our unit on measurement! We spent some time exploring "nonstandard" ways of measuring things- meaning different body parts. This is a great way for kids to experience the need for standardized units of measurement- clearly all our feet are not the same size and this makes things tricky! Measuring things is a great thing to practice at home. Involve your kids in cooking and helping with home improvement projects!
Thanks for reading! Remember to keep looking for those ASK ME stickers!
