The Week of March 19

HELP
We are looking for some nonfiction magazines such as: National Geographic, Popular Mechanics, Sports Illustrated, Outdoor Life and any others you have at home. We will be doing a fun scavenger hunt for nonfiction text features on Friday. Thank you! 

Jon Gailmor Concert

We had a wonderful time on Monday night! Jon Gailmor put on a wonderful concert for W.E.S. families. Students will get their own CD of the Waterville songs we created. 

Readers' Workshop

This week in reading we continued to work on identifying and and using nonfiction text features. This week we worked on using captions, and close ups. Students have enjoyed reading nonfiction texts independently and with partners. We also continue to compare nonfiction and fiction texts in our small reading groups. 

Writers' Workshop

Students enjoyed getting back into our punctuation inquiry project. This week we focused on using quotations marks. Students did a quotation mark hunt in their favorite texts. We noticed how authors' used quotation marks. We learned a fun song called Do You Know Quotation Marks? -which definitely got stuck in our heads... Later in the week, we used elbow macaroni as our quotation marks, and wrote our own sentences! We took a break from the three types of writing (narrative, opinion and nonfiction), and continued with free choice writing this week. I love seeing all of the different types of writing going on, and especially love watching the kiddos try out the different strategies and tips we have learned this year! These students are so creative and love writing! 

Science 

States Of Matter 

This week we explored matter and how it can be made of tiny things. Students used Legos, pattern blocks, rainbow tiles and small pieces of construction paper to create larger things from tiny pieces. We also learned things can be remade from small pieces. We also did a small group sort, which students had to work together to find a way to sort their solid items. After a scientist meeting, we came to a consensus that our solid items should be sorted by observable characteristics, such as material, texture and flexibility.  

Math 

In math, we continued to work on using the number line. We practiced finding the mystery number on the number line by using our number sense about tens, fives and parts/wholes. Students learned some fun new math centers this week. We learned a new game called Frog Path, and loved working at our place value station where we practiced with numbers greater than 100. Students used place value blocks, and also used arrow cards to begin representing the different values with numbers. 

The week of March 12

Upcoming Events 

Here we are singing our class song all about our favorite Habit of Mind. You'll love our song! It is so creative! 

An Evening with Jon Gailmor

W.E.S. concert 

3/19/18
Students should arrive at 5:45 and walk down to our classroom. 

Parent Teacher Conferences 

 3/20 1:20-4:30, 3/22 2:50-6:30

Please contact Debbie in the office to schedule a time to meet

Spring Equinox 

March 20, 2018 

No School 

March 23, 2018 

Readers' Workshop

We began a new unit of study on nonfiction texts. This week we reviewed nonfiction text features and practiced using them to help us grow our schema. This week we practiced using a table of contents, photographs, captions and labels. Here are the kiddos using their nonfiction text features with their reading partners. 

Can you catch a leprechaun?

The first and second graders did a great job planning, creating, revising and explaining how their leprechaun traps work. It was an exciting Monday morning when we arrived at school to leprechaun dust and chocolate coins!! Although we didn't catch any leprechauns this year it was a fun engineering project! Here are some photos from our week.

    

   

States of Matter 

What happened to my ingredients? This was our driving question as we examined our new phenomenon! Students noticed what happened to the ingredients I put into the freezer for supper. We worked on observing what happened to the different ingredients.  Some items came right back to their original texture and looked the same as when I put them in.... some items did not return to their original form. 

Later in the week, we spent time outside exploring the snow. Students worked on forming ideas about matter. We noticed matter everywhere. We even think that matter can be things we can see and can't see! Students took tiny pieces of snow and made larger objects, then broke them down and made something new. 

P.S. I can't wait for the 10 foot snowbanks to melt!! 

The week of March 7

Upcoming Events

Jon Gailmor Workshops

March 12-14

Jon Gailmor School Concert 
March 14 at 6:00 in the W.E.S gym

Parent Teacher Conferences Revised Schedule

3/19 2:50-4:30, 3/20 1:20-4:30, 3/22 2:50-6:30

Please contact Debbie in the office to schedule a time to meet

Spring Equinox 

March 20, 2018 

No School 

March 23, 2018 

Trimester II Report Cards

On Friday you should receive your child’s report card in a yellow manila envelope. The contents are yours to keep, except for the signature form. I’ll need all envelopes back for the last report card in June. Please take the time to talk with your child about their report card- talk about ways they might improve and of course celebrate their growth! We can talk more at our parent/teacher conference next week. Please call Debbie to schedule your conference time if you haven’t already done so.

Catch a Leprechaun....

On Friday, students began planning their own Leprechaun trap. We will begin working on building, revising and explaining how our trap works this week. We need lots of materials. On Thursday and Friday we will work on constructing our traps.  Please help us by sending in lots of recyclable and reusable items. We are looking for small cardboard boxes, paper towel tubes, duct tape and any other things you think would work! 

The Week of Feb. 19

Upcoming Events 

Jon Gailmor Artist in Residence

March 12-16

Trimester II Report Cards

March 16, 2018 

Parent Teacher Conferences 

Tuesday, March 20 and Thursday, March 22 

Please contact Debbie in the office to schedule a conference time 

No School March 23, 2018 

COTS Penny War Winners 

The first and second graders were the winners of our COTS penny war! Thank you to all of the families who donated money or other items. On Friday, we enjoyed our special ice cream treat! Here is a silly picture from our special day! 

Marble Maze Fun

Building our own marble maze was a fun way to learn the engineering process. Students learned about planning to solve a problem, creating, building, revising and sharing with others. This project was more about engaging in the process than building a maze. It was fascinating to watch the kids critique and engage in talk with each other. I also saw many students taking  feedback from others and then going back to the drawing board to change their maze to make it better. 

              

Writers' Workshop

This week, students worked on writing their own reviews! Students chose the item they wanted to write about, and worked in small groups to write engaging leads and endings. Later, students worked on writing detail sentences. In first and second grade, students learn about the idea of elaboration. We think about elaboration in terms of how to write more and how to write specific details using their senses or feelings. 

Patterns in the Sky 

This week, we finished up our Patterns in the Sky unit of study with a sun dial/compass engineering task. The first and second graders created a sundial/compass in our room using their knowledge of the patterns we have observed in the sky. Together as a group, they planned, built and revised their sundial/compass. In our consensus meeting, students explained and agreed that the Sun rises and sets in the same place each day. The Sun's light can also create a shadow. Students discovered that the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so they were able to find the other two directions using this knowledge.  Up next, we will do a mini-unit of States of Matter. On Friday, students jotted what they know about matter in their science notebooks! I am SO excited to begin a new journey with these amazing scientists! 

Readers' Workshop 

Readers' Theater Performance
Our readers' theater performance was a big success! The first and second graders did such an amazing job reading their parts with accuracy, fluency and worked really hard to change their voices to match their characters' feelings. I was so proud of all of them for taking a responsible risk and performing in front of an audience! Thank you to all of the families who came out to see our performances! It was so special! 

OLYMPIC GAMES
The Olympic games were a lot of fun! Each classroom created a flag representing a country. The first and second graders created the Australian flag. The classes entered one at a time, and the flags were taped onto the walls of the gym. Mr. Lee did such a great job painting the flags during Art class.  We had a fantastic opening ceremony and we all enjoyed watching Ms. Stephanie light the Olympic torch. The rainy weather didn't dampen our spirits, students thought flexibly and enjoyed the various events set up throughout the school. Events varied from bobsledding to figure skating. Every student earned a medal in an event at our closing ceremony. Later, students enjoyed a special movie treat!