Friday, November 19, 2021

The Week of November 14


Silly Soccer 




 Upcoming Events

Trimester I ends: Nov. 23

No School- Nov. 24-26 Thanksgiving Break


Report Cards go home : Dec. 7

**Please pack water bottles and extra masks each day**

Big Buddy, Little Buddy Poetry Presentation

The first and second graders have been working on planning, writing and reading our 
5 senses Autumn Poem called When Autumn Falls. On Friday, we performed our poem with our Big Buddies at Community Meeting! Here are some snapshots from the performance. 















Writers' Workshop
In writing, we have worked hard to make our fancy copies! Students used a rubric to identify what they are doing well and what they need to work on. We spent time creating detailed illustrations, covers, dedication pages and a cool All About the Author page.

A note on publishing... 
Current best practice around student publishing and editing is that teachers work together with a child to enhance writing. We work together to target age appropriate spelling, use of capitalization and punctuation, handwriting skills, and overarching goals we have learned about.

 We don't fix every single word, grammar/usage and mechanics error that would be only significant to a highly experienced  writer.  You will see that your child may still have misspelled words and/or other errors in their book. Please remember we are celebrating our children's hard work, growth and developmental stage. 

Here are a few of the published book covers...
A BIG, BIG thank you goes out to Ms. Marie for her help laminating all of the book covers :)







Technology in the Classroom -Typing.com
This week, we began working on getting to know the keyboard and how to type using the home row. Students enjoyed learning how to position their hands on the keyboard, and locating various keys with certain fingers. We use typing.com in class to practice these skills! Each child typed their own All About the Author page in their fancy Small Moment Story. We also learned to use our laptop camera and insert a picture into a google doc. 






First Grade Math 
This week in math, we worked on using our addition and subtraction knowledge to write equations. We learned the part, part whole model and solved many equations using this knowledge. Students used the smartboard to write equations, and later in the week we worked in flip books to write and solve equations. Students created their own number stories and drew detailed pictures to match them! 












 

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Blizzard Bessy Visits WES

 




Blizzard Bessy 
Winter weather is on the way! Here is our WES snow plow...I feel much safer knowing Blizzard Bessy will be clearing our roads :) 







Friday, November 12, 2021

The Week of Nov. 8

 


Upcoming Events

Trimester I ends: Nov. 23

No School- Nov. 24-26 Thanksgiving Break


Report Cards go home : Dec. 7

Readers' Workshop

In reading we finished up a story map of the fiction book Arnie the Doughnut. Students worked to draw pictures and write words identifying the characters, setting, problem and solution. On Friday, we celebrated by eating some Arnie Doughnuts! 











Number Corner and Math 

In first grade math, we are working away on developing adding and subtracting strategies! Students are working on reading and completing missing number addition and subtraction equations too. 

i.e. ____-5=5

___+6=10

In number corner, we are working on identifying and writing the fractions 1/2 and 1/4. We love our daily counting practice! Here is a dance video we watched this week which helped us to count forward and backwards to 50. We continue to work on telling time to the hour on analog and digital clocks. 

Jack Hartmann Counting by 1s to 50 and Back

Students LOVE working at our math stations each day. Some students have come up with their own practice games to help work on specific skills! 



Thanksgiving Donation Basket

The first and second grade class is collecting canned veggies and stuffing for Thanksgiving meal baskets this year! Please send any food in with your child, and I will keep it here until the food baskets are put together. Thank you :)

                  


Monday, November 8, 2021

The Week of Nov. 1

 

Upcoming Events 

No School Nov. 11- Teacher-Service 

No School- Nov. 24-26 Thanksgiving Break



Winter Weather Gear

Winter weather and temps are on the way...even though I have enjoyed the recent warm and sunny days! The sunshine streams right into our room each afternoon which we love.  Please pack hats and mittens, along with boots with your student. As you know, weather can change in a flash here in Waterville! Our P.E. days are on Wednesday and Friday. Your student will need sneakers on those days. 


Name a Snow Plow Contest

Congratulations to our first and second graders! We won the contest, and our snow plow's name is Blizzard Bessy! The Vermont Agency of Transportation will visit our school in a few weeks with our plow and the first and second graders will have the opportunity to have their picture taken with it! 

Readers' Workshop

This week, we wrapped up our partner reading review and celebrated our hard work! Students are engaged in daily reading groups, as well as independent and partner reading. Next week, we will do a short inquiry into fiction books and their parts. Students will learn the elements of a fiction book (characters, setting, problem and solution), and complete various story maps based on read alouds and group books. 


Spelling/Fundations
The first and second graders have been busy learning new spelling patterns and trick words. This week, we continued with our word sorts and trick word booklets. We learned a new game to help us write our spelling words too. 

 





First Grade Math 
In math, the first graders are working on efficient adding strategies. We are playing lots of fun domino games and have worked hard to try new strategies such as subitizing and counting on from the greater number. Students are also noticing that they know many math facts fluently now! We also began a new calendar pattern in November. This month we will focus on fractions and telling time.