Happy Spring!
This month, we finished up our math unit on place value and moved on to adding two-digit numbers to one and two-digit numbers. We talked about making a ten to help us add and the beginnings of regrouping. We showed the students different ways to add the numbers together to help them find what works best for them. We continue to encourage the students to use cubes, draw a picture, and know their basic math facts.
In Skills, we finished up talking about animals and writing their animal reports, which turned out so amazing! The classes loved reading about the animals and writing about them. We have been focusing on breaking the code spellings for different sounds. We have found that there are many different ways to spell some sounds and have been busy finding those spellings in our reader, Kate’s Book, about a girl who goes to visit her Doba (grandmother) in the southwest and has some great adventures.
We continue to have spelling lists going home every week. You can help your child study by helping them break down the word into its sound parts, write the word in many different ways, play a matching game, and write the word in sentences.
We finished up our learning about the Solar System and are now learning about the History of the Earth. We are learning so many interesting facts and debunking myths we have heard about the inner and outer cores, about the difference between magma and lava, and we will be learning about the different types of rocks, and a small amount about fossils and dinosaurs.
As a Leader in Me school, we are always talking about proactive and reactive language and behaviors. We encourage students to think proactively about their learning and friendships and to be leaders of their learning. Our students will soon be going off to second grade, and we are working hard to encourage them to be problem solvers, leaders, and keep the end in mind. We, the first-grade teachers, are expecting more from our students to prepare them for the next stage of their learning and growth. We are supporting them in their growth through daily reminders to be proactive and putting first things first.
With it being Spring in Iowa, the temperatures are always fluctuating from morning to afternoon. To help your child out, please continue to send a coat, hat, and gloves with them to wear in the morning. A sweatshirt is not a proper coat to wear outside when the temperatures are at or near freezing. They can have a sweatshirt at school to wear when the temperatures warm up for long sleeves.
