1st Grade MP3 Campus

School Data is open on the first of each month for parent reviews. These are due by the 5th. We hope the cut and paste grade level newsletter will be helpful to supplement your remote learning plan reviews. Thank you for submitting in a timely manner and if you need help, please reach out to your SLPC.

Topics: addition fact fluency, hundreds chart, place value 10s and 1s, patterns, algebraic reasoning, number sense, famous (and not so famous) mathematicians

Activities: This month we set a benchmark for our addition fact fluency and worked to increase that level by practicing in class using 3 minute timings several times. Our main lessons focused on the hundreds chart. We identified how to move by 1s and 10s on the chart by moving left, right, up and down. We played a game where we strategized how to get to a given number to collect ""treasure"". We shaded skip counting patterns of 2, 5, 10 and then a number of their choosing (most chose 3, 4, or 6). Another focus was on noticing the attributes of shapes and explaining why we think a given shape doesn't belong in a group. We also read several picture books about the childhoods and accomplishments of several mathematicians including Katherine Johnson, Emmy Noether, and Maryam Mirzakhani.

Teacher Tip: As we head into spring have your child practice skip counting by drawing a numberline with chalk and jump/hop/skip down the line. A big number line is also great for modeling addition and subtraction.

Teacher Info: Mrs. Kurashige, skurashige@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: nonfiction writing, informational paragraphs, circle map plan, title, topic sentence, detail sentences, wrap up sentence, writing process (i.e., plan, draft, conference, publish, share), adding to and taking away from writing with adult support, spelling strategies, Author’s Chair

Activities: In this review period, we jumped into nonfiction writing. Students generated lists of topics they know a lot about. Then they chose one and created a circle map plan. Using their circle map plans, students are writing their informational paragraphs. We are focusing on the paragraphs having a title, a topic sentence, detail sentences, and a wrap-up sentence. I am conferencing with individual students on their paragraphs. Our conferences focus on revising ideas and editing conventions. We are using spelling strategies which include writing all the sounds you know, using your personal dictionary, and using our Word Wall. Completed informational posters are starting to fill up our classroom walls and students are enjoying the posters during our Authors Chair time.

Teacher Tip: Ask your student to plan and write an informational paragraph based on a science or social studies topic that you have studied at home.

Teacher Info: Mrs. Giesen, jgiesen@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Our learning objectives this month were the following: Observe the properties of a variety of liquid materials, record information about properties of liquids, play games to practice vocabulary associated with liquids, investigate and record the level nature of liquid as it flows from one stable position to another, investigate the appearance and behavior of liquids in containers, develop definitions of solids and liquids based on their observations and comparisons.

Activities: Students observed seven vials of various liquids and made observations about each. Students observed and compared the liquids as they were shaken, rolled, turned upside down, and spun. As a class, we came up with several properties that liquids possess (has color, colorless, viscosity, bubbly, translucent, foamy, sticky, transparent). We played Memory and Go Fish with cards representing the different properties that liquids have.

Teacher Info: Mrs DeWaard, hdewaard@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: EdBlocks

Activities: This month we continued our adventures with Edison and used a combination of barcode programming and block based programming to learn the full range of coding features available to the EdBlocks platform. We taught “Eddie” to run away from a light, or run towards the light. We taught him to follow a line, stay on a path, how to navigate around obstacles, make automatic doors, send messages to other Edisons and even programmed them to sing a duet together! We also had a great deal of fun teaching Eddie to sumo wrestle first with a barcode, then block coding it ourselves!

Teacher Tip: If possible, bake recipes from scratch with your children. Baking requires more precision than cooking and the kids can use practice following step by step directions with precision! Also, tasty food makes an excellent built in reward for their hard work!

Teacher Info: Ami Clayton, Substitute Teacher, 360-318-2508 M/W

Topics: Sight words, Reader's Theatre, phonics including digraphs, blends and "magic e", rhyming words, Dr. Seuss theme

Activities:​​ Using the Heggerty Primary curriculum and engaging whole-class learning activities, first graders are developing strong letter-sound awareness. They are practicing key phonemic skills such as recognizing rhymes, identifying sounds in isolation, blending sounds and syllables, segmenting words into individual sounds, and manipulating sounds by adding, deleting, and substituting them.

To celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday on March 2, first graders practiced their listening skills by completing a directed drawing of The Cat in the Hat. The celebration continued throughout the

m​onth as students listened to Dr. Seuss books and engaged in corresponding activities:

​1.One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fis​h: This book helped students focus on color and number words. They created a tally chart and graph with colored paper fish. They used the data to solve math story problems—showing how reading connects to other subjects. Students also played a fish-and-fishbowl rhyming match game and participated in a short Reader’s Theatre script based on the book. As a class, they sorted over 60 words into word families, which are now displayed on our classroom wall as a rhyming word reference.

2. Green Eggs and Ham​: Students worked on a Reader’s Theatre script for Green Eggs and Ham, an exciting new experience that required them to follow along carefully and read their parts. The book itself contains only 50 frequently repeated words, helping build confidence in emerging readers. Even those who were initially unsure found success! Hoping this is something they continued to practice at home. As a class, we completed a creative writing project by crafting our own version of Green Eggs and Ham. This was especially challenging as students had to start with a food and a name that rhymed.

​3. The Cat in the Hat​: After listening to the book being read aloud to them, students worked with partners to choose from a variety of engaging activities, including:

• A sight-word BINGO game

• A "hats" memory match game featuring words with blends

• A roll-the-die "race to the top" game with magic e words

• Creating their own Cat in the Hat masks

• Matching word family cards

• Following directions to complete a mystery picture

• Using comprehension skills to answer questions

• A fun math dice game in which they practiced finding addends that equaled printed numbers

The ​​month was filled with​ a wide variety of reading activities as students immersed themselves in Dr. Seuss’s whimsical world! Along with class activities, each student in class was also given the opportunity to demonstrate his/her knowledge of the first 100 sight words.

Teacher tip: Be on the lookout for sight word packets that were sent home this week. Learning how to both read and spell these first 100 words will be a huge benefit for first graders!

Teacher Info: Mrs. Elgersma- gelgersma@meridian.wednet.edu