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: subitization, grouping by 2s, 5s, and 10s to aid in accurate counting of numbers to 100, counting to 120, tally marks, word form, place value, thinking flexibly with numbers, modeling problems with manipulatives and pictures Activities: This month we introduced subitization which is looking at a group of dots and finding the total without having to count them one by one. This skill helps build number sense and students begin to gain flexibility with seeing different ways that a number can be composed. For example, 8 could be 4 and 4, 4 sets of 2, 3 and 5, etc. Students worked with a variety of counting collections and practiced using groups of 2s, 5s, or 10s to help them keep track of the items and easily check their counting. The class also worked hard on each campus day to gain independence and experience with a variety of ways of showing understanding of our number of the day including tally marks, word form, picture, 1 more and 1 less, 10 more and 10 less, and both addition and subtractions with the number as the answer. Teacher Tip: Counting collections are an easy activity to replicate at home. Take a big handful of small items like dried beans, beads, paper clips, or pebbles and then count them. Encourage your student to choose a way to group them and help organize their thinking. Have them count aloud and help emphasize the patterns in the count sequence. Teacher Info: Mrs. Kurashige, skurashige@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: writing process, using a To Do list, characters, setting, titles, editing for capitals and end punctuation, correct letter form (size, shape, hang hanging letters, only use capital letters when needed), goal setting with 5 Star Rubric, editing marks, compliments

Activities: This month was all about our story writing unit (personal narratives). Students planned their stories using a beginning-middle-end chart. They used pictures, words, and dialogue bubbles in each section to support having lots of details. Students then took their stories through our writing process (plan, draft, conference (revise and edit), publish). We have been emphasizing rereading our writing, adding more details, and writing strong titles (short, eye catching). Students are enjoying sharing their stories during our Author Chair and displaying their books in our classroom.

Teacher Tips: Did you see the 5 Star Rubrics I sent home? I hope you celebrated the skills that your child is consistently using. A great next step is to set a goal to master another area on the rubric. My hope is that all students are working towards 5/5 by the end of the school year. Please let me know if you need additional 5 Star Rubrics for home use.

Please encourage your student to enjoy rereading the books they write in class. Lots of families collect the books in a basket as they come home to enjoy over and over.

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

Topics: community helpers, fire-safety, map skills - using cardinal directions and grids, introduction to voting/election

Activities: We kept learning fun by playing a BINGO game with riddles the first graders wrote about different community helpers. Each riddle included clues about where the helper works, the tools they use, and how they help our community. Next, we studied fire safety, connecting it to our community helpers and October’s Fire Safety Month. We started by watching a video on fire safety rules, including the importance of having a fire escape plan and the key rule: "Get Out, Stay Out." Students learned not to play with matches, to tell an adult if they see a fire, and how to "Stop, Drop, and Roll." Then they created questions to ask the firefighters from North Country Fire and Rescue. When the firefighters visited, they began in our classroom, answering student questions and showing us how they suit up in their gear. This helped ease any fears about the oxygen tanks' sounds and appearance. They explained how their clothing resists heat, and then took us outside to explore their fire truck and ambulance. We got to see special tools like the jaws of life and the hoses, and each student even had a chance to use the fire hose to knock down pylons! To thank the firefighters, students wrote a class poster, including quotes about what they learned. We wrapped up with three fire-related experiments that showed what happens when oxygen is removed and how carbon dioxide can put out a fire. Students were amazed to see how baking soda and vinegar could extinguish a flame.Our learning continued with a study of maps, where we used a grid on the carpet to find coordinates. Some students made a great connection to playing Battleship! Using coordinates and cardinal directions, we identified locations on a “community” map the class created with paper bag buildings. Finally, we introduced the idea of elections by reading Vote by Eileen Christelow. This lively book explains the steps in a mayoral election, from campaigning to casting a vote, helping the class get familiar with how elections work.

Next steps: In connection with our fire safety unit, I sent home a "fire safety chat" paper. I encourage you to spend time going over this as a family as a means of having a personal fire plan. Students will receive a fire safety bookmark if/when it is returned to school.

Side lesson that needs to be shared: While sitting in the ambulance/medic truck, one of the students noticed the fire fighter wearing a hearing aid. The student inquired about it. This resulted in a beautiful opportunity to talk about how this didn't hold him back from becoming a firefighter. We also related it to the way glasses help many people see better. I love the way extra side lessons can happen throughout the day!

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

Topics: Logging In & Out of Chromebooks, Keyboard Identification, Tabs, Google Sheets

Activities: October has been a great month for our class to practice classroom routines so students can become more independent and self sufficient on their Chromebooks. Almost everyone is able to log into his/ her Chromebook, open Google Classroom, and navigate to the correct assignment without teacher assistance. Everyday we spend at least 15 minutes on a primary keyboarding program and have now added 10 minutes of math iReady, which helps reinforce math concepts and learn new computer tools. Every student is able to open and close tabs, and shut down Chromebooks correctly.

The last two weeks of October we began our Google Sheets unit. Using paper color pages, students are identifying the correct address of each cell in a Google Sheet as they color to create mystery pictures. Our next step will be to transfer this skill to a digit spreadsheet and change cell colors.

Teacher Tip: Please make sure Chromebooks are charged the night before MP3 classes. Many students have had to borrow a Chromebook from the cart which slows down the login process. Also, please help reinforce the 'clean hands' rule when your son or daughter is using his/her Chromebook.

Teacher Info: Mrs. Montgomery, rmontgomery@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Elements of Art: Shape, Line, Form, & Color; Principles of Design: Pattern; Techniques: Clay

Activities: This month was all about shapes and color mixing! We celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month by reading Round is a Tortilla and looking at artwork by its illustrator, John Parra. (We looked at and discussed his works from Gracias, Thanks too!) We spent a day looking around our school for geometric and organic shapes and then looked at the shape collages by Hispanic artist Mercedes Pardo. Students learned how to use primary colors to mix secondary colors and used their painted paper to cut geometric shapes for their own shape collages. Next, we read The Apple Pie Tree, by Zoe Hall and talked about all the different kinds and colors of apples. Students had a lot to share about their experiences in the local orchards! Students put their color-mixing skills to the test again and painted a variety of apples. They did a great job drawing apple shapes and giving their apples a highlight too! Our finial project of the month was looking at Yayoi Kusama’s famous dotted pumpkins. We looked at her outdoor sculptures as well as her infinity rooms and read, Yayoi Kusama: From Here to Infinity by by Sarah Suzuki. Students were in awe of her work! We used Model Magic to create our own pumpkins and will finish the month painting them and giving them a pattern of large and small dots.

Reflection Questions: Ask your student to tell you about our very own infinity room!

Teacher Info: Mrs. Warnock, swarnock@meridian.wednet.edu