MID-JANUARY/FEBRUARY

2012-01-15T19:20:00.000-08:00

FIRST GRADE

MID-JAN/FEBRUARY

Please visit our links often!

www.mathletics.com
www.raz-kids.com
www.nationalgeographicforkids.com
www.shelsilverstein.com

We are finishing our study of Martin Luther King Jr. with a direct connection to the same ideas of PEACE & GENTLENESS that we learn from the teachings of Sts. Francis deSales & Jane de Chantal.
Taking the "Little Virtues" & "I have a dream...", we used a literature selection created by school children entitled We Have a Dream to see how children CAN & DO make a difference in our world. The girls have created their own dreams for mankind and used their artistic talents to display these on our large bulletin board.

The genre of Poetry has always held a fascination for children,especially that which rhymes. So, we have read some poetry from Shel Silverstein, Rossetti and Benet. Our adventure with Silverstein's web page was not only fun but a direct connection to new vocabulary, grammar and writing!

Our investigation of Presidents Washington and Lincoln through the use of the Biographical Genre will lead us to Washington, D.C. to discover symbolic monuments of our country's leaders and ideals. We will be using internet sources, photography and reproductive artifacts to enhance our celebration of Presidents' Week.

Of course,February will begin our study of Black History which leads us to our fantastic QUILT STUDY in connection with the Underground Railroad. We will cross the curriculum in ALL subject areas with this study and it will continue into March if necessary to complete.

Concepts of MATTER along with experiments extend from our study of winter/Arctic/Antarctic/tundra habitats.

Our Math study connects to the rest of our wonderfully packed month of discovery. Flat & 3Dshapes, faces, corners, sides, directionals, linear measurement,and x/y graphing will be additions to our double digit numeric practice.

We cannot forget that we have Chinese New Year,Groundhog Day, St. Valentine's Day and the 100th Day of School included in the next 6-7 weeks.

Above all, we enter into our Season of Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday.
**Please remember that this falls within our Winter Break Week.

As always, I will continue to add any interesting links to this blog and send home as well.

Welcome to our 1st Grade December/January Blog!

Our Work & Play Links

www.mathletics.com

www.raz-kids.com

www.nationalgeographicforkids.com

We have been very busy during our first trimester. We are already working on our next piece in our Writing Workshop. As you may know, we are writing in the "1st person" which makes for an interesting read! Our use of Graphic Organizers is really helping us to manage our thoughts. We are concentrating on The Nativity for this piece and I know it will be wonderful:)

Since we always try to work across the curriculum, we are using many genres for our studies. [Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Legends]. Strategies that are modeled by me are incorporated into our Guided Reading Groups as well as our Word Study. The girls are becoming experts with these.

We are looking especially at Legends of Christmas and Christmas Customs from around the world. This is a great deal of fun in our learning. We have a wide variety of Seasonal Literature and the girls are truly enjoying Our Shared Reading, Read Aloud Selections and their OWN self selections. We list our readings, choose favorites, tally the votes and post the FAVORITE story.

We have been placing NOUNS and PROPER NOUNS into bins with the label for people, places, & things. The girls love to challenge me with "Catch Me If You Can" noting any and all grammatical errors that I have purposely made. All of these components as well as our Calendar work, weather, opening Circle, discussions, reading, following directions, and Sharing Circles add daily to their knowledge of language in Oral and written forms. We are also placing a great deal of emphasis on PRIOR KNOWLEDGE in all subject areas. What they already know is built upon and what we want to know, well, we just turn to our Smart Board and find what we need.

We use our Smart Board on a daily basis and the girls are becoming quite proficient in the interactive use of the Board.

Our Math component will continue to build on the foundation we have set and we will be moving into the GEOMETRIC ZONE for some great learning and fun! We will be using many manipulatives for understanding and these will also help to finely hone their fine motor skills. Of course, Virtual Manipulatives within our Smart Board will also be a prime source for understanding and practice.

You can always refer to their daybooks and Home Folders to View any work we have done, for homework assignments and for completed work.

Please continue to read WITH your daughters. This is such an important component to all subject areas.

I will keep you updated on anything we may need. Please refer to our calendar for events and the Tuesday folder for reminders.

Blessing to all!

VAFIRSTGRADE DECEMBER/JANUARY

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FIRST GRADE DECEMBER/JANUARY

DECEMBER/JANUARY

Saturday, December 10, 2011

1ST GRADE DECEMBER & JANUARY

VAFIRSTGRADE DECEMBER/JANUARY

MID-JANUARY/FEBRUARY

FIRST GRADE DECEMBER/JANUARY

Saturday, December 10, 2011

1ST GRADE DECEMBER &amp; JANUARY

1ST GRADE DECEMBER & JANUARY