What we're learning!

Here's an update on what we've been learning! 

Social Studies/Science- We are finishing up our unit on Theodore Roosevelt and the important contributions he made to the United States. Once we wrap that up, we will switch gears and jump in to Light and Shadows for our science unit. We will tie the shadows in with Groundhog's Day, so that could be a fun topic to discuss with your children at home, as well!

Writing- Our 3rd quarter will be all about Opinion writing. We will focus on how state our opinion, provide a reason and evidence or examples to support that reason, and then we will learn how to restate our opinion to conclude our writing. A great way to support your writer with this unit at home is to talk about their thoughts- discuss their opinion when given two options. Ex: Would you rather eat chocolate ice cream or vanilla ice cream? Focus on their reason why, and delve deeper than just simply stating "I like it," or "it tastes good."
Reading- In reading, we have been learning about how to predict what will happen in the story before reading, retell the events of a story after reading, and then summarize what was read at the end. These are all great topics to ask your child questions about as you read each night. While doing this, don't forget to continue focusing on story elements, also! (i.e. characters, settings, beginning/middle/end)!
Math- We started the quarter learning about expanded form of a number (i.e. thinking of 53 as 5 groups of 10 and 3 extra ones, written as 50+3), moved into comparing numbers (understanding that the bigger number is "greater" and the smaller number is "less"), and are now going to move into adding and subtracting double digit numbers within 100. We will be focusing on this concept for the next 4 weeks, so if your child seems to be confused at first, we will be working for a long time to ensure they understand! Due to the new common core, if you have any questions about strategies or reasoning behind why we teach it the way we do, please do not hesitate to reach out and ask for help!

Bus Lane Safety!

Parents, please read the following note from the office! Thank you! :)

Happy New Year!

I cannot believe it is already 2018! It feels like this school year started yesterday! My how time flies!

As we begin the second half of the school year, I wanted to remind you all of how exciting a time this is in your child's life! They are constantly learning and growing and I feel so grateful to be spending this season of life with them! With that being said, I want to uphold the importance of being healthy!!! The flu and many other illnesses are running rampant at our school so it is crucial we work together to keep your children happy and healthy! 

The school work and concepts we are beginning to work on are more difficult and challenging than first semester. I want to remind you to encourage your student and help them reach their fullest potential. Everyone in our classroom is SO bright and I want to see each of them shine!

Homework for week 19 will be going home tonight! We are a tad behind in the week count but it is on level with what your child should be able to accomplish. 

Make sure to watch the weather and the Cobb website tonight in case of school delays or closings for tomorrow, Wednesday the 17th. 

I loved seeing a few of your faces at STEAM night! It was a fun filled night of learning and I hope to see you again next year! 

Last Week of School Before Break!

Holiday Happenings!

I hope everyone enjoyed the snow day on Monday! I know I did :) I wanted to fill you in on what's happening during our last week of school!

Monday: Monday will be a normal school day!

Tuesday: Tuesday is early release! We will start dismissal at 12:00. Tuesday is also First Grades Holiday Happenings! A paper went home in your child's folder on Wednesday. We start at 8:45 and go until 9:55. You are more than welcome to stay with your child for lunch! I hope you can all join us!

Wednesday: Wednesday is also early release! We will start dismissal at 12:00. Wednesday is also Pajama Day! Your child may wear their pajamas and we will be watching The Polar Express and enjoying some warm hot chocolate! 

Holiday Craziness!

Hello, hello everyone! I can't believe we only have 11 days of school left! The end of the year is quickly approaching which means report cards and mid year assessments are right around the corner! 

Please try your hardest to keep getting your child here on time and well fed by either you or the cafeteria :)

We have a few exciting things coming up in the next two weeks so be on the lookout for important papers in your child's folder. I hope that you enjoy this season with your families and that I get to see your smiling faces before the year is over!

1st Grade Happenings in November!

Hey Hey everyone! Just wanted to give a quick update on what we have been working so hard on this month! Here's a quick little explanation of what we've been tackling during November! :)

Social Studies- We have been learning about Thomas Jefferson and all the ways he helped the United States of America.

Writing- We are writing "How-To" papers in which we tell the reader sequential steps of how to do a task. A cookbook or instructions for putting together a table are both real-world examples of how-to writings. This past week we wrote a book about how to follow our PBIS School Wide Expectations for our hallways behavior, and next week we will be discussing how to catch a turkey based on a mentor text we will be reading!
Reading- We just finished up the idea of asking questions before, during, and after reading a text. This is a strategy we will use in class to help us better comprehend and enjoy each story we read! Now, we are moving into problems and solutions within a text- What is the problem and how did they solve it? We can use this knowledge to both help us better understand a text, and to apply to every day life when we have a problem and need to find a solution! Both of these strategies for comprehension can be used in your household while reading with your child, also!
Math- Math has been a busy subject in the past couple weeks! We have been learning about the equal sign, and that it simply means that both sides must be the same number (i.e. 6 = _ + 4, so something and 4 together must equal the same number as 6. We can count on from 4- 5..6.. so we had to count 2 more numbers. So 2 + 4 is the same as 6: 6 = 2 + 4.. 6 = 6). AND we are learning how to add 3 digits together to get our total, or whole. We look at each number as a "part" and then the total as the "whole" (i.e. 3 + 2 + 4 = _ can be seen as one part is 3- which can be modeled using any household item, another part is 2, and the last part is 4. If you are modeling these items with objects, you simply join all objects together and find the total, or whole!). I know Common Core Math strategies can be tricky for some of us, so as always, please reach out if you would further information for assisting your child!

Thanksgiving Lunch!

Parents, grandparents, and friends are invited to join us for our annual Thanksgiving lunch. The cost of a guest lunch is $3.75. Classes will eat in the cafeteria on the day assigned above. On the day your child's class is not having family/friends lunch, they will have sack lunches and eat in their classroom. Please join us for a delicious lunch!!

**Lifetouch Photography will be here to take family portraits on the stage.  Flyers with prices will be available each day in the café.

**Book Fair will be open in the Media Center.  It’s a great time to buy holiday gifts!

Our class lunch will be on Wednesday November 15 from 10:50-11:35! I would love for as many of you to join us as possible. I know it would make your kiddos day to have a special visitor for lunch! :)