Week 15

Here are some highlights from Room 112...

Our geologists learned about sedimentary rocks this week and had the chance to explore river rocks. We had a river rock mixture that the students sifted and sorted into 4 different kids of rocks (large pebbles, small pebbles, gravel and sand). After sorting the rocks, the students made rock riddles by using sizes and comparisons of river rocks. We had some tricky riddles! This week we will be using our sifted out sand to learn about silt.

The students have been doing an incredible job with their How-To writings! They are all working hard on their writing and teaching. We have been making sure that our writing has a title, a materials list, step by step directions and transition words. The students graded one (or more) of their how-to pieces, making sure that it had each component and that they had neat handwriting and spaces. Wow are they tough graders! They were critical of their own work and they made changes to their writing to improve it. We will be publishing one of their How-To pieces this week -- looking forward to reading all of the expert topics!

In math we reinforced our place value learning and also have been continuing to build on our understanding of counting by 5's and 10's with coins.

We started our class auction project on Friday -- thank you Jessica (Eli's Mom) and we will be finishing it up this Friday (12/19). Can't wait to see the beautiful piece created by your first graders!


Preview for the week:
12/17 -- Late arrival @ 10:00 am
12/19 -- Class Cozy Cocoa Read-in @ 8:45 - 9:45

Week 14

Here are some highlights from the week...

In math we have been continuing to build our number sense by learning about place value. The students participated in a place value matching game that has them not only recognizing the numbers and digits, but also the visuals that represents them.

We started our How-To writing and it is off to a great start! The students are writing step-by-step directions and doing an awesome job using transition words to help with the structure of their writing. From "How to make a bed" to "how to have a playdate" the students are writing about expert topics and getting the chance to be writers and teachers!

In science we continued working with and exploring our igneous rocks. We have been focusing on the features, textures, colors and location of each rock and adding information to our rock journals. This week we will be learning about river rocks! Thanks to our friends at the Green Table who brought in some rocks for our Room 112 rock museum. Each week a different table group will get a chance to share their rocks if they would like - this week it is Pink Table's turn (check out the newsletter for rock sharing schedule).

Also, we have started our 12 days of kindness, which coincides with the 12 days before winter break! We will be adding to our song each day (to the tune of the 12 days of Christmas) and practicing both the song and acts of kindness throughout the next two weeks :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Some photos from the week...

Week 13

It was a short, but exciting week in Room 112. Here are some highlights...

In writing this week students had a chance to share their writing with their classmates in what we call "partner, share, scramble." The students got to share with 3 other classmates and we also had some students share their writing with the whole class. It is great to see students excited about sharing their hard work and writing with each other - photos below!

For science, we continued reviewing igneous rocks this week. The students got to see what happened to their rocks (basalt, scoria and tuff) when they put them in water. They made great observations about the changes that not only happened to the rocks, but also to the water! The first grade geologists are doing a great job and I am excited to continue our study of rocks!

In math we practiced our counting by 5's and 10's, addition and repeated addition (multiplication) with sea creature story problems. The students are getting more comfortable using multiple strategies to solve a problem. We ended the week by making our "tens turkeys." It was a fun and festive way to reinforce our counting by 10's fluency!

I know that grandparents and special friends day was last week, but Room 112 had a special visitor on Tuesday...my brother! He was in town from New York and because he shares a birthday with one of my favorite authors, Dr.Seuss, I thought it would be extra special for him to come in and read The Cat in the Hat! 

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!

Week 12

It was a busy week in Room 112!

Science is off to a great start! We have started our Rocks, Pebbles, Sand and Silt Unit and the Room 112 geologists got their official rock journals. On Friday, they explored and sorted 3 different igneous rocks (basalt, scoria, tuff) and learned the first part of our rock song! We will continue exploring rocks and learning how they are formed. The first grade geologists ROCK -- pun intended :)

This week in literacy we continued to work on picking IPICK or Just Right books, and we added a fluency strategy to our CAFE menu. The students had an opportunity to tally the words in their "Just Right Books" that they could read in a snap. It was exciting to see students recognizing and acknowledging when books might be too easy or too hard for them!

In math we completed our counting by 10's crab chart, and our Room 112 ocean is filled with some pretty adorable crabs! The students made observations about the pattern and the counting progression that helped deepen their understanding of counting by 5's and 10's. We also built on our understanding of addition and number sentences. We discussed that the equal sign means "the same as" and that both sides of a number sentence need to be equivalent and balanced (ex. 4 + 2 = 3 + 3).

And of course, we ended the week with Grandparents/Special Friends' Day! It was truly special to see and meet all of the guests in Room 112, and the first graders were absolutely beaming! What a great way to end the week :)

Check out some photos of the Room 112 readers and geologists below...