First Grade
As the New Year rings in and everyone is looking ahead, the first graders have had a chance to look back in time. Our social studies unit was one that focused on life long ago. The students have had many opportunities to learn about how life was very different in the past. We examined artifacts such as kitchen gadgets, olden day’s clothes and other household items that helped us create an image of what life was like for people long ago.
On January 16, the first graders had an opportunity to visit One History Place at the Strong National Museum of Play. The children got to see what an old fashion kitchen was like as well as an olden day’s parlor, train station and attic.
In writing, we have worked on revising personal narrative pieces. This process has focused on writing interesting leads and endings that include feelings. We also wrote a process piece. In our process piece, we explained how to make walnut ink, after we had the opportunity to make it ourselves. This activity also connected to our work in social studies as we compared the differences between methods of writing from many years ago and today.
Simple division and subtraction have been the two new areas of exploration in math. Through the use of different manipulatives the students learned how to divide different numbers of objects into equal shares. We also divided odd numbers of objects and discussed leftovers. Literature guided our initial study of subtraction as we created story problems involving circus animals and performers.
In reading, our instruction continues to focus on learning new decoding and comprehension strategies. An example of a comprehension strategy that we have been working on is determining the main idea of the text. After reading, the students are asked to think about what the story is all about. As a follow up, students express their ideas in writing. Please continue to read at home with your child every night. Also be sure to record the title of the book and the amount of time that you read on your monthly calendar.
Writing tip: Authors generally recommend writing about what children experience in daily life. You and your child may want to keep a journal about the events of the day. Try adding as many details as you can and of course check for proper capitalization and punctuation.
Webpages created by Bob
Schultz
updated 1/26/10 by K.. Vogler