We had a splendiferous week in first grade!
That’s just what Fancy Nancy, the famous character created by our Author of the Month, Jane O’Connor, would say! We’ve been learning many fancy words this month, and have compiled an ongoing list of super synonyms. For example, instead of saying special, we learned the word unique! Rather than saying great, we now use the word spectacular! We’ve also learned a few French words like parfaits, and merci!Isn’t it fun being fancy? Through our author study, it is my hope for the children to develop vivid vocabulary and use colorful words and details when speaking and writing. It’s just like adding sprinkles to an ice cream sundae!
Click below to watch an interview with Jane O'Connnor.
Enter Fancy Nancy World here: http://www.fancynancyworld.com/
- This week in Language Arts, we read many stories about people who create new things by recycling the old.
-We were flabbergasted by the true story of Grandma Prisbrey, a woman who made a village out of glass bottles. Ask your child why Grandma Prisbrey began building her first bottle house? What did Grandma Prisbrey collect? Do you consider Grandma Prisbrey to be an artist? Why or why not?
-The students were so impressed with Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village, they asked if we could take a field trip. I don't think the district could afford to send us to California, so the next best thing is a virtual tour. Click on the following link to visit the Bottle Village.
http://home.roadrunner.com/~echomatic/bv/index.html
http://home.roadrunner.com/~echomatic/bv/index.html
-Our main selection story was a fantasy story called, Rose Robot Cleans Up. Rose was a lot like Grandma Prisbrey, because she liked to collect old materials and reuse them for new inventions. How were Rose and Grandma Prisbrey different? What 3 things did Rose create? How did Rose’s parents change from the beginning of the story to the end?
*BONUS CHALLENGE*: Build something by reusing old materials. Write about your new object. What is its purpose? |
-This week we worked on drawing conclusions. When you draw a conclusion, you use information you already know, and clues from the story to help understand what is happening. Use the following links for additional practice.
http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/e/drawconclusionsp.cfm
-In Spelling, once again, the Magic E played a role, as we worked with long u and long o vowels. Check out the Silent E video created by Niversita and Jake.
For more spelling practice, try these links:
-Our Grammar lessons focused on using is and are as verbs that tell about the noun. For example:
The dog is barking loudly.
The boys are playing outside.
Here is a fun linking verb game: http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/viper/viper.html
-In Math, we completed Chapter 11, Comparing and Ordering Numbers. Throughout the chapter, the students learned about greater than and less than symbols to compare numbers. They also identified numbers before, after, and between one another.
-In chapter 12, the children will explore skip counting to 100. On Thursday, our 100th day of school, the students practiced counting to 100 in various ways. We used estimation to guess the number of popcorn kernels in a bag, and how much space 100 popped kernels would fill. We practiced counting 100 kernels by 2's, 5’s, 10’s 20’s and 25’s. The children had a blast celebrating the 100th day of school!
-I am thrilled with all the awesome 100th Day of School posters the students completed. We put them on display at the main entrance of the building for everyone to see, and you wouldn’t believe how many compliments we received! Thank you for your creativity and participation!
-I am thrilled with all the awesome 100th Day of School posters the students completed. We put them on display at the main entrance of the building for everyone to see, and you wouldn’t believe how many compliments we received! Thank you for your creativity and participation!
Check out our 100th day of school videos!
