Mrs. Nordman ~ 1st Grade: ABC Countdown

ABC Countdown Day L..... Lesson on the Lawn

Sharing Animal Research Projects with friends, anticipating our Poster Party next week!

It's hard to believe there are only 13 days of first grade left! These times are so bittersweet. We have a lot planned for the remaining 13 days, so check our calendar for events. Summing up what's happening in 1-3....

Reading: We have been practicing a lot about how to choose a "just right" book and how we can write a response about what we've read. I hope these 2 strategies we have been using will assist you heading into summer reading:

1. When your child picks a book to read, he/she should try to read one random page in the book. Each time he/she comes to a word that's too hard, they put a finger up. If they get to 5 fingers before the end of the page, the book is too hard. If they have 0 fingers up, they need to evaluate if the book is too easy. Sometimes they have 0 fingers up, but it took a LONG time to read the page, which is an indication the book might be too hard.

2. The second strategy is to show comprehension through writing, choosing one of 3 beginnings:
a) My favorite part was....
b) I learned....
c) This story reminds me of....

Today we enjoyed the Reading Rainbow movie "Hot Air Henry" about a cat who snuck into a hot air balloon. Then we learned how hot air balloons operate. The children had very different ways of responding to the story! Amy wrote how the story reminded her of the time she went in a hot air balloon. Some children wrote how their favorite part was when the geese flew into the balloon with the cat and they made funny noises. Olivia wrote how the story reminded her of the American Girl Doll story about a hot air balloon. And yet others wrote how they learned that hot air balloons use fire and fans to work. Giving the children options to choose helps them set a purpose for their writing.

Writing: I have collected each child's random writing since the beginning of the year and will be binding these into books for the kids. It will include poems we've read, stories they've written and their thoughts about some things we've done this year. I hope this book inspires you and your child to continue writing over the summer. I will send an email with an attached journal page for your summer printing, if you'd like to staple several together for a Summer Journal.

Math: This unit is a lot of review! It also begins the concept of 2 digit addition and subtraction, using the number grid for assistance. Your child will bring home a Math Summer Packet, and any child who returns the completed packet to me the first week of second grade will be invited to a lunch party with me! I love that reconnection time at the party, so I hope you will encourage your child to complete the packet.

Animal Research: I hope you will be able to attend our Animal Poster Party next week. The kids are excited to share with you all they've learned about their animal!

Science/Social Studies: We are wrapping up Collecting and Examining Life and have been focusing on Mapping Skills. Tomorrow we will start a "Hot Air Balloon" adventure! We have students from Hersey High School coming in the morning to do some special science experiments with us, and one of the experiments is about hot air balloons. After that, the kids will be divided into teams and will begin a 9 day journey from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean... each team will get a clue sheet every morning to see what state the wind took their balloon to, and then they will research that state. This is such a fun activity!

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but I hope you have an idea of how we are wrapping up the year. It's going to fly by!! :( Some photos to enjoy.....

Matthew enjoying Read to Self.

Mrs. Nelson & Mrs. Watanuki introducing an engineering project to the kids.
Each science team had to plan and construct a Three Little Pigs house.
Their designs were then "tested" with a fan. So much fun was had by all!