The Latest in 1C

Happy New Year! We have been very busy in our classroom. It sure is nice to be back to business after the holidays. In addition to our studies we have been enjoying winter themed projects and stories. Be sure to check out this great link to Scholastic's Interactive Weather tool. The class loved seeing it on the SmartBoard.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/wwatch/investigate/weather_maker.htm


In SUPERKIDS we are working on units 7 and 8. Our big focus has been reading and spelling long vowel words with a silent e "magic e" ending. We will be learning about adding and -ed or -ing ending to words with a silent e. We are writing singular and plurals with long vowel sounds, and singular possessives. We are working on reading with rhythm and expression, focusing on stopping at the ends of sentences. Memory Words for these units are: oh, good, day, any, want, very, boy, two, about, girl, over, before.

In addition to these skills we are enjoying reading group times on Tuesdays and Thursday. We love having the chance to read and work in the smaller groups. Recent stories have included What Do You Know? SNOW!, Tackylocks and the Three Bears, and Curious George Visits the Library. We have been working on vocabulary, story retelling, sequencing, oral reading skills, long vowel words, and oral comprehension skills.

In Math we are continuing to work on fact practice for addition and subtraction. We are also learning about odd and even numbers using skip counting, hundreds charts, and identifying digits in the ones place (in a two digit number) to determine odd or evens. We are continuing to count change, number a clock face, symmetry, and lastly comparing and ordering two digit numbers.

In Science we have been really enjoying our science journals about Trees. We have been highlighting facts, adding sketches and labeling parts in our journals. We are learning about the parts of a tree, studying seasonal changes in types of trees, and their life cycles. We are studying tree rings and are reading about how trees help our economy and our environment. Our next unit of study is about Animal Habitats.

In Social Studies we are starting to learn about Martin Luther King, Jr. The kids are very interested in his life and accomplishements. We will be learning about Presdients Lincoln and Washington with the upcoming President's Day holiday approaching.

In Religion we are in the season of Ordinary Time. We are now working in our books on a Baptism Unit. We are learning that Baptism is the start of a new life with Jesus. Our class will now be attending Mass on Fridays except for weeks when a whole school Mass is celebrated.

Please be sure to send your child to school with warm winter gear. We like to be able to take the children outside for even for 5 minutes to get fresh air. I also ask that the children come to school each day with a school sweater or vest so that they are comfortable in the classroom. The temperature can fluctuate in various parts of the school. Please be sure that all of the sweaters are labeled. I have noticed that the names written in marker are fading, including my own son's! Thank you for your cooperation with this!

The first graders will be attending a field trip to Hanover Theater in Worcester to see a production of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie on February 3rd. Permission slips and checks are due on 1/24 and are being sent home on 1/13! The parent chaperone that will be coming is Mrs. San Clemente. Thank you to all of you who volunteered to chaperone!