First Grade Families,
We are looking forward to another great week! It was wonderful to see so many of you at curriculum night. It is truly a joy to partner with you in your child's education. A friendly reminder to mark your calendars for August 30th if you are interested in volunteering. We will be training first grade parents on our procedures for helping in the classroom at this time. The evening of September 4th we will take a deeper look at Spalding and Singapore math and encourage you to join us if you have any questions.
Spalding:
me, do, and, at, on, a, it, is, she
can, see, run, the, in, so, no, now, man
ten, tan, tin, ton, bed, top, he, you, will, we
Language Arts
We will continue to work through Aesop's Fables. Scholars will identify the moral of the story and complete sentences for The Maid and the Milk Pail and Sour Grapes. Later in the week we will be reading Thumbelina stories from around the world. Thumbelina is a Hans Christina Anderson fairy tale. He was the child of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman, he failed at several careers until he turned to writing. His first book only sold 17 copies and he later found success. We will read several versions of this well known fairy tale while taking a closer look at their similarities and differences.
Math
Scholars will make up number stories to illustrate number bonds this week. They will associate number bonds with part-whole and find and learn number pairs from 2-10. We will also find the missing part of a number bond.
History
This week we will be learning about the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Epic of Gilgamesh tells the story of a mighty king named Gilgamesh who rules harshly over his people. We will also discover the Gate of Ishitar. This blue-tile gate was decorated with golden bulls and lions, the favorite animals of Ishitar. Lastly we will discuss the Code of Hammurabi. This was a long list of laws, many of which seem strange or cruel today. We will come up with our own similar laws and discuss why we value our own school rules and treating others the way we want to be treated.
Science
When describing matter, most people discuss first its physical properties-size, weight, color, and so on. An important property of matter is its state-solid, liquid or gas. Rocks, wood, and glass are all examples of solids. Water and juice are examples of liquids. Air and steam are examples of gases. Each state is defined by distinct characteristics. This we will take a liquid and turn it into a solid. We will also be exploring gas using a regular balloon and a helium balloon. Scholars will categorize the three states of matter.
Calling All Volunteers!
Volunteer Training Night: Thursday, August 30th 6-7:30 PM
Please join us for an evening of information and training. Our night will focus on school wide opportunities as well as grade level specific reading and math group training. We are looking for volunteers to consistently partner with us this year. Our goal is for each classroom to host volunteers weekly as we embark on strengthening our reading and math differentiation in the classroom. If you have any questions please reach out to me.
Thank you for all you do!
The First Grade Team
