Here’s what our first graders are learning
this week: April
4-8
Interactive Read Aloud: April is National Poetry Month! To celebrate, we are going to be spending two
weeks learning about poetry and reading many different kinds of poems. We learn that there are 2 kinds of poems:
those that tell a story, and those that describe feelings. We also learn the “3 Rs” of poetry – Rhyme, Rhythm, and Repetition.
For a list of poetry that we will be
reading together in class, check out What
Your First Grader Needs to Know. All
of our main poems come from this Core Knowledge List. J
Phonics: -ea and –ee words
We have started our end of the year study on learning to spell high frequency words, long vowel team or r-controlled words, and “fun” words from the lists you made at home. Each Friday your child will have a spelling test of 6 words they have been practicing all week through various activities. This week, we will focus on -ea and -ee words.
Writing: This week marks the beginning of a new
unit in writing. We are going to be
doing some “animal research” and writing “All About” books to share what we
have learned. Each student will have
his/her own unique animal to research, and we will be learning the mechanics of
writing non-fiction based on gathered information rather than personal
experience. At the end of this unit, we
will be making a class PowerPoint presentation to share some fun facts about
our amazing animals!
Math: We are in our second week of studying
money. Students will identify coins and
name the value of each coin from its front and it's back. Students will be able to count coins of
the same type as well as be able to count mixed coins. Our focus is on combinations of quarters,
nickels, dimes, and pennies that total $1.00 or less.
IXL: If you would like to use IXL at home, we
recommend these sections for practice this week:
·
Money
(Section O)
·
Review
of Addition and Subtraction (Sections B-F)
·
Counting
and Number Patterns (Section A)
Core Knowledge: This week is kind of a review/in-between
week for Core Knowledge. We are
preparing for our next big domain, A New Nation, which will start on Monday. This
unit focuses on the 13 Colonies and their journey to independence from Great
Britain. However, before we can begin
this unit, we felt that we needed to spend a little time filling in what
happened in between the time of the Conquistadors (which we studied with the
Maya, Aztec, and Inca earlier this winter) and the time of the American
Revolution. Therefore, we are learning
this week about the English quest for land and gold during the 1600s and 1700s,
as well as some important figures like Pocahontas and the Puritans. We are also touching on the topic of Slavery
in the Colonies and early American history.
