Here’s what our first graders are learning this week: April 11-15
Interactive Read Aloud: April is National Poetry Month! To celebrate, we are 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: -ie and –igh words
We are in our end of the year unit 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 -ie and -igh words.
Writing: This month, 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 third 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, we begin our newest unit in Core Knowledge history: A New Nation. We will be learning about the original 13 colonies and the events leading up to the American Revolution. Topics include the Boston Tea Party, the "Shot Heard Around the World," Paul Revere, Betsy Ross and the first American flag, the Declaration of Independence, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and American symbols.
