We spent last week investigating pumpkins. We estimated the number of lines on the outside of our pumpkins. Congratulations to Reed and Destiny for coming closest. We used rich describing words to describe the outside and inside of our pumpkins. We made predictions if we "thought" the pumpkins would sink or float. We experimented and found out that pumpkins floats, no matter the size. We estimated the number of seeds within the pumpkin. I also was able to capture their faces on film after investigating the "guts" of the pumpkin. Their faces were PRICELESS!
We took a single piece of construction paper and used our problem solving skills to make the longest paper chains. We competed to see which group could make the longest. We took these papers and made them into this....... Congratulations blue table for problem solving to make the longest chain during our length and measurement unit. There will be no school on October 25th because the teachers will be working to plan amazing things for the upcoming months :) Over the past two weeks we have been focusing on the following " chunks" -sh -ch - th Any time you see these chunks make sure to point them out and have your child say the sound. Date: October 17 th Time: 6:00-7:00pm Location: Castle Heights Middle School on Firetower Road. Events: DJ, dinner, games, and a costume contest Cost: $8 per child and $10 for adults ( $2 if you wait to purchase at the door). It is already that time! Parent/teacher conferences. I have created a Sign-up Genius link that I will be email to you. This wonderful link allows for conferences to be schedule electronically. In addition, it will send you a reminder two days prior to your conference. I am looking forward to our discussions and the opportunity to showcase what your child have been working on in class! We have begun our shapes and measurement unit. A fun game to practice shape knowledge is "I Spy". Examples: - I spy a shape with eight sides ( when your driving your child could point out stop signs that they see) - I spy a rectangle ( child could point to street signs, bill boards, etc) In first grade we are looking at the attributes of shapes: how many sides, how many corners, is the shape closed, does it have curvy or straight lines. In addition, practice having your child draw pictures using certain shapes (draw a picture using only triangles, draw a picture using triangles and circles). The possibilities are endless. I have a few reminders. Please have your child read 20 mins a night and fill in their reading logs located inside the front cover of their homework journals. We will be starting our Pizza Hut Book It program as a reading incentive. Today was our first MAPS test. We have three more MAPs tests left. The dates of these tests are located on the behavior calendar. Make sure your child has had a good night sleep and a good breakfast. We having been learning new reading strategies in Reading Workshops. Have your child tell you about our fun strategies (owl eyes, lips to fish, stretchy the snake, trying lion) In Writing Workshop we are working on writing narratives. We have been discussing small moments in writing and enhancing our writing by unfreezing our characters. We are showing this through writing how our characters move, talk, feel, and think. Encourage your child to add details to small moments stories written at home by making characters move, talk, feel, and think. In Math Workshop we are learning how to count on starting at any number. We are also learning about the communative property (4+5=9 and 5+4=9). At home you can encourage your child to count objects found around the house, play card games, or show you the math games we have been learning (games: how many am I hiding, heads or tails, peas and carrots). In addition, continue to work on number formation by writing numbers down after counting objects. We finally presented our musical instruments. We had such a fun time planning, creating, playing, and presenting our instruments! We also had several content integration lessons via our music teacher, Mrs. Wooten. She taught us how sound is created, showed us several instruments where the sound is created differently, and gave us some good ideas for our own instrument creations! We had a very busy October 1st day! We watched a fun play put on by Duke Energy and the National Children's Theater about Natural Resources. Then we took out first MAPS test. We read all of those special notes of encouragement sent in by the parents. After that we took a tour of the neighborhood maps created by 2nd Grade for our Community Helpers Unit. We were able to interview the 2nd graders about map keys, scales, etc. What a great and productive start to October! |
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