Shaping Up!
Things are shaping up to be quite fun with our new unit on time, measurement, and shapes! We had fun this week exploring 2-D shapes, naming attributes of various shapes, and even learning about halves and fourths. We are getting the hang of learning the difference between one half, and one fourth. You can reinforce this concept at home by talking about fractions parts, and whole items. Demonstrate for your child how you cut a sandwich in half or fourths. There is more than one way to cut those equal shares! You can also demonstrate with graham crackers. The rectangle cracker already has a perforated line to break it in half. You can also make fraction connections with pizza, candy bars, fruit, etc. Even get out those measuring cups and talk about fractions as you bake! The more real world connections your child can make, the better they understand the concepts!
We have also enjoyed our non-fiction study of frogs and butterflies! We learned a lot about the lifecycle and read lots of interesting facts! We made some really cute art work and it is on display by our classroom. Come check it out! It will still be there during the Talking Zoo!
Speaking of the Talking Zoo, we are off to a great start on our animal research projects! Students are LOVING learning as much as they can about their animal. We use computers, iPads, books, and articles to search for information. While technology enhances and eases our intake of information, we always start with a good book or article before turning to technology. We don't need to google the answer to everything, even though it is easy to want to go that route!
When we do use technology, we are enjoying these sites:
* San Diego Zoo for kids
* Kiddle (a Google search engine for KIDS! It keeps images safe, articles, and websites appropriate for little researchers! Try it at home instead of Google!)
* National Geographic Kids
The San Diego Zoo has some wonderful animal web cams so that we can observe some animals at the zoo! It is so much fun to check in on them! We also like to check out web cams from a few aquariums, and eagle web cams, too!
Please remember that we are doing all the research at school, but your child needs to bring a costume from home! It can be purchased or homemade! If you are unable to provide a costume for your child, please let Mrs. Powell know ASAP so that we can make arrangements for your child. We do not want anyone to feel left out on this exciting day! Costumes are not "due" until June 2 (the day of the event!)
Now that the weather is nicer, we've not only taken our learning outside a lot, but our 'brain breaks'', too! We are so fortunate to have a 1/2 mile nature trail on our playground! We hit the trails and took a couple of run/walks. Our most recent lap took 7 minutes 35 seconds. We are going to see if we can beat our time next time we go out for a run in between lessons and work!
We have an amazing summer reading program coming up!! This is the time of year that I get a little nervous (ok, more than a little....VERY nervous and worried) about all of the work your child has put into learning to read this year! Think back to the beginning of the year, and your child was typically reading sight words, maybe some phrases, or some very easy readers that were mostly sight words (level A-D). Now, we have readers at level G-N! The end of the year goal is level J.
But, here's the thing. There is always that dreaded summer slide that can and will happen if your child does not read daily at his/her level all summer long! The summer slide is not the fun one at the park, or even a slip-n-slide. It is a slide backward in reading levels in the fall....often 2-3 levels back. That's huge. Months of hard work, confidence, and skill.....gone. It's like any sport. If you stop practicing, you lose your skills. I was reminded of this recently as I tried to pull out my old softball pitching skills, to help teach my daughter, who is gearing up for her first season of kid pitch softball. Something that I used to be good at, is not so easy anymore, I don't have the ability to throw as many pitches at a time or at the same speed that I used to. I have to re-teach myself - and that is to be expected, yet frustrating.
Imagine your readers who have worked so hard to get to where they are right now, and imagine their upset and frustration if they head into their new classroom, with their new teacher, and discover that they have to go back some reading levels. HOWEVER, you have the power to help them maintain their level, or even keep growing over the summer, just by offering them daily practice time! Set aside some time in the morning before they go out to play or head to the beach, and READ. They should read to you (or the dog, or the cat, or the baby!) for 20 minutes/day. They should also hear YOU read to them frequently...because hearing a fluent reader is still critical in their growth as a reader. Plus, you want to show them that you value reading and that it is an enjoyable activity!
Check out the summer reading promotional video created by some of our tech club students! More information will come home soon....and I hope that you will sign your child up! It will be FUN and SO EASY to participate! Throughout the summer, your child will get to stay in touch with either (or both!) first grade teachers as they accomplish their reading goals!
