Eighty-Fourth Day of School

In Writing we wrote down questions which we thought people may ask about our writing topics. We were asked to write at least 5 questions beginning: why, what, how, where, and when. It was thought that this strategy would help to focus our writing and would help us to find sub-topics. Some example questions include:

• Why is organic gardening important?
• What tools are important to have in the garden?
• How do you compost?
• Where is the best place to start a garden?
• When is the best time to plant seedlings?

In reading, we deconstructed an informational piece on art from around the world. We reconstructed what the author's brainstorming sheet may have looked like. Then game sub-topic heading/chapter names to the different sections. We were then given the name of a chapter from an informational piece and had to come up with 2 different possibilities for an All About book based on that one chapter.

Forty-Fifth day of School

In Writing we wrote to extend the beginning by adding interesting details or character descriptions.

In Science we made observations of a substance to decide if it was a liquid or solid.

In Reading we worked on summarizing.

Thirty-First Day of School

Today we took our personal narrative Writing test. Our next writing unit will be realistic fiction.

Unsatisfactory notices will be sent this week. This notice is for parent information only. It does not need to be discussed with your child. The good news is that for the first time ever, no notices will need to be sent for the subject of Math. Keep in mind these notices are only for those subjects which have been assessed to date (Writing, Reading, and Math). Bear in mind, the reading notification is for measurements which do not necessarily reflect instruction for the present school year. They are basically an indication of where your child may be beginning the year relative to beginning of the year standards for first grade. You will receive an unsatisfactory notice for your child's reading scores if they performed below standard on 2 or more beginning of the year reading assessments.

We began word sorting exercises today based 3 different student ability levels. We also took an in-depth look at the 'long-a' sound spelled 'a_e' (bake, take).

In Music, we discussed the elements of a song with an emphasis on beat (rhythm to be discussed soon).

Thirteenth Day of School

Today we learned two tested concepts. The first was a Social Science and Science combined concept of wants vs. needs (tested). We discovered that in order to survive, humans (and other living creatures) need in this order:

• Air
• Water
• Food
• Shelter
• Clothing
• Companionship

In Science we learned that there are are 3 forms/states of matter:

• Solid
• Liquid
• Gas

We learned that one form can be transformed into another form by adding or removing heat (tested).

We listened to the fable Town Mouse and Country Mouse whose moral was that everyone has different preferences.

We read a fantasy called Pam and Sam and learned that our abilities are a part of what makes us unique.

In Writing, we began the drafting process of our first personal narrative (CCSS 1.W.3). Next week we will begin the revision process.

In P.E. we practiced techniques of handball.

In Math we reinforced the idea that numbers can be deconstructed in more than one way. We did not take home homework.

Next week we will take our first publisher's math test.