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1st Grade

Course Description

 

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First Grade - What we’re doing in science


STEM Challenge - Build a Sun Shelter for Your Sun-Sensitive Animal


This past week, we introduced the students to their first engineering challenge. Over the next two weeks, students will design, build, and test a sun shelter for their pipe cleaner animal that is sensitive to the Sun. Their animals will be created using pipe cleaners and UV-sensitive pony beads. The beads appear white but once they are exposed to UV rays, they change colors!


Each student engineer will test their shelter outside in the Sun. If their animal changes color, they will know that they need to redesign and make improvements to their shelter. They will continue to retest and modify until their shelter keeps their animal safe from the Sun.


This fun and challenging activity merges Growth Mindset and the Engineering Design Process. Ask your child about their design and what they did to improve their design.


Stay Curious!

Mrs. Brisacher

October Poem read by the 1st Grade Class :)

Just a little video to brighten your day! Poems are a wonderful way to practice reading fluency. Here, the 1st Grade practices reading an October poem. Of course, they wanted to create their own motions to go along with it! Hope you enjoy! The First Grade Team

Quick Note about Mad Math Minute quizzes!

Hi Parents,
 
Each Friday the 1st Grade will take a Mad, Math, Minute quiz which tests their math fluency and mastery of their math facts. I wanted to send out a quick note to let you know that mastery of math facts is a 1st Grade standard and something that we will be working toward all year long. Do not be alarmed if your child failed to answer the majority of the problems on the MMM. Math fluency is something that takes time and lots of repetition! 
 
As of right now, your child is right on track if they are answering 10 and above questions correctly out of 24. I went over this with the students today and they know that they should not be discouraged but instead use our Growth Mindset approach to try to improve their math facts.
 
If you have any questions, please refer to our previous post about Math Facts for ways to improve or shoot us an e-mail! We are always happy to help :)
 
Best,
The First Grade Team

What we’re learning in first grade science this month...

This week, we investigated the intriguing question of why stars only appear at night, but not during the day. Students modeled the stars using their own constellation projectors and tested what happened to the stars as the Sun rose and set. Through this activity, students also learned how simple models can be used to test scientific ideas.


You can support your child’s curiosity at home by watching a read-aloud of the classic children's book Zoo in the Sky by Jacqueline Mitton: http://safeYouTube.net/w/PhCb. There are also high quality children’s books about constellations available at your local library or through Amazon: http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/11-childrens-books-about-stars-and-constellations/


Next week, we will be exploring sun and shadows in a fun STEM project. We will need some recycled materials for the students to use to build their designs. If you have any of the following to donate to our class activity it would be most appreciated:


leftover pieces of fabric, string, egg cartons, and toilet paper/paper towel tubes. Thank you!


Stay curious!

Mrs. B

First Grade Science

What we’re learning in science this month...
This week we began our unit about the sun, moon, and stars. In our first few lessons we will be learning about the sun, in particular how its place changes in the sky throughout the day. In our first lesson, your child observed the surprising fact that the shadow of a stationary object moves, even though the object itself is not moving! This is because of how the sun’s place is changing in the sky.

Although we will not yet be introducing the idea of the Earth’s rotation, next week we will be learning more details about the sun’s path, including learning about east and west (the direction of sunrise and sunset!).

You can encourage your child’s curiosity about the sun by going for a late afternoon walk around your neighborhood, and inviting them to notice where the shadows are. You can bring up interesting questions to ponder, such as: Which direction are the shadows pointing? How can you use a shadow’s direction to know where the sun is (since it’s not safe to look directly at the sun)? How might these shadows be different in the morning?

Stay curious! Mrs. B

Cubs Violin

Hi first grade parents,
A few more students need to sign-up for the Cubs Violin class in order for it to occur. It is such a great opportunity so I highly encourage you and your child to take advantage! I am attaching the flyer once again as registration has been extended if you are interested!
Have a great day,
The First Grade Team
Dear Parents,
 
We have noticed that many of our little ones do not know how to tie their shoes and that untied laces have become quite a distraction in first grade. Recently, students have been fiddling with laces during lessons and as a result missing out on valuable instruction. We ask that you please make it a point to emphasize shoelace tying at home and that your child have mastered the skill by the end of Thanksgiving break. There are a number of great Youtube videos that are quite helpful, but honestly, practice makes perfect! If this timeline seems daunting, we ask that you send your child to school with Velcro shoes in the meantime so as to minimize distractions and safety hazards.
 
We have also noticed that there is a lot of chewing going on (mainly shirts, hair, and pencils). If you notice your child engaging in this behavior at home please be sure to stop it immediately. In addition, we recommend having a conversation with your little one about germs and how they spread when you put things in your mouth. We want to make sure that first grade stays as clean and healthy as possible and we appreciate all you do to help us with that.
 
Please reach out if you need any resources or have any questions,
The First Grade Team

Spanish Homework

Here is the homework from Ms. Ana for the week:
 
Study the 5 words from the worksheet for the spelling quiz:
1. mama
2. mano
3. mono
4. mesa
5. misa