- Library books are due on Wednesdays.
- Thursday, February 27th — Walking field trip for bird watching activities; information coming soon
- Friday, February 28th – Field Day; 12:30 dismissal
- Saturday, March 7th — Spring Benefit
- Tuesday, March 17th — St. Patrick’s Day; Dress Down Day
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Inch by Inch
We have begun working on our measurement skills in first grade. We began by experimenting with nonstandard units including digits (finger widths), hand spans, paces, and more. We discovered that even if we measured the same object, we came out with different measurements. The class discussed various reasons we may have found different measurements: We have different sized bodies, some people may have left spaces between units or overlapped units, or we may have measured a different part of the object.
Next, we used paper cut-outs of our own feet and a standard foot to compare some lengths and distances. We learned that when we used our shorter personal feet, we needed to use more of them to cover the same distance. We also discovered that we were more likely to agree on measurements when we used the standard foot.
Today, we were introduced to the inch. First, we explored measuring using inch cubes. We learned that there are 12 inches in one foot and that inches help us get more precise measurements, especially of smaller objects or distances. Students practiced finding the inch edge of their ruler before lining up the end of various objects with the 0-mark.
Next, we will continue exploring using tape measures!
Generosity Scoot!
As we enter the season of giving, we are learning about generosity in Swooper Citizens. We defined generosity as “showing kindness by giving or sharing something with another person.”
First, we brainstormed ways we can give to other people. Students thought of giving gifts, hugs, smiles, and experiences (like a hike!) to other people. Next, we did a “scoot” game. In this game, students worked in pairs to read cards hung all around the room. Each card contained a scenario which might or might not depict generosity. After reading each card, they answered, “Did this show generosity?” by circling “yes” or “no” on their note paper.
After we had completed the scoot, we regrouped to discuss some of the trickier scenarios.
Finally, we listened to this fun song about being generous. We will be working extra hard to practice generosity this month!
The Rainbow Fish
We did it! Yesterday, we performed our musical play, “The Rainbow Fish.” Each student had at least one line to say, and we learned 3 different songs. We made our costumes, practiced for a month, and learned how to use microphones. I am so proud of all of the students! They performed with joy and poise TWICE yesterday! Below, you can find a video of our morning performance, along with some pictures of our actors in costume.
First graders
Angel fish
Green fish
Yellow fish
Pink fish
Purple fish
Red fish
The Rainbow fish
Sea stars
A big thank you to the Kindergarten class, Mrs. Delwiche, Miss DellaValle, and Miss Donovan for working with us on this project! Mrs. Abrams also created our beautiful backdrop. The Kindergarten and first grade room parents provided us with a fun cast party after the show. Great job, everyone!
100 Days Smarter
Today we celebrated the 100th Day of School! The students were invited to dress up as they might look when they are 100 years old.
Centenarian artists at Choice TIme
Teachers participated, too! (One student told me that I looked older than 100… This may be the only day of the year where that is a compliment!)
Miss DellaValle had a pink sweatshirt emblazoned with “Glam-Ma” on the back!
We celebrated with 100 cupcakes after lunch. (I didn’t get any pictures because they were gone so quickly!) Then, we read the book, “100 Ways to Get to 100” by Jerry Pallotta. This book illustrates several mathematical methods of reaching 100 including counting by ones, skip counting by various groups, multiplying, and adding.
Everyone was invited to create a collection of 100 items. At the end of the day, we set up our 100’s collections and traveled to each classroom to view them all.
Admiring some first grade collections: 100 pipe cleaners, Barbie shoes, hair ties, and LEGOs!
3rd graders collaborated to collect 100 synonyms for the word “said.”
Happy 100th day of fabulous learning in first grade!
Rainbow Fish Practice
We are in the midst of practicing for our production of “The Rainbow Fish,” which is a musical play based on the popular children’s book. We will perform the show next month with the Kindergarten class. Each student has at least one line to say and will sing in three songs.
Today, students came home with copies of the script in their Friday Folders. These copies may be kept at home. We will do a lot of practicing at school, but your child may want to work on memorizing his or her lines and singing parts at home. Here are some YouTube videos you can use to sing along to the songs from the show:
Within the next few weeks, the students will make their costumes at school. We are all so excited!
Michael Katz
Yesterday, local celebrity storyteller Michael Katz came by! Mr. Katz is a favorite visitor each year. He tells stories from various cultures in engaging ways that allow the students to participate in the storytelling experience. From Mr. Katz’s website: Michael Katz has been a storyteller since 1984 and has been featured at such illustrious locations as the openings of both the Los Angeles Getty Center and the Disney Concert Hall. MIchael is the host of the radio storytelling program Katz Pajamas heard on NPR station KCBX FM. He is one of the founding members of the national touring theatre company BOXTALES, and was the founding Artistic Director for the Flying Leap Storytelling Festival in Solvang, California.
Here are some photos and videos from yesterday’s visit:
Thank you to Mrs. Brace for organizing this fun event!
Our Temporary Home
Due to the tragic mudslides surrounding our campus, we have temporarily relocated! Girls, Inc. is kindly sharing their space with us. Here is a virtual tour of some of the spaces we are using:
Our classroom
Since we don’t have desks in this room, the students are storing their materials in these colorful boxes. Our tech team installed a TV monitor to use instead of our usual Smartboard and projector set up.
The students were happy to see a familiar face who was rescued from our classroom –Stanley!
The art room
The science room
The gym
The auditorium, which serves as both our music classroom and front office.
The playground
The field
We are grateful to be back together and the students are quickly learning our new routines.
Snowstorm!
A snowstorm has hit the first grade classroom! Miss DellaValle led the class in creating some beautiful winter decorations for our room.
After all that cutting, the floor of our classroom looked like we had an actual indoor snowstorm! If your vacuum ever breaks, enlist the help of some responsible first graders. They decided (without prompting!) that we should spend some time picking up the scraps.
Verb! That’s what’s happenin’!
Last week was action-packed, so it only made sense to introduce…verbs! We began with action verbs. We listed various verbs performed by animals, practiced distinguishing verbs from nouns, and watched this classic:
Learning verbs is fun because we can DO so many things! We played verb Simon Says in the classroom and we even did a verb relay outside. Students marched, danced, leaped, hopped, crawled, and wiggled across the field according to the verb written on the sign I was holding up.
Dancing
Dancing
Jumping
Marching
Skipping
Today we moved onto the sometimes-trickier “linking” verbs. Once we understood that most linking verbs have to do with “being” (is, are, seem, were, etc.) we got it! We connected this learning back to our sentence work and identified that the naming parts of sentences are nouns and the telling parts are verbs. Be sure to ask your child if they remember the shortest sentence in the English language. Hint: You can write it with only three letters!