December 2, 2019
Welcome back from the fall break! Before the break, Barn Swallows started the week by using what they know about story elements to collectively summarize a story by telling the setting, characters, problem and solution in the story. They have learned that summarizing a story means to retell the story in their own words in a short and simple way, for first and second graders that usually means 4 to 5 sentences. We practiced this with Armond Goes to A Party, a book about an autistic boy who learns how to handle an uncomfortable social situation in order to maintain a friendship and about how to show compassion for people who have differences. For the remainder of the week, we read nonfiction books that don't follow the traditional format of chapters, sections, and subsections. A favorite was Fur, Feather, Fin, All of Us are Kin. It rhymes and has fun illustrations but teaches animal classification. We discussed the differences between different types of nonfiction; narrative nonfiction, instructional texts, reference books, guide books, and textbooks.
In math, first graders worked with counting by fives. They built a quilt of sea stars and patterned squares to assist us in figuring out questions regarding multiples of five. They also learned games that require counting various coin combinations with nickels, pennies and dimes. Second graders worked with place value by using base ten pieces to solve number riddles. They also connected base ten concepts with oral number names by working with dots arranged into rows of ten and squares of one hundred. Second graders can now complete up to page 38 in their Home Connections workbook.(On page 36 there are story problems involving money. I'm not sure why these are included as we have not covered this skill yet. They can work on this page, but know that they will likely need help.) For an explanation of our current math unit, you can go to the Bridges Math Learning Center. It's helpful for students to use physical ones, tens, and hundreds pieces to solve problems involving place value but most families do not have these at home. Here are links to an app that provides virtual number pieces and a song that helps to explain place value.
On Thursday, students practiced measuring and following instructions to make pumpkin ice cream. squash soup, pumpkin muffins, and an acorn squash salad.
If you participated in Empty Bowls, thank you for coming! I hope everyone enjoyed the break!
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at e.conway@fgcschool.org.
Welcome back from the fall break! Before the break, Barn Swallows started the week by using what they know about story elements to collectively summarize a story by telling the setting, characters, problem and solution in the story. They have learned that summarizing a story means to retell the story in their own words in a short and simple way, for first and second graders that usually means 4 to 5 sentences. We practiced this with Armond Goes to A Party, a book about an autistic boy who learns how to handle an uncomfortable social situation in order to maintain a friendship and about how to show compassion for people who have differences. For the remainder of the week, we read nonfiction books that don't follow the traditional format of chapters, sections, and subsections. A favorite was Fur, Feather, Fin, All of Us are Kin. It rhymes and has fun illustrations but teaches animal classification. We discussed the differences between different types of nonfiction; narrative nonfiction, instructional texts, reference books, guide books, and textbooks.
In math, first graders worked with counting by fives. They built a quilt of sea stars and patterned squares to assist us in figuring out questions regarding multiples of five. They also learned games that require counting various coin combinations with nickels, pennies and dimes. Second graders worked with place value by using base ten pieces to solve number riddles. They also connected base ten concepts with oral number names by working with dots arranged into rows of ten and squares of one hundred. Second graders can now complete up to page 38 in their Home Connections workbook.(On page 36 there are story problems involving money. I'm not sure why these are included as we have not covered this skill yet. They can work on this page, but know that they will likely need help.) For an explanation of our current math unit, you can go to the Bridges Math Learning Center. It's helpful for students to use physical ones, tens, and hundreds pieces to solve problems involving place value but most families do not have these at home. Here are links to an app that provides virtual number pieces and a song that helps to explain place value.
On Thursday, students practiced measuring and following instructions to make pumpkin ice cream. squash soup, pumpkin muffins, and an acorn squash salad.
If you participated in Empty Bowls, thank you for coming! I hope everyone enjoyed the break!
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at e.conway@fgcschool.org.
