Halfway Through First Grade! (Week 20)

Our class wrote a persuasive letter to Ms. Honan asking for a spiderweb dome (geodome) structure on our playground.  Ms. Honan's response was hopeful and students started researching sizes and heights of different domes that would be safe for 5-7 year olds.  They will present their research to Ms. Honan and might possibly convince her to add a fun new way to exercise and move on the playground!

In math we've started learning about telling time to the hour.  Students made their own clocks with only hour hands to practice making different times.  Here are some familiar phrases that you can use at home when talking about time:

" About ___ o'clock"
"Half past ___ o'clock"
"Almost ___ o'clock"

Week 19

More balance experimenting happened this week!

Students have been recording the findings from their experiments in their science journals.

We've started using a new non-fiction book sheet to write about our reading during readers workshop!

Week 18

We started conducting some balance experiments this week!  Students used counterweights to try to balance trick crayfish on their fingers.

We've been learning about the dreams of Martin Luther Kings, Jr., Ruby Bridges, Malala, and students all around the globe this week.  Here are some of the Ice Owls' dreams for a happier world:

There are dozens of persuasive letters being written in room 108 each day!  Did you receive one?  If so, consider writing a letter back and sending it to school with your child.

The Ice Owls continue to be great reading coaches to their Kindergarten buddies!

Happy 2017!

We kicked off 2017 by making new years resolutions to strive for in the classroom.  Each student picked a classroom rule that they feel they can do better at following in the new year.  Check them out on Seesaw!

We updated our hopes and dreams!

In writers workshop we've started persuasive letter writing!  If your child writes you a letter, consider writing back to him/her with a response.  It's so exciting for the students to get return letters, and  it shows them the power of letter writing.  In the past we've received responses from President Obama, Governor LePage, members of congress, leaders of nonprofit organizations, town leaders, principals, and more!

Happy, Happy, Happy

Happy solstice, happy holidays, and happy new year from the Ice Owls!

Week 15

We've been learning all about what makes the seasons on Earth, the winter solstice, and all of the celebrations of light that happen during this dark time of year.  On Thursday a traveling planetarium visited Rowe School to teach us more about our solar system!

Students have been editing and publishing final drafts of their realistic fiction stories!

We've been learning all about place value in math!  Students have been building numbers with base 10 blocks, comparing numbers by looking at the tens place, and counting dimes and pennies.

On Friday Mrs. Wolinsky taught us how to use the Addimals app on our ipads.  This is a terrific way for students to become more fluent with addition math facts through the sum of 20.

Week 14

We've been learning about the solar system, planet Earth, and what makes day and night. Check out Seesaw to see and hear students sharing their knowledge on this topic!

In readers workshop we've been spying on our characters and using post-it notes to mark spots that show character feelings.

In word study we've been learning about when to use bonus letters (f, l, s) at the end of words.

On Friday Mrs. Wolinsky lead us in the Hour of Code.  Students learned how to use the app Kodable to create code!