This Tuesday is PJ and Polar Express Day!

Our Math Thinking

Learning math concepts and strategies help all of us get "the right answer". If I add 1+1 I come up with the right answer, 2. 

Thinking about how we solve math problems and being able to communicate our thinking are skills that require students to go beyond just the right answer.  When students think like a mathematician they begin to recognize patterns, are better able to analyze math problems, are more aware of their thinking  and become more skilled at re-working their ideas.  Essentially students who think mathematically become Math Thinkers and Doers who are able to form a deeper understanding of math beyond just the right answer.

Check out these Grade 1 Students who Think Like A Mathematician. 

  

Our Awesome Class!

Have you ever wondered what an awesome classroom looks like, sounds like and feels like?

Take a look at our Awesome Grade 1's. They collaborated in groups, shared ideas, connected ideas to the whole class and were able to communicate those ideas to form the Criteria For An Awesome Classroom.  

Welcome Back!

Welcome to our Grade One blog! 

It is hard to believe that a new school year is here! I have really enjoyed spending time with my family and friends this summer.  I hope you have all had a really great break and are ready for what promises to be a great year in Grade 1.

Pick Up and Drop Off

Your child will enter and exit the school through the side doors (North).  In order to encourage a smooth and simple transition for our students at the beginning and end of the day,  we ask that you wait for your child outside at dismissal (3:20) and that you leave your child before the bell rings to come in (8:55).  Supervision on our school yard begins at 8:40.  At the end of the day, your child will line up with his/her class in the school and be dismissed when the bell rings. Please make sure you are on time as it is a very busy time with many classes trying to leave the school.  

I will go outside with the students the first week to make sure students know where to go and what to do.  

Please note: Any students who are in daycare after school will line up in a separate line and will walk to daycare when the bell rings. 


I will be updating this blog frequently in order to give you a peek into some of the great things we do in our classroom. It is always exciting and fun to be in a room full of 5 and 6 year old kids.  Looking forward to sharing our adventures with you!

Cardboard Creations

As a final activity in our Science Unit, we designed and constructed structures that met a pre-determined set of criteria. We used what we learned about materials, objects and structures to come up with our Success Criteria. 

Here are some of the structures we made:

After designing and building, we put our structures to the test.  We used a "wind machine" (a fan) to see if our structures would stay together and not fall in the wind.  The good news is: all of the structures we built were designed and created in a way that none fell over in the wind.  The bad news: we have no photos or video to document this testing because we were having way too much fun! ;)

Symmetry

We have been learning all about Symmetry in Math.  Here we are working with a math partner to create a symmetrical design.  We used a ruler as the "line of symmetry" and took turns placing the pattern blocks down ensuring that our designs had matching sides. 

"Achoo!"

It's that time again when we ask that you please send in more Kleenex boxes.  Our noses thank you in advance. ;)

The 100th Day Of School

Today we celebrated the 100th Day Of School.  It's hard to believe that we have been learning together for that long.  We started our day by bundling our 10 groups of 10 straws (the straws we have been collecting since the first day of school) into 1 group of 100. We then had a great discussion about the value of numbers.  The students compared the straws to the number 1 in 100.  They knew that the 1 didn't represent 1 but 1 group of 100.   We broke the number apart (again using our straws) and discovered that each number had a value depending on what place it held.  

1=1 group of 100

0=0 groups of 10

0=0 groups of 1

We then took the concept of "groups of" to find the most efficient way to count 100 Fruit Loops.  Some used groups of 5 and some used groups of 10.

And of course we had to put the Fruit Loops on a string and make a necklace out of it when we were finished! Yummy!

We completed many more 100th Day Of School activities. Ask your child about "Race To 100"- the math game we played and the activities they completed with Miss Cosgrove who stopped by for a visit. 

Thank you also to Kai's mom who made the most delicious brownies topped with 100 Smarties.  Of course there is no picture to share because they were gobbled up quickly! 😊

Happy New Year!

I wanted to share some of the things we have been doing in class.  Here are some pictures of our hard work:

Look how far we've come in our writing.  Here is a sample of writing from the first week of school:

Here is a sample from the same student who wrote this last week:

We are also really good Mathematicians. We work together, solve problems and share our thinking!

 

And finally...our Snowmen At Night: