February 6th

As a team, we are using place value blocks to build numbers. 

The challenge today was to find 5 different ways to make the number 40. 

Documenting our findings by taking a photo and sharing it with the class. 

January 10th

We measured our shadows and will compare them with our June shadow. 

Learning how to measure length in Math. 

Writing non-fiction stories.

Topics for our non-fiction stories.

Reading non-fiction books. 

Investigating how we make sounds in science. 

December 13

After learning about the pattern of the sun, we tried to make shadows move across our paper. 

Word detectives worked on their first official case!  

Figuring out patterns in math.

Challenge work.

December 6th

Mr. Chaltray taught us how to code. 

We leaned that the number model or equation has meaning.

We became word collectors. 

We are finding words from our books to write in our little notebooks.

Reflections from First Graders!

We finished our personal narrative stories and stopped to reflect on one of them.

We thought we knew 50 words in a snap but soon discovered that most of our words have super powers and we actually  know millions of words. 

We finished our reading missions and became official word detectives! If you need help with a word, call room C104. We can solve tricky words. 

We learned to solve number stories when we know the starting and ending number but we don't know what changed. 

We used diagrams to help us figure out what we know in the number story and what we need to find out. 

In Science, we made a graph of how many daylight hours there are in each season. One student made the realization that since there's less daylight hours in the winter the weather is colder. Another student reflected he could not answer the question how the length of day is related to the season because Mrs. Ferry did not tell him the answer. We had a great discussion about the need for them to do the thinking and to learn from their observations. I'm certain they know the answer now and will hold onto their learning far longer than if I had simply told them the answer.

Nov 8th

A mysterious package arrived in our classroom with this letter inside it. 

In the package, there are 5 missions for us to do so that we could earn a word detective badge and join the Secret Detective Agency. We are super excited! 

In writing, we studied George McClements' craft moves. We liked his pop out words, ellipses, and juicy words. We will try them out in our own writing. 

Commutative Property of Addition oh my!  We also call it the turn around fact. 

We started a new science unit about our planet, Earth.

Nov 1st

We are trying out our inventions in Science.

We invented apple trappers. 

In phonics, we are finding patterns in our snap words. In reading, we continue to use strategies (instead of our bad habits) on challenging words. 

In writing, we are adding more details like who, what, where and when.

In math, we are learning the addition facts that make the number 10. 

Our stories are teaching us life lessons.