Weekly Update
Week 26
March 13th-17th
Upcoming
Friday, March 24th- NO SCHOOL
Thursday, March 30th- Field Trip
Happening
This week we started unit 4 in fundations! Unit 4 is all about bonus letters (ss, ll, & ff). Unit 4 also teaches students some new sight words; I, they, you, and your.
This week in Geodes we started set 2 which is titled 'Unusual Libraries.' Student were introduced to two books. The first one was The Library Cat which is about the library of Alexandria, an ancient Library where cats used to rome within the library to catch the bugs and mice. The second book was The Story Boat which is about a real ship called Epos, that travels along the coast of Norway providing books to the community.
In math students learned a new strategy for adding and subtracting double digit numbers. The new strategy is called the 'Break Apart Strategy.' In this strategy student use number bonds to break apart the double digit numbers into tens and ones. This makes the numbers more 'friendly' (we call them friendly numbers) and students can easily add/minus the tens, then the ones, then put the number back together.
This week we also spent some time doing some social emotional lesson with our Wayfinder curriculum. The first lesson was about the importance of noticing and how that is an important action when being part of a community. In the second lesson we dove deeper into noticing and how we can notice and respond to emotions we are feeling, and others are feeling.





Weekly Update
Weeks 21 & 22 (1/30-2/10)
Upcoming:
Monday 2/13- 100th Day of School
Tuesday 2/14- Valentine's Party
Thursday 2/16- Last Ski & Ride Day
Thursday 2/23- Ice Skating Field Trip
Mon 2/27-Mon 3/6- February Break
Happening:
Fundations- Now that students are confident with digraphs we are officially done unit 3 of Fundations. For the next 2 weeks we will be using Fundations time for Science!
Science- Students are learning about the states of matter. So far students have learned that matter is all around us and makes up everything. Students learned that there are 3 states of matter; solid, liquid, and gas. Each state of matter is made up a particles. These particles act differently depending on which state they are in!
Geodoes- We are well into our 3rd book for Geodes. The book is called; The Magical Stack and will be in their home bookbags next Friday! In the book there are a ton of examples of onomatopoeia and students are learning how to add onomatopoeia to their own writing!
Math- Students are becoming more and more confident with place value and have started with double digit addition and subtraction!
Weekly Update
Week 19 & 20- 1/17-1/27
Upcoming:
Thursday, 2/23- Ice Skating Field Trip!
2/27-2/3- Winter Break
Monday 3/6- Inservice
Happening:
Fundations- Students learned the last two digraphs 'wh' and 'ck.' We did lots of practice and are becoming confident readers! Students also learned a bunch of new sight words! They have loved playing sight word tic tac toe to practice.
Geodes- Students finished reading the first book of Geodes and are already on to the second! Their new book is called; 'The Story in the Cave' and it is about paleolithic cave paintings! You can look forward to it being added to their home bookbags next week!
Math- Students are well into our new unit about place value and adding double digit numbers! I am impressed with their ability to pick up math concepts so quickly!
Weekly Update
Week 17 & 18- 1/3-1/13
Upcoming:
Monday 1/16- No School (Martin Luther King Jr Day)
Tuesday 1/17- Ski/Ride Day
Monday 1/23- Mrs. Krista's birthday!
Happening:
Fundations- Since coming back from break we have reviewed all of our previous learning (CVC words, CVCe words, writing proper sentences). And, we have started a new unit on diagraphs. So far students have learned about sh, ch, and th!
Geodes- We also started a brand new program called Geodes. The philosophy behind Geodes is that books are similar to geodes because they hold many wonders and amazing things inside! The first book that students are discovering is called; 'Anansi and the Pot of Beans'. Student's have been hard at work practicing with this book and will soon bring a copy home to show their family!
Math- Students are exploring with groups of ten. Students are practicing counting by 10's forwards and backwards. Students also completed the High Leverage Assessment which really stretched their brain muscle! They did great and surprised me with how much they know already.
We have also been spending extra time outside in the afternoons. It has been a blast being outside sledding and having fun! Check out some pics below!
Big Update!
Weeks 14, 15, & 16
December 5th -22nd
Upcoming:
Holiday break- 12/23-1/2
Thursday- 1/5 Ski & Ride Day
Wednesday- 1/11 Ski & Ride Day
Happening:
Fundations- For the month of December students have been mastering reading CVC words, learning about magic e and how it changes each vowel sound, and starting to practice reading CVCe words!
Reading- This past week we started learning some new reading habits for solving hard words. The 2 reading habits that we have learned are (1) Checking the picture, and (2) looking at all parts of the word.
Math- Students are still loving our math menu time! The different Grinch themed math games were a hit. Students have been practicing fluency when adding 10. We've also been doing loads of practice with word problems, allowing students to pick out the important information and choose the most efficient strategy to solve!
We've done lots of Whoville/Grinch themed activities and it's been loads of fun! Check out the picture below!
Pics!
















Weekly Update!
Week 13: 11/28 - 12/2
Upcoming:
Friday- 12/16- PBIS school wide assembly. Golden paw nominations.
Wednesday- 12/21- Whole school celebration. Movie Theatre at the school!
Wednesday- 12/21- Whoville feast in the classroom
Thursday- 12/22- 1st Ski/Ride day.
Happening:
Fundations- This week we reviewed all that we learned before break! We also learned about a-e words (words with an 'a' vowel and magic e!).
Literacy Stations- We had literacy stations every day this week! Students had lots of time to write in their writing journals. They also practice reading and writing our 6 sights words (the, a, and, is, his, and of). Students also alternated between reading from their book bags and reading online with kids a-z.
Grinch Unit- The classroom has been transformed into Whoville! Each day we are given tasks from Whoville to complete to help grow the Grinch's heart back to a normal size! This week students completed all of the tasks given and we were able to grow the Grinch's heart a little bit! We read the original story 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' by Dr. Seuss and students could already pick out parts of the story that are the same/different from the movies.
Math- We started a new math routine this week that students LOVE. We start everyday with a warm up which involves a counting activity. Then, we do some words problems with whiteboards. And finally, students work on their math menu! Their math menu has must do's and different choices to complete throughout the week!
Check out some pictures from the week!







Weekly Update!
Week 12: 11/14-11/18
Upcoming:
Thanksgiving Break- (11/21-11/25)
11/28- Starting our big Grinch unit!
Happening:
Fundations- This week we learned about magic e. We started with i-e words! We learned that magic e is silent and makes the vowel in the word say its name!
Literacy Stations- During stations this week students got lots of sight word practice. They learned how to ghost write their sights words and play sight word tic tac toe! They also continued writing in their new journals using our word collection to give them ideas.
Math- Students learned about comparing numbers and the greater than and less than symbols. We also started learning about place value and students got to practice talking about the tens and ones in numbers within 20!
After break we will be started a big unit for the Holidays! The classroom will be transformed into Whoville and we will do many Grinch themed activities!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Weekly Update!
Week 11: 11/7-11/11
Upcoming:
11/14-11/18 Parent Teacher Conferences
Here is the link if you haven't signed up yet
11/21-11/25 Thanksgiving Break
Happening:
Fundations- This week we started two new routines! First, we started having a word of the day. These are CVC words that students can tap out. We read the word and come up with a sentence to help define it! Second, we started collecting sight words (trick words). Students are keeping them in their journal as well as on our word collection wall.
Literacy Stations- We did literacy stations almost every day this week. There were four stations that students spent about 15 minutes working at; (1) Independent reading from book bag, (2) Practice packet, (3) Independent reading on ipad, (4) Writing in writing journals.
Math- We have been super busy learning lots of math terms! We learned about true and false. Students practiced looking at equations to determine if they are true or false. Students also learned about greater than, less than, and equal to! They started comparing numbers and writing the appropriate symbols.
WIN- This week was out first whole week of WIN time. WIN stands for; What I Need. Students are split into different groups based on the skills they need to work on!











Weekly Update!
Week 10: 10/31 - 11/4
Upcoming:
11/10 Thursday- Picture Retakes
11/9-11/18- Parent Teacher Conferences
11/21-11/25- Thanksgiving Break
Weekly Update!
Week 9: 10/24 - 10/28
Upcoming:
10/31 Halloween parade- students can wear their costume to school for the day! Please no weapons and gory makeup :) Also, students are welcome to bring a treat to share!
11/10 Picture retakes
11/7 - 11/18 Parent Teacher Conference- more to come soon
11/21-11/25 Thanksgiving Break
This week students got to explore some new choices for choice time! See pictures to the right and below!
In fundations we started a word collection of different words that are important to us. So far we have our trick words, science words, and words from some books we have read!
In math we have been practicing for our big unit test that happened on Friday. Students did amazing and I am so proud of their hard work and focus during math.





Congrats to Rose for earning the golden paw this month!
Weekly Update!
Week 8: 10/17-10/21
Upcoming:
Friday 10/28 PBIS whole school assembly- 2 students from 1st grade will be nominated an award!
Monday 10/31- Halloween Parade - students can wear their costumes for the Halloween Parade however they should keep their masks off during the day. We are also asking not to have really gory makeup or any weapons! Thank you!
Happening:
Fundations- We are officially in CVC word mode! Students are using their knowledge of all letter sounds to spell and read words. We started paying close attention to words, marking them up as we go! Students were also introduced to sentence structure!
Science- In science we finished up our unit about day and light. We answered the following questions:
What does your shadow do when you're not looking?
How can the sun help you if you're lost?
Why do you have to go to bed early in the summer?
Math- Students were able to sharpen their subtraction skills by continuing their practice with subtracting by counting back. Students are able to do this by counting in their heads and by drawing a math picture.
Reading- 1st grade did an in depth book study on the book The Gruffalo. We read the book multiple times, discussing the characters, setting, and sequence of events. On Friday students even got to watch the movie and compare!
Weekly Update!
Week 7: 10/10-10/14
Upcoming:
No upcoming events!
Happening:
Fundations: We have officially reviewed all letters and letter sounds in the alphabet. Students also learned about S and how it can sometimes sound like Z! Students have started reading and spelling 3 and 4 letters words and next week we will take a deeper dive tapping out sounds.
Reading: We finished the first book in the Dory Fantasmagory series and are on to the second! The title of this book is; 'Dory Fantasmagory and the Real True Friend.' Students are so excited to follow the main character (Dory) on her next adventure!
Science: We started a unit all about Day/Night. The first couple of weeks focus on Day. This week we talked about light. Students talked about differences sources of light and completed two science experiments. During the first science experiment we tested to see if the shadow of a gnome would change over time if left outside for a couple of hours. During the second experiment we used flashlights to move our gnomes shadows around!
Math: We are practicing our backward counting skills so that we can started subtracting by counting back! Students have been playing math games, ordering numbers within 20, and using the online i-ready lessons to expand their learning further!
















Weekly Update!
Week 6: 10/3-10/5
Upcoming:
Thursday 10/6- No school for teachers inservice
Friday 10/7- No school for Indigenous Peoples Day
Monday 10/10- Miss Young will be out
Thursday 10/13- 1st lock down drill
Friday 10/14- Helicopter landing and rescue/safety demonstration
Happening:
Even though it was a short week students accomplished a lot! We reached 100 paws again, meaning that our class has earned a total of 200 paws. To celebrate we will have a whole class lunch bunch next Wednesday!
In Fundations, we learned four new letters; Hh, Ll, Vv, and Ww. Students started spelling 3 letter words with the letters that we have learned so far.
In reading, students have mastered their good reading habits and have started to partner read. Reading with a partner offers students a time to share their favorites parts and characters as well as demonstrate their reading skills!
In math, we have started reviewing backward counting. Students learned a new game called the last man standing and they absolutely loved it! Students also completed some math assessments.
Check out some pictures from the week!





Weekly Update!
Week 5: 9/26-9/30
Congratulations to Jace for earning the 1st golden paw of the year! Each month a 1st grader will be chosen to earn a golden paw for doing an outstanding job following one of the school expectations: be kind, be safe, and be engaged. He was awarded at our whole school PBIS meeting!

Upcoming:
Thurs-Fri 10/6-10/7 No school
Reminders:
Cold weather is coming! Let me know if you are in need of any winter gear for you student. We get a lot of donations!








Weekly Update!
Week 4: 9/19-9/23
Upcoming:
Thurs 9/29 Open House 4pm-6pm
Fri 9/30 Fire Drill
Thurs-Fri 10/6-10/7 No school
Happening:
Fundations: This week, we learned about the letters; A, G, D, S, E, & R. We practiced the proper letter formation and each letter sound.
Happening cont.
Reading: This week students have learned 3 out of 4 of the good reading habits. Reading habits will help students get organized, stay engaged, and remember the books they read. Here are the 3 habits they learned this week:
Make a stack and read your way back
Take a sneak peak
Do something at the end
Math: This week students have been learning how to count on to add. They can do this in a variety of ways including using manipulatives, their fingers, or drawing a math picture. Counting on is an essential math strategy that students will use as we move on to higher numbers!
This week we also had our 100 paw celebration! We made slime and had a dance party with treats. It was so much fun! Below are some pictures from the day!





Weekly Update!
Week 3: 9/12-9/16
Upcoming:
Tues 9/20- PICTURE DAY
Wed 9/21- 100 paw celebration
Thurs 9/29- Open House (4-6pm)
Happening:
I am super excited to share that our class has reached 100 paws already! They earned paws by showing 1st grade behavior and following our classroom/school expectations!
When voting on a celebration, we actually had a tie. Because of this we decided to just do both! Next Wednesday we will have a dance party w/ treats and we will make slime!
We will be starting assessments next week, so it will be the perfect, fun break in the middle of the week!
Happening cont.
In Fundations, we focused on the letters; T, B, F, M, N, I, U, C, & O. Students practiced the letter names, sounds, and proper letter formations. Some activities that students really enjoyed were letter building with playdough and bingo!
In reading, students got their very own book bag filled with just right books for them to read. I confessed to students that I am obsessed with reading and that you can often catch me reading anytime I am not teaching! Many students also said that they want to become obsessed with reading too :) We learned our 1st good reading habit which is to; make a stack and read your way back!
This week I also started a classroom read aloud with the book Dory Fantasmagory. This is a chapter book series that is targeted for 1st graders and I absolutely love them. So far students are absolutely enthralled in the book and often don't want me to stop reading!
In math, we started the first unit in our new math curriculum (i-ready). Students practiced reading math problems 3 times, underlining important information, and trying the problem w/ a math strategy that works for them. This week we worked on adding within 10. Students also started the routine of choosing a math choice when they are finished their work from the main lesson. This week our math choices were a single player bingo game (See picture below), and some different variation of fall color by numbers!
Reminders:
Don't forget to send in the picture forms or do them online!
Also, as the weather gets colder don't forget warm outside clothes!






Weekly Updates!
Week 1&2: 8/31-9/9
Upcoming:
9/15 I have a PD meeting starting at 2pm and will have a sub for the rest of the afternoon
9/20 Picture Day
9/29 Open House 4-6pm
Happening:
Since the start of the year students have been working on new routines and procedures in the classroom. Every morning students graph their feelings, check their job, and get themselves set up for the day.
During our literacy blocks students have been learning about patience and positive self talk. We read the books "The Very Impatient Caterpillar" and "The Little Butterfly that Could" which give perfect examples of patience and positive self talk.
During our literacy blocks students also started Fundations! Students reviewed the best writing position, pencil grip, and the different lines on our writing grid. Students also practiced with Echo, our owl who helps us to repeat important information, letter names, and letter sounds.
During math students have been able to learn about what a mathematician is and what they do. Students learned that all people have math in their life!
Reminders:
Don't forget to do the survey if you haven't already! It has permission slips within it for celebrations and movies :)
Explore time fun!





