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The children of 1-1 had a wonderful week. Read all about our learning adventures below!

Literacy 

This week, our close reading lessons focused on two versions of Cinderella. Yeh-Shen A Cinderella Story from China and Cinderella, by Barbara McClintock. As the children listened to both versions of the story they jotted down their thinking about the stories on sticky notes and placed them on the correct area of each story map. At the end of the week they compared the two main characters by listing their similarities and differences on a top hat organizer. 

We will be taking a short break from guided reading groups next week. I will be meeting with the children one on one to do a last round of running records. Reassessing allows me to make sure that each child is receiving reading instruction that best fits their instructional reading level. 

Writing

This week, we started our new writing unit on Persuasive Writing. The children worked with stating their opinion on some given topics. After, they stated their opinion they gave reasons to support their opinion. The children wrote a short persuasive piece on whether or not first graders should go to bed at 6pm. They shared their writing with a partner. 

On Tuesday, we talked about the different reasons we write persuasively. To improve our lives or the lives of others or to promote something. The children then brainstormed a list of problems that need solving or things that can be improved around the school. Together as a class, we wrote a persuasive letter on why the outside basketball hoops should be lowered. The children came up with an opinion and three reasons to support their opinion. Next week, the children will choose a topic and begin to write their own persuasive piece.  

We also read the persuasive text, I Wanna Iguana. Then, during Daily 5 time the children completed a persuasive piece titled, I Wanna... They chose a pet that they really want and stated their opinion and a list of reasons for wanting the pet. The children did a nice job!  

Math

In Math, the children took their Unit 9 test on Tuesday. The children did a nice job, I am proud of how hard they worked. 

On Wednesday, we started Unit 10. We will review the concepts we have learned throughout the year. We began the unit by working with graphing information. The children worked with their end of the year height to create a class graph. Using the data, the children found the typical height and the typical growth of the children in our class. The children also reviewed telling and recording time to the nearest five minutes. 

Social Studies

This week, the children continued learning all about China. We focused on China’s geography. The children were surprised to learn that 1.3 billion people live in China. They researched some of China’s landforms and compared them to landforms we have in the United States. They chose two landforms from each country to illustrate and label on an organizer. 

Later in the week, they also learned all about the Great Wall of China. We began the lesson by doing a Picture Aloud. The children look at two photographs of the Great Wall and recorded their thinking. They listed what they noticed as well as questions that they had. The children shared their thinking with one another. The children also completed a close reading lesson with an excerpt about the Great Wall of China. They went back into the text and highlighted answers to a list of questions about the wall. The children were very excited to visit the Great Wall through a virtual tour online.

The children also practiced their Chinese Character writing by making paper lanterns to hang up and decorate our classroom. I was impressed with how nicely they used their paintbrush to paint each Chinese Character. 

Art Appreciation

On Friday, Mrs. Kaddatz came in and presented an Art Appreciation presentation to the children. This week, the children learned about artist Rene Magritte. They looked at two of his paintings, The Empire of Lights and Castle in The Pyrenees. The children learned that Rene Magritte was a surrealist painter. They discussed what made his paintings surreal and the similarities and differences between his paintings. Then, the children attempted to create their own surrealist work of art. Thank you Mrs. Kaddatz, we enjoyed your visit!

Teacher Appreciation Week

Thank you to all of you for making this week so special! I feel lucky to work with your children and you every day. Thank you for all the yummy treats and thoughtful gestures this week! They were appreciated!

Notes:

-Thank you to those of you who donated glue sticks to our classroom. We are very grateful to have them!

Happy Mother’s Day! I hope you have a great rest of the weekend!