Solids All Around Us!

This week First Grade engineers continued to investigate solids by further observing and analyzing the properties and usefulness of specific solids in building towers. Science partners read about types of towers and investigated how they are built. Then they were given a set of solid objects with the challenge to construct a sturdy tower. These brave engineers discovered that building with rigid materials allowed them to build a tower that was tall, strong, and sturdy. Scientists even took our learning outside to investigate our school’s backyard in search of solid objects. Each partnership gathered solids, observed and recorded properties of the items collected and then sorted them into natural and human-made categories.

 Poetry is Alive in First Grade

This week First Grade Poets were so busy reading, writing, and analyzing poetry! Morning Meeting, Reading and Writing Workshop, Vocabulary, Spelling, Learning Centers, and transitions throughout our school day, have been flooded with poetry! First Graders were thrilled to be using their senses to create and understand the elements of poetry. These poetry scholars investigated and experimented with line breaks, stanzas, and word choice to enhance the meaning in the poems they write. They were able to further extend their poetic knowledge by closely examining rhythm, rhyme and alliteration in poetry. Ask your First Grader what they learned about creating powerful poems this week.

Cones and Symmetry

First Grade mathematicians continued to explore the wonderful world of geometry during math! This week scholars were introduced to more 3-dimensional shapes- the pyramid, cone, and cube. First Grade mathematicians practiced observing and discussing the characteristics of these new shapes and sorting them by their attributes. Scholars also explored symmetry by cutting and folding symmetrical shapes. Ask your First Grader to tell you what they learned about geometric shapes and symmetry this week in math!

Important Dates:

Saturday, March 24^th                  Spring Planting Party

Friday, March 30^th                       Spring Break begins

Monday, April 9^th                         Return from Spring Break