Story Elements and Book Reports

First Graders have been busy analyzing story elements during Reading Workshop. First Grade friends have been paying special close attention to the characters in the books they are reading. They know to take notice when a character has a strong feeling, and to think about what is happening in the story to make him or her feel this way. Brave readers know to pay attention when their character encounters a problem, and notice how they try to solve it. This can teach us a great deal about our characters! First Grade friends have been practicing telling the important things that happen to the main character in order, and then saying how the main character felt about the things that happened. We are wrapping up our study of Story Elements by writing and presenting book reports! We will celebrate this hard work by sharing our book reports with Fourth Grade Reading Buddies!

 Addition Fact Power

First Graders are working on their Addition Fact Power! Addition Fact Power is the instant recall of sums of one-digit numbers without stopping to figure them out. First Grade mathematicians are learning that having Fact Power is like being a good reader. Reading is easier and more enjoyable if you recognize many words automatically. These scholars are finding out that the same is true of number facts! First Graders are discovering that solving problems is easier if you automatically know the sums of two numbers from 0 to 9. One strategy that students learned is to look for patterns in the numbers they are adding. For example, in doubles facts, both numbers being added are the same and their sums are even! Brave mathematicians are sharpening their Addition Fact Power through games and practice during math time and learning centers!

What is a Biome?

First Grade friends spent time learning about biomes this week during Social Studies. They discovered that a biome is a community of plants and animals in a large geographical area with the same climate and soil. These curious scholars were able to identify the different parts of a biome, which include: energy, air, water, plants, animals, and soil. First Graders were thrilled to learn that all energy comes from the sun and participated in hands-on activities to examine the flow of energy through food chains. Ask your young scholar what they learned about biomes this week!

Important Dates

Wednesday, December 20^th   Polar Express Movie Night 5-8

Thursday, December 21^st    Pajama Day, 11:30 Dismissal

Friday, December 22^nd         Winter Break Begins