Penny, penny easily spent…

Our brave mathematicians are in Unit 2 in Math! During this unit, mathematicians will be introduced to several everyday uses of numbers- in particular, telling time and counting money.

This week, First Grade mathematicians were introduced to analog clocks! Scholars practiced identifying the hour and minute hands and telling time to the nearest hour. We spent time exploring how many seconds make up a minute and revisited this idea throughout our week as we timed different activities. Mathematicians were also introduced to penny and cents notation. Scholars learned poems to help them identify pennies, nickels and dimes as well as learn their values. We will continue to build on our coin knowledge as we move forward in Unit 2!

 

Penny, penny                                  Nickel, nickel                                  Dime, dime

Easily spent                                     Thick and fat                                   Little and thin

Copper brown                                Worth five cents                              I remember

And just one cent!                         I know that!                                     You’re worth ten!

Nonfiction readers think of what they might learn.

This week, our avid readers launched a nonfiction unit to closer investigate insects! These brave scholars are learning strategies to help them read informational text. Readers learned to read the title of a book and look at the cover to think about what they might learn. Scholars practiced warming-up their brains by thinking about what they already know about the topic of the book they are reading. These nonfiction readers even know to preview what is on the pages of a book and think, “What is the author trying to teach me?” Ask your First Grader what they learned this week about reading informational texts like an expert!

Lunch Buddies

First Graders are curious about their lunch buddies! Scholars were set up into weeklong partnerships for lunch and playtime. During our Morning Meetings, we discussed ways to start a conversation, and topics to discuss and share, with our new lunch buddy partners. Each day this week they discovered something new about their recess and lunch partner. Groups were encouraged to find common attributes with this new pal. Lunch buddies offer a time for children to build new relationships and learn more about their classmates during our busy and exciting school day. This community-building activity is a Cooper School tradition that we will re-visit throughout the school year. Ask your First Grader what they learned about their lunch buddy this week!

Important Dates:

• October 9^th & 10^th Fall Break, No School
• Wednesday, October 18^th First Grade Parent Lunch, 11:00-11:30
• Tuesday, October 24^th First Grade Parent Morning Meeting
• Tuesday, October 31^st Halloween Carnival