The Cooper School Daily

Week of October 24th

It has been a fun-filled week in First Grade! Here are a few things we have been working on this week.

Optimism

On Monday we launched a new Social & Emotional Learning Unit: Optimism! All week we have been discussing and reading about the power of positive thinking. Students have begun connecting their learning to situations present in their own lives. For example, we discussed what it would be like to fall and get a cast put on your arm. Students came up with many heartwarming ideas about how to be optimistic in this situation. A class favorite was having the opportunity to get your cast signed by all of your friends! Part of the beauty of this age group is their innate ability to see the good in any situation. Our goal is to give them the tools to keep that spark shining bright through their whole lives!

Illustrative Math

In addition to a new SEL unit on Monday we also launched a new unit in Illustrative math! Students are utilizing their building blocks from units one and two to tackle more complex equations with teen numbers. Students have been also exploring the commutative property in addition by experimenting with the different ways you can write a single expression. One way we explored the commutative property was with a game of “Shake and Spill” where students utilized two-color counters to create addition equations. We discussed how the red and yellow counters represented the addends in the equation and that the total number of counters represented the sum. We loved seeing the lightbulb moments that accompanied this interactive activity! Below, students work to expand upon their thinking by solving word problems in their notebook. 

Project Work

Our students are so excited to share their projects with their families in just one week! This week, we divided into project groups to focus on specific insects. Below, the ant group carefully illustrates the stages of the ant’s life cycle. After that, each team member chose a specific stage to focus on and research. When their research is complete they will be ready to share facts about that life stage during our presentation next Friday! 

We are so excited to see all of our students in their costumes on Monday for the Halloween Carnival! We hope you enjoy a wonderful weekend.

Upcoming Dates

October 31st Halloween Carnival (½ Day)

November 1st Teacher Work Day (No School)

November 4th Project Presentation (2:00-2:45) 

November 7th & 8th Conference Days (½ Days)

November 11th Veterans Day Breakfast 

November 18th Harvest Festival (½ Day)

November 21st-25th Thanksgiving Break (No School)