Writing: We have begun a new type of writing called How To’s. This type of nonfiction writing teaches others how to do something.
We want to make sure that we have some good activities to write about before we start on our How To’s, so we need your help! This weekend, please brainstorm with your first grader about some activities that they know how to do. Some ideas might include: How to build a snowman, How to jump rope, How to play with your dog, How to take care of your pet, How to play tic, tac, toe, How to brush your teeth, etc. We will create a class list of ideas next week.
Reading: We began a new unit of study focused on nonfiction books. The kids are so excited to dig into this section of our classroom library. They have found books about animals, planets, weather, people, vehicles, and much more. We talked about how important it is to warm up to their book before trying to read. Nonfiction books are filled with new vocabulary words and previewing a book before reading really helps our word solving.
Math: We began new math learning this past week!! Unit 4 focuses on tens and teen numbers, place value to 100, and strategies for adding larger numbers. So far, we’ve practiced counting groups of tens. We studied the teen numbers (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19) and noticed that every teen number has a 10 hiding inside along with some extra ones. We also represented teen numbers using a ten stick and circles, and wrote an equation to match our work.
We also learned a new addition strategy called “Make a 10″. For the equation, 9 + 4 = ___, we can “count on” to find the total of 13. Since the total is a teen number (which has a 10 hiding inside) we helped our students notice that 9 + 4 = 10 + 3. Both of these equations produce the total 13, but solving 10 + 3 is quicker and more accurate.