Happy Summer, First Graders!

We had a super fun last day of school!

We 'cleaned' the tables with shaving cream and practiced our spelling words all at the same time!

We watched a slide show of the school year and noticed how we all grew throughout the year.

We made wishes for second grade!

Here are a few fun reading programs to keep your children reading over the summer months:

http://www.scholastic.com/ups/campaigns/src-2014

http://yarmouthlibrary.org/childrens-services/


It's been a wonderful year!  Happy summer, everyone!

A Few Reminders

We are fast approaching the end of the school year!  Tuesday, June 17th is our final day of school.  Dismissal will be at 12:00.  There will NOT be any lunch served that day.  We will have our normal snack at 10:20.

We have wrapped up our homework book program for the year.  Please send in any lingering classroom books in your student's home/school folder before the end of the year.

Our class plays were a BIG success!   Thank you all for being a great audience!

Masks and Marine Life

We've been working hard to prepare for our plays on June 13th!  This week we constructed, painted, and glued our character masks.  Next week: set design!

Our other big focus has been the ocean!  We're not only writing informational texts about ocean creatures, we're also researching  the variety of living and non-living parts of the ocean and creating individual ocean murals to showcase our learning.  Students have to think about size, location, and food sources when adding elements to their posters.  Of course, this is all preparation for our Crescent Beach trip on Tuesday!  We're looking forward to exploring and sharing our learning on location!

*IMPORTANT DATES!*

We have SO much to celebrate as the year winds down!  Here are a few special events to put in your calendars for June:

Rowe School Beach Day is Tuesday, June 3!  We will spend the day at Crescent Beach as the culmination of our school wide science unit on the ocean.  Blue permission slips must be filled out and returned in order for your child to attend.  PLEASE consider being a chaperone for this special event!  
 
Our student led portfolio celebrations will take place after school on June 9th and June 10th.   At your scheduled time, you and your child will meet with me to go over the continua.  Your child will then share with you his or her first grade portfolio packed full of amazing first grade learning.  A date/time confirmation was sent home with your child on Thursday.

******On JUNE 13th, the Falcons will perform 4 plays for YOU!  Students will spend the next couple of weeks reading and practicing scripts, making their masks and constructing all the props for the performances.  Our performance will be in our classroom on June 13th at 11:00 a.m.  We look forward to seeing you in the crowd!

Please note that students will be practicing lines here in the classroom.  They do NOT need to memorize lines or buy costumes.  Your job is to simply show up and enjoy!

Upcoming Events...

Portfolio Conferences are June 9th and 10th!

This is a time for you and your child to spend time together looking over your child's first grade portfolio.  I will meet with you briefly to talk about the end-of-year continua as well.  These first graders are VERY excited to show you how they've grown as learners throughout this school year!  Please look in home/school folders today for sign-up sheets.  Send me your top 3 choices no later than May 22.



It's time to make raffle baskets for the ice cream social!

Our classroom's basket theme is "Field Day".  We will be accepting donations for the basket through Friday, May 23.

Some donation suggestions from the PTO for our basket are:
Hula hoop
Jump rope
Water bottle
Balls
Frisbee
Beach towel
Sunscreen
Whiffle ball set


Happy Mother's Day!

This Week's Happenings

Our first week back from vacation was jam-packed!

We experimented with wheel and axle systems in science.  The goal was to design a wheel and axle system that would go far using a downward slope.  The students had a blast and were very creative with their designs!

In readers' workshop, we started a new unit that focuses on character dramatization.  Students are putting themselves in the character's shoes and focusing on tone of voice, facial expressions, and feelings.  We've even done some acting!

In math we continue to work on number grid patterns, fractions, adding and subtracting 2-digit numbers, and fact fluency.

In writers' workshop it was all poetry this week!  Students revised poems and published their favorites in anticipation of our first grade poetry celebration with Ms. Honan on Monday.  The Falcons' 2014 Poetry Anthology is going home in backpacks today!

We have a classroom full of spring and summer birthdays.  If your child has a summer birthday and you have not received an email from me regarding scheduling an alternate day to celebrate in the classroom, please let me know and I will touch base with you.  We want to celebrate everyone's special day before school wraps up for the year!

A Beautiful Poem To Start Your Vacation Off Right

Our class wrote a collaborative poem yesterday, using many of the skills we've been studying in our poetry unit.  I'll say no more and let the poem speak for itself.

Happy vacation, everyone!

April, So Far

Last week we wrapped up the publishing of our small moments stories.  To prepare for the Author Showcase, the students practiced reading to each other while a peer gave them feedback on their volume, speed, body, and overall author voice.  The students were honest, helpful, and open to feedback.  Positive attitudes and teamwork filled the room!

Peer Feedback

Thank you to everyone who attended our author showcase last Friday.  I was very sad to have missed it, but heard raving reviews from students and teachers.  Your comments truly meant the world to all of these authors.  Thank you for your thoughtfulness and encouragement!

 Author Showcase!

                                      

Last week our class took a special trip to Yarmouth Town Hall.  During our persuasive writing unit, Harper wrote a letter to Mr. Tupper at the town hall asking for more parties in Yarmouth so that residents could make more friends.  Mr. Tupper responded by inviting us to a party at the town hall so that we could meet all the friends he works with and learn more about town government. The students had a blast!

Town Hall Party

April is National Poetry Month, so of course poetry is our next writing unit!  On Monday, Ms. Honan invited the entire first grade to the library for a Poetry Kick-Off.  Students learned a poem, shared some poets they have read, and wrote a collaborative poem about spring.  Our next poetry meeting with Ms. Honan is next Monday where we will all share the 'poems in our pockets'.

Poetry kick-Off with Ms. Honan

On Thursday, a group of fifth graders joined us to share some literacy games they created as part of the Destination Imagination program at the middle school.  The first graders loved it!

Middle School Destination Imagination Students visit us and teach us some fun literacy games.

In science, we've been creating and experimenting with different kinds of twirler wings, to see which design spins the best.  The class favorite, by far, is the Twirly Bird design.

March Wrap-Up

A little reminder:  Our Author Showcase is next Friday, April 4, from 2:15 to 2:45.  Please join us as we share the small moments stories we have been busy writing, editing, and publishing!

The Falcons flexed their resiliency muscles this week as we experimented with zoomers.  It took 3 days of trial and error, but we all made our zoomers zoom!

We wrapped up our math unit by studying symmetrical shapes.  Students then created their own symmetrical designs.

Our next unit of Everyday Math focuses on the following:
-identifying the dollar and making exchanges with coins and dollars
-using a variety of strategies to add and subtract 2 digit numbers
-making change
-equal parts and finding fractional parts of sets
-continuing to develop fact power with addition and subtraction facts

Tops, Polygons,Visiting Authors, and SPRING!

Happy Spring, Everyone!  We ushered in the season by creating a beautiful spring mural now hanging in the hallway.

We've started studying shapes in math.  Our shape museum is taking form, as are polygons students made out of twist ties and straws.  Students used this definition of polygon to help guide their creations:

A shape with all straight sides that touch only at their endpoints.

In science we've shifted from studying balance to exploring motion.  Students created spinning tops using different sized disks and straws.

Readers' workshop has been dedicated to deepening our comprehension and enhancing our fluency while we read books.

On Thursday, we were lucky enough to get to spend time with Maine author, Chris Van Dusen!  He showed us the process he goes through when writing and illustrating his childrens' books, and showed us some of his other pieces of art that are out in the world (and on our license plates!).