January Number Corner

This month in number corner we are working on a variety of skills. One thing that we are practicing daily is solving addition and subtraction equations and story problems with missing addends and subtrahends. We will also be working on counting and adding together dimes and pennies by collecting coins each day. 

Number Line Math

In math we are studying how to use a number line as a model for addition and subtraction. Students can jump up and down the number line to perform computation. We began by looking at a number line counting by ones from 0-10, then 0-20, and now we are looking at number lines that go from 0-100 counting by 10's. Today we learned a new workplace called Super Frogs. Students spin to create an addition or subtraction equation. They solve the problem using the number line and whoever has the higher number wins! 

Non-fiction Chapter Books

Our current writing unit is all about non-fiction books. We started by exploring and creating short non-fiction books with a few pages about one topic. This week we began the next step in our work with non-fiction writing. We will be creating non-fiction chapter books. Each student has chosen a topic that they are experts on. We started our project by creating tables of contents to help us outline what our book will be like. Starting next week we will begin the work of writing our chapters with a focus on methods non-fiction authors use to teach their readers (labels, vocabulary, facts and details, etc.) As we prepared to do this very grown up work we set goals for ourselves as non-fiction authors. Students used a checklist to evaluate their work, chose a goal, and conferenced with me on their choice. Throughout the remainder of the unit I will meet with students to check in on their goals and help them reevaluate their own writing as they continue to grow. 

Reading Stamina Goal

This week we reached (and actually surpassed) an important goal! Students have been practicing sustained independent and partner reading since the beginning of the year. The time that a child spends reading has a huge impact on their reading progress, so building stamina is an important part of first grade. We started the year at 5 minutes with a goal of 20 minutes. As of this week we have built our reading stamina all the way up to 22 minutes. Congratulate your first grader on their accomplishment! When I told them that my third graders usually read for 30 minutes last year they decided that their new goal should be 32 minutes by the end of this year. :)