Happy Monday! We have begun our U.S.A. study. We have already discussed President Lincoln and Mount Rushmore. We talked about the four presidents sculpted on the mountain and why. In first grade terms, Washington because he was the first president, Lincoln because he kept the states together during and after a war, Jefferson because he helped expand our country, and Roosevelt because he had the Panama Canal built to sail from east to west without going around South America. As you can see, they are very excited about learning what the American symbols are.
Happy Valentines Day! We counted, sorted and graphed Valentine hard candies this morning and compared more, less, and equal amounts. We also added and subtracted quantities. Of course, we ate some too!
In Writer's Workshop, we are beginning our Craft of Revision unit. The students are taught to go back and reread with a critical eye. They are taught how to add, and change what was originally written. Oh those purple pens have such power! The purple pens and paper are so inspirational for our changes. We are becoming more and more like real published authors.
In Math, I would like the students to work more closely with their coin combinations. We will be adding quarters shortly. I would like to challenge them to find the same amount using a different number of coins. For example the amount is 32 cents (use only 4 coins, use only 5 coins).
Don't forget our Hot Dog lunch is tomorrow. $5.00 is the suggested donation for the Relay for Life.
Our Robust vocabulary words: seek, gradual, downpour, incident, oblivious, indecisive.