February 24-27

 Dear Parents,

What a busy and fun filled week we have had in grade one!  Read below to hear about some of the highlights!

Just a Reminder:

We will be going on a community walk on Monday March 3 in the afternoon.  Please have your child come dressed for the weather with comfortable footwear and appropriate outdoor clothing.

Pink Shirt Day

This week we recognized Pink Shirt Day in many ways in Grade 1! We began the week with an amazing assembly by our Kindergarten and Grade 3 communities presenting their learning and wish to spread kindness. We participated in a Pink Shirt Day Challenge where students looked for acts of kindness and recorded these actions on a sticky note and collected them on our class Pink Shirt. On Wednesday, we participated in a musical presentation by Mary Lambert and a virtual author’s visit with Teoni Spathelefer, author of Little Wolf.  She read her book and spoke about the importance of using your voice to overcome bullying. Click on the link below to learn more about the origins of Pink Shirt Day.  

https://www.cbc.ca/kids/watch/video/1.6744256

 Learning Intentions

• Describe personal learning strengths and abilities.

• Express, request, obtain, or refuse consent relating to personal boundaries.

• Explore how some First Nations, Métis, and Inuit view personal characteristics as gifts that can contribute to individuals and the community.

Math

In math we have continued to build our understanding of addition.  When building our conceptual understanding of addition, we introduced students to problem solving situations where adding is joining two groups or where adding is 2 parts that make a whole.  Students have been using a variety of models to organize their thinking, such as a number line, counters, and ten frames.  

Learning Intentions:

• I can show when I add

• I can describe parts that make up a whole.

Combining Parts to Make a Whole

Sometimes you know the size of parts, and you want to figure out the size of the whole. Adding can help you.

For example, if there are 4 adults and 2 children at the park, you might want to figure out how many people there are altogether.

You can add 4 and 2 to get the total, or whole, of 6.

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Figuring Out How Much to Add

Sometimes you know the whole and one part, and you want to figure out the other part.

For example, if there are 8 birds in a yard and 3 are robins, you might want to figure out how many are not robins.

You can think about what to add to 3 to get to 8.

You can add 5 to 3 to get 8.

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A New Model to Show Part-Part-Whole Situations

Another way to show the connection between parts and a whole is called a bar model.

A bar model shows the whole in one rectangle, or bar.

It shows the parts in another bar of the same length.

Early on, students might use linking cubes to create the whole and to create two parts that together are the same length as the whole. Then they can use the bar model to record what they did.

The whole is 8. The parts are 3 and 5.

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You can use a bar model when you know the whole and one part, and you want to represent the other part: This bar model shows the problem “There are 8 people. 3 are adults. How many are children?” You can count or use a 10-frame, a number path, or linking cubes to figure out what number goes in the empty part of the bottom bar.

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You can use a bar model when you know the parts and you want to represent the whole: This bar model shows the problem “There are 3 adults and 5 children. How many people are there altogether?” You can count or use a 10-frame, a number path, or linking cubes to figure out what number goes in the top bar. In a bar model, the small boxes always represent the parts and the large box always represents the whole. The size of the boxes that represent the parts should give a relative sense of the size of the numbers, but the size does not need to be precise.

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Helping Your Child

When you and your child encounter a situation where two parts make up a whole and the numbers are not very large, invite your child to figure out either the missing total or the missing part amount.

For example:

•	You can figure out the number of people in a car’s back seat if you know how many people are in the car and how many people are in the front seat.
•	You can figure out the number of pieces of cutlery on the table if you know how many spoons and how many forks there are.

Literacy

This week we continued to learn about consonant digraphs, when two consonants make one sound.  We focused on “th” and “ch”.  Please take a look below at our home practice to help support your child in their literacy learning. 

Feb 18-21

Dear Parents

We were excited to return to our learning after the Family Day long weekend and hope that you enjoyed the break with your family.

Science

This week, we spent time in Science, focusing on wrapping up our learning and understanding of Matter and the properties of objects.  We showed our understanding by creating “Shapeshifters!”  We got to use playdough, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks and googly eyes to make 2 different shapeshifters.  We then needed to identify the various properties of each of them and be able to identify and explain how they are different from each other and how we changed them.

Ask your child about their shapeshifters.  Hopefully they shared them with you too as we sent home the materials after we were finished creating with them.

Thank you to all the generous families who sent in donations of playdough over the past few weeks.  This has made our hands on learning in Science very engaging and fun!

   

Learning Intentions:

I can explore actions that physically change properties of various objects.

I can describe physical changes that result from various actions.

I can discuss and explain why physical changes do not change what an object is made of. 

Science/Well-being

After waiting a few weeks and multiple changes to our plans, we were so happy to be able to get out on the land for our walking field trip to Fish Creek park.

We noticed the season of winter and reflected on the story that the land is telling us during this season. 

We noticed many things, as we focused on the land, animals and plants.  Ask your child what the most interesting thing they noticed was.  

    

 

     

Thank you to our parent volunteers for joining us to Fish Creek.  We also thank everyone for the flexibility with our changes to plans over the past few weeks and your understanding.  

We look forward to reflecting on our time in Fish Creek and sharing our observations and reflections this coming week.  

Learning Intentions:

I can observe seasonal changes in Fish Creek over time.  

I can discuss how changes in the appearance of environments, plants and animals are related to the seasons.  

I can investigate animal behaviour throughout the seasons, including hibernation.

I can describe various environments, drawing from information gathered using the senses.  

Literacy

This week we continued learning about consonant digraphs, when two consonants make one sound.  We focused on “sh” and “th”.  Please take a look below at our home practice to help support your child in their literacy learning.

Feb 10-12

 Dear Parents,

This week was a short week with the Teacher’s Convention and Family Day weekend approaching.  We still managed to pack in tons of quality learning.  Because of cooler temperatures again this week we did not venture out to Fish Creek and our students spent most recess and lunch times inside.  We anticipate warmer temperatures and will plan to go to Fish Creek on Wednesday, Feb 19 in the morning.  

 Please read below to hear about our week.

Math

This week, we began to develop our understanding of addition as joining two numbers. In problem-solving situations, students worked with a number line to join two numbers.

Learning Intention

• Recognize addition in situations that involve joining parts together.

What Are Joining Situations?

In a joining situation, one amount is joined to another amount. For example, if there are 4 children in a room and 3 more children join them, we can add 4 + 3 to determine the total number of children in the room. This total is called the “sum” or the “whole.”

Showing Addition on a Number Path

A number path can help students visualize the process of addition.

They can use one of the numbers in the addition situation to tell them where to start (or how many steps to take first) and the other number to tell them how many more steps to take.

Helping Your Child

Joining situations occur frequently in day-to-day life. Whenever you and your child find yourselves in a joining situation involving small numbers, ask your child what is being added.

For example:

If 3 dogs are in a park and 2 more dogs arrive, the addition situation is 3 plus 2.

If 4 people are in a room and 3 more come in, the addition situation is 4 plus 3.

If appropriate, you could work with your child to figure out the sum. Use concrete materials to represent the amounts being added, if it is helpful to do this.

Science 

This week we recognized the full moon.  Through our continued look at the Indigenous teaching of educator Eitenna Moostoos Lafferty we learned about the Eagle Moon-Mikisiwi pisim and what changes are happening on the land at this time of year.  Students learned about how some of the animals in our local environment are beginning to look for their mate, poplars are starting to bud and the interconnected relationships of trees. Ask your child what they learned about the land and its inhabitants during the Eagle Moon.

Learning Intention

• Discuss and reflect on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit traditional teachings that demonstrate a sense of responsibility to care for nature.

• Observe seasonal changes in local environments over time.

• Document signs of seasonal change over time. Discuss how changes in the appearance of environments, plants, and animals are related to the seasons.

Literacy

This week we began learning about consonant digraphs, when two consonants make one sound.  We focused on “ck” and “sh”.  Please take a look below at our home practice to help support your child in their literacy learning. 

You should also find your child’s home communication folder as well, with an update on their progress in reading.