I am sorry I am just getting to this on Saturday evening. I have been in Maine to watch my daughter run her last race in Belfast. They had a great day and her team became the first ever Harwood team to win the meet. Harwood has a rich xc history and has come up to this meet for many years, so this was no small feat. It was certainly a rewarding day. We had quite a week and the students are ready to be full swing into their academic schedule. We had a great discussion about timelines on Wednesday. The students had heard of them but no one knew what they are used for. We drew one of our day in school and did a few other examples as well. I then took out the puzzle pieces that they colored during the 1st week of school, the piece they drew to represent our all school hike, and they created a piece for our trip to the apple orchard. We started putting the pieces together and have the beginnings of our school year timeline. This is currently hung up in the hallway outside our classroom. Come on by and take a look. We will continue to add to it as the year progresses.
The first grader math students have been working with dominoes in a variety of ways. They all focus around learning facts, and identifying the strategy they used to find the sum of the dots. We have talked a lot about identifying strategies that students use when adding. These strategies include counting all (where students count all of the dots and state a total), counting on (where students state one number instantly and count on from that number) and using a known fact (where a student sees two numbers and instantly states the fact). I am hoping all 1st grade students can move away from counting all and toward counting on by the end of October.
On Thursday, I introduced the students to their spelling groups. These groups are based on the spelling needs of your child. They are not based on what grade your child is in but rather what do they need to be taught. I used an assessment three times a year that allows me to check in and change group makeups or foci.That is all for now. I hope you all enjoy your Sunday.
Peace,
Tommy
