March will bring us Read Across America, St. Patrick's Day, and the first day of Spring. We will celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday by performing fairy tale plays for other classes. The students are very excited to do shows of Chicken Little, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, and Little Red Riding Hood. We will also share the narrative stories we wrote. It will be a fun day, celebrating literacy with our friends.
During the month of March, our whole school is continuing the character education work out. We are spending time with lessons on courage, optimism, respect, responsibility, empathy, citizenship, and trustworthiness. We work with our 8th grade buddies during phys ed time to complete related activities.
This month I will travel to Columbia Teachers College for their Reading and Writing Project Saturday reunion. This is an amazing event, free to all teachers, and thousands of teachers will be there. I can't wait to try all of the new things I will learn there with my group of first graders.
We will conduct a science unit on Balance and Motion. We will use the FOSS kit to explore balance, motion, counterweights, rolling, spinning, axles, wheels, rotation. This is a fun, hands on unit using various manipulatives. Look for a parent letter to come home. Students will want to share all we are doing in class with this unit!
In math, we are beginning Unit 7. This unit is on Geometry. Key concepts include sorting attributes blocks according to attribute rules, extending familiarity with polygons, identifying 3 dimensional shapes, and exploring symmetrical shapes. Please continue to practice basic addition and subtraction facts.
Writing Workshop will focus on informational texts. The students will choose a topic that they are "experts" on, then write about it. I can't wait to start this unit!
Castle projects are due on March 19. Please use recycled materials. The students have been learning about castles and their purposes. They should have good ideas to contribute to this project.
Report cards will come home on March 28. There is no school on March 29, as this begins our Spring Break. I would like to wish everyone a very happy Easter and spring!
