Ramsay Grade 1

Friday, December 1, 2023

November 27 to December 1

We had wonderful week and are so appreciative of the opportunity to take part in Alien InLine Skating. Thank you to the Parent Society for funding this.

I'm afraid that the pictures I took have disappeared into a digital black hole and I promise to take replacements at our last session on Monday, December 4th.

I Can Document Everyday Activities Through Drawing

This week we started off a new unit in art with a drawing provocation. Students were invited to observe drawing mannequins posed in a running stance. Students were then asked to consider how they might draw what the mannequins and were encouraged to add their own details. This is our first steps as we learn how to draw people with increasing accuracy around proportion and depiction of activity.

I Can Respond to Texts That Have Been Read Aloud

This week students worked on their ability to retell texts that they have heard read aloud. We used the framework of "Somebody, wanted, but, so, then". After listening to the story, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, students identified the main character (Goldilocks), driving motivation, problem, solution, and falling action. They then illustrated each 'polaroid' to help point out important details.

Using this routine at home is a great way to help students build their reading comprehension skills - this can be done by talking about a story after reading it.

Medicine Wheel:

This week we continued to work on building our knowledge of the Medicine Wheel by exploring the animals represented in each section. This week we learned that the Eagle in the East and their feathers represent love and honour. We learned that if you are gifted an eagle feather it is an honuorable gift and blessing. We then worked on drawing realistic pictures of an eagle with some help from art hub.

Literacy:

This week we spent the whole week working with the sound /l/ that is spelled with the letter L. The /l/ sound can be tricky for students because it can be found at the beginning of words or blended with another sound to make a continuous sound (and later in the year we'll also learn that ls at the end of a word are often doubled).

Are new HFW are: are

Reminders:

Monday, December 4

Library Book Exchange
Alien Inline Skating

Thursday, December 7

Boston Pizza Fun Lunch - order through Healthy Hunger by December 1st.
https://healthyhunger.ca/

Friday, December 8

Non-Instructional Day - NO SCHOOL for STUDENTS

Friday, November 24, 2023

November 20 to 24

Thank you to all the parents who joined me this week for Parent / Teacher conferences. It is a great joy to share all the amazing growth your children have made thus far in grade 1. If for what ever reason we were unable to connect, please feel free to reach out to me and we can schedule another time after school.

Also a reminder that permission forms for Alien-Inline skating are due on Monday. Your child will not be allowed to participate unless they have a signed form.

I Can Compose and Decompose 2D Shapes

This week in math we worked on using pattern blocks to build larger shapes. It was quite a challenge for students to figure out how they could fill in the shapes with smaller shapes.

I Can Investigate How Objects Move / I Can Influence the Speed at Which Objects Move

This week in science we built ramps to test how toy cars moved along different surfaces. We learned that adding or reducing friction influenced the speed of the cars as they rolled down the platforms.

Literacy:

This week in literacy we worked with the /r/ sound. We started off with exploring /r/ at the beginning and end of words and then moved into looking at how the /r/ blends with other sounds at the beginning of words (example: frog, prop, etc.).

Our new irregular word was: from

I have also sent home a sheet with all of the HFW (high frequency words) that we have worked on since the beginning of the year. These are words that students in grade 1 are expected to know with automaticity. If your child has misplaced their sheet, I will put a copy in our Google Classroom.

Math:

This week in math we played a simple memory game that can be played at home to reinforce the skills we have been working on. I gave pairs of students a set of cards that only had A, 2, 3, 4. Students lined them up to play memory and if they revealed a 5 pair (A+4, 2+3), they got to keep the pair. This is a game that could also be easily adapted for 10 pairs as well.

Reminders:

Monday, November 27

Library Book Exchange

Tuesday, November 28

Alien Inline Skating

Thursday, November 30

Alien Inline Skating

Monday, December 4

Alien Inline Skating

Thursday, December 7

Boston Pizza Fun Lunch - order through Healthy Hunger https://healthyhunger.ca/

Friday, December 8

Non-Instructional Day - NO SCHOOL for STUDENTS

Sunday, November 19, 2023

November 15 - 17

This week we welcomed Nim from Money Mentors to learn more about financial literacy. She taught us about the different coins used in Canada. She also taught us about the three ways money can be used. We learned about using money to buy things, including that sometimes we need to save up to buy bigger things. We learned about how important it is to keeps some the money we get for savings and we learned about using some of our money to support and help others (e.g. charities).

We also learned about Diwali and some of the customs that are used to celebrate this holiday. We created our own versions of rangoli with coffee filters and markers.

Literacy:

This week we learned about the sound /h/ and how to spell it with h. We added the high frequency words: he, be, me.

Thank you to families who continue to send the black duotangs in each day. I will aim to update them with new decodable passages that can be practiced at home on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Reminders:

Conference Booking is currently open. You can book a conference through MyCBE https://sis.cbe.ab.ca/public/home.html

Monday, November 20

Library Book Exchange

Thursday, November 23

Parent / Teacher Conferences

Friday, November 24

Parent / Teacher Conferences
NO SCHOOL for STUDENTS

Thursday, December 7

Boston Pizza Fun Lunch - order through Healthy Hunger https://healthyhunger.ca/

Friday, December 8

Non-Instructional Day - NO SCHOOL for STUDENTS

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

November 6 to 8

Thank you to the grade 5 and 6 students at our school who lead our school-wide honouring of Remembrance Day at the November 8th assembly.

I Can Mix Primary Colours / I Can Create Organic Shapes / I Can Share My Ideas by Writing Them Down

We created a process-based project where we mixed red and yellow to create poppy colour. We used the paint on green paper to experiment with effect. After everything was dry, we created an organic shape to match look like a poppy.

We read the book "What Does Peace Feel Like?". In this compilation book, the author, Vladimir Radunsky, used the words of children to explore what peace looks like, smells, like, tastes like, sounds like, and feels like. Afterwards, we wrote a sentence to share our own observations of peace.

I Can Describe and Make a Movement Pathway

For science, we went outside and used chalk to create movement pathways for our friends to follow. We worked through spiral, straight, curved, and zig-zagging lines.

October Music Update:

This month in music, grade 1 has been learning about keeping a steady beat. We practiced moving to music with scarves and even learned a fun dance called “7 Jumps”. Our percussion skills improved this month as we practiced playing instruments such as rhythm sticks, egg shakers, and spoons.

Literacy:

This week we learned about how K can also spell the /c/ sound. We did not add any new high-frequency words this week.

We learned how to play a new game to help us practice our decoding of words. First we roll a dic, then read the word in that column and colour it in. These were sent home to either finish up or use as additional practice.

Thank you for continuing to send back the black duotangs. We will update them with decodable passages soon after we practice them at school. It would also be helpful if all previous passages were left inside so we can refer back to them.