Upcoming Assembly

Please mark Thursday, February 14th on your calendars!  Room 8, along with Room 4, will be hosting the school assembly at 9:15.  We have some funny Valentine's Day poems to share and will treat you to a song or two as well!  Hope to see you there...

Writing Expectations

Grade One is an exciting time of learning. Children discover themselves as writers and begin to communicate their ideas, experiences and knowledge through pictures and words. When assessing writing, we look at both the expression of ideas and the use of conventions.

Expression of Ideas:

• Write three or more related sentences on a topic (given or chosen)
• Include details about the topic or experience to help the reader understand 
• Writing maintains a sequence (order)
• Sentences are varied (not patterned) and may include a joining word (e.g. "and")
• Word choice is considered (e.g. "delicious" instead of "good")

Use of Conventions:

• Spaces are consistently left between words so the reader can easily read the writing
• Most of the common words studied (spelling words) are spelled correctly, by memory or by using the word wall in the classroom
• New words are spelled by recording most of the sounds heard in order
• Beginning to start sentences with a capital letter and end with a period or exclamation mark
• Lowercase letters are used within a sentence 
• Writing is within the lines

Here are two samples of our winter writing. I'm sure you will enjoy the stories!

Skating
I went skating at my friend's house on the pond.
The first time I was not good at all, but I went back on the pond.
I was good the next time. I was good!

Sledding

I went sledding with my dad and my brother. 

I had a big crash and I went flying 5 feet in the air!

Language Arts Focus: Non-Fiction

The children have begun exploring the characteristics of both fiction (stories) and non-fiction (true, facts) texts.  We will learn about the unique features of non-fiction, such as: headings, table of contents, captions, labeled diagrams and maps.  Please find time to enjoy some non-fiction reading with your child.  Did you know that reading and writing more non-fiction is related to higher reading achievement?  In class, we will be reading and writing non-fiction books in January and will begin our polar bear inquiry in February.
 

Winter Safety Tips

In Health, grade one students learn how to stay safe in the various seasons. We brainstormed winter safety tips together and used the KidPix program to represent our ideas.  

Please review the children's safety tips and keep safe this winter! 

Happy New Year!

Welcome back!  We hope you had a restful holiday!  This term we will be learning about winter and how humans adapt and prepare for winter - especially in Winnipeg!  We will also be learning about what Manitoba animals do in winter.  We will be using vocabulary such as migration, hibernation and torpor.  Get ready to learn along with the students!

In math our big focus will be learning addition and subtraction with numbers to 20.  The students will be learning new math games to help them practice their addition and subtraction skills.  Many of these games can be played with just dice or cards, so please invite your child to teach you these games  and you can play them together at home!