In writing we will begin learning about writing friendly letters. We will learn about all parts of a friendly letter including the proper placement of the date, greeting, body, and closing. The first grade writers will include interesting details that help to answer questions that the reader may have. They will make sure to use complete sentences, vary sentence type, and use proper punctuation.

The first grade mathematicians will be developing concepts for numbers to 100 by counting sets of 2s, 5s, and 10s. They will look at numbers and compare them to groups of ten with some left over. For instance, 16 is 10 and 6 more. They will search for patterns and identify ordinal numbers through twentieth.

Science Rocks!! Our science unit this month will explore rocks and minerals. The first grade scientist will recognize that rocks and minerals are used every day by people. For example: in objects such as metal kitchen appliances, chalk, concrete, and sidewalks. We wear rocks in our jewelry. Minerals are in most of our foods. Rocks form the basis of our earth! We will investigate the characteristics of the 3 rock families including igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.

In Social Studies we will begin  the unit, “Our Changing World”.  The first graders will learn that people, places, and technology change through over time.  They will study schools, communities, and transportation from long ago and compare them to today.  We will look for similarities in how people lived long ago and today.  The first graders will also recognize the changes in daily life brought by innovations, inventions, and new technologies.

Our writers will continue their study of non-fiction writing as they create new “How To” Stories.  We will polish up our ability to sequence clear directions through teaching a skill.  The writers will use their creative skills to write with partner and self-edit.

Our first grade mathematicians will be focusing on identifying and naming plane and solid figures and recognizing them in the environment.  They will count the number of verticies on a flat surface and compare them to geometric solids.  Also, they will sort plane shapes according to their properties.  They will reform slides, flips, and turns on an object and identify the resulting position.  While investigating fractions, the first graders will determine whether a shape has been divided into equal or unequal parts.  They will recognize halves, thirds, and fourths.

Is it a solid, liquid, or gas?  This month the first grade scientists will discover the differences in properties of matter.  They will classify solid objects based on size, shape and color and recognize that everything around us is matter. They will learn that objects can be made up of parts too small to see without a microscope.  The first grade scientists will explore the idea that matter may sink, float, mix or dissolve in a liquid and observe the effects of heating or cooling on different kinds of matter.  We will introduce tools that are used to measure matter such as a balance scale, test tubes, and beakers.

In Social Studies we will continue our unit “We Love Our Country” which tells the story of our country’s history and government.  The first graders will continue to explore rules and laws, voting, our local, state, and national leaders, and American symbols.  In addition students will discover that they have both rights and responsibilities as citizens and ways in which they can be good citizens.

The first graders continued their series of workshops on the Elements of Art at the Aldrich Museum this past Friday.  This time the class discussed Shape.  They looked at geometric and organic shapes,  went on a shape hunt, and designed shape play grounds.  They also had a chance to create shapes based on feelings using body socks to create happy, sad, excited, and wild shapes! Many thanks to Suzanne Ryan of the Aldrich Museum.

During November the first graders will focus on reading with fluency. They will search for patterns in text that help make a prediction. They will work on improving comprehension skills by retelling stories noting important details in the beginning, middle, and ending. They will practice asking and answering questions pertaining to who, what, where, when, and why? They will also connect books to their lives as they make text to self connections. Phonics skills will focus on short o, short u, and consonant blends, as well as a review of sight words. In writing the first graders move on to another form of non-fiction writing. The 1st grade writers will begin creating “How To” stories. They will need to be able to choose topics, outline steps in a procedure, and recognize missing information. The writers will need to choose a title as well as design a cover for their story.

Math

In Math this month the first grade mathematicians will be using mental math strategies. They will come to understand the commutative property which allows them to switch addends in a problem and still arrive at the same answer. The first graders will also be detectives as they search through word problems to decide what information is important and what information is not needed. They will practice their doubles facts as well as doubles plus 1. The first grade mathematician will include drawings to help show their work.

Science

The first grade scientist will focus on changes in weather, animals, and people throughout each of the four seasons. They will look at precipitation levels, change in temperature, migration, and hibernation. They will also study the changes in the land such as how leave change colors, why they fall, and the process of how buds grow in the spring.

Social Studies

“We Love Our Country” will be our unit of study this month in Social Studies. The first graders will learn that the United States has many symbols with special meaning. They will study the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The first grade will also take a deeper look at the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance and our national holidays.

In our unit “Understanding Addition and Subtraction” the 1^st grade mathematicians will explore the meaning of addition of subtraction through the use of joining and separating stories (word problems).  They will look at the horizontal and vertical forms for addition and subtraction and recognize that both forms represent the same situation.  They will use vocabulary such as add, plus, sum, subtract, minus, difference.

The 1^st grade scientists will investigate “Health and Nutrition” during October.  They will learn about the food groups that make up the food pyramid.  They will discuss and design projects that are centered on healthy food choices.  They will identify fruits and veggies they like and try to expand the variety of foods they eat.  They will discover the importance of staying active along with eating healthy.  Towards the end of the month they will explore different ways to keep their healthy bodies safe such as following biking laws, emergency situations, and being aware of strangers.

Our next Social Studies unit, “Where People Live”, explores the idea that people live in many different locations.  The first graders will learn that where people live affects the way that they live.  They will learn to locate their continent, country, state, and town on a map, as well as create maps with map keys on a variety of locations.  We will also discuss how people can use and save natural resources where they live.