DiGioia Digest
First Grade Footnotes
February 19, 2016
A big thank you to the parents, Mrs. Fogelsong, Mrs. Leonard, Mrs. Lipari,
and Mrs. Marini, who helped make our Valentine party so much fun!
Reading – Nonfiction- good readers stop and use “fix-up” strategies when
coming across an unknown word or when something doesn’t make sense; to
model this we used Life in the Rainforest and found text feature clues
(photos, pictures, captions, headings, and context clues or synonyms)
together; students will now monitor while reading to understand unfamiliar
words and improve their comprehension; We also read letters from our first
grade penpals from Kildeer School; We wrote them back, answered their
questions, and asked a question of our own; the class was very excited and
are looking forward to hearing from our new friends again!
Writing – Personal Narrative- Generating ideas for storytelling; continued
Brainstorming and Prewriting activities like talking with a partner or drawing;
My Big Brother-we recorded important moments and special memories from
home and family (drew a personal portrait of someone they love and admire);
My Steps- drew a special place; Map of My Heart- more writing inspirations
of things we love; Rituals- familiar, repeated experiences and traditions
make good storytelling; continued working on drafts
Math – Module 6 – a number’s place effects its value; identified 2 digit
numbers as having a quantity of tens and a quantity of ones on a hundreds
chart; noticed the differences/similarities between a number line and a 100
chart; solved mystery number puzzles; began Module 7- explored methods to
add three numbers (associative property); used make-a-ten strategy for
addition; reviewed turn around facts (commutative property) to show the
ease of addition when starting with the larger number in mind; practiced 3
types of story problem (the end unknown, the change unknown, and the start
unknown) using a picture, a number sentence, and the labeled answer
Science- Matter- did an explore activity of solids, liquids, and gases;
investigated what was inside our 3 balloons using skills (observe and infer);
Read Chapter 1 and noticed bold vocabulary words (used glossary or other
text feature clues)
Social Studies – President’s Day poem- new vocabulary (honor, courageous,
salute); used a picture book biography, George Washington’s Teeth (literary
nonfiction example), Pebble Go, and built a Washington Monument puzzle to
research facts about George Washington
Important Dates –
February 26 – End of 2nd Trimester
February 29 – Leap Day!
March 1 – February Reading Calendars due for Pizza Hut Book It! Reading
incentive program– Keep on reading 15-20 minutes each day!!
March 10 – Early Release 12:50
March 11 – Second Trimester Progress Reports
Please help your child remember to have a book in their backpack, so then
they will be ready to read for our Morning Hallway Arrival Time! Thanks!