Sixty Second Day of School

 At the end of last week, we discussed the nervous system and how it ties together and controls all of the other systems.

In Writing over the past few days, we have added transitions, openings, and closings. Shortly we will select one of our topics in which to revise.

Math application:

Shanice has 9 pencils for school. She gives 4 of them to her friends. How many pencils does Shanice have left?

Scores for this work have been posted to Schoology.

Fifty-First Day of School

In Writing today, we added our opening. We learned that one way to write an informational opening is to describe the topic without naming it. Another word for opening is "hook," as we are hooking the reader into reading our text (Insects):

    They're creepy. They're crawly. They're everywhere! 

For our content curriculum, we discussed the circulatory system.

• The circulatory system is made up of the heart, veins, arteries, and capillaries.
• Blood moves through the circulatory system bringing nutrients and oxygen to all parts of the body.
• It takes approximately 1 minute for the heart to pump blood around the body and back.
• Bonus to students of parents reading the class notes: There are approximately 60,000 miles of arteries, veins, and capiliaries in the human body.

Thirty-Fifth Day of School

In our content knowledge unit we discussed the muscular system.

• There are voluntary and involuntary muscles
• There are 650 muscles in the body.
• Muscles expand and contract.
• Muscles are attched to bones by tendons in order to help them move.

Math application problem (20):

Laura had 5 fish. Her mother gave her 1 more. Laura’s brother, Franklin, had 1 fish. Their mother gave him 5 more. “That’s not fair! He has more fish than I do!”

Grades for 19 and 20 have been posted to Schoology.

Note: It should have been mentioned at Back-to-School that we do not celebrate individual birthdays in class. We will take time out to celebrate 3 events in the year: the last day before winter break, the 100th day of school, and the last day of instruction.

Thirty-First Day of School

There is Math homework tonight. It may prove challenging to 1st graders. Today we practiced with equivalent and non-equivalent expressions today. Tomorrow our Math workshop will reflect this concept.

In our content knowledge unit, we discussed the skeletal system. Key concepts:

• Our bodies contain approximately 206 bones.
• Bones are stronger than steel.
• Bones provide support and protection for the soft parts of our body.

Thirtieth Day of School

In Writing today, we shared their editing and spelling strategies. Then some writers read their stories aloud to the class.

Math application problem:

    There are 10 swings on the playground, and 7 students are using them. How many swings        are empty?

So far, all of the application problems which have been turned in as homework have all been completed to the level of a score of 4.

Score for this application problem have been recorded to Schoology.

For our content knowledge unit, we discussed how the body is make up of organs which work together to complete a task, such as digestion, as part of a system. In the body, systems network togther. These are key concepts for the unit as well as key vocabulary.

For Visual Art, we practiced whole figure gesture sketching to show bodies in action. This will come in handy for future planning as part of the writing process.