Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a delightful weekend. From what the students shared during our morning meeting, it sounds like there were lots of outdoor and family activities taking place. Morning work was to continue working on the penguin poster or the penguin map. If these were complete, students were invited to design an outfit for a penguin. One of our fun facts for the day was that a boiled egg will spin, but a raw egg will not. Try it at home and ask your child why this happens. As noted in the morning message, June is National Smile Month and Great Outdoors Month. Let's make an effort to partake in both these events every day of this month and all the months yet to come!
Our spelling list this week is comprised of words that are used to compare two or more things. They are formed by adding -er and -est to the base words. We wrote all three words on study cards, paying attention to the spelling patterns. The first graders also worked with comparative words in their phonics books today. Ask your child when one must double a letter before adding -er or -est.
We each numbered a calendar grid and wrote the important events for the month of June. This will be our last monthly calendar, but we do have summer birthdays. I told the first graders I would include those birthdays in the blog today so that they can be written down later at home.
Our spelling list this week is comprised of words that are used to compare two or more things. They are formed by adding -er and -est to the base words. We wrote all three words on study cards, paying attention to the spelling patterns. The first graders also worked with comparative words in their phonics books today. Ask your child when one must double a letter before adding -er or -est.
We each numbered a calendar grid and wrote the important events for the month of June. This will be our last monthly calendar, but we do have summer birthdays. I told the first graders I would include those birthdays in the blog today so that they can be written down later at home.
P.E., Lunch, Recess, and Quiet Time were followed by math as usual. Today we focused on the meaning of a.m. and p.m. and when to use them. We used our practice clocks, watched a short video, and determined whether events depicted in our math books should be a.m. or p.m. One common error in telling time with analog clocks occurs when it is almost the next hour. For example, 3:55 is misread as 4:55. Watch for this at home, parents. An analog clock for your child's bedroom is a good investment.
After teasing the class with two cloth covered items behind by desk, it was finally time to see what was underneath during science class. First, we looked back at the painted lady butterfly observations we made last Friday. Not everyone had their observation sheets handy, but we recalled that the caterpillars had entered the pre-chrysalis stage, hanging in a j-shape as seen below.
After teasing the class with two cloth covered items behind by desk, it was finally time to see what was underneath during science class. First, we looked back at the painted lady butterfly observations we made last Friday. Not everyone had their observation sheets handy, but we recalled that the caterpillars had entered the pre-chrysalis stage, hanging in a j-shape as seen below.
Next, we watched a video clip of one of our caterpillars wiggling around to push off its skin one last time. It was becoming a chrysalis! You can see the change beginning to take place in the photo below.
Then, we looked under the mystery cloths and discovered that all our caterpillars had become chrysalides over the weekend.! This is the pupa stage of development for butterflies. When I revealed all the cups, one chrysalis began to shake like the one in this video clip. This is a photo of one of our chrysalides. We will take a closer look at one together in class on Thursday.
The students watched as I took the lids off some of the cups and moved the painted lady butterfly chrysalides to a larger habitat made of netting. Now, from the outside, it will look like nothing is happening, but big changes are already taking place where we can't see them.
Parents, please take a few minutes to monitor your child as he/she adds all the observation sheets completed so far into his/her Research Log. I would like the students to have a chronological record of what they witnessed, similar to our brassica plant observations earlier in the year. Thank you!
Finally, we looked at a labeled life cycle of a monarch butterfly and used it to label the life cycle of a painted lady butterfly. We colored the eggs, larvae, and chrysalides of both--although not the same colors. We will color the adult painted lady butterflies after we observe them in class. The first graders were then given directions to create a butterfly pop up book and some (but not enough!) time to color, cut, and assemble it. During closing circle, I read sections from the book Butterfly Life Cycle to the class.
Finally, we looked at a labeled life cycle of a monarch butterfly and used it to label the life cycle of a painted lady butterfly. We colored the eggs, larvae, and chrysalides of both--although not the same colors. We will color the adult painted lady butterflies after we observe them in class. The first graders were then given directions to create a butterfly pop up book and some (but not enough!) time to color, cut, and assemble it. During closing circle, I read sections from the book Butterfly Life Cycle to the class.
Parents please check the June 2 Learning Plan for 104 and the SEL Schedule for the school to be sure your child is prepared for the day tomorrow. Have a good evening!