Category: Math

It has been a wonderful and busy time in Grade One! Our classroom is full of excitement as the children grow as readers, writers, mathematicians, and thinkers every single day.

In reading, students are building their confidence by practicing strategies that help them decode new words, read with expression, and talk about their understanding. It is amazing to see how much progress they make when they read daily, both independently and with partners.

In writing, the children are working hard in their journals. They are learning to print all the lowercase letters using proper formation and are beginning to write words and complete sentences to share their ideas. Using the Handwriting Without Tears program, the students practice specific letters each day, always focusing on starting at the top and using correct strokes. They have also been learning to answer questions in complete sentences—an important skill that helps them express their thinking clearly.

We’ve just begun our animal research projects, and the students are off to a great start! They are learning to be patient researchers by reading information, noticing important facts, and making simple notes. They will take these notes and turn them into their own written projects. We have also enjoyed combining art and writing, creating beautiful artwork connected to our themes and then using writing to describe and reflect on their creations.

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n math, the children continue to practice their addition and subtraction facts to 10, building strong number sense and confidence. We have also taken a look at greater numbers and learned all about place value. We recently completed a quick unit on patterning where students created patterns using two and three attributes. Our current math unit is graphing, and the children are learning how to read data and answer questions based on different types of graphs. The students will be conducting their own surveys with classmates and graphing their findings. It should be lots of fun!

In Social Studies, we are focusing on our roles and responsibilities. Students will be interviewing their classmates about the responsibilities they have at home and how they contribute to their families and communities. We are also learning about what responsibility looks like in Grade One. The children are practicing responsibility each day by bringing their homework folders back and forth between home and school, taking good care of their library books, and keeping their lockers and learning spaces neat and organized. These daily routines help the students understand that being responsible means taking care of themselves, their belongings, and their classroom community.

Both classes have also enjoyed our first Zoom calls with students in Israel. It was a wonderful experience to see the children discover how much they have in common, even though they live far away. We look forward to more connections throughout the year.

This week, our school had a very special visit from Achiya Klein, an Israeli veteran and former IDF officer who lost his vision in 2013 and went on to compete in Paralympic rowing at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics. Achiya came with his wonderful guide dog and shared his inspiring story of perseverance, teamwork, and courage.

He taught us how Israeli guide dogs are trained — including learning Hebrew commands and navigating the unique landscape of Israel. Students learned how these dogs help people with visual impairments live safely and independently. The presentation was uplifting and meaningful, with an important message about inclusion, supporting others, and believing in your own strengths.

It was a memorable experience for all of us!