Welcome back from Spring break and Happy Easter to you all! I hope you have an awesome long weekend spending time with your families. What an amazing short first week back we had. It was so great to see the kiddos again and hear all about their amazing spring break adventures. This week brought us April fools day, the celebration of Easter weekend and then ended the week with a huge snowing blizzard.

One of our learning intentions this week was in Science. My Peeps science experiment (Scientific Methods);

• I can ask questions what will happen in the experiment.
• I can make a prediction about what will happen to the Peeps in different liquids.
• I can test my ideas using different liquids (water, juice, soda, and vinegar).
• I can follow the steps to do an experiment safely.
• I can observed what happens to the Peeps.
• I can draw and label what I see.
• I can compare what is the same and different.
• I can talk about what happened in the experiment.
• I can talk about if my prediction was right or different.
• I can share my ideas with my table group.

We also spent some time this week talking about Easter. Our learning intentions for Art and ELA were:

• I can listen to stories about Easter.
• I can make connections to what I know about Easter.
• I can talk about my own family Easter traditions.
• I can draw and write about how to catch the Easter bunny.
• I can share my ideas with my teacher and partners.
• I can add details to make my sentences longer.
• I can create an Easter picture using shapes, watercolours, pencil crayons and patterns.
• I can show my ideas through drawing and creating.
• I can explain my artwork.

Thank you for the students who continue to participate in our home reading decodable books program and the students who remembered their library books on Wednesday. 

See you all on Monday morning friends.

Ms. Craik

Happy Friday family and friends,

Wishing you all a wonderful spring break ahead with your families, and hoping we all continue to see that warmer weather! The students had a wonderful busy week of learning. Huge thank you to all the amazing parents who contributed to our Teacher Treat Day on Wednesday, such a kind gesture. It sure was a busy week with St. Patrick's day, a short week and we even got to see our buddies!

One of our highlights this week was focused around math. Our learning intentions for this are:

Understanding Addition as joining:

• I can show that adding means joining two groups together.

• I can explain that when I add, the number gets bigger.

• I can join two groups of objects to find how many in all.

Representing joining:

• I can use counters, cubes, or drawings to show joining.

• I can draw a picture to show two groups coming together.

• I can act out a joining story with objects or my body.

Writing addition:

• I can write a number sentence using + and = to show joining.

• I can match a story to an addition sentence.

• I can show my thinking using numbers, pictures, and words.

Explaining my thinking:

• I can tell a math story about joining.

• I can explain how I put groups together to find the answer.

• I can share my thinking and listen to others’ ideas.

What Are Joining Situations?

In a joining situation, one amount is joined to another amount. For example, if there are 4 children in a room and 3 more children join them, we can add 4 + 3 to determine the total number of children in the room. This total is called the “sum” or the “whole.”

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Showing Addition on a Number Path

A number path can help students visualize the process of addition.

They can use one of the numbers in the addition situation to tell them where to start (or how many steps to take first) and the other number to tell them how many more steps to take.

For example, adding 5 and 3 can look like this on a number path:

Or

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Adding on a 10-Frame

Adding counters to a group, perhaps on a 10-frame, can also help students visualize the process of addition.

The counters on this 10-frame show 5 and 3 more.

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Using Symbols in Addition

Addition is new to students in Grade 1, even though they have informally experienced joining situations in Kindergarten and earlier in this grade.

Students can use the + symbol to describe addition.

So, 4 and 3 can be written 4 + 3. It is read “4 plus 3” or “4 and 3 more.”

Eventually, students will also use equations such as 4 + 3 = 7 to represent addition, but not in this topic.

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Helping Your Child

Joining situations occur frequently in day-to-day life. Whenever you and your child find yourselves in a joining situation involving small numbers, ask your child what is being added.

For example:

If 3 dogs are in a park and 2 more dogs arrive, the addition situation is 3 plus 2.

If 4 people are in a room and 3 more come in, the addition situation is 4 plus 3.

If appropriate, you could work with your child to figure out the sum. Use concrete materials to represent the amounts being added, if it is helpful to do this.

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Definitions

10-frame: a grid that can hold 10 counters in 2 rows of 5 squares each; you place one counter in each square to show a particular number

addition: the process of putting numbers together to determine a whole amount

number path: a counting tool in which each number in a series is contained within a cell, or rectangle

sum (also total or whole): the combined amount when quantities are joined

Have an amazing break and see you all back on Monday March 30th! 

Ms. Craik