First Nations Teepees, Equality, and Chunky Monkey!

We have been working very hard over the last week in our class.  We have been enjoying the lovely snow at recess time as well!  In gym we have started our movement gymnastic unit and are just loving it!

In Social Studies, we are continuing to study the Blackfoot and the role of the First Nations in our community.  Right now we are creating our own miniature teepees.   We are learning the different symbols that were painted on them and are connecting the importance of the 4 seasons to the life and movement of the Blackfoot community.

 Check out this really cool website from the Glenbow museum:

Glenbow Museum Blackfoot

We have been using it in class to learn how the Blackfoot lived in their community.  You can also find the link under the Social Studies page.

In Math, we have been exploring the concept of equality.   Using a scale, we have learned to balance both sides.  For example, on one side of the scale we put 4 + 3 blocks.  On the other side we put 7 blocks.  When we did this, the scale became balanced.  We learned that another way for saying balanced is equal.  We also have been exploring inequality.  For example, on one side of the scale we put 7 + 3.  On the other side we put 8 blocks.  We discovered that the side that had 7 + 3 in it was heavier and was not equal.  Check out the Math page.  There are some really great links to further explore the idea of equality.

We met another reading friend in Language Arts.  His name is Chunky Monkey.  Chunky Monkey taught us that when we come to a word we don't know, one strategy we can use to figure it out is to look for small chunks in the word.  For example, today we learned about the "at" family.   We learned that if we can read "at", we can easily read cat, mat, hat, sat, rat, ect.   So, if we come to a word like Saturday, we can recognize the "at" chunk in it which helps us to figure out the word quicker.  Have your child show you how many "at" words they can create by going to this link:

 At Word Family Game

Foot Math

In math we have been working on a measuring activity using our feet.  We traced our foot and had to figure out how many cubes long our foot was.  We then used our "cube ruler" to go and find a friend in the classroom whose foot was longer and shorter than ours.  

In Social Studies we are continuing a project we started before Christmas and are continuing to work on creating our gingerbread men communities.  Stay tuned for upcoming pictures!

In literacy, we have had help from our reading buddy "Stretchy the Snake".  He helps us to remember to "stretch" out the sounds when we read and write words.  We have been writing about New Year's goals for this coming year.  Here are some of our goals:

This year I plan to ride my bike to Superstore.--Arian

This year I plan to sleep better in my bedroom downstairs.--Jordan

This year I plan to make my bed by myself.--Alyssa

This year I plan to clean my room by myself.--Jeremy

This year I plan to be better at drawing pictures.--Joshua

This year I plan to pass the puck better to my teammates.--Shaun

This year I plan to learn to skate because I want to play hockey.--Enata

Check out the new links on the Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science pages for some really cool learning websites!

Our Footprints

Today we talked about our school question, "What footprint will you leave behind".  We talked about what this meant.  We remembered Terry Fox and how he left his footprint by running across Canada to make money to give to all of the people who were sick with cancer.  We talked about a man named Dr King who had a dream that everyone could be treated the same way.  He left a footprint that made the world a better place so that we all can live in freedom.  We are trying to think of ways we can leave our footptint in grade 1 to make the world a better place!