Remember: Next week is Counselor Appreciation Week. Please send in a flower with your child, on Tuesday morning, for our grade level recognition of our wonderful counselors.

First in Math Rankings: We’re still in 1st place for first grade teams at Rocky Mount! We’re in 3rd place in Cobb county; 9th place in Georgia; 61st place in the U.S.

Writing: Our class has been working on honing their opinion writing skills and creating stories that will grab the reader’s attention and pique their curiosity. This week, the focus was on ‘saying hello with a catchy  introduction.’ Students worked on beginning their introductions by asking a question to make the reader wonder. The writing format for the body of their compositions has remained the same; however, in the conclusion, our young writers have been imploring the reader to take action and do something. Closing their writing pieces with this persuasive tone has proven to provide a pretty powerful ‘punch’ at the end.

Reading: In Reading, seasonal topics of penguins and winter have been explored, with students independently completing flip charts in addition to participating in small reading groups, targeting certain skills, such as reading comprehension, determining the main topic, author’s intent, making inferences, analyzing character traits, along with more fundamental skills work in Phonics and certain grammatical skills.

Math: In Math, work involved word problem solving, in addition to focusing on 10 more, 10 less, one more and one less, from any number on the number chart (1-120). Taking this concept of counting on, students applied it when using manipulatives, such as 100 squares, 10 rods and unit cubes, in addition to working with the number line and listening to oral, multi-step directions in an effort to discover on which final number they will land.

Social Studies: Harriet Tubman’s historical contributions to human rights was, the focus of instruction for most of the week. Lessons have transitioned on to Teddy Roosevelt, with students being encouraged to bring their teddy bears to class today.

Our class had the pleasure of viewing the Drama Club’s performance of If …, a must-see for the whole family, with shows taking place Friday night and over the weekend. Remember to have students practice their lines for their Famous American project, so that they are able to independently present their famous American on Thursday, February 4.