Room 7
February 22, 2008
Lucky Tuesday
It was our lucky day. Though it started to rain, we decided to head for Chinatown in hopes that the rain would subside. It did. Hopefully your child told you about things they saw, smelled, touched, heard, and tasted. We looked in delis, markets, restaurants, and
the wide assortments of foods outside the markets. We went to a fortune cookie factory,
a medicine/herb shop, a fish market, and the town plaza/square. There we tasted baked bread filled with barbecue pork and steamed bread with chicken. They also tried bok tong goh, steamed rice cake, a “jello” like dessert.
Then we went to the lunar new year presentation. It started with a lion dance, two lions dancing and prancing. The audience was awed by the different forms of martial arts. Students from Fruitvale school did a Vietnamese fan dance. There was also violin music and a Korean senior group sang songs in English and Korean. After the performance, we went to a park where the students woke up a sleeping dragon. It was a full day.
Thank you Alexander’s, Aria’s, Gemma’s, Nola’s, Reese’s, and Sam’s parents,
Glenn, Caroline, Jean, Jon, Dolly, and Steve for driving and chaperoning on our trip.
Star Student
***Christian Singleton***is the star this week. ****Aria Everingham *** is the star next week.
Aesop’s Fables
Since the field trip is today, I’m thinking/ hoping the Theaterworks performance will delight the students. All three 1st grade classes attended this performance. Later in the Spring, we will be present a performance for you about Aesop’s fables.
Thank you to Alex K.’s, David’s, Jordan R.’s, Keziah’s, Leah’s, and Olivia’s parents, Richard, Nanci, Marcia, Angela, Lynn, and Rebecca for driving/chaperoning on this trip.
Asian Pacific Islander Day
Wednesday, March 5th, all the first graders will participate in this event. Students will be able to do crafts and games from other countries. Artifacts are displayed. Lunch is provided. Students are encouraged to dress in clothes from these countries. This is a fun-filled learning day. Parents are welcome to join us.
Flyers have been sent home about volunteers and costumes. If you have questions, please contact Nancy Kho (336-9518), Joan Korin (530-0312), or
Kerryn LaDuc (915-2314)
READING
Read and record in your Reading Log.
WRITING
I started reading a few Aesop’s fables this week. After I read these short stories, students told what they thought the lesson of the story is.
Choose your favorite story/fable from the performance. Write several sentences telling why it was it your favorite? Then tell what lesson/ moral is from the story. If your child would like to tell the lesson from another story, please encourage him/her.
MATH
Your child will make a schedule of two days: a weekday, school day and one of the weekend days.
Have him/ her list what they do and what time of the day they do it . We have been telling time as we do activities in class. Choose a day for your child to record the many routines and activities they do. (You can be flexible in the definition of a “day,” more the daily routine when things go according to “schedule.”)
Start with when they get up to when they go to bed/ lights out. Try to include when they eat, go somewhere, get back home, things you do together, getting ready for bed, etc.)
In class we’ve been using an analog clock to read and show time. Your child can write the digital time (the way we write time) when s/he is writing their schedule or
can use the attached analog clocks.
TANGRAMS
Tangrams are great for visual perception. They originated in China. It is a seven piece puzzle that can be manipulated into many shapes. In class I read Grandfather Tang’s Story where animals made from tangrams kept transforming. Students then had the opportunity to try puzzles with varying degrees of difficulty. Now they can try the challenge at home.
Have your child cut out the 7 pieces of the square. Remind him /her to cut carefully on the line. All the pieces are used for each tangram. How many can your child do?
The tangram kit is for your child to keep at home. If your child enjoys and/or is challenged by this activity, there are many more tangram puzzles you can buy. You can also extend this kit by having your child make up his / her own puzzle. After s/he makes a shape, help trace around it. Then take the pieces off and see if s/he can put it back together, or better yet, can a family member. Can you get the pieces back into a square? Have fun!
There is nothing to turn in for the tangram portion of the homework. If our child wants to turn in a puzzle shape outline s/he makes with the 7 pieces, s/he can do so.
Posted by jueleong at March 20, 2008 09:42 AM