First Grade News

Hello Families,

In Hebrew, we learned the letters kaf, chaf and chaf sofit as well as a new vowel, which makes the “Oo” sound. We wrote lots of sentences using the verbs ochel/ochelet (to eat) and ohev/ohevet (to love). We also learned how to say the symbols of  Chanukah in Hebrew and used those words in our writing. We had a very special week together! We played with dreidels, sang Chanukah songs, and read Chanukah stories.

In Tefila, we learned a new prayer from the amidah called chanun hamarbeh lisloach. We spoke about the importance of apologizing to people when we make mistakes and forgiving others after they say that they are sorry.

In Parasha, we read about Parashat miketz. It is when Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dreams and Pharaoh makes him in charge of preparing for the seven years of famine. We spoke about how Joseph helped other people during a tough time and thought about ways that we can help other people.

In writing workshop, we have learned techniques to make our stories come alive. We have practiced adding dialogue,  drawing our characters in action, and writing our story in itsy bitsy steps. 1st graders are really excelling at working with their writing partners throughout the entire writing process. They are successfully asking their partners questions to elaborate on their stories, helping them find tools, and reminding them of routines and writing strategies. In handwriting, we have finished reviewing upper case letters and begun practicing our lower case letters.

In social studies, 1st graders learned what Indigenous people, or Native American groups, are and learned more specifically about the Wampanoag tribe. We discussed how the Wampanoag live today and how they lived long ago. We enjoyed making corn husk dolls the way the Wampanoag do!  Some wonderful books we read are ‘Fry Bread”, “Giving Thanks, A Native American Good Morning Message”, and “When we are Kind”.

In Music class, first graders have been learning the song Sevivon with movements. We hope you enjoyed their performance of the song at school for Hanukkah Candle Lighting on Thursday! They also practiced writing out the rhythm of Sevivon. To honor Native American heritage day/month, they sang and played percussion instruments to the Iroquois lullaby Ho Ho Watanay.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Chanukah!

The First Grade Team