Q and A with Amy Brassard, First grade Teacher
Q:What are the projects that you have prepared for this year?
A: Writing: On the 100th day of school, the students wrote a narrative which started, “When I am 100 years old.” They were quite creative and enjoyable. They are hanging outside of the first grade along with a self-portrait of what they envision themselves to look like at age 100. For Valentine’s Day, the students wrote an essay entitled, “My heart is full of…” in which they expressed four or more things they love! Finally, just after our snow day, the students wrote a story that started with, “If I lived in a snow globe, …” They have become very creative and skillful writers!
Math: After learning their addition and subtraction facts, the students race each other in what we call, “M&M math,” in which the two finalists each get an M&M. They have also raced each other to write the addition and subtraction problems in a fact family. The students love to compete in games, and we are using it to practice math concepts!
Social Studies: In order to understand the inequality that is remembered on Martin Luther King, Jr. day, my students were split up into the “blue-eyed and brown-eyed” groups. The blue eyed group was able to play and have free time, while the brown-eyed group had to do seat work and clean up the room. It stirred emotions and fostered some great discussion by the end.
As the year moves on, we will learn about the various jobs in our community, and the students will dress up as their preferred occupation and get interviewed by their peers.
Also, we continue to learn the names and some facts about the 50 states as we make our way across America by reading books aloud and moving an airplane across our map in the classroom.
Science: After hearing a lesson on dental hygiene from Dr. Rhodes, the students will continue to learn more about the human body and the purpose of different organs. This will include learning about the food pyramid and creating a visual model of the various organs in their bodies.
Religion: As the students learn about the liturgical seasons, we have focused on the mysteries of the rosary that tie in with each one. For instance, during the Christmas season, we learned about the five joyful mysteries. We read the stories from the Bible highlighting each one, acted them out, and colored a picture of each that was put into their own “Rosary Book.” Now, we are learning about the sorrowful mysteries and will move to the glorious ones after Easter. We make frequent visits to Church to learn more about the pictures shown there…either on the stained glass windows or around the crucifix.
Q:What are your plans for future field trips?
A:We are headed on a field trip Friday, March 15, to see Wizard of Oz at McVinney auditorium. This will be performed by the drama students from St. Pius V school. It will be an enjoyable experience!
Thank you for your time Mrs. Brassard. We hope that you and your students have a great rest of the year.
John Benitez and Julien Benevides
staugustinesite.wordpress.com 