Turkey Time

Well, I could not be more thankful to teach these turkeys!  We have such a great time learning!  Of course, with Thanksgiving this week, we have been working on our standards but with a turkey twist.  For example, we made these fact family turkeys to practice properties of addition.

Since we have been working on animal locomotion in reading, we made a list of vivid verbs for "Run, Turkey, Run!"  Then, we made a class book about how some turkeys got away!

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving. 

Animal Locomotion

Our latest reading unit is on how the world changes.  We are only halfway through the four week unit.  In the first two weeks, we have focused on how animals and plants grow and change, as well as, animal locomotion.  From our reading we discovered that animals move to survive.  There are many different verbs to describe movement.  We recorded all the verbs we have found in our reading books on a "Move It" chart.

We also used a digital tool called padlet to share our learning. The students had to scan a QR code to have access to the padlet.  Then, the assignment was to take a photo showing text evidence of animal locomotion in one of their reading books.  The students had to take the photo and upload it to the padlet, they also had to write the verb describing how the animal moved.  The students were so excited to share their work.

Created with Padlet

Check out this unit's leveled readers by clicking on the "World Changes" button at the top of the blog.

Veteran's Day

 

On November 11, we wrote letters to veterans.  Our Scholastic News explained the different branches of military and some of the things soldiers do to protect us.  The students were very interested and wanted to help.  Each student wrote a letter to a veteran.  A friend of mine is the dentist at Heights Dental.  He had done a candy drive with left over trick or treats.  He is sending the candy to troops so I brought our letters to go with.  He was so thrilled to have the letters to send that he gave each child a toothbrush. We were so thrilled to help.  Happy Veteran's Day.

Pumpkin Jack

 All for science....

The children were very interested in the science investigations we did before Halloween with pumpkins.  So, we decided to keep it going.  Meet Jack.  Jack was one of our class' pumpkins that we carved on Halloween.  Then, after Halloween we put her in a plastic container with some soil on the bottom.  In reading, we have been studying how things in our world grow and change and with Jack we had a real life example to observe and study.

Our experiment began on November 3rd, our first day back after Halloween.  We had a  bright, orange, round pumpkin.  On day one we drew the pumpkin and made a prediction about how it would look in twenty days.

Next, we watched.  Jack has changed.  He grew some white fuzz.  The flesh of the pumpkin turned black.  Part of his eye collapsed and fell.  His smile became quite droopy.  And, let's not forget about another significant change.....the SMELL!  Yikes!  About every three days the scientists recorded observations in their journals.

At the end of 20 days, Jack is hardly recognizable.  Decay....one way things in our world can change.

Click, Clack, YOU! Kids that Type!

We have been reading some of Doreen Cronin's books. They are delightful. After we read Click, Clack, Moo Cows that Type we figured if cows can type, first graders had better learn too! We checked out the Chromebook lab and got busy. The children used these three sites, linked below, to familiarize themselves with the key board and hand placement.

1. Keyboard Find

2. Type Rocket

3. Dance Mat

I already heard that several children got on the blog at home and practiced typing! They are loving it...and what an important skill this day in age. Did you know third graders take their tests, including writing pieces, on the computer? They must know how to type! The first graders worked so hard. The room was silent because they were concentrating so hard. We are going to strive for weekly typing practice.

Subtraction Games

We have been working hard on subtraction.  The students are using a variety of strategies to solve subtraction problems. The students really understand the process of subtraction, we are just needing a lot of practice to become fluent.  In class, we have played several different subtraction games.

This game added some active movement to subtraction.  Each player had 10 counters.  They had to toss a bean bag onto a number and then subtract that many.  The students could have subtracted for hours with this game!

 In this "Falling for Subtraction" game, students sorted subtraction equations under the correct number.  The students thought they were super fancy recording the equations on the whiteboard as well.

Of course, the students also practiced with partner games and in their math journals.  We also checked out the Chromebook Lab to practice with some online games.  The list below is linked if you would like to continue the learning at home.

1. Subtraction Harvest

2. Balloon Pop

3.  Bowling

4. Minus Mission

5. Fruit Shoot

If you are looking for apps, the kids love Math Bingo for addition and subtraction practice.  Another great app is Subtract and Add to 10.  This app works on addition, subtracting, and missing addend problems.  

Thank You!

I have been reflecting on parent teacher conferences and the terrific year we have had so far. I need to express a huge, heartfelt thank you to all the parents of these Connected Ones. You are amazing. Your support is reflected in the children's bright smiles and all the progress they are making. From the great participation on dress up days (look at those darling cowpokes), to the special snacks, box tops, science center donations, and homework participation....THANK YOU! Your support is felt and greatly appreciated.

Friends and Family

Over the last five weeks in reader's workshop we have been researching the question: "How are my friends and family connected to me?"  In our small groups we have read several books on the topic.  Further, we have had wonderful class discussions. Click on the Friends & Family link above to see the leveled books the children have read in their guided reading groups.

The reading unit began by focusing on friends. In class, we read the book How to Lose All Your Friends.  While the students loved the book, they were appalled by the girl's behavior.  We decided to do a rewrite!  Together the students put together the main ideas of how to be a good friend.  They came up with six ideas:

1. Smile.

2. Share

3. Be a good sport.

4. Use manners.

5. Stand up for others.

Next, the students got into small groups.  Each group took one of the main ideas from our list.  They used our guided reading books about friends to come up with details (examples) of each good friend trait.  They had amazing discussions. Then, we began filming scenarios of children being good friends.  We used iMovie to put together this short video trailer on how to be a good friend.  The children did an amazing job on their first inquiry project about friends.

In the last half of the unit, we have been focusing on inquiry questions about family.  We have discussed how families are alike and different, how families are a part of who we are, and what families share.  Through all our reading and discussing, one main theme kept reoccurring: all families look and act differently but love is the most important thing to share.  Here is a poster of all our inquiry questions about friends and family and the notes from our class collaborative conversations.

To wrap up our family study, each student composed a story about their families.  To begin the writing project I showed the students a pencil drawing of stick figures and told them it was my family.  While the students were being very polite about my drawing, I eventually got them to tell me that my picture lacked detail.  I then showed them a colored drawing of my family that included lots of details.  They felt that drawing was much better.   The students then made very detailed drawings of their own families.

Next we compared two stories, one lacked detail (This is my family.  This is my mom. This is my dad.) It reminded the students of my stick figure drawing.  The writers had the assignment to take my "blah" story, cut it up, and add details.  They learned to revise.

We are still working on editing and publishing our family writing.  Miss Pam from Rocky has been helping edit and type.  The children are proud of their work.  They are loving sharing their stories with the class.  Stay tuned, the published stories should be hanging in our hallway by the end of the week.  Here is a quick preview of a couple of the papers.

This is My Family

This is my family. This is my dad. My dad likes hot cocoa and juice. This is my mom. She works at a preschool. My mom likes to stay home. I have 5 brothers. They like to play games. My brothers like to ride bikes.  I love them.

This is My Family

This is mom. She likes to be pretty. She likes to snuggle. This is my dad. My dad likes to rake. He is funny. This is my brother. He plays a lot. His favorite color is green. This is my sister. She is cute. She loves me. This is my family.