Super Scientists!

This week we did our first science experiments!  Science is so amazing!  The objective of our first science lesson was to introduce what a scientist is, use our senses, record our findings, and get EXCITED about science.  To begin the lesson, watched a power point created by a teacher in Texas on different kinds of scientists in our world.  We found out that a scientist is someone who studies the world around them...and we can all be scientists.  (Click here to be linked to the power point.)  Then, the first grade scientists studied a cup of water...like a scientist.  Ha!  They may have thought I was a little crazy but they made very detailed observations about that simple cup of water!

Upon further discussion about what the water looked like, we thought maybe using our other senses would give us more information.  Scientist use their senses to learn.   So we smelled to the water and we listened the water.  We also discussed not to taste science experiments unless a teacher tells them it is safe.  Even using these other senses, we still didn't have enough information.

It wasn't until the students used their sense of touch that they made the discovery!  We weren't working with just a cup of water.  Inside the water, there were clear jelly marbles, a water absorbing polymer.

One of the most powerful tools a scientist has is his/her senses.  Our first science lesson was a success!  If you are interested in the Jelly Marbles, you can order them and learn more about them on the Steve Spangler Science website.  Steve Spangler has an incredible selection of science materials and experiments to do at home.  Click here to be linked to the site.

Addition Combinations

We are working on hard on the addition portion of this important math standard.  We are building a strong foundation for addition. This week we focused on decomposing numbers into pairs and the commutative property.  We played the game "Spill the Counters" to discover the many combinations for the numbers 5 through 10.  We also built a number wall to record our discoveries.

Each first grader brought home some beans and recording sheets so he/she can show you at home!  Here are the directions on how to play.  This week's homework is to play "Spill the Counters" for several different numbers.  Please return one recording sheet to show me you are playing.  If you would like more recording sheets to continuing playing, please let me know.  Happy to provide more practice!

Spill the Counters

Objective: To explore and identify addition combinations for certain numbers.

Materials: small cup, two colored counters (beans), recording sheet

How to Play

1. Put specified number of beans in the cup.  For example if you are making five, put in five counters.
2. Shake the cup and spill the counters onto the table.
3. Sort the counters by color.
4. Say the combination that was spilled.  For example, five is three and two. 
5. Mark on recording sheet.
6. Continue procedure to find all the combinations.  Try with other numbers.

Discussion Questions

-What were the combinations for 5 (or number chosen)?
-What is 2+3? 4+1? 5+0?
-What is the commutative of 2+3?
-What combination was easiest to get?
-What combination was the most difficult to spill? Why?

There are a couple great apps for practicing addition combinations. In Find Sums, students have the opportunity to practice combinations for 4-20 and 100. The practice can be with picture support or just symbolically. Click Find Sums to see the app in the itunes store.  It is a free app!

In class, we have been playing the game both individually and as a relay team.  To do a relay team race, we project two ipads up on the whiteboard.  Then the two teams race to find all the combinations.  Each player does a combination and then passes the ipad to the next player.  The students love it!

Here is another free app to practice addition combinations.  In the game Hungry Fish, students have to feed the fish a certain number. They have to combine bubbles to make the designated number so the fish with eat it. Click Hungry Fish to be linked to the game in the app store.

Watermelon Day

To celebrate the third week of school, we made Friday "Watermelon Day!"  We still did lot of learning....but Friday the learning and fun was all about the watermelon.  In math, we estimated the circumference of the melon with a piece of string.  Then, we tested our estimates and charted our estimates by comparing if they were longer or shorter than the actual circumference.

We also made an estimate about the weight of our watermelon.  We organized our estimates in a number line from lightest to heaviest.  When everyone had made an estimate, we weighed our watermelon.  It weighed 15 pounds!

That is a big watermelon!  After all the measuring, we needed a brain break.  We went outside with the other two first grade classes.  We had some watermelon relay races.  One race was rolling the watermelon under our legs.  In another race, we had to use our muscles to pass our big watermelon.  In all the races, we had to cooperate and show good sportsmanship.

Of course, we read stories with watermelon.  We read The Enormous Watermelon and Down by the Bay.  The children loved Down by the Bay so much that we even made our own books.  In our own books, we did some word work with high frequency words and rhyming.

Of course, at the end of the day, we had a delicious snack....WATERMELON!  Enjoy the slideshow below for even more pictures of our special day. 

Free digital slideshow generated with Smilebox

Fiction and Nonfiction

During our study on the oceans, we have been learning to distinguish between fiction and nonfiction texts. The students are getting very good at not only telling if a book is fiction or nonfiction but also showing evidence to support their thinking. In the pictures below, students are sorting books into fiction and nonfiction and explaining their thinking to their group members.

When you are reading at home, ask your child if the books are fiction or nonfiction and listen to their reasoning skills. In our fiction vs nonfiction discussions, we have also been defining different features of nonfiction text like labels, photographs, captions, index, table of contents, close-ups, bold words, and headings. Look at this little man below, he is using the index to identify the names of different fish in the photographs.  Has your child been discovering any of these important features of nonfiction?

Here is a short video that describes some of the same nonfiction text features we have discussed in class. 

Learning Letter Sounds A-Z

In phonics and spelling, we are starting the year by reviewing letters. We are working on handwriting, knowing the letter sounds, matching capital and lower case, distinguishing beginning and ending sounds, and reading and writing words beginning with the focus letter. To practice these important foundational reading skills, one tool we are using is the iPads and a series of phonics apps.

 

We have developed a phonics routine to review and develop these skills. First, we watch and sing Jack Hartman's Letter Sound Song. Then, we introduce the focus letter. The children are really enjoying watching the StoryBots video clips for each focus letter. You will notice I have linked all the StoryBots videos to the button bar at the top of the blog.

After doing the introduction of the focus letter as a whole group, the children set to work on a series of apps.  The students work through Letter School, Starfall, Letter of the Day, and Sound Sort.  In each app, the students get specific and guided practice at writing the letter, identifying and discriminating the sound, and reading words beginning with the focus letter.  The students get to work at their own pace and receive specific and immediate feedback on how they are doing on the skills.  The apps are designed to help students on areas of struggle and challenge and advance students when they are ready.

While the iPads are an important and powerful tool for our learning, it is not the only way we are learning.  Having balance in everything is extremely important.  When reviewing letters and sounds, our activities have ranged from traditional paper/pencil work, wonderful read alouds, art oriented review, singing and dancing, cooperative activities, and independent skill work.  Here are just a few more pictures of some of our learning activities.