Fires, spiders, and other things :)

This week, we finished up studying fire safety. We'd colored our firemen last week but had run out of time. We read Firefighters on Raz-Kids as a class and then discussed all the things firefighters do for us. The students created their own tree maps for firefighters. They used the tree maps to write sentences about their firemen. This was the first time that the students were responsible for their very own words in their tree maps. I was so impressed by how well they listened and could follow directions for writing their sentences! They really did a wonderful job.

We also created Thinking Maps for fall. We discussed our schema (yay we remembered the word!) and I asked them to do a Circle Map, or a Tree Map if they wanted to challenge themselves. They really turned out great! These kiddos really understand Thinking Maps, and they seem to enjoy them. We are understanding that they help us to organize our thinking so that we can better understand these topics.

We also talked about spiders this week. With Halloween around the corner, it's always fun to incorporate a little bit of scary things into our schedule. :) We read Itsy Bitsy Spider one day and talked about our sequencing words to retell the story. The kids were very excited to learn all the new verses in the song. We made connections to the character by having a discussion of what we would do if we were the spider. Would we keep trying hard to climb up things or would we just go home and take a nap? :) We got some pretty funny answers.

We also researched spiders on PebbleGo and used the information we learned to create a Tree Map as a class. I made a SmartExchange tree map so that the kids could actually manipulate the words themselves. We used our Airliner to move the words on the screen. It was the first time that I've let the kiddos use this form of technology, and I was SO proud of how well they did. They truly listened to the rules and were very gentle with everything. Basically, the Airliner is connected to the computer wirelessly so it can be used like a remote pad to control the computer. The kids can hold it anywhere in the room to manipulate the mouse on the computer. It's very fun, very hands-on, and very tech-savvy! :) Then I had the kids make their own tree maps and write sentences about spiders. It was a great activity full of learning and hard work!

We also made scarecrows for long a week. Then we wrote stories about what we would do if we were scarecrows. The kids had a fun time coming up with creative things that they would do if they were scarecrows. I was also proud of how they colored really well. We did a whole lesson on tracing and coloring in the lines, so I'm seeing hard workers doing their best!

After the kids did such a great job with the Airliner, I wanted to incorporate it more throughout the day. In math groups one day, we worked on subtraction stories and identifying numbers on a ten-frame. What a fun way to integrate technology throughout our day!

We created sun dioramas and researched the sun on PebbleGo as well. We used our information to help us study light and heat for our science lessons. I'm glad that the kids love PebbleGo so much. It really is a wonderful resource. The first grade teachers actually wrote a grant last year so that we could purchase it for our school because we love it so much! :)

To finish off our week, we read There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. No matter how many times anyone has read this book, it's always a riot. To practice retelling the story, we made an old lady puppet using a paper sack, and we colored our different animals to "feed" her. We found the song online so of course we had to have a couple sing-alongs. We then made a Double-Bubble Thinking Map to compare TWAOLWSAF to There Was An Old Monster that we'd read during monster week. The kids did another wonderful job, of course!

We also got another extra recess on Friday! Our class won the sticker competition for the week again. I was so proud of them, so we got to enjoy the beautiful weather. :)

Red Ribbon Week

Just wanted to remind everyone that next week will be Red Ribbon Week. We're going to celebrate being drug free all week by dressing up each day, from October 22 - October 26.

Monday - Blackout Drugs!  Wear all black from head to toe.

Tuesday - Team Up!  Wear your favorite sports team apparel.

Wednesday - Join the fight against drugs!  Wear camouflage.

Thursday - Put drugs to rest!  Wear your favorite pajamas. (Please remember to wear tennis shoes for recess. No gowns, short shorts, or spaghetti straps, please!)

Friday - Drugs are unBEARable!  Bring your favorite teddy bear.

Also, don't forget that we are bringing cans for the food drive because we CAN be drug free. Your canned goods will benefit families in the JSES community.

Thanks for everything! :)

Monsters continued

It's Monster Week, Pt. 2!

Monday we did a fabulous lesson that I saw on a blog that I follow and love. It is a great introductory lesson that involves schema and building connections. As we talked about our schema for monsters, I added squiggles of our "magic brain waves." We talked about dendrites, and I even showed the kiddos pictures of our brains hard at work. They loved it! After we discussed our schema, we turned off the lights and behold - our brains had been activated! We'll be adding to our schema all week long. I can't wait to do this activity before starting our others units all year.

To talk about Columbus Day, we also watched a really neat BrainPop video and sequenced the events of his exploration. I was glad to know that the kids already knew a lot about him! We even practiced our map skills to talk about his journey. We've been listening and learning because the kids remembered all about our cardinal directions!

Tuesday we continued adding to our monster schema. We used a new color so we could tell our new information. I was excited to know that everyone couldn't wait to turn off the lights and see how we had activated our schema! :) We then read There's a Nightmare in my Closet and made connections to the story by thinking up our own nightmares. We talked about adjectives and verbs to go along with our nightmares.

In Computer Lab this week, we created Kidspiration projects. We made webs of ourselves. The kids had a fun time using the program, and I was glad to see them all hard at work!

Wednesday we read There's An Alligator Under My Bed and created a Flow Map to make our own stories. The kiddos brainstormed what might be under their beds and what they'd do to get those critters out of their houses. I was excited to see how creative they were being with their ideas. We've been working hard on using capitals and periods, too!

Thursday we had Early Dismissal, so we had a short and sweet day. We researched Christopher Columbus on PebbleGo, as it was his birthday. The kids wrote their facts down on a "sail" then we created our own versions of the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. They loved it!

Friday we wrapped up our projects for the critter under our beds. The students wrote their final drafts and then created their beds. We used our watercolors, and they loved it! They really tried their hardest to listen during our painting lesson, and it showed when it came time for them to do their own projects. They turned out so beautifully!

Our student observer did another science lesson with the kiddos, teaching them about light. They were attentive and respectful, so I was a very proud teacher! :)

We learned all about fire safety this week. The kids learned about Smokey the bear. We were very excited to learn that he was a real bear cub! We talked about nonfiction and fiction genres while we learned about the bear's story.

We also created matchbooks with fire safety rules inside. It was interesting to see who had heard of matches before and who hadn't. Sometimes I forget how little our firsties know. It's another reason why I LOVE first grade! We get to learn so much about the world together, and it's very exciting to see those lightbulbs go off each day.

We also did monster math this week to practice addition. The kids rolled dice, added the numbers, and used those numbers to create monsters. They had so much fun and learned a lot!

Looking forward to another fabulous week! Please remember to send back your field trip permission slips if you haven't already! :)

Conferences

I wanted to thank everyone who came to Parent-Teacher Conferences or who had a phone conference with me. It means a lot for you to take time out of your busy schedules to discuss your children's progress. I believe that communication between home and school is absolutely necessary for your child's success. Thanks for being so supportive! :)

Monsters... and more!

We're now in October, and everyone is excited for holidays and the beautiful weather! I have already been notified a million times that Halloween is this month. :)

Monday we began our monsters unit by reading Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. This is such a fun book, and I find that even though they've read it 100 times, the students still absolutely love this book. We practiced "following the yellow brick road" again to retell the story. The students came up and practiced using sequencing words to tell the story from beginning to end.
We created a Circle Map to brainstorm what we know about making good choices. Then we used our map to help us write a letter to Max about making different choices. We talked about letter format and how to write addresses on an envelope. The kids loved that they'd be sending their letters to imaginary Max! :)

Tuesday we took a break from monsters to read The Chick and the Duckling so that we could make connections to the short u sound. It's so important for the kids to be connecting their phonics across the curriculum, so that they can see how beneficial it is to learn their sounds. After reading the story aloud, we retold it as a class and learned about using expression when we're reading. We discussed different kinds of punctuation - periods, commas, exclamation points, and question marks. We talked about what they look like, how they sound, and why authors use them. Then we read through the different letters using expressions. The kids enjoyed the lesson, and I think it really helped them to make those important connections.

Wednesday we read The Brave Little Monster and made connections to the text. We talked about times that we've been scared before and what we've done to stay brave. We also researched ducks on PebbleGo and created some pretty cute ducks using tracers. We took the information we learned from PebbleGo so that we could create a Tree Map then use that to create sentences about ducks. The kiddos did a wonderful job!

On Thursday, our Student Observer from UH did a great lesson on being good citizens and friends. She had the students create and sign a constitution, then they even said an oath so that they could ensure they'd be great friends. It was such a cute lesson! I was glad to see that the kiddos were in engaged and respectfully listened while she taught. I was a very proud teacher. :)

Friday we closed out our short u week by reading The Three Billy Goats Gruff. The story had a troll in it, so the kids realized it fit right in with our monster theme, too! We retold the story using beginning, middle, and end. Then a couple of us were adamant about "following the yellow brick road" so we made sure to make time for that, too. We discussed the importance of the setting in the story and created pictures of the setting. Using cut-out puppets, we retold the story then glued it all together. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures. :(

In Social Studies, we have been discussing leaders. Using Kidspiration, our class created a thinking web about leaders. We brainstormed different characteristics and examples. Some of us even thought it'd be important to add a key into our map, just like with real maps! I LOVE when we can make these connections! We then learned how leaders have different responsibilities based on the different places they lead. We created a leaders book and learned about the different leaders at home, school, and in government.

We integrated a lot of short u activities into math this week to practice our addition facts. We've been focusing on using part-part-whole mats to help us with addition and subtraction. One day we made bugs with thumbprints (so many short u's!) and wrote corresponding number sentences. Another day, we turned leaves into part-part mats and the students wrote number sentences again. The more practice we get using these new strategies, the better we become. I'm so glad to see the lightbulbs turning on! :)

I also added a new anchor chart to our Calendar time. We have started using our problem-solving skills to work on number sense. We are thinking of all the different ways we know to write our "Number of the Day." It's been going great so far!

We finished off our science unit for physical properties and classification. One day, the kids brought in toys from home, and we came up with different sorting rules. A lot of the students came up with VERY creative rules. I was glad to see that they were using all of their senses when sorting. We came up with living/nonliving, hard/not hard, legs/no legs, turning parts/no turning parts, long/not long, real/make-believe, and various other rules.

Rolls / Doesn't Roll

With Legs / With No Legs

To finish a wonderful week, our class also earned an extra recess! As a whole grade level, we've been giving each class incentives for good behavior. The classes can earn up to 5 stickers a day - 1 for the quietest class before school, 1 for the quietest class before recess, 1 for the quietest class after recess, 1 for the cleanest lunch table, and 1 for the quietest class after lunch. This week, our class won with 11 stickers! I was extremely proud of my friends. The weather was gorgeous, so we got to go outside for an extra 20 minutes. :)

Can't wait for another fun week!