Hello Awesome First Graders and Amazing First Grade Families!
Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving break! Parents - I hope you enjoyed your child's Thanksgiving decorations!
This week and for the rest of December, we will study holidays for social studies. This week we began a social studies unit on Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. Today we learned about the celebrations, traditions, and symbols of Kwanzaa. The children wrote about their favorite family holiday tradition. Tomorrow we will learn about a special Kwanzaa symbol, the mkeka (a placemat) and the children will write Kwanzaa facts and create their own mkekas. On Wednesday we will learn about how some holidays share similar symbols and transition to our Hanukkah study. The children will create a menorah. On Thursday and Friday, we will learn about the history and symbols of Hanukkah and the children will write a Hanukkah fact on each of the candles of the menorah.
The children enjoyed our holiday centers today! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The children listened to "The Magic Dreidels," and they wrote about their favorite part of the story. After they wrote they created their own dreidel.
2. Science - The children enjoyed making their own butter last week and this week they got to do even more! The children followed a recipe to make their own potato latkes! The children measured, mixed and shaped the pancakes and the parent helper cooked it so they could try it.
3. Writing - The children practiced writing an acrostic poem with the word Hanukkah. This was a challenging activity and the kids did a great job!
4. Math - The children followed directions to play a dreidel counting game. This was a lot of fun for the kids!
5. Reading - The children read 1:1 with me.
We created a gingerbread glyph in math today. We collected data in a new way today; we worked collaboratively as a whole class to collect our data and record it in the form of a bar graph. This was a challenging activity and the kids did well!
We began chapter 10 in math. This is a very challenging chapter and it focuses on greater than, less than and equals. The children made greater than and less than signs with pipe cleaners and practiced comparing numbers with their pipe cleaners. The kids will bring home some additional homework to help reinforce this difficult concept.
The kids had a fun time in computers today! If you'd like to see what we did, click on the post directly below this one, "Computers, 11/29."
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
November 29, 2010
Computers, 11/29
Kwanzaa KWL
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. After you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board and we'll learn about this week's activity.
It was fun learning about Kwanzaa today! Kwanzaa was unfamiliar to many of you and when we learn about something new, it's good to make a list of questions so we can answer them to keep track of our learning.
Today we're going to make a KWL chart! This stands for Know, Want to know, Learned. You'll work with a partner to create this word document. Watch and I'll show you how! You'll work with a partner to complete your chart.
After you finish the Know and Want to know section, it's time to see what you can learn! Go to Scholastic's website: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/holidays/kwanzaa/ to read to find out! After you've read and listened, see if you can add anything to the Learned section of your chart!
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. After you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board and we'll learn about this week's activity.
It was fun learning about Kwanzaa today! Kwanzaa was unfamiliar to many of you and when we learn about something new, it's good to make a list of questions so we can answer them to keep track of our learning.
Today we're going to make a KWL chart! This stands for Know, Want to know, Learned. You'll work with a partner to create this word document. Watch and I'll show you how! You'll work with a partner to complete your chart.
After you finish the Know and Want to know section, it's time to see what you can learn! Go to Scholastic's website: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/holidays/kwanzaa/ to read to find out! After you've read and listened, see if you can add anything to the Learned section of your chart!
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
November 24, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! The kids had so much fun today! THANK YOU so much to all the parents who donated their time and supplies to help make our day special for the kids. The kids and I appreciate you!
This morning we finished collecting the data for our turkey glyphs and the kids did a great job! They are getting very skilled at using efficient strategies to accurately collect data. They really enjoyed this glyph! We heard a great story called, "The Night Before Thanksgiving," and then it was time to get our Thanksgiving Party Centers started! The Thanksgiving centers were:
1. I Am Thankful Turkey - The kids colored and cut a turkey body. They took colored paper feathers and wrote different things they were thankful for this Thanksgiving.
2. Potato Turkey - The kids colored and cut a turkey head, wings and tail feather. I helped them attach the pieces to toothpicks and stick the toothpicks in the potato to make a darling turkey decoration.
3. Tabletop Turkey - The kids measured rice to fill a plastic bag. They put the plastic bag in a paper bag and used pieces of the paper bag and other papers to make a head, wings, a tail feather, and legs for the turkey. They finished their turkeys with a recipe to use with your leftover turkey!
4. Butter Making - The kids made their own butter using just heavy cream and arm strength! The kids were amazed that butter could be made by simply shaking a jar of cream! They topped cornbread muffins with butter and honey.
The kids had a great day!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Mrs. Johnston
This morning we finished collecting the data for our turkey glyphs and the kids did a great job! They are getting very skilled at using efficient strategies to accurately collect data. They really enjoyed this glyph! We heard a great story called, "The Night Before Thanksgiving," and then it was time to get our Thanksgiving Party Centers started! The Thanksgiving centers were:
1. I Am Thankful Turkey - The kids colored and cut a turkey body. They took colored paper feathers and wrote different things they were thankful for this Thanksgiving.
2. Potato Turkey - The kids colored and cut a turkey head, wings and tail feather. I helped them attach the pieces to toothpicks and stick the toothpicks in the potato to make a darling turkey decoration.
3. Tabletop Turkey - The kids measured rice to fill a plastic bag. They put the plastic bag in a paper bag and used pieces of the paper bag and other papers to make a head, wings, a tail feather, and legs for the turkey. They finished their turkeys with a recipe to use with your leftover turkey!
4. Butter Making - The kids made their own butter using just heavy cream and arm strength! The kids were amazed that butter could be made by simply shaking a jar of cream! They topped cornbread muffins with butter and honey.
The kids had a great day!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Mrs. Johnston
November 22, 2010
Weekly Update, November 22-24
Hello Terrific First Graders and Tremendous First Grade Families!
Homework Update:
There are no new spelling words this week. Spelling will resume next week. There will be a modified reading log this week along with some practice math homework. Please remind your child to bring the homework sheets to school on Tuesday and Wednesday. Normal homework will resume next week.
We had a wonderful week last week learning all about Thanksgiving. We began work on persuasive writing. The kids wrote from the point of view of a turkey and persuaded the reader not to eat them! The kids really enjoyed writing these persuasive essays and they came out great!
Our week ended with a very fun 50th birthday celebration. Happy 50th Birthday Harelson! The kids had a wonderful time at the assembly and they loved seeing their pictures on the slideshow. Thank you, Mr. Konency, for putting together such a wonderful slideshow!
This week is a short week in first grade and there are a lot of exciting Thanksgiving activities planned, including our party on Wednesday! This week we are doing several hands on activities to learn more about Thanksgiving. Today and tomorrow, the kids will go to 3 centers! They LOVED going to 3 centers today! The centers for today and tomorrow include:
1. Thanksgiving Finger Puppets - The kids color pictures of Pilgrims and Indians, cut them out and use them for finger puppets. They are so cute!
2. Turkey Hands - The kids paint their hand prints to make an adorable turkey.
3. I Am Thankful - The kids write a short story about all the things they are thankful for this Thanksgiving.
4. Turkey Counting - The kids make a paper plate turkey. The feathers are numbered and to put them on in the correct order, the kids must count by 10s.
5. Happy Thanksgiving Turkey - The kids make a turkey and attach it to a sign that says Happy Thanksgiving.
6. Movable Turkey - The kids received a picture of a turkey (head, body, feet and feathers) and they colored them and cut them out. The pieces are attached with brads so the turkey can move.
This week in writing we are working on thank you notes and the kids are so good at these! We have several to write:
Mrs. Anderson (2nd grade teacher) gave great place value tools to our class. The kids love these and the tools really help them understand the concept. When we started working with these new tools, the kids said, "We should write a thank you note to Mrs. Anderson!" I was so proud! :)
Mr. Konecny made the wonderful slide show for our assembly.
Ms. Cheryl from the Oro Valley library came to our class and gave them library cards and neat stuff.
We will also make another class book, "We Are Thankful." We already have several class books (I try to do one per unit) and the kids really enjoy reading these.
This week in math we are finishing chapter 9. We reviewed the concepts in this chapter and the kids took a test today. Tomorrow we will make a turkey glyph. The glyphs make great decorations!
The kids had a fun time in computers today. If you'd like to see what they did, please click on the blog posting directly below this one, "Computers, 11/22."
Our party is on Wednesday from 9:30 - 11:15. Parents are welcome to attend!
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
Homework Update:
There are no new spelling words this week. Spelling will resume next week. There will be a modified reading log this week along with some practice math homework. Please remind your child to bring the homework sheets to school on Tuesday and Wednesday. Normal homework will resume next week.
We had a wonderful week last week learning all about Thanksgiving. We began work on persuasive writing. The kids wrote from the point of view of a turkey and persuaded the reader not to eat them! The kids really enjoyed writing these persuasive essays and they came out great!
Our week ended with a very fun 50th birthday celebration. Happy 50th Birthday Harelson! The kids had a wonderful time at the assembly and they loved seeing their pictures on the slideshow. Thank you, Mr. Konency, for putting together such a wonderful slideshow!
This week is a short week in first grade and there are a lot of exciting Thanksgiving activities planned, including our party on Wednesday! This week we are doing several hands on activities to learn more about Thanksgiving. Today and tomorrow, the kids will go to 3 centers! They LOVED going to 3 centers today! The centers for today and tomorrow include:
1. Thanksgiving Finger Puppets - The kids color pictures of Pilgrims and Indians, cut them out and use them for finger puppets. They are so cute!
2. Turkey Hands - The kids paint their hand prints to make an adorable turkey.
3. I Am Thankful - The kids write a short story about all the things they are thankful for this Thanksgiving.
4. Turkey Counting - The kids make a paper plate turkey. The feathers are numbered and to put them on in the correct order, the kids must count by 10s.
5. Happy Thanksgiving Turkey - The kids make a turkey and attach it to a sign that says Happy Thanksgiving.
6. Movable Turkey - The kids received a picture of a turkey (head, body, feet and feathers) and they colored them and cut them out. The pieces are attached with brads so the turkey can move.
This week in writing we are working on thank you notes and the kids are so good at these! We have several to write:
Mrs. Anderson (2nd grade teacher) gave great place value tools to our class. The kids love these and the tools really help them understand the concept. When we started working with these new tools, the kids said, "We should write a thank you note to Mrs. Anderson!" I was so proud! :)
Mr. Konecny made the wonderful slide show for our assembly.
Ms. Cheryl from the Oro Valley library came to our class and gave them library cards and neat stuff.
We will also make another class book, "We Are Thankful." We already have several class books (I try to do one per unit) and the kids really enjoy reading these.
This week in math we are finishing chapter 9. We reviewed the concepts in this chapter and the kids took a test today. Tomorrow we will make a turkey glyph. The glyphs make great decorations!
The kids had a fun time in computers today. If you'd like to see what they did, please click on the blog posting directly below this one, "Computers, 11/22."
Our party is on Wednesday from 9:30 - 11:15. Parents are welcome to attend!
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
Computers, 11/22
Pilgrims and Wampanoag
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. After you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board and we'll talk about today's activity.
It has been fun learning about the Pilgrims and Indians to get ready for Thanksgiving! Last week we compared the way the Pilgrims live with how we live. Today we are going to compare the way the Pilgrims and Indians, called Wampanoag, lived during the time of the First Thanksgiving.
We'll practice on the Smart Board together! Go to: http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/daily_life/ . Read the story called "Daily Life." You can click on the headphone picture and listen to the paragraph too. After you listen and read, click on the different tabs called housing, clothes, food, chores, school and games. You can read and listen to compare and contrast what life was like for the Pilgrims and Wampanoag. Make sure to read and listen to each tab.
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. After you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board and we'll talk about today's activity.
It has been fun learning about the Pilgrims and Indians to get ready for Thanksgiving! Last week we compared the way the Pilgrims live with how we live. Today we are going to compare the way the Pilgrims and Indians, called Wampanoag, lived during the time of the First Thanksgiving.
We'll practice on the Smart Board together! Go to: http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/daily_life/ . Read the story called "Daily Life." You can click on the headphone picture and listen to the paragraph too. After you listen and read, click on the different tabs called housing, clothes, food, chores, school and games. You can read and listen to compare and contrast what life was like for the Pilgrims and Wampanoag. Make sure to read and listen to each tab.
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
November 15, 2010
Weekly Update, November 15 - 19
Hello Smart First Graders and Super First Grade Families!
I hope everyone had a nice weekend! The kids are still talking about our Awesome America week! They really enjoyed this unit and they LOVED meeting Sergeant First Class Miller! The kids loved asking questions, learning about his uniform and learning how to do the army crawl. They did an excellent job of writing thank you notes to him. They thanked him for his service, for visiting our class and for the presents. They asked a lot of good questions in their notes too! It was a fun day!
Today we had a special visit from the Oro Valley Library. The children received their very own library cards! To activate the cards, please take your child to a Pima County Library to fill out a short form. Your child also received a bag, a bookmark and some information about the library. The kids loved this!
Today we began our social studies unit on Thanksgiving; we are learning about the Pilgrims and Indians. There are several fun projects planned and the kids will come home with a lot of cute Thanksgiving decorations. Today we read a neat story called "The Tale of the Bear's Tipi." The kids learned about tipis and learned that there are two ways to spell it: tipi and tepee. After the story, the kids made their own tipis. This was so much fun! On Tuesday we will read "The North Wind and the South Wind" to learn about pueblos and the kids will make their own pueblos. On Wednesday we will learn about the history of The First Thanksgiving and the kids will create their own cornucopia. Our studies on Thursday and Friday will focus on Pilgrims. On Thursday the kids will learn about how Pilgrims had a very different life than we do. The kids will compare and contrast elements of our lives to those of the Pilgrims. On Friday the kids will learn about what it was like to be a Pilgrim kid. They will decorate their own pilgrim kids to bring home.
The kids had a great time with the Thanksgiving centers today. The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids listened to a story about Native Americans. They created a traditional Native American story sack. They decorated the bag with symbols and then filled it with found objects. To use the story sack, the kids pull an object from the bag and tell a story about it. They had so much fun gathering objects and sharing their stories!
2. Art/Science - The kids used the inside of a paper grocery bag to write an Indian symbol story. The kids received a page of symbols and then they used them to tell a story. They could only use the symbols (no words).
3. Writing - The kids did a neat color poem. They colored a picture of pottery and then used the colors they chose to write a poem about it.
4. Math - Pottery geometry and Indian Symbol addition. The kids created patterns with pottery and they used symbols to write number sentences.
5. Reading - The kids read 1:1 with me.
The kids have new spelling words this week. In addition to our spelling words, we have Thanksgiving theme words. The kids came home with Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. The kids have a new spelling challenge this week! If the whole class spells Thanksgiving and turkey (another alliteration test!) correctly, the class will get a prize.
We began chapter 9 in math today. This chapter focuses on groups of 10 and place value. Your child came home with a parent letter that provides information about the chapter. The kids practiced counting in 10s and adding on by 1s, writing number sentences and identifying numbers by looking at pictures of groups of 10s and 1s.
The kids enjoyed computers today. If you'd like to see what they did in computers today, click on the post directly below this one, "Computers, 11/15."
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
I hope everyone had a nice weekend! The kids are still talking about our Awesome America week! They really enjoyed this unit and they LOVED meeting Sergeant First Class Miller! The kids loved asking questions, learning about his uniform and learning how to do the army crawl. They did an excellent job of writing thank you notes to him. They thanked him for his service, for visiting our class and for the presents. They asked a lot of good questions in their notes too! It was a fun day!
Today we had a special visit from the Oro Valley Library. The children received their very own library cards! To activate the cards, please take your child to a Pima County Library to fill out a short form. Your child also received a bag, a bookmark and some information about the library. The kids loved this!
Today we began our social studies unit on Thanksgiving; we are learning about the Pilgrims and Indians. There are several fun projects planned and the kids will come home with a lot of cute Thanksgiving decorations. Today we read a neat story called "The Tale of the Bear's Tipi." The kids learned about tipis and learned that there are two ways to spell it: tipi and tepee. After the story, the kids made their own tipis. This was so much fun! On Tuesday we will read "The North Wind and the South Wind" to learn about pueblos and the kids will make their own pueblos. On Wednesday we will learn about the history of The First Thanksgiving and the kids will create their own cornucopia. Our studies on Thursday and Friday will focus on Pilgrims. On Thursday the kids will learn about how Pilgrims had a very different life than we do. The kids will compare and contrast elements of our lives to those of the Pilgrims. On Friday the kids will learn about what it was like to be a Pilgrim kid. They will decorate their own pilgrim kids to bring home.
The kids had a great time with the Thanksgiving centers today. The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids listened to a story about Native Americans. They created a traditional Native American story sack. They decorated the bag with symbols and then filled it with found objects. To use the story sack, the kids pull an object from the bag and tell a story about it. They had so much fun gathering objects and sharing their stories!
2. Art/Science - The kids used the inside of a paper grocery bag to write an Indian symbol story. The kids received a page of symbols and then they used them to tell a story. They could only use the symbols (no words).
3. Writing - The kids did a neat color poem. They colored a picture of pottery and then used the colors they chose to write a poem about it.
4. Math - Pottery geometry and Indian Symbol addition. The kids created patterns with pottery and they used symbols to write number sentences.
5. Reading - The kids read 1:1 with me.
The kids have new spelling words this week. In addition to our spelling words, we have Thanksgiving theme words. The kids came home with Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. The kids have a new spelling challenge this week! If the whole class spells Thanksgiving and turkey (another alliteration test!) correctly, the class will get a prize.
We began chapter 9 in math today. This chapter focuses on groups of 10 and place value. Your child came home with a parent letter that provides information about the chapter. The kids practiced counting in 10s and adding on by 1s, writing number sentences and identifying numbers by looking at pictures of groups of 10s and 1s.
The kids enjoyed computers today. If you'd like to see what they did in computers today, click on the post directly below this one, "Computers, 11/15."
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
Computers, 11/15
Thanksgiving Web Quest!
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. After you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board and we'll learn about today's activity.
It was fun learning about Thanksgiving today! What could you do if you wanted to find out more about Thanksgiving? READ TO FIND OUT!!! Today we will do a Web Quest to find out more about Thanksgiving!
Go to: http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/feast/webquest.htm to play the Thanksgiving Web Quest. You'll work with a partner to complete this activity. There are several questions to answer. You can answer them in two ways: you can use your schema about Thanksgiving to answer the question, or you can do the webquest! If you don't know the answer, click the button that says "Visit the Web site to find out." This game is a lot of fun! Watch and I'll show you how to play!
After you play the Web Quest you can explore the websites on the links section of my blog.
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. After you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board and we'll learn about today's activity.
It was fun learning about Thanksgiving today! What could you do if you wanted to find out more about Thanksgiving? READ TO FIND OUT!!! Today we will do a Web Quest to find out more about Thanksgiving!
Go to: http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/feast/webquest.htm to play the Thanksgiving Web Quest. You'll work with a partner to complete this activity. There are several questions to answer. You can answer them in two ways: you can use your schema about Thanksgiving to answer the question, or you can do the webquest! If you don't know the answer, click the button that says "Visit the Web site to find out." This game is a lot of fun! Watch and I'll show you how to play!
After you play the Web Quest you can explore the websites on the links section of my blog.
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
November 8, 2010
Weekly Update, November 8 - 12
Hello Awesome First Graders and Amazing First Grade Parents!
The kids are still batty for bats! They are still talking all about bats and sharing what they learned. It is so great to see! Be sure to check out the links section of my blog. I added the echolocation video that we watched in class. We watched this again today at the start of computers and the kids LOVE it! Kids - watch the video and sing the song to your parents. You can show them how much you know about echolocation and bats!
Our patriotic week is off to a great start! Reminder: there is no school this Thursday, November 11 in honor of Veteran's Day.
This week we are doing a social studies unit on Awesome America. Kids - we did Outstanding Owls, Perfect Pumpkins, Brilliant Bats and now we are doing Awesome America. What is this called??? Today the kids learned what the word pledge means. We studied The Pledge of Allegiance and the kids learned the meaning of all of the words. They also wrote a pledge to themselves. The rest of the week will will learn all about the things that make America great. On Tuesday and Friday we will learn about the symbols of our country, we will learn about and make a flag and have a parade with patriotic music. We will learn about the reason we don't have school on Thursday: Veteran's Day. A member of the military, Sergeant First Class Stephen Miller (the dad of one of my students from last year), will come to our class to talk with the kids on Wednesday.
The kids had a great time with our patriotic centers today. The kids went to two centers today! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids listened to a CD of patriotic American songs. While they listened, they drew pictures of what they heard in the song. They also wrote their favorite parts of the music.
2. Science - The kids looked at different symbols of The United States. They looked at pictures of astronauts and they discovered that American astronauts often take a symbol of our country, the flag, with them. The kids used paper towel rolls to make their own space shuttles. Thank you for all the toilet paper and paper towel roll donations! The kids loved this center!
3. Writing - The kids wrote about promises. They wrote about a promise they made and a promise someone made. They wrote about what the promise was and how they felt about it.
4. Math - The kids looked at a flag and they estimated how many stars and stripes are on the flag. After they estimated, they discussed the best strategies to find the number of stars and stripes on the flag. After they talked about their strategies, they counted the stars and stripes on the flag.
5. Reading - The kids read 1:1 with me.
We have new spelling words this week. In addition to our spelling words, we have America - theme words. The kids came home with Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. Since the kids did so well with their challenge this week, I gave them a new and more difficult challenge. If the whole class spells America and allegiance (a little alliteration test!!!) correctly, the class will get a prize.
We began chapter 8 in math today. This chapter focuses on more difficult concepts of subtraction: counting down, vertical addition, related facts and story problems. Your child came home with a parent letter that provides information on this chapter. The kids did very well with the subtraction and they got some good practice learning about related facts. This is a tough concept and the kids are doing a nice job.
The kids had a fun time in computers today. If you'd like to see what they did in computers today, click on the post directly below this one, "Computers, 11/8."
Have an A+ Week!
Mrs. Johnston
The kids are still batty for bats! They are still talking all about bats and sharing what they learned. It is so great to see! Be sure to check out the links section of my blog. I added the echolocation video that we watched in class. We watched this again today at the start of computers and the kids LOVE it! Kids - watch the video and sing the song to your parents. You can show them how much you know about echolocation and bats!
Our patriotic week is off to a great start! Reminder: there is no school this Thursday, November 11 in honor of Veteran's Day.
This week we are doing a social studies unit on Awesome America. Kids - we did Outstanding Owls, Perfect Pumpkins, Brilliant Bats and now we are doing Awesome America. What is this called??? Today the kids learned what the word pledge means. We studied The Pledge of Allegiance and the kids learned the meaning of all of the words. They also wrote a pledge to themselves. The rest of the week will will learn all about the things that make America great. On Tuesday and Friday we will learn about the symbols of our country, we will learn about and make a flag and have a parade with patriotic music. We will learn about the reason we don't have school on Thursday: Veteran's Day. A member of the military, Sergeant First Class Stephen Miller (the dad of one of my students from last year), will come to our class to talk with the kids on Wednesday.
The kids had a great time with our patriotic centers today. The kids went to two centers today! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids listened to a CD of patriotic American songs. While they listened, they drew pictures of what they heard in the song. They also wrote their favorite parts of the music.
2. Science - The kids looked at different symbols of The United States. They looked at pictures of astronauts and they discovered that American astronauts often take a symbol of our country, the flag, with them. The kids used paper towel rolls to make their own space shuttles. Thank you for all the toilet paper and paper towel roll donations! The kids loved this center!
3. Writing - The kids wrote about promises. They wrote about a promise they made and a promise someone made. They wrote about what the promise was and how they felt about it.
4. Math - The kids looked at a flag and they estimated how many stars and stripes are on the flag. After they estimated, they discussed the best strategies to find the number of stars and stripes on the flag. After they talked about their strategies, they counted the stars and stripes on the flag.
5. Reading - The kids read 1:1 with me.
We have new spelling words this week. In addition to our spelling words, we have America - theme words. The kids came home with Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. Since the kids did so well with their challenge this week, I gave them a new and more difficult challenge. If the whole class spells America and allegiance (a little alliteration test!!!) correctly, the class will get a prize.
We began chapter 8 in math today. This chapter focuses on more difficult concepts of subtraction: counting down, vertical addition, related facts and story problems. Your child came home with a parent letter that provides information on this chapter. The kids did very well with the subtraction and they got some good practice learning about related facts. This is a tough concept and the kids are doing a nice job.
The kids had a fun time in computers today. If you'd like to see what they did in computers today, click on the post directly below this one, "Computers, 11/8."
Have an A+ Week!
Mrs. Johnston
Computers, 11/8
Free Choice Day!
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. After you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board and we'll talk about today's activity.
Today is a free choice day!!! We'll have one free choice day per quarter, but since we didn't have one in the 1st quarter, we'll get two this quarter!
What kind of stuff could we do for free choice day? Let's brainstorm some ideas!
Let's take a look and see what the blog has to offer that we could use during free choice day.
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. After you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board and we'll talk about today's activity.
Today is a free choice day!!! We'll have one free choice day per quarter, but since we didn't have one in the 1st quarter, we'll get two this quarter!
What kind of stuff could we do for free choice day? Let's brainstorm some ideas!
Let's take a look and see what the blog has to offer that we could use during free choice day.
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
November 5, 2010
Week in Review
TGIF!
We had a fun and exciting week in our first grade bat cave! The kids absolutely LOVED learning about bats. It was so neat to see them so eager to learn and happy to share their knowledge. We learned about bumblebee, fruit, little brown and vampire bats. The kids learned a lot of information. Kids - be sure to share what you know about bats with your family!
We had a special day today! Tristan's aunt Janet, a bat biologist, came to visit our class to teach us about bats. The kids got to see neat pictures and even watch a movie about a vampire bat. It was so great!
We had two tests today: spelling and math. I challenged the kids to all spell "nocturnal" correctly and THEY DID IT! They came home with a special "Smartie Pants" prize. This spelling test had the highest average score for the year! I just finished grading the math tests and they are WONDERFUL! We covered some tough concepts with counting up and down and the kids did an amazing job. I am so proud of my bright and busy little bees!
Get ready for a patriotic week; we are studying America to honor our Veterans!
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Johnston
We had a fun and exciting week in our first grade bat cave! The kids absolutely LOVED learning about bats. It was so neat to see them so eager to learn and happy to share their knowledge. We learned about bumblebee, fruit, little brown and vampire bats. The kids learned a lot of information. Kids - be sure to share what you know about bats with your family!
We had a special day today! Tristan's aunt Janet, a bat biologist, came to visit our class to teach us about bats. The kids got to see neat pictures and even watch a movie about a vampire bat. It was so great!
We had two tests today: spelling and math. I challenged the kids to all spell "nocturnal" correctly and THEY DID IT! They came home with a special "Smartie Pants" prize. This spelling test had the highest average score for the year! I just finished grading the math tests and they are WONDERFUL! We covered some tough concepts with counting up and down and the kids did an amazing job. I am so proud of my bright and busy little bees!
Get ready for a patriotic week; we are studying America to honor our Veterans!
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Johnston
November 1, 2010
Weekly Update, November 1 - 5
Hello Super First Grade Families and Spectacular First Graders!
Wow! It's hard to believe it's November already; it feels like October went by in the blink of an eye! I move the desks around on the first of the month and the kids look forward to working with new friends. Kids - be sure to tell your parents who is in your table group!
The kids brought their pictures home today. They turned out great! Nice smiles, everyone!
This week we are doing a science unit on bats. Each day we will learn about a different type of bat, do a bat experiement or activity and write facts on the wing of a construction paper bat. Today we learned about the bumblebee bat; the kids loved this! The kids learned that the bumblebee bat weighs less than a penny. The kids felt a penny in their hands and then they chose objects from around the room to compare them with the weight of a bumblebee bat. Our schedule is a little bit different this week and so we got to learn about another kind of bat today, the fruit bat! The kids learned that the fruit bat uses its sharp teeth to eat through the tough skin of fruit. We pretended to be like a fruit bat and we practiced eating an orange like a fruit bat! The kids had a blast with this! During the week we will also learn little about brown bats and vampire bats. On Friday we will have a visit from from Tristan's aunt. She is a bat biologist and Director of Education at Bat Conservation International in Austin, Texas. This should be a great day for the kids!
The kids had a fun time with our "batty" centers! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids listened to Bats Around the Clock and then they completed a cloze passage with bat vocabulary.
2. Science - The kids did experiments to simulate bat echolocation and vibrations. They used rubber bands to see and hear vibrations and they also made different call sounds and tapped their throats. This was a lot of fun!
3. Writing - The kids made a book of nocturnal creatures. Some of the nocturnal creatures were review and others were new to the kids.
4. Math - The kids identified bats by their wingspans. The kids were given clues about bats and then they looked at construction paper bats and they identified them based on the clues. After that, they estimated the wingspan of each bat and then they measured the wingspan of each bat. There were some surprises! The kids were surprised to learn that some fruit bats can have a 6 foot wingspan!
5. Reading - The kids read 1:1 with me. The kids have made a lot of progress with their reading during the month of October!
We have new spelling words this week. This week in addition to our spelling words, the kids have bat theme words. They loved this! The kids brought home Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. I gave the class a special challenge for this week's test. We have used the word nocturnal a lot and it is a tough one to spell! Since it is a spelling word this week, the kids and I made a deal! If everyone spells it right on the test, the class will get a special prize!
We began chapter 7 in math today. Chapter 7 focuses on subtraction strategies. Today we worked on counting back 1, 2 and 3. The kids learned to count back using clapping strategies and a number line. The kids did a great job with this! Your child came home with the parent letter that provides information about this chapter.
We did a neat bat activity in computers today to practice writing in a word document. If you'd like to see what the kids did in computers today, click on the post directly below this one, "Computers, 11/1."
Have an A + week!
Mrs. Johnston
Wow! It's hard to believe it's November already; it feels like October went by in the blink of an eye! I move the desks around on the first of the month and the kids look forward to working with new friends. Kids - be sure to tell your parents who is in your table group!
The kids brought their pictures home today. They turned out great! Nice smiles, everyone!
This week we are doing a science unit on bats. Each day we will learn about a different type of bat, do a bat experiement or activity and write facts on the wing of a construction paper bat. Today we learned about the bumblebee bat; the kids loved this! The kids learned that the bumblebee bat weighs less than a penny. The kids felt a penny in their hands and then they chose objects from around the room to compare them with the weight of a bumblebee bat. Our schedule is a little bit different this week and so we got to learn about another kind of bat today, the fruit bat! The kids learned that the fruit bat uses its sharp teeth to eat through the tough skin of fruit. We pretended to be like a fruit bat and we practiced eating an orange like a fruit bat! The kids had a blast with this! During the week we will also learn little about brown bats and vampire bats. On Friday we will have a visit from from Tristan's aunt. She is a bat biologist and Director of Education at Bat Conservation International in Austin, Texas. This should be a great day for the kids!
The kids had a fun time with our "batty" centers! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids listened to Bats Around the Clock and then they completed a cloze passage with bat vocabulary.
2. Science - The kids did experiments to simulate bat echolocation and vibrations. They used rubber bands to see and hear vibrations and they also made different call sounds and tapped their throats. This was a lot of fun!
3. Writing - The kids made a book of nocturnal creatures. Some of the nocturnal creatures were review and others were new to the kids.
4. Math - The kids identified bats by their wingspans. The kids were given clues about bats and then they looked at construction paper bats and they identified them based on the clues. After that, they estimated the wingspan of each bat and then they measured the wingspan of each bat. There were some surprises! The kids were surprised to learn that some fruit bats can have a 6 foot wingspan!
5. Reading - The kids read 1:1 with me. The kids have made a lot of progress with their reading during the month of October!
We have new spelling words this week. This week in addition to our spelling words, the kids have bat theme words. They loved this! The kids brought home Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. I gave the class a special challenge for this week's test. We have used the word nocturnal a lot and it is a tough one to spell! Since it is a spelling word this week, the kids and I made a deal! If everyone spells it right on the test, the class will get a special prize!
We began chapter 7 in math today. Chapter 7 focuses on subtraction strategies. Today we worked on counting back 1, 2 and 3. The kids learned to count back using clapping strategies and a number line. The kids did a great job with this! Your child came home with the parent letter that provides information about this chapter.
We did a neat bat activity in computers today to practice writing in a word document. If you'd like to see what the kids did in computers today, click on the post directly below this one, "Computers, 11/1."
Have an A + week!
Mrs. Johnston
Computers, 11/1
Bat Facts!
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. After you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board and we'll talk about today's activity.
It was so much fun learning about bats! What is your favorite bat? What is your favorite thing you learned? What would you want to tell someone about bats?
Today we are going to practice writing...on the computer! Watch and I'll show you how to write in a word document. You will work with your bat partner to complete your task. Here are your jobs once you open a word document.
* Write your names (then skip a line).
* Write your favorite bat (then skip a line).
* Write your favorite thing you learned.
Print your paper and turn it in to me! Watch and I'll show you how to print.
When you're done, you may go to one of the links on my website.
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. After you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board and we'll talk about today's activity.
It was so much fun learning about bats! What is your favorite bat? What is your favorite thing you learned? What would you want to tell someone about bats?
Today we are going to practice writing...on the computer! Watch and I'll show you how to write in a word document. You will work with your bat partner to complete your task. Here are your jobs once you open a word document.
* Write your names (then skip a line).
* Write your favorite bat (then skip a line).
* Write your favorite thing you learned.
Print your paper and turn it in to me! Watch and I'll show you how to print.
When you're done, you may go to one of the links on my website.
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
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