Happy Halloween, Super First Grade Families and Spectacular First Graders!
Wow! It's hard to believe tomorrow will be November 1! 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 tomorrow!
This week we are doing a science, guided reading and writing unit on bats. Each day we will learn about a different type of bat, do a bat experiment 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. Tomorrow we will learn about the fruit bat! I have a very fun activity planned to help the kids learn what it would be like to be a fruit bat. Be sure to ask your child about it tomorrow! We will also learn about the little brown bat and vampire bat. On Friday, we will have a visit from Mrs. Tyburec, the aunt of one of my students from last year. 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!
In reading we are working on making, reading and writing words with long and short “o.” The kids really enjoy our making words activities and these help them tremendously in their reading. We continue to focus on reading with expression and making predictions.
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 bat books and they also 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 the word nocturnal 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 have a neat bat activity planned for computers on Friday to practice writing in a word document. If you'd like to see what the kids will do, stop back on Friday and look for the blog posting called “Computers, 11/4.”
Have an A + week!
Mrs. Johnston
October 31, 2011
October 28, 2011
Halloween Party Fun!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
Reminder:
Please remember to bring your penny to school on Monday!
What a fun week we had! The kids enjoyed learning about pumpkins, carving a pumpkin and planting their pumpkin seeds!
Our Halloween Party was a blast! THANK YOU so much to all the parents who donated their time and supplies to make the party great! We had 4 Halloween centers at our party! The centers for the party were:
1. Spider Glyph - The kids make a spooky spider glyph. They turned out so cute!
2. Grapefruit Carving - The kids carved grapefruits with plastic knives to turn them into Jack - O - Grapefruits.
3. Owl Puppet - The kids colored an owl pattern, cut it out and glued it on a paper bag to make a cute puppet.
4. Mini Pumpkin Decorating - The kids decorated mini pumpkins with googly eyes, gems, colored cotton balls and markers.
In the afternoon we played a mummy wrapping game, made a book about the life cycle of a pumpkin, decorated cookies and watched a Halloween movie!
The Halloween parade was so much fun! Everyone looked so great in costume! The kids had such a great time with this!
Get excited for next week...we are learning about brilliant bats!
Have a great weekend and Happy Halloween!
Mrs. Johnston
Reminder:
Please remember to bring your penny to school on Monday!
What a fun week we had! The kids enjoyed learning about pumpkins, carving a pumpkin and planting their pumpkin seeds!
Our Halloween Party was a blast! THANK YOU so much to all the parents who donated their time and supplies to make the party great! We had 4 Halloween centers at our party! The centers for the party were:
1. Spider Glyph - The kids make a spooky spider glyph. They turned out so cute!
2. Grapefruit Carving - The kids carved grapefruits with plastic knives to turn them into Jack - O - Grapefruits.
3. Owl Puppet - The kids colored an owl pattern, cut it out and glued it on a paper bag to make a cute puppet.
4. Mini Pumpkin Decorating - The kids decorated mini pumpkins with googly eyes, gems, colored cotton balls and markers.
In the afternoon we played a mummy wrapping game, made a book about the life cycle of a pumpkin, decorated cookies and watched a Halloween movie!
The Halloween parade was so much fun! Everyone looked so great in costume! The kids had such a great time with this!
Get excited for next week...we are learning about brilliant bats!
Have a great weekend and Happy Halloween!
Mrs. Johnston
October 24, 2011
Weekly Update, October 24 - 28
Hello Spooky First Graders and Scary First Grade Parents!
Reminders and Updates:
* Our Halloween party is this Friday in the morning. We will have our normal activities for the first part of the morning and then the party is from 9:00 - 11:20. The Halloween parade is from 2:15 - 2:45. Kids will wear their costumes all day. Parents are invited to the party and the parade!
* Our spelling test will be on Thursday in the afternoon. Let's Spell will be sent home on Wednesday.
It's Halloween week and the kids are SO excited for our party on Friday! This week is going to be such a fun week learning all about pumpkins, doing Halloween centers and Halloween math activities!
This week we are doing a science and guided reading unit on pumpkins! Today we learned the characteristics of pumpkins. Many of the kids were surprised to know that a pumpkin is a fruit. Kids - be sure to tell your parents why a pumpkin is a fruit! We also learned the 6 stages in the life cycle of a pumpkin. Kids - do you remember them all? After the guided reading lesson we began our fact pumpkin. The kids made a pumpkin out of orange construction paper and divided it into 4 sections. Today they wrote something they learned about pumpkins. Each day the children will write on their pumpkin. Tomorrow will be messy and fun! We will learn about pumpkin seeds, estimate the number of seeds in a pumpkin and then count them by 10s with table groups. On Wednesday we will learn about the uses for pumpkin seeds and each child will plant pumpkin seeds. On Thursday we will learn about the history of Jack-O-Lanterns and Halloween. The kids will create their own Jack-O-Lantern on the back of their fact pumpkins.
The kids had a great time in centers today! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids listened to the story "Alice and Greta," a story about 2 witches. They made a broom out of construction paper and wrote their favorite part of the story and what it would be like to be a witch.
2. Science - Apple Bobbing! The kids made prediction about what kind of tub would be best to apple bob in, and what kind of apples would be the easiest to get. After they made their predictions, they got to bob for apples! This center was a big hit and all the kids are looking forward to this one!
3. Writing - The kids are writing about the 5 Ws of Halloween:
Who - is going with you?
What - are you going to be?
Where - are you going trick or treating?
When - are you going trick or treating?
Why - did you pick your costume?
This center got the kids thinking about Halloween and it got them really excited!
4. Math - Pumpkin Measuring: Estimate and check. The kids estimated the height, weight, circumference and number of creases on a pumpkin. After they recorded their prediction, they checked.
5. Reading - The kids did a Halloween word sort. They also read Halloween books and took turns “playing teacher” by reading to each other.
In reading we are continuing to work on independently using strategies. We are learning to read with expression. Be sure to listen for this in your child’s reading! Our making words focus is on words with short e and u sounds.
We have new spelling words this week. The kids have Rainbow Words for homework and they are due tomorrow. This week we are doing Halloween words instead of a word family.
We began chapter 6 in math today, a unit on counting up and patterning. We will continue to review counting on and doubles, and these skills will be a big help with patterning in counting up. We have also introduced timed addition tests. The kids are working on both their speed and accuracy. The long term goal is for the kids to be able to solve the problems in 3 seconds. Flash cards are a great and fun way to help improve both speed and accuracy.
Stay tuned for a blog posting on Friday with a recap of our Halloween party!
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
Reminders and Updates:
* Our Halloween party is this Friday in the morning. We will have our normal activities for the first part of the morning and then the party is from 9:00 - 11:20. The Halloween parade is from 2:15 - 2:45. Kids will wear their costumes all day. Parents are invited to the party and the parade!
* Our spelling test will be on Thursday in the afternoon. Let's Spell will be sent home on Wednesday.
It's Halloween week and the kids are SO excited for our party on Friday! This week is going to be such a fun week learning all about pumpkins, doing Halloween centers and Halloween math activities!
This week we are doing a science and guided reading unit on pumpkins! Today we learned the characteristics of pumpkins. Many of the kids were surprised to know that a pumpkin is a fruit. Kids - be sure to tell your parents why a pumpkin is a fruit! We also learned the 6 stages in the life cycle of a pumpkin. Kids - do you remember them all? After the guided reading lesson we began our fact pumpkin. The kids made a pumpkin out of orange construction paper and divided it into 4 sections. Today they wrote something they learned about pumpkins. Each day the children will write on their pumpkin. Tomorrow will be messy and fun! We will learn about pumpkin seeds, estimate the number of seeds in a pumpkin and then count them by 10s with table groups. On Wednesday we will learn about the uses for pumpkin seeds and each child will plant pumpkin seeds. On Thursday we will learn about the history of Jack-O-Lanterns and Halloween. The kids will create their own Jack-O-Lantern on the back of their fact pumpkins.
The kids had a great time in centers today! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids listened to the story "Alice and Greta," a story about 2 witches. They made a broom out of construction paper and wrote their favorite part of the story and what it would be like to be a witch.
2. Science - Apple Bobbing! The kids made prediction about what kind of tub would be best to apple bob in, and what kind of apples would be the easiest to get. After they made their predictions, they got to bob for apples! This center was a big hit and all the kids are looking forward to this one!
3. Writing - The kids are writing about the 5 Ws of Halloween:
Who - is going with you?
What - are you going to be?
Where - are you going trick or treating?
When - are you going trick or treating?
Why - did you pick your costume?
This center got the kids thinking about Halloween and it got them really excited!
4. Math - Pumpkin Measuring: Estimate and check. The kids estimated the height, weight, circumference and number of creases on a pumpkin. After they recorded their prediction, they checked.
5. Reading - The kids did a Halloween word sort. They also read Halloween books and took turns “playing teacher” by reading to each other.
In reading we are continuing to work on independently using strategies. We are learning to read with expression. Be sure to listen for this in your child’s reading! Our making words focus is on words with short e and u sounds.
We have new spelling words this week. The kids have Rainbow Words for homework and they are due tomorrow. This week we are doing Halloween words instead of a word family.
We began chapter 6 in math today, a unit on counting up and patterning. We will continue to review counting on and doubles, and these skills will be a big help with patterning in counting up. We have also introduced timed addition tests. The kids are working on both their speed and accuracy. The long term goal is for the kids to be able to solve the problems in 3 seconds. Flash cards are a great and fun way to help improve both speed and accuracy.
Stay tuned for a blog posting on Friday with a recap of our Halloween party!
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
October 21, 2011
Computers, 10/21
Night Owls!
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. After you vote, come to the floor in front of the SMART Board and we'll learn about this week's activity.
I hope you had fun learning about owls this week! Now that we've read about owls, let's watch a video to learn more about owls. Go to http://video.kids.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/kids/animals-pets-kids/wild-detectives-kids/wd-ep2-owls.htmlto watch the owls fly and learn facts about them!
Now, turn to your think-pair-share partner and share 3 things you learned! As, you go first!
After you have watched the video and shared with your partner, you may go to the links on my website.
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. After you vote, come to the floor in front of the SMART Board and we'll learn about this week's activity.
I hope you had fun learning about owls this week! Now that we've read about owls, let's watch a video to learn more about owls. Go to http://video.kids.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/kids/animals-pets-kids/wild-detectives-kids/wd-ep2-owls.htmlto watch the owls fly and learn facts about them!
Now, turn to your think-pair-share partner and share 3 things you learned! As, you go first!
After you have watched the video and shared with your partner, you may go to the links on my website.
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
October 17, 2011
Weekly Update, October 17 - 21
Welcome Back!
It's great to be back at Harelson! I hope everyone had a wonderful time during Fall Break. The kids were happy to be back in the routine of school and they enjoyed sharing their stories with their friends. The kids did a wonderful job working hard and staying focused after the week long break. I was so impressed with everyone!
Important Dates
* 1st Quarter Report Cards will be sent home in your child’s homework folder this Friday, October 21.
* Our Halloween party is next Friday, October 28.
This week we are doing a guided reading and science unit on owls! Each day we will learn about a different type of owl. Today we learned about the characteristics and life cycle of a barn owl. The kids loved learning about the barn owl! The kids learned what wingspan is and they even practiced making their own wingspan and flying like an owl. They learned that a barn owl makes a different sound than most owls. Kids - be sure to show your parents what a barn owl sounds like! We are making a neat book. It is in the shape of an owl, and each day the kids will write owl facts on one of the owl's "feathers." The books are off to a great start already! The kids had a lot of fun with this activity. This week we will also learn about burrowing, pygmy and elf owls. We will do a lot of kinesthetic activities like owl calling, flying and burrowing to help the kids really learn the information. They always have a lot of fun with activities like this!
In reading we are working on reading non-fiction texts with academic and scientific vocabulary. We are also working on understanding the term “making connections” and the kids are practicing making text to text and text to self connections.
The kids had a great time in centers today. I switched the center groups so the kids will work with different friends over the next few weeks. The kids enjoyed working with and getting to know new friends. The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids watched two National Geographic Kids videos, Snowy Owls and Vampire Bats, on the computer. After that, they wrote characteristics specific to each animal and characteristics shared by both animals.
2. Science - The kids sequenced the 4 stages in the life cycle of a barn owl. They made a neat book in the shape of an owl egg that shows each stage.
3. Writing - We learned that most owls are nocturnal. The kids used white pencils and they wrote on black paper. They wrote about what it would be like to be nocturnal.
4. Math - We are learning about measurement and different tools that can be used to measure. Today the kids measured various items in our classroom with unifix cubes.
5. Reading - The kids conference 1:1 with me.
We are back with spelling words this week! The kids received Rainbow Words for homework and it is due tomorrow, Tuesday, 10.18. This week we are working on the ing family. There are also two tricky homophones: aunt and ant.
In math we practiced skip counting by 2s, 5s and 10s. We did this with math races. The kids LOVE these! In math races each table group works together. They pass around a white board and count by 2s, 5s or 10s. Each child has to write the correct number before passing it on. The first table to count correctly to the designated number wins a prize. The prize is different every time and the kids have so much fun with this! This is a great way to practice skip counting and it is something you can do at home. We are continuing our work in chapter 5 in our math book, a unit about adding on, counting up and doubles. Today we focused specifically on counting up. This was a bit of a challenging concept for the kids, and they worked hard to understand the material and stay focused. We'll have a lot of practice with this concept over the next few days.
This week in computers we will learn all about owls! If you'd like to see what the kids do in computers, check back at the end of the week and look for the blog posting called “Computers, 10/21.”
The kids are already very excited for Halloween! This year all Harleson class parties will be on Friday, October 28th. We will also have our Halloween parade on that day as well. We will study pumpkins next week to get ready for Halloween.
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
It's great to be back at Harelson! I hope everyone had a wonderful time during Fall Break. The kids were happy to be back in the routine of school and they enjoyed sharing their stories with their friends. The kids did a wonderful job working hard and staying focused after the week long break. I was so impressed with everyone!
Important Dates
* 1st Quarter Report Cards will be sent home in your child’s homework folder this Friday, October 21.
* Our Halloween party is next Friday, October 28.
This week we are doing a guided reading and science unit on owls! Each day we will learn about a different type of owl. Today we learned about the characteristics and life cycle of a barn owl. The kids loved learning about the barn owl! The kids learned what wingspan is and they even practiced making their own wingspan and flying like an owl. They learned that a barn owl makes a different sound than most owls. Kids - be sure to show your parents what a barn owl sounds like! We are making a neat book. It is in the shape of an owl, and each day the kids will write owl facts on one of the owl's "feathers." The books are off to a great start already! The kids had a lot of fun with this activity. This week we will also learn about burrowing, pygmy and elf owls. We will do a lot of kinesthetic activities like owl calling, flying and burrowing to help the kids really learn the information. They always have a lot of fun with activities like this!
In reading we are working on reading non-fiction texts with academic and scientific vocabulary. We are also working on understanding the term “making connections” and the kids are practicing making text to text and text to self connections.
The kids had a great time in centers today. I switched the center groups so the kids will work with different friends over the next few weeks. The kids enjoyed working with and getting to know new friends. The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids watched two National Geographic Kids videos, Snowy Owls and Vampire Bats, on the computer. After that, they wrote characteristics specific to each animal and characteristics shared by both animals.
2. Science - The kids sequenced the 4 stages in the life cycle of a barn owl. They made a neat book in the shape of an owl egg that shows each stage.
3. Writing - We learned that most owls are nocturnal. The kids used white pencils and they wrote on black paper. They wrote about what it would be like to be nocturnal.
4. Math - We are learning about measurement and different tools that can be used to measure. Today the kids measured various items in our classroom with unifix cubes.
5. Reading - The kids conference 1:1 with me.
We are back with spelling words this week! The kids received Rainbow Words for homework and it is due tomorrow, Tuesday, 10.18. This week we are working on the ing family. There are also two tricky homophones: aunt and ant.
In math we practiced skip counting by 2s, 5s and 10s. We did this with math races. The kids LOVE these! In math races each table group works together. They pass around a white board and count by 2s, 5s or 10s. Each child has to write the correct number before passing it on. The first table to count correctly to the designated number wins a prize. The prize is different every time and the kids have so much fun with this! This is a great way to practice skip counting and it is something you can do at home. We are continuing our work in chapter 5 in our math book, a unit about adding on, counting up and doubles. Today we focused specifically on counting up. This was a bit of a challenging concept for the kids, and they worked hard to understand the material and stay focused. We'll have a lot of practice with this concept over the next few days.
This week in computers we will learn all about owls! If you'd like to see what the kids do in computers, check back at the end of the week and look for the blog posting called “Computers, 10/21.”
The kids are already very excited for Halloween! This year all Harleson class parties will be on Friday, October 28th. We will also have our Halloween parade on that day as well. We will study pumpkins next week to get ready for Halloween.
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
October 3, 2011
Weekly Update, October 3 - 7
Hello Stupendous First Graders and Super First Grade Families!
Reminders:
* Conferences are this week.
* We have early release days Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
* We do NOT have new spelling words for the week.
This week we are doing a social studies unit on Flat Stanley! We are also continuing our study of Johnny Appleseed in our center activities. Flat Stanley is a chapter book and the kids are so excited to read another chapter book. I will read one chapter to the kids each day and then we will do a Flat Stanley activity. Today we read chapter 1 and we learned how Stanley became Flat Stanley! After we read, the kids made their own Flat Stanleys. They turned out so great! The kids will take their own Flat Stanley with them on Fall Break and write about their adventures! On Tuesday we will read about Flat Stanley’s adventure of being mailed as a letter and the kids will write a friendly letter to Flat Stanley. On Wednesday we will read about how Flat Stanley gets turned into a kite and the kids will make (and fly!) their own Flat Stanley kites. On Thursday we will read about how being flat helped Stanley solve a crime. The kids will explore the classroom to find flat things and they will write about why flat things are helpful. On Friday we will read about the adventures that Arthur, Flat Stanley’s brother, plans for him. The kids will write about the adventures they want to take Flat Stanley on during Fall Break.
The kids have an activity to do with their Flat Stanley over Fall Break. This is due by Tuesday, October 18, 2011.
The kids had a great time in centers and they worked so hard! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids watched a story about Johnny Appleseed on the computer. It is a neat video where a narrator tells the story of Johnny Appleseed and he draws an illustration as he talks. After the video, the kids write about Johnny Appleseed using Johnny Appleseed specific vocabulary.
2. Science - The kids loved practicing the scientific method to complete a science experiment! The kids did an experiment to see what would happen when you put a carrot and an apple in water. They hypothesized, performed the experiment, recorded their results and made their conclusions. They even got to draw a picture! They were excited to learn a lot of great science vocabulary and they loved doing the experiment!
3. Writing - The kids learned and wrote about Johnny Appleseed while reviewing their mapping skills from a few weeks ago. The kids followed directions and used their mapping knowledge to learn where Johnny Appleseed planted his apples. After they were done they wrote 3 facts about Johnny Appleseed and they also wrote what they liked about him.
4. Math - The kids did two activities: sequencing and patterning. In the sequencing activity, they sequenced the steps that Johnny Appleseed would take to plant his apple trees. In the patterning activity, they looked at patterns and decided what would come next. After that, they created their own pattern.
5. Reading - The kids read leveled books in the Bee Quiet corner. The children are on new reading levels and they are enjoying their new levels!
In writing we worked on writing friendly letters and writing thank you letters. The kids are becoming experts at letter writing!
In reading we are working on reading for information, retelling and predictions. The kids are having fun making predictions about Flat Stanley!
In math we finished Chapter, 4 a subtraction unit. We will do review activities for chapters 1 – 4 and take a test later this week. We will aim to begin chapter 5, a chapter on addition strategies, at the end of the week.
Kids – be sure to check the weekly questions! Answer them and show your parents how much you learned and how smart you are!
Have a great Fall Break and I’ll see you on the 17th!
Mrs. Johnston
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