Same or Different?
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. Once you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board to learn about today's activity.
Who remembers what an antonym is? Who remembers what a synonym is?
Antonyms are words that mean the OPPOSITE thing. For example: light and heavy are antonyms because they mean the opposite thing. Synonyms are words that mean the SAME thing. Who can tell an easy way to remember this? For example: shout and yell are synonyms because they mean the same thing.
Today we are going to practice finding synonyms and antonyms. To play, go to the links section of my blog and look for "Antonym Game" and "Synonym Game."
Work hard and have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
March 30, 2012
March 26, 2012
Weekly Update, March 26 - 30
Hello Super First Graders and Stupendous First Grade Families!
Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful time during spring break. The kids were very excited to see their friends and talk about their spring break adventures.
The 3rd quarter report cards go home in the homework folders this Wednesday, March 28. Parents - please sign the report card envelope and return ONLY the envelope by this Friday, March 30. Kids - if you return your envelope on time, you will get three bee bucks! Thank you!
There is a field trip to The Desert Museum coming up on Friday, April 13. Please let me know if you would like to chaperone.
This week in science, guided reading and writing we are learning all about creepy, crawly spiders! Today we learned the characteristics of spiders. The kids made a paper plate spider, complete with 8 googly eyes! Tomorrow the kids will learn how a spider web is made and they will even get to see a short video clip of a spider spinning its web! On Wednesday we will learn about the life cycle of a spider. On Thursday we will read about spiders to learn if they are helpful or harmful. On Friday we will learn about tarantulas.
The kids are doing SO well in writing! I have seen so much progress over the last few weeks and it makes writers' workshop so much fun! The kids are able to accomplish so much and they love sharing at the end of writers' workshop. This week in writers' workshop we are working on fact writing, using a picture to guide writing and story writing. Today the kids wrote 8 spider facts. Tomorrow they will write an acrostic poem about a spider web. On Wednesday they will look at pictures of the stages of a spider's life cycle and describe each stage. On Thursday they will use their thumb prints to make a spider picture and then write about how they would be helpful spiders. On Friday they will make their page to our class book about what they like best about spiders.
The kids came home with Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. This week in making words we are working more on writing words with the "are" contraction. We will focus on "you're" and "we're." Parents - you can look for this in your child's writing and see if your child can point it out in his/her reading.
The kids enjoyed their spider centers today! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids listened to "I Love Spiders" and they wrote 10 things they love/facts about spiders.
2. Science - The kids read "The Very Busy Spider" and they make their own spider web with glue and glitter on black paper. They colored and cut spiders to go with the web.
3. Writing - The kids read "Spider Names." They received a picture of a spider and they named it and wrote a story about it.
4. Math - The kids put a spider puzzle together and compared and identified spider and ant body parts.
5. Reading - The kids read books from the Bee Quiet Corner played sight word bingo.
This week in math we are working on measuring weight and capacity. The kids are having a lot of fun using the balance and traditional scales.
We have a fun activity planned for computers. If you’d like to see what we’ll do, please check the blog on Friday for the posting called “Computers, 3/30.”
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
March 16, 2012
Computers, 3/16
Free Choice Day!
Let's start by voting in 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 the free choice day for the quarter!!! Use your schema about the last free choice day we had; what are some things you can do on free choice day? Let's talk about our ideas.
Let's take a look at the blog and see what it has to offer for free choice day.
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
March 12, 2012
Weekly Update, March 12 - 16
May the Luck O' The Irish Be With You!
Important Dates
* The Jump-A-Thon for Heart is this Friday, March 16. We will participate in the jump-a-thon in the afternoon.
* Spring Break is March 19 - 23. Kids - let's keep working hard until Spring Break!
This week in social studies and guided reading we are learning about springtime and St. Patrick's Day traditions. Today we learned about the phrase "In like a lion, out like a lamb," and how it is used to describe springtime. Today we focused on "in like a lion," and tomorrow we will focus on "out like a lamb." On Wednesday we will build a trap for a leprechaun. They are really looking forward to this! On Thursday we are learning about leprechauns. On Friday we will learn about symbols and traditions of St. Patrick's Day.
In writing we are working on strong beginnings and strong endings. This means no more "Once upon a time," or "The end!" Today we discussed "in like a lion," and how it is a strong beginning. The kids practiced rewriting boring beginnings to make them strong. They made paper plate lions to remind them to write strong beginnings. Tomorrow we will discuss how "out like a lamb" is a strong ending and the kids will rewrite boring endings to make them strong. They will make a paper plate lamb to remind them to write strong endings. On Wednesday the kids will use what they know about strong beginnings and endings to write a leprechaun adventure story. On Thursday the kids will write facts about St. Patrick's Day and make their own rainbow and gold coin necklace! On Friday the kids will write their page to our class book, "My Favorite Thing About St. Patrick's Day." We write a class book at the end of each unit. We have quite a collection of books! The kids are great authors and they are always proud to read their books.
In reading we are identifying strong beginnings and endings and discussing how they make the story more interesting.
The kids came home with Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. This week in making words we will review different word families. We are also learning about contractions. We are also working on making words that begin with the dr/fl/sn/sp chunks.
The kids enjoyed our St. Patrick's Day centers! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids listened The Luckiest St. Patrick’s Day Ever and they wrote about when they feel lucky.
2. Social Studies - The kids played a fun dice game to create their own leprechaun!
3. Writing - The kids came up with an Irish name for themselves and for a leprechaun. They wrote a story about a leprechaun escaping!
4. Math - The kids colored and cut St. Patrick's Day dominoes and played the game.
5. Reading - The kids played Alpha-Bug-Soup, a game to help with sight word reading and spelling.
We finished all of our math assessments for the report card! This was a lot of work and I am so happy with how hard the kids worked! We are working on learning how to tell time to the half hour. Kids - be sure to show your parents what you know about telling time!
We have a fun activity planned for computers. If you’d like to see what we’ll do, check back on Friday for the blog posting called, “Computers, 3/16.”
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
Important Dates
* The Jump-A-Thon for Heart is this Friday, March 16. We will participate in the jump-a-thon in the afternoon.
* Spring Break is March 19 - 23. Kids - let's keep working hard until Spring Break!
This week in social studies and guided reading we are learning about springtime and St. Patrick's Day traditions. Today we learned about the phrase "In like a lion, out like a lamb," and how it is used to describe springtime. Today we focused on "in like a lion," and tomorrow we will focus on "out like a lamb." On Wednesday we will build a trap for a leprechaun. They are really looking forward to this! On Thursday we are learning about leprechauns. On Friday we will learn about symbols and traditions of St. Patrick's Day.
In writing we are working on strong beginnings and strong endings. This means no more "Once upon a time," or "The end!" Today we discussed "in like a lion," and how it is a strong beginning. The kids practiced rewriting boring beginnings to make them strong. They made paper plate lions to remind them to write strong beginnings. Tomorrow we will discuss how "out like a lamb" is a strong ending and the kids will rewrite boring endings to make them strong. They will make a paper plate lamb to remind them to write strong endings. On Wednesday the kids will use what they know about strong beginnings and endings to write a leprechaun adventure story. On Thursday the kids will write facts about St. Patrick's Day and make their own rainbow and gold coin necklace! On Friday the kids will write their page to our class book, "My Favorite Thing About St. Patrick's Day." We write a class book at the end of each unit. We have quite a collection of books! The kids are great authors and they are always proud to read their books.
In reading we are identifying strong beginnings and endings and discussing how they make the story more interesting.
The kids came home with Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. This week in making words we will review different word families. We are also learning about contractions. We are also working on making words that begin with the dr/fl/sn/sp chunks.
The kids enjoyed our St. Patrick's Day centers! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids listened The Luckiest St. Patrick’s Day Ever and they wrote about when they feel lucky.
2. Social Studies - The kids played a fun dice game to create their own leprechaun!
3. Writing - The kids came up with an Irish name for themselves and for a leprechaun. They wrote a story about a leprechaun escaping!
4. Math - The kids colored and cut St. Patrick's Day dominoes and played the game.
5. Reading - The kids played Alpha-Bug-Soup, a game to help with sight word reading and spelling.
We finished all of our math assessments for the report card! This was a lot of work and I am so happy with how hard the kids worked! We are working on learning how to tell time to the half hour. Kids - be sure to show your parents what you know about telling time!
We have a fun activity planned for computers. If you’d like to see what we’ll do, check back on Friday for the blog posting called, “Computers, 3/16.”
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
March 9, 2012
Computers, 3/9
Super Snakes!
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. After you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board to learn about today's activity.
It was fun learning about a slithery member of the reptile group, the snake this week! To read more about reptiles, go here: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/. Click on the pictures to read about the different kinds of reptiles.
When you're done reading, pick your favorite! Then, post a comment on the blog about your favorite reptile. In your posting be sure to write:
Your name
Name of your favorite reptile
1 fact about it
We'll practice posting on the blog and then it will be your turn! Remember to meet our demands for writing when you type on the computer!
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 to learn about today's activity.
It was fun learning about a slithery member of the reptile group, the snake this week! To read more about reptiles, go here: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/. Click on the pictures to read about the different kinds of reptiles.
When you're done reading, pick your favorite! Then, post a comment on the blog about your favorite reptile. In your posting be sure to write:
Your name
Name of your favorite reptile
1 fact about it
We'll practice posting on the blog and then it will be your turn! Remember to meet our demands for writing when you type on the computer!
Have fun!
Mrs. Johnston
March 5, 2012
Weekly Update, March 5 - 9
Hello Sssssssssuper First Graders and Stupendoussssss First Grade Families!
The kids loved our bug study last week! We watched a few short video clips about amazing insects on Friday. Kids - the link to the website with the bug videos is now on my blog! It's in the LINKS section and it's the link called "Bug Videos." Enjoy!
Sssssss....this week we are learning about snakes in science, guided reading and writing and the kids love it! Today we learned about the characteristics of the Western Diamondback. The kids learned some great new snake vocabulary. Kids - be sure to share it with your parents! The rest of the week we will learn about king snakes, garter snakes and green snakes. I personally had a lot of fun researching for this slithery unit. I can't wait to teach the kids slithery, slimy information and show AWESOME snake pictures to them!
In writing we are working on sssssssuper snake writing! Today we wrote "How To Be A Diamondback" and the kids had so much fun with these! They have made so much progress in poetry! Their "How To Be A Diamondback" poems are hung up on the wall in the shape of a snake (complete with a head and rattle!), so be sure to stop by to check out the kids' ssssssuper sssssnake writing! Tomorrow the kids will practice their alliteration skills by writing 4 alliteration sentences on a swirly garter snake. On Wednesday, we will read the book "Verdi" to go with our green snake study. Verdi is a special python snake who learns how to be green. The kids will get to make their own Verdi snake and write about their favorite part of the book. On Thursday, the kids will make king snake crowns with 8 different complete sentences about king snakes. On Friday, we will review different snakes.The kids came home with Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. This week in making words we are work on tricky vowel combinations.
In reading we are comparing fiction, non-fiction and fun-non-fiction.
The kids had fun in their slithery, slimy snake centers! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids listened to "I Can Read About Reptiles" and they identified reptiles from the book based on different clues.
2. Social Studies - The kids tested their bug knowledge from last week with a game. They worked in partners to answer questions about bugs. For each question they answered correctly, they got to move along the snake shaped board.
3. Writing - The kids colored different pictures of baby snakes. They wrote about adventures of their baby snakes.
4. Math - The kids got a picture of a diamondback snake and they colored the diamonds in an ABBC pattern. After they colored, they cut their snake and they have their own swirly snake. These turned out great!
5. Reading - The kids read different snake books and they shared new snake facts with their reading group.
In math we are busy working on both shapes and assessments for the 3rd quarter report card. The kids are learning to compare flat and 3D shapes. The kids are taking report assessments on skip counting, addition, subtraction, place value, calendar elements, patterning and measurement.
We have a fun activity planned for computers on Friday. If you’d like to see what we’ll do, check the blog for the posting called “Computers, 3/9.”
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
The kids loved our bug study last week! We watched a few short video clips about amazing insects on Friday. Kids - the link to the website with the bug videos is now on my blog! It's in the LINKS section and it's the link called "Bug Videos." Enjoy!
Sssssss....this week we are learning about snakes in science, guided reading and writing and the kids love it! Today we learned about the characteristics of the Western Diamondback. The kids learned some great new snake vocabulary. Kids - be sure to share it with your parents! The rest of the week we will learn about king snakes, garter snakes and green snakes. I personally had a lot of fun researching for this slithery unit. I can't wait to teach the kids slithery, slimy information and show AWESOME snake pictures to them!
In writing we are working on sssssssuper snake writing! Today we wrote "How To Be A Diamondback" and the kids had so much fun with these! They have made so much progress in poetry! Their "How To Be A Diamondback" poems are hung up on the wall in the shape of a snake (complete with a head and rattle!), so be sure to stop by to check out the kids' ssssssuper sssssnake writing! Tomorrow the kids will practice their alliteration skills by writing 4 alliteration sentences on a swirly garter snake. On Wednesday, we will read the book "Verdi" to go with our green snake study. Verdi is a special python snake who learns how to be green. The kids will get to make their own Verdi snake and write about their favorite part of the book. On Thursday, the kids will make king snake crowns with 8 different complete sentences about king snakes. On Friday, we will review different snakes.The kids came home with Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. This week in making words we are work on tricky vowel combinations.
In reading we are comparing fiction, non-fiction and fun-non-fiction.
The kids had fun in their slithery, slimy snake centers! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The kids listened to "I Can Read About Reptiles" and they identified reptiles from the book based on different clues.
2. Social Studies - The kids tested their bug knowledge from last week with a game. They worked in partners to answer questions about bugs. For each question they answered correctly, they got to move along the snake shaped board.
3. Writing - The kids colored different pictures of baby snakes. They wrote about adventures of their baby snakes.
4. Math - The kids got a picture of a diamondback snake and they colored the diamonds in an ABBC pattern. After they colored, they cut their snake and they have their own swirly snake. These turned out great!
5. Reading - The kids read different snake books and they shared new snake facts with their reading group.
In math we are busy working on both shapes and assessments for the 3rd quarter report card. The kids are learning to compare flat and 3D shapes. The kids are taking report assessments on skip counting, addition, subtraction, place value, calendar elements, patterning and measurement.
We have a fun activity planned for computers on Friday. If you’d like to see what we’ll do, check the blog for the posting called “Computers, 3/9.”
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
March 2, 2012
Computers, 3/2
Beautiful Bugs!
Let's start by voting on this week's poll. After you vote, please come to the floor in front of the Smart Board to learn about our activity.
It was fun learning all about bugs! You can become a real bug expert by reading even more about our creepy, crawly little friends. Go here: http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/insects/insects.html .
Pick a bug you would like to learn about and click on its name to read all about it. Look at the list of bugs...what do you notice about the list?
Have a creepy, crawly, buggin' good time!
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 to learn about our activity.
It was fun learning all about bugs! You can become a real bug expert by reading even more about our creepy, crawly little friends. Go here: http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/insects/insects.html .
Pick a bug you would like to learn about and click on its name to read all about it. Look at the list of bugs...what do you notice about the list?
Have a creepy, crawly, buggin' good time!
Mrs. Johnston
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