Great week!

Hello Everyone!

We had a very busy 4 day week last week.  Why do I always try to cram 5 days of learning into 4 days? You would think I'd have learned my lesson by now!! PHEW!
 I think my littles are enjoying first grade so far, though!! I had one sweet mom say her little girl came home every day saying first grade was more fun than summer camp! Wow!!  I do like making learning fun, but I also want to teach responsibly by making sure each lesson sparks authentic and real individual learning.  I believe in a hands on and visual approach to learning with my kiddos. This has proven itself to me time and time again.  No student ever said, "Can I have another worksheet?" 
Here are a few things we worked on this week.
In math we worked hard on subitizing, composing and decomposing. I pulled out my bigger than life 10 frame board (made on a shower curtain liner) and made each lesson tactile and visual. 

The kids loved the superhero shields and badges I found at The Dollar Tree!

In Writing we started working with Story-boarding. We weren't able to make it all the way to publishing because of the short week, but we will certainly hit it this coming week!!  I have to say, if you have students who hesitate or have an aversion to writing, this is the approach to take.  In just four days I see my students gravitating towards their getting their ideas down on paper through their boards. By drawing their story first, they are already learning about the organization of writing and the importance of adding details.  I started off reading the book "Ish" by Peter Reynolds. (Thanks to my teammate for introducing this book to me!!)  This sweet books lets kids know that their drawings don't have to be perfect!!

I modeled a story with simple drawings and stick people.  I wrote a few words to help clarify.

Then modeled organization of board and writing

I can't wait for Monday to continue the process!!!
  Way to go Kids!!!
My Writing Unit explains the process and includes printables. CLICK HERE!!! :)

We also worked hard on learning about what a scientist is and what he/she does.  We can be scientists!!

Then we practiced our scientific observation skills by doing a fun Super Skittles Surprise Experiment!!

Look at the S floating up !!!

The Skittles science is in my Superhero unit! CLICK HERE!!

Tomorrow is our 10th day of school already!!  We are celebrating that very important number all day!!
Here's a peek!!


 

For this quick little unit, CLICK HERE!! :)

I know some of you have been having trouble downloading documents.  I have contacted Googledocs, and they are looking into it.  Please keep fiddling around and retry. You can always e-mail me and I can send you docs by e-mail!  No worries!!

Have a great week everyone!!! Let me know how things are going and if you can use any of these ideas!! Or if I need to change anything!! I appreciate you all!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Life size ten frame

Hello Everyone!

Our math objectives for the first couple of weeks of school are to have students recognize quantities without counting, recognizing structured quantities up to 10, and applying mathematical process standards to represent and compare whole numbers.  We are using a lot of dice, dominoes and ten frames to build our number sense.  Today we practiced using a ten frame. The fun part was that it was life size!  I saw a cute idea about using tape on the carpet to map out a ten frame, but I wanted one that I could pick up and move, use in a math tub, etc.  So, for about a dollar, I made two frames out of a shower curtain liner and some painter's tape! The markers or counters were the kids!! We practiced showing different quantities together, and then I broke the kids up into two groups and called out numbers.  they had to work together to be the first group to show that amount on their ten frames. Any time I can incorporate a kinesthetic approach to learning, I am going for it!!  We had so much fun!  I am sure this will be one the kids will ask to do over and over!

Cut a shower curtain liner in half so you have two rectangles.

Tape off the ten frame

 A life size visual of quantifying and subitizing!

 Give it a try!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

TerrificTruffula Tufts

Hello Everyone!
Thanks for taking a peek!  We have been having so much fun using the themes of "The Lorax" as springboards for other cutrricular areas.  In math we have been working on composing and decomposing addition facts.  We have been working on the strategy of making groups of 10 to help solve those additon problems.  Using a 10 frame is a way to show kids how to compose and decompose using 10's.  The frams also show kids different ways to solve the same problem. To make the concept clear and multisensory, I decided to find some "Truffula Tree Tufts" to use as manipulatives. Alas! Hobby Lobby had some large bags of bright colored pom poms in all different sizes. They so reminded me of Truffula Tufts and the kids couldn't wait to get their hands on them!!  We practiced using the tufts to show how to decompose (or move) enough of the tufts from one of the addends to help the other addend make 10.  We were then able to compose a new related addition fact.  10 + anything is easier to add!! The kids really got it!!

We finally had the time to make our little Text Connection books I talked about last week.  We, of course, had to use the story "The Lorax." The kids cut out their own hearts in specific colors, and wrote their connection ideas on each color, Yellow= Text to Self, Green= Text to Text,  and Blue= Text to World.  The kids had some great connections. The pics didn't turn out very clear (I so need a new camera) but I hope you can get the point of their connections!

"It reminds me of a book called Grizwald. He had to move because were cutting down the trees."



"I am a Daisy, and it reminds me of the Lorax."



  A final fun craft connection we did to go along with "The Lorax" was of course to make Truffula Trees!  I needed an inexpensive craft connection that the kids could easily make. I decided to have the kids make some tissue paper tufts with striped pipe cleaner trunks.  We took 4 sheets of brightly colored tissue paper (about 8x12) layered evenely.  We then fan folded starting from the short side. We trimmed the ends either round or diagonal, and twisted the pipe cleaner around the center. Now the fun part!  Gently pulling the layers apart!!  This so reminded me of creating hundreds of flowers for parade floats way back in high school!! :)  The kids had a blast making these and wanted to make a whole Truffula Forest!!!

A Truffula Tree Forest!

Thank you, Dr. Seuss, for your inspiration!!
We've had a fantastic week!
Hope your week was just as inspirational!!
Joyfully!
Nancy