'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving

Hello Everyone!

We started the day off with one of my favorite books to read this time of year.  Have you ever read "'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving?" It is a fun little story written by Dav Pilkey about a class of little kids who go on a field trip to a turkey farm the day before Thanksgiving. Well, when the kids find out what Farmer Mack Nugget plans on doing with the ax, they cook up a plan to help the turkeys escape!  

They stuff the turkeys under their shirts and get back on the bus!!  Toooo cute!! This was the perfect book to write about what they would eat instead of turkey as a reader's response.  Making those connections brought us to brainstorming a list of yummy "turkey-free" foods!  the kids wrote amazing lists and then created a turkey stuffed character to go along with it!

We also used the book to help us with our "counting on" strategy to compose numbers in math. We made a giant Farmer Mack Nugget over-all pocket on the floor and learned a new song about putting the big number in your pocket and counting on on the second number.  the kids then got to work independently in small groups to practice this strategy.  this will be part of my math SOLVE tubs this week!

For your free 16 page mini unit using the book "Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving" click here!

The unit contains patterns for the cute little craft connection and reader's response writing activity, the poem, math tub materials and recording sheets.The unit also includes a site where you can go to see and have the book read to your kiddos, just in case you can't find the book!!

I love this little book so much!  I wish we had more time to spend on it!! 

Now on to our study of the Mayflower!!

Five Fat Turkeys!

Hello Everyone!

I just wanted to do a quick share of a fun little poem/chant/song (whatever you want to call it) that we worked on this past week. I'm not even sure where this little song came from.  I've had it for a gazillion years!! But 5 Fat Turkeys went right along with our composing and decomposing numbers, and First, Next, Last concepts in reading. I love it when I can use literature to connect with a math concept and math to connect with an ELA concept! I've included the song, stick puppets for the kids to make, and a recording activity.  Enjoy!!  (I didn't get any pics of the kids actually doing the project, but I can tell you, they are ready to perform for their holiday audiences! :) We even sang it for our Principal!  I wish I could tell you the tune. It's just been in my head for a while.  I don't think it is a piggy back tune. But you can make something up- or just chant it! :)

 Quick! Click here before all the turkeys get away! Get your 5 page little mini unit here!

Moms and Dads, get ready for your little sweetie to perform a  little puppet play next week during your Thanksgiving celebration!!
Have fun with it!!
Joyfully!
Nancy

Celebrating Friendship with Native Americans

Hello Everyone!

The past couple of days have been a celebration of friendship.  We read a sweet book called "The Littlest Pilgrim" by Brandi Dougherty. It is about a little Pilgrim girl who is too little to help or do anything with or for anyone else. We were feeling pretty sorry for this little one until she meets a little Native American girl.  Instant friendship! We cheered!!! We made some wonderful text connections with this book.  We make friends with those we have something in common with pretty easily, but how do you make other friendships?  We brainstormed some ideas. Kindness and compassion was a common theme!  

Then it was time to celebrate the friendships made in that historical time of the Pilgrims by creating our own Native Americans.  They turned out so cute. But I love the writing the most!!  Way to go kids!! 

We can be friends by showing kindness and compassion.

A wave of friendship!!

For a printable unit of the writing activity and patterns for the Native American, click here!

I am so happy to have friends all over the world. I love being able to share with you all!  Thank you so much for all your kind words and encouragement with this whole blogging thing. You all inspire me!!
Have a wonder-filled weekend!!
Joyfully!
Nancy

"Baking" 10! :)

Hello Everyone!

All week we have been working on using pictures and manipulatives to compose and decompose 10 or "making 10." Today to spice things up a little, we broke out the "Smart Cookie Bakery" aprons from last year, donned some cool chef hats and got busy "Baking 10 Pies." The kids each got a mini pie pan and their little pumpkin manipulatives and worked on composing or baking a pie that contained 10 pumpkins. They had a lot of fun and really grasped the idea of all the different ways to make 10.  Way to go my budding bakers!! :)

For our Making (or rather "baking") 10 recording sheets, click here!

Have fun with math!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

"Building" 10

Hello Everyone!

Life size math is the best! Today we worked on "building" Friendly 10 in math and I decided to make one of my life-size work mats. And because we were building, why not give the whole lesson a construction theme?  I got these cute construction hats this summer at...guess where? You got it! Dollar Tree! I also got the Leveling tools and paint sticks to finish out the work mat. 

We worked on all the different ways there were to compose or build 10, beginning with 0 + 10, then 1+ 9, moving kids in the addend positions and the sum position. So fun. Now we will work on using what we experienced with our life sized mat and apply it to  paper and pencil.

I took just a couple of pics of the kids and the actual work mat in action.  I've included some pics of a little unit I put together to help kids with the pencil/paper activities.

 

Click here for your own set of Making 10 student activity pages

Unit includes 3 different fall themed student recording sections. 9 pages total!

We can't wait to use our "Building" materials again!! 

Till then!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Hook Your Reader!

Hello Everyone!

This coming week we are going to work hard on improving our writing by including a "hook" or an effective lead in our pieces. We want to grab our readers and make them want to read the rest of our writing.  I made a quick anchor chart showing the kids many of the different ways to start a piece. I also created a mini poster to hang up along with clarifications. Can't wait to help my kids become even better writers!!

 

Hey!! If you would like a copy, click here! :)

Have a joyful evening!!

Nancy

 

Pretzel Words!

Hello Everyone!

Just a very quick post tonight as I am off to Book Club!! YAY!! I love it!

This week we are working hard on the r blends and I decided it was time for another "Eat Your Words!" during our Daily 5 word work time. Of course, pretzels were perfect for our /pr/ words. After brainstorming some pretty interesting /pr/ words, the kids picked out the ones they wanted to practice. They wrote them and then used pretzel sticks for the sticks on the letters and a broken curved piece from pretzel twists for the curves on the p and r Take a quick look!

Here's your printable! :)

We love being able to eat our words!!!
 you can have fun with spelling and word work!
Joyfully!
Nancy

Estimating with Friendly Numbers

Hello Everyone!

We began a week long study of estimating this week. That is always a daunting skill for first graders, so our district decided to approach the concept a little bit differently.  We want the kids to understand what estimating is all about, but not using great quantities of things. Our wonderful Math Instructional Specialist suggested we teach our firsties about estimation through our ten frames and our number lines.  She also suggested we use what we call "Friendly Numbers." Friendly numbers are numbers kids are used to working with and that make sense to them. We are using friendly numbers  0, 5, 10, 15, and 20. 

I made some work mats on which the kiddos can work. I also found some cute little pumpkin gems to use as manipulatives, but you can use anything you have.  As a whole group we worked on taking a number, showing what that quantity would look like on a ten frame or a number line, and then thinking about which friendly number was closest.  That friendly number would be a good estimate  for what we were showing. The pictures show working up to 10, but tomorrow we will work on numbers through 20.  I also included number cards in my unit so you can put it in a math tub, which is what I'll do next week for extra estimating practice. 

If you would like your freebie-a 9 page mini unit- click here!

Mini unit contains 4 work mats, number cards and recording sheets.

Gotta go, Trick or Treaters are here!! 

Joyfully!

Nancy