Are you symmetrical???

Hello Everyone!
Just a quick post tonight.  We began our fractions unit with an introduction to symmetry.  I posted about this important concept last week. I started off with some of the plane figures I had left over from our geometry unit, asking kids to fold the shapes in half to see if they were symmetrical. We talked about congruent, mirror image, same size and shape, etc. Then we looked for things in the classroom that might be symmetrical.  Guess what we found??!!  Some of us were symmetrical!

Then we got busy with our symme"tree!"  Turned out so great.  The kids each had to color, cut out, and fold plane figures to see if they were symmetrical.  All the examples of symmetry were glued to our giant tree. 

Can't wait to do some more symmetry tomorrow!! Stay tuned!

OH! BTW! If you would like a copy of my symmetry unit which includes the symme"tree" idea... click  HERE for 20 pages of fun!

Have a great night!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Serious Symme"tree"

Hello Everyone,
We are in Chicago this week to celebrate the life and legacy of my husbands wonderful mom.  She lost her 10 year battle with cancer on Sunday morning.  We will miss her greatly, but rejoice in the truth that we will see her again. 
While sitting at the airport for 4 hours waiting for our plane because of weather delays, finally boarding, then deplaning because they couldn't start the engines, walking about a mile to the absolute farthest gate possible to board a new plane, and then finally taking off,  I was able to put together a little symmetry unit for my sweeties.  We will begin learning about fractions, but I first wanted to go over symmetry, congruent shapes, equal parts, lines of symmetry, etc. Symmetry is an important mathematical concept that  actually serves as a jumping off point for many different mathematical objectives.  We naturally look for balance and order in our lives, as well as in math.  Symmetry can be taught with real life examples and leads beautifully in to a study of fractions.

This little unit includes :

2 mini posters with definitions

A hands on shape activity  

      creating a class symme “tree”

4 visual activities

3 center activities

A vocabulary word search 

You can get your little unit on Symmetry if you click here! :)

I hope you and your kiddos enjoy this as much as I think we will!  Let me know!! I'll post some pics of our life-sized symme"tree" when we get that done!

Anyway, till next time, have a wonder-filled week!
Joyfully!
Nancy

Ell-o Everyone!

Ell-o Everyone!
Can you guess that we worked hard on the ell chunk this week? :) I want to share a couple of ways to get some fun word work into your D5 time.  I have posted on my "Speller Tellers" before, and it was such a hit last year that I decided to pull it in again for our study of ell words. Perfect match.  You may have heard of this design as a cootie catcher or a fortune teller. A few years ago I decided to take this kid friendly fun foldable and turn it into a spelling practice activity.  Here are the steps:

start with a square piece of paper

fold corners in towards center

flip it over and fold new corners in towards center

Flip over and fin little pockets

label pockets with spelling words

flip over and write words on each triangle

write a positive note under each flap

put fingers in pockets so you can rotate to different words

When finished, have kiddos get with a buddy. They pick one of the words on the top to spell. Rotate speller teller as buddy spells words. Practice a few words and then pick a flap to open and revel positive message! 
Seriously, the kids did not want to put them down!! 

  We also practiced our ell words in a yummy way.  Yes! Another "Eat Your Words!"  This time my sweet team-mate had the great idea of using Jelly Beans for the e's!!  Loved it!! And the kids did too!!

Here's your printable! YUM!

Well, thanks for stopping by and taking a peek into our little world!  Have a wonderfilled weekend!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Retelling Rope

Hello Everyone,
This week we are working hard on the components of a good story and being able to retell with all those components evident.  I've posted about retelling ropes before, but I wanted to share how much my kids love them and "get it!" 
We reviewed all the story parts and created our class-size retelling anchor chart and rope. Then the kids made their own. 

  Retelling is an important component of discriminating comprehension  in our young readers. Teaching the main components of a story  will help kids understand story structure, the relationships between the parts, sequencing, author’s purpose, and so many other comprehension skills.

Here's a little retelling unit. It includes :

*A little poem to post

*A mini poster showing the Story  Retelling  Rope

*4 mini posters which depict some of the  story parts.

*3 pages of large icons for your own large poster or retelling  

      rope.

*2 pages of small icons for the kids to make their own rope (color and black and white for them to color their own)

*Student recording pages(color and black and white)

Here's the link to the downloadable Retelling Rope unit...Click!! :)

example of story part poster

Parents, don't forget to ask your kiddo about their retelling rope.  Try it at home with the books your kiddo is bringing home. 
Have a great night everyone!
Thanks for taking time to take a peek!!
Joyfully!
Nancy

O-R-E-O...How do you eat yours?

Hello Everyone!
We began our "How To" writing unit today.  What better way to start than with a sweet treat? Oreos fit the bill.  Everyone eats an Oreo cookie a little differently. After giving my kids a chance to show how they eat an Oreo, we talked about how we can teach someone else how to eat one.  Why not write about it?  I introduced "How To" writing and went over some of the important transition words which make reading and understanding easier.  We will continue tomorrow with our planning and organizing sheet and then try to make a book.  Can't wait!

Crunch it!

Lick it!

Just take a bite!

Or scrape it!

Quick anchor with transition words

14 pages of planning pages and mini book pages.

If you want a quick copy of this yummy writing activity click here!

For my other "How To" writing unit, click here! :)

Can't wait for the rest of the week!!

Hope you're having a great week!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Write to Teach

Hello Everyone,
We are about to begin our unit on "How To" writing pieces.  Our youngest authors will be learning that they can use their writing to teach someone how to do something.  They are all experts at doing something, right? :) What a way to share their enthusiasm for telling how something is done.  Let them write!!  I am sharing my mini unit on how to teach this important component of our littles' writing portfolios.  This unit can be used in conjunction with any theme, science, social studies, etc. that may be in your curriculum already.  During our landforms unit, I will have them write about how they made the Edible Landforms Cookie.  You can get that unit ***Here! :)
Here are a couple of shots of what is included in the writing unit.

Teaching the concept of using transition words is emphasized in this unit.

The mini unit is 16 pages of mini posters, planners, and mini book pages to help your young authors become teachers.  You can get it ***Here! :) Please leave me a note if you think this is something you can use, or if you would like to see a different format. 

Thanks for stopping by our little window and taking a peek!  

Have a wonder-filled weekend! 

Joyfully!

Nancy

I Wish That I Had Duck Feet!!

Hello Everyone!
Another fun day in first grade today.  As a culminating literature selection for our study on animals, I chose the classic "I Wish That I Had Duck Feet." This Dr. Seuss gem was actually one of my favorites as a girl. Yes, it's that old.  However, it still remains a fabulous choice for my firsties to enjoy!
We are comparing and contrasting animals from the different groups this week. Today the kids wrote about why it would be kind of fun to have duck feet! After writing our literature response, (Daily 5-Work on Writing), we just had to create some duck feet and try them out!!
We cut some simple duck feet shapes out of foam, added a few details, punched some holes and tied them to our feet with yarn. Sooooo fun!!

Our brainstorming!!  Maybe duck feet would be great!!

 HMMMMM!!  After walking around in our duck feet, I think most kids decided that they were glad they had human feet!! :)  Of course, we didn't get to try them out in water!! :) 

My little animal unit includes a mini poster for each of the main animal groups, 5 written expression opportunities to go along with our literature selection, and a quick homophone activity.

You can get that 16 page unit for free if you would like. Quack and click here!! :)

Til next time, thanks for taking time out your day to enjoy our day with us!!

Joyfully!

Nancy