Global Read Aloud

As we continue to read 'My Father's Dragon'...(Global Read Aloud)...we have been busy predicting, visualizing, retelling and sequencing chapters in the book.  Students have recorded their thinking daily using a variety of apps...Doodle Buddy, Educreations, 30 Hands and Kidblog.  I've also been sharing student work on Twitter so classes who are participating in the GRA can read, compare and discuss similarities and differences in posted responses.  
Thank you TL Kaegi for the wonderful map showing the location of classes participating and Mrs. DeGroot for organizing the GRA.

Real World Math Problems

Solving 'real world' math problems are always exciting!  Tomorrow we will be going on a field trip to the museum.  I challenged them to figure out how many buses would be needed for our trip.  Even though each group was given the same information,  I loved how their approach to solving it was very different!

Earth Day

We started our morning with traditional lessons about Earth Day...stories, word building, craft etc.  Then in the afternoon I changed things up a bit.  Students used Haiku Deck to create slides explaining ways we can help save energy at school.  Once slides were finished students uploaded them to the app 30 Hands and then added it to their blog. 

Mo Willems

We love Mo Willems!  All this week we have been working on tons of comprehension activities using his books.  We recorded how characters changed from the beginning/middle/end of a story.  We revisited cause and effect,  defined vocabulary words and located text evidence.  We also discussed text features including speech bubbles and illustrations.  After a full week of comprehension skills we ended the week with Readers Theater using his books!  Wow, an author study, practice comprehension skills and working on fluency (math graphing too)....what a great week!

Symmetry and Fractions

Today I read the story, Equal Shmequal.  This story is great for reviewing math concepts of balance, symmetry and introducing fractions.  After reading the story, students balanced a hard boiled egg.  First they made their predictions then checked their answers.  Students also participated in a whole group lesson on symmetry (Thanks Ms.VandenBerge) followed by an individual activity using the app Geoboard.

My Father's Dragon

This week we started our 2nd Global Read Aloud of the year.  Our class along with 18 other first grade classes across the United States and Canada will be reading 'My Father's Dragon'.  Each day we read a chapter, and record our thinking on our blog.  I also post daily 'tweets' to our class Twitter account where we share our thinking/predictions about the story.  Our class LOVES it when other classes respond to our tweets or when they compare other class tweets to ours.  Please ask your child to summarize the chapters we have read so far and check their blog.  My goal is to Skype with one of the classes prior to us finishing the book. 

Additional 3D Practice

As we continue to learn attributes of 3D shapes students loved watching, building and labeling 3D ballerinas. 

Author's Purpose

We have been learning author's have a purpose for their writing.  So after each whole group read aloud, we discuss/identify the author's purpose.  Together we discuss and decide if the author wrote their book to inform, persuade or entertain the reader.
Then during Writer's Workshop, I read 'I Want an Iguana'.  After our class discussion, students wrote a letter to their parent 'persuading' them for something...toy/pet/play date etc.  Once finished, students enjoyed playing,  Author's Purpose on the computer.  What a great way to practice this comprehension skill.  They're really getting good at it!

Chick Research

Now that we have our eggs in our new incubator we have 21 days to wait!  Today the students were asked to use available resources to create a chicks life cycle.  Resources included websites (QR codes) and non fiction books.  Students were able to use whatever app they wanted to show their learning.  As most students chose Doceri and 30 Hands, I did have some that thought Popplet would be the best.  There is nothing better than individuality!

Incubator

 

Our new incubator has finally arrived!!  We were able to place our eggs in it this afternoon.  For the next 21 days we will continue to learn about the life cycle of a chicken as we patiently wait them to hatch! Check back often...we hope to have  a webcam set up to the incubator by the middle of next week!

Brain Break

Using GoNoodle for our brain breaks is so much fun.  Dancing and moving while practicing math and spelling skills makes learning even more enjoyable!

3D Shapes

Learning about 3D shapes can be so much fun.  We have been busy exploring, building, hunting, creating and labeling them!  I hope your child has shared all that we have done.  If not, please check their blog.  Students have been posting about their learning!

Multiple Math Minutes

This past week students enjoyed a couple new math activities.  To practice/review balanced equations, students LOVED playing "Scoot'.  We also listened to stories about quilts and then it was time to start making some!
To begin our quilt activity each student was given 4 paper squares and I projected a quilt pattern on the white board.  Students would 'See it' then 'Make it'.  As students matched my pattern, they could walk around and share their strategy with others.  As the activity continued, I gradually added more squares to each pattern until they were using 9 squares!  This activity was quite challenging but the students didn't give up.  They were determined to match mine!  Students then had the opportunity to create and name a pattern of their own (just like in stories I read).  They had a friend make their quilt pattern then added their square to our class quilt.

Learning from Others

Today one of my students brought in her harmonica to show the class.  We listened attentively as she explained all about this instrument.  We learned how each note is to be played then got to hear the different sounds it could make!  Learning from others in so much fun! 

Wonder Wednesday

It's Wonder Wednesday and it's time for us to check 'Wonderopolis'.  We are loving this website!  Ask your child to tell about our wonder for the week.

Front Row App

This week the students started using Front Row.  This app offers differentiated math practice on their iPad...and the students really enjoy it!  Be sure to ask your child how many gold coins they earned today!