What kind of truck gets the hiccups?

Today, after morning work time and Morning Meeting we learned a new song.  Well, it wasn’t new song for most of them, but it was new to learn all of the words, I think.  We sang all of the verses of “On Top of Spaghetti.”  We also had a small lesson about compound words as we looked at all of the verses.

After our song, we started Reader’s Workshop.  Today the mini-lesson was about recognizing “informative texts” as a genre, as well as looking at what the author did in our model text to show emphasis (she made some words bigger in the text and others smaller to show that the moon was getting bigger or smaller).  When the kids went off to read, they looked for ways that the authors of their books did the same thing (they noticed CAPTIAL LETTERS, “slanty” letters, different colors, and different sizes).  We shared our discoveries at the end-of-workshop share.

After reading, we started Writer’s Workshop.  Today we read a couple of books by Donald Crews – Bigmama’s and Shortcut.  They are both examples of small moments (what we have been working on).  The first is a series of longer events (one summer vacation when he was small), and the second is on episode from that summer, stretched out to a book length.  The kids are writing the same way, so many of them tried to zoom in on a smaller moment from one of their larger small moment, like Donald did.  We had to delay the end of our writing until after gym – our reading and writing both took longer than we had thought.  At the end-of-workshop share, they all talked about how they zoomed in on a small moment.

After writing, we headed down for lunch and recess, and then back up to our room for Author Study – we are still studying Vera B. Williams.  The main things on which we are focusing are characters, plot, and connections.  Today we read A Chair for Always, and talked about how Vera included the many characters in the story.  After that, we headed down to the gym for class with Mr. Hill and Mr. Peterson.

After gym we had Math Workshop – today we finished up the math shape books that we began on Friday.  Since we got a bit of a late start on math due to writing, we worked for most for the rest of the afternoon on that.  Before we knew it, it was time to clean up and head home!

Where do you take a sick wasp?

Sorry for no post yesterday - it was a long, meeting-filled afternoon and early evening.  I'll post again this afternoon.

Where do you take a sick wasp?

Sorry no blog today - an unfortunately long series of meetings after school.  I'll rerurn tomorrow.

Have a good night!

Jake

What kind of jam can you never eat?

We had a bit of a goofy day today, schedule-wise.  We all adapted well, though, so it was good.

This morning, we had a short Morning Meeting, and then headed up to the computer lab for the final segment of the MAP assessment (2^nd of two math parts).  After sitting quietly for so long, we had a bit of free time in the classroom when we got back to our room.  After that, we got our jackets on (though we didn’t need them) and went across the street to Mount Olivet to their pumpkin patch.  They invited us to come and hear some fall stories – we got to sit on hay bales and walk through their pumpkin maze.  It was really fun, and by the time we got back to school it was time for lunch!

After lunch, the kids went out for recess, and then back up to our room for Read Aloud – we finally finished the Cam Jansen book!  When we finished Read Aloud, we went up to the art room for class with Mr. Fairbanks. 

When we got back to our room, we had a shared writing lesson – we collectively wrote a thank you letter to the nice people at Mount Olivet (in case you hear about them, the story teller was called “Pocketella” [she had pockets on her dress, and she was a “tella” of stories] and the other host was named Jackie – she was dressed in a pumpkin suit... I know, fun, right?).  The kids also made little pumpkins and drew a picture of their favorite thing from the trip, all to send over to them tomorrow.

After that, we had Science Lab to wrap up the day.  We continued our study of geology, looking at the vials of sand that we mixed with water yesterday in hopes of seeing the separation of layers of water, silt, and sand.  Unfortunately, most of the vials got re-shaken, so we’ll have a better look at that tomorrow (hopefully…).  Today we worked on making hypotheses about why the sand and water behaved the way they did, and where the middle layer of silt came from.

Before we knew it, it was time to pack up and head home!

What does an elf learn at school?

Today, after the usual morning festivities, we had a guest reader – Leo (our Star of the Week) brought his mom and a favorite book (Sweet Dreams, Honey Bear  – complete with a puppet in the middle of the book!) in to read to us.  After that, we sang our song of the day (“Alice the Camel”).

Then we moved on to Reader’s Workshop.  We continued our study of non-fiction text features.  Today we learned about what an index is for, as well as what a glossary is, and how to use them both.  The kids then went off to read, both independently and with a buddy.

After reading, we had Writer’s Workshop.  Today the mini-lesson was about strategies to use when writers want to use a word that they don’t know how to spell.  We added some high-frequency words to our word wall, and several of the kids used them during their writing time.  Our end-of-workshop share was about the strategies that each of them used to write tricky words.

After writing, it was time for lunch and recess, and then back up for Read Aloud.  We read a bit more in ¨Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds ,” and left off in a really suspenseful place – stay tuned for how it ends tomorrow!  After a couple of chapters, we headed down the hallway for Media class in the library with Mrs. Hennen.

When we got back to our room, we kept on with our introduction to geometry in Math Workshop – the kids used pattern blocks to fill in outlines, once again to help build a concept of space and to develop their spatial sense.

After Math, it was time for Science Lab.  Today we worked on separating the different parts of a vial of sand – they observed the sand, and then we added water and shook the vials.  No accidents, by the way – thank goodness for secure caps on vials! ☺  Tomorrow we will see how the murky, muddy, dark water looks after it has settled – we’ll see some sediments, and learn about what sand is made of.

After all of that, it was time to pack up and head home!


P.S.  Sorry that all of the links are to Amazon - I;m not actually trying to get you to buy anything - it's just the easiest way, usually, to get a picture and description of a book or object. ☺

Which animal never needs a haircut?

Today, after our usual morning work time, we had a shortened morning meeting so that we could go up to the computer lab fort round number three of the MAP assessment – today was the first of two math parts of the test.  When we finished with that, we went back down to our room to finish morning meeting and also have Leo read his Star of the Week poster.   After that, we had Writer’s Workshop.  Since time was limited this AM, we had a very short min-lesson, about adding details and “color” to writing, and then the kids went off to write. 

After writing, we went down to the cafeteria for lunch and then out for recess.  When we got back up to our room, we started a new Read Aloud book – another mystery (we can’t seem to get enough of the mysteries…) from the Cam Jansen series.  Today it was Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds. After 3 chapters, we headed on down to the gym for class with Mr. Hill and Mr. Peterson.

When we got back up to our room, we had Math Workshop.  Today we began a new unit on shapes and geometry.  A couple of the kids were wondering how we were doing math without numbers, and were amazed to discover that shapes are math.  I think some of them were pretty relieved to find this out, truth be told.  We worked on fitting smaller shapes into outlines, to build a sense of the properties of various shapes.  Today we worked with hexagons, trapezoids, rhombuses (rhombi?), parallelograms, squares, and triangles.

After math, we had Science Lab.  Last Friday the kids did an experiment in which they separated a cupful of river rocks (sand, gravel, and pebbles) using screens of various sizes.  They devised their own method for separating out the three types of rocks.  Today they used the same method that they discovered on Friday to separate out the rocks and then glued a sample of each onto a recording sheet.

After all of that, it was time to pack up and head home!

What kind of animal falls from the sky?

Today, after our normal morning routine, we had Reader’s Workshop.  The mini-lesson today was about non-fiction text features again – we reviewed what a table of contents is, as well as picture captions, and today we learned about headings (the bold type section titles in a book).  When the kids went off to read (both individual reading and buddy reading), they were looking for all of the text features that we have discussed thus far.  Our share was about what they found, and how headings were used in their book to divide and organize the text.

After reading, we move on to Writer’s Workshop.  Today I showed then how writers often “write across their fingers” – they take a small idea and stretch it over pages.  We used our five fingers to plan out a page.  They worked with their writing partner again and told a story, stretched over five fingers, and then practiced giving a nice comment and a “Have you considered...?” comment to their partner.  Then, of course, they wrote.

After writing, we had lunch and recess, and then back up to our room for Read Aloud.  Today we read two books by Cynthia Rylant from the High Rise Private Eyes series: The Case of the Missing Monkey and The Case of the Puzzling Possum.  They are really funny books – the kids love them.  Unfortunately, there are only 8 in the series…  After Read Aloud, we headed on down to the gym for class with Mr. Hill and Mr. Peterson.

After gym, we stopped for a water and bathroom break before the second installment of our MAP assessment in the computer lab.  Today it was the second half of the reading assessment.  After sitting still and quiet for quite awhile, we headed out for a bit of recess – too nice out not to.

By the time we got back in, it was time to pack up and go home!

Why do geese make bad drivers?

Another great day in Room 240 – here’s the low-down:

After our usual morning, we had a special guest reader – Hannah, who is our Star of the Week, had her mom come in and read one of Hannah’s favorite books – The Princess Gown.  After the book, we moved on to Reader’s Workshop.  Today the mini-lesson was about features of text – we discovered Tables of Content and captions in a non-fiction book that we are reading.  When the kids went out to do Independent Reading and Buddy Reading, they were of course looking for those features in their books, and each shared his/her findings at our end-of-workshop share.

After reading, we had Writer’s Workshop.  Today we continued our quest for details in the kids’ writing.  Today I gave them each a writing partner to read their story to.  After their reading, their partner gave them a “Have you considered…?” idea or two (or five or ten…).  We’re working on ways to give and accept constructive criticism, in addition to writing, so the reader would respond with “Thank you for that suggestion.”  After the exchange of detail ideas, the writers did what writers do – they wrote!  At our end-of-workshop share, each shared a way in which their partner helped them to improve their story.

After writing, it was down for lunch and out for recess, and then back up to our room for Read Aloud.  We read Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, to continue with our geology unit in Science Lab.  After Read Aloud, we headed up to the art room for class with Mr. Fairbanks.

After art, we ambled down the hallway to the computer lab to take installment number one of the MAP assessment on the computer.  We will take another segment of the reading exam tomorrow afternoon, and then two math parts next week.

After sitting for quite awhile in the computer lab, we just HAD to go out to play for awhile, and then when we came back in, it was time to pack up and head home!

How does a skunk call his friends?

Today, after the usual morning goings-on, we had a special guest – Mr. Catchings, who is our Assistant Principal, cam in to our class to give us a tutorial on how the MAP Assessments work for first grade.  We will be taking the assessments this week and next  (tomorrow and Thursday afternoons for reading and Monday and Wednesday mornings next week for math).  Here is a description of the assessment from the company’s website:

MAP for Primary Grades assessments combine diagnostic tests and survey assessments to give you insight into your K-2 students' knowledge of core math and reading. Using these tests, teachers can:

•                Assess achievement levels of early learners so they can spend more time teaching and less time administering individual diagnostic tests.

•                Provide rich information to begin guiding a student's academic career thereby increasing the chances for early academic success.

•                Identify the needs of all primary students and inform individualized instruction.

•                Encourage student participation with engaging test items.

The assessment (or “special test,” as they called it in the tutorial) is online, so we will be taking it in the computer lab.

After Mr. Catchings was done, we had a quick song (“Alice the Camel”) to get the kids moving a bit after having sat for quite awhile, and then had an abbreviated Reader’s Workshop, in which the kids got to do Independent Reading as well as trade in the books in their bookbags.

After reading, it was time to head on down to the lunchroom for lunch and then out for recess.  When we got back up to our room, we snuck in half of Writer’s Workshop instead of Read Aloud, and then headed down the hall for Media with Mrs. Hennen.

When we got back to our room, we finished writing – the kids are working on adding details to their work like our friend and writing mentor Vera B. Williams does.  At the end-of-workshop share, each writer shared one great details that they added to their work today to make it even better than it as before.

After writing, we had Math Workshop.  Today we played a board game in which the kids had to roll an eight-sided die, fill a ten frame with that number, and then move the number of spaces that is left in the ten frame (it’s not actually as complicated as it sounds...).

To wrap up our day, we had Science Lab.  The young scientists experimented with water and their rocks again, but this time they recorded their ‘scientific observations’ on a record sheet.

After all of that, it was time to clean up, pack up, and head out!

Where does a turtle go when it rains?

Another great day in Room 240 – here’s the news:

After our usual morning festivities, Hannah shared her Star of the Week poster – we learned all about her, and saw some very cute photos of her life.  Then we moved on to Reader’s Workshop.  Today the mini-lesson was about Buddy Reading – we completed a class rubric that the kids can use to evaluate their performance during Buddy Reading.  When we had work time, then, the kids were, predictably enough, Buddy Reading.  They did a great job. 

After reading, it was time for Writer’s Workshop.  Today I showed the kids how authors often sketch (as opposed to drawing) their ideas to allow more time for writing words.  I noticed that some of our young writers were spending too much time drawing intricate details in their books, which didn’t leave them time for the words.  They took it to heart – there were many more words in their writing today than before.

After writing, it was down to lunch and out to recess.  After that, we had Read Aloud – today we finished up our Read Aloud series of Robert Munsch books by reading three (we had some good time today to read):  Angela’s Airplane, Jonathan Cleaned Up ... and Then He Heard a Sound, and The Boy in the Drawer.  Then we toddled off downstairs to the gym for class with Mr. Hill and Mr. Peterson.

When we got back from gym, we had Math Workshop.  Today we were working with ten frames and numbers again – the kids played two different card games.  The first was “Go Fish,” and the other was “It’s Mine, It’s Yours” (like “War,” but a kinder, gentler, first grade version J).  The cards had either a ten frame or a number on it, and they used those to compare.

After math, we had Science Lab – we continued our investigation of rocks and their properties.  Today the young scientists observed the same rocks as before, but this time put them in water to see if it changed the rocks in any way.  We got some very interesting results – ask your child about his/her observations!

After all of that, it was time to pack up and head home!