A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Today the students created Bubble Maps to brainstorm all of their favorite things from First Grade. After the Thinking Maps were complete, I compiled their words into a collage using an online program, Wordle. Wordle is a great way to have students practice their spelling and typing in a fun and creative way. Here is the Wordle of the students' favorite things from this year:




To see a larger image, you will need to click on the picture above which will take you to a new window. The image can also be printed.

You're Invited: Reader's Theater Performances

You're Invited! As a reminder, the first grade classes are hosting a reader's theater presentation this Friday, the 28th, beginning at 2:30PM in the cafeteria. Each class will perform their own short play followed but a couple of reader's theaters performed by the entire grade. Please join us as the students showcase and celebrate all of their reading accomplishments!

Career Day

Today Moseley had their annual Career Day. First grade had the opportunity to hear from professionals in law enforcement and safety. The students learned about how to stay safe from an area police officer. As a part of his presentation the students learned about "stranger danger" from McGruff, the crime fighting dog. To learn more about McGruff, you can visit his website which is a part of The National Crime Prevention Council. The site has many child-centered activities that focus on putting safety first. The students also learned about fire safety from the Grand Prairie Fire Department. The officers demonstrated their protective clothing, how some of their tools work, and gave the students a chance to look around their truck. The firefighters emphasized the importance of not only practicing fire drills at school but at home also. Homefiredrill.org is a great resource to help get this practice in place in your home if you do not already have a fire safety plan.

Time For Kids

As you've seen with the issues that come home, our grade level subscribes to Time Magazine for Kids. The kids love the magazine not only because it is on their independent reading level but also because the articles are easy for them to relate to. A very important aspect of learning to be a good reader is being able to make connections to texts. To enjoy some of the features of the magazine at home this summer, check out The Time Magazine for Kids webpage created specifically for kids. The site is updated frequently with current events put into terms that your child can understand.

Texas: The Big Picture

Last week and this week we are studying the various ecosystems in the seven Texas regions. Along with their geographical features and weather, we are exploring and comparing the different animals that depend upon these regions. We are also reviewing the various Texas symbols. To learn more about the Texas regions and for more fun activities, you can visit the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. At the conclusion of our lessons last week, the first grade classes joined together to watch the short film Texas: The Big Picture. The video shows the various landforms from the seven regions as well as past and modern history and culture of Texas. The video can be seen in the IMAX theater of The Bob Bullock Museum in Austin. If you are going to be in the area, it is a great place to visit for the whole family.

Literacy Luau

As a part of the family fun nights at Moseley, we recently had a "Literacy Luau" to promote a love of reading. In first grade we had two great activities: Making Beach Words and Beach Concentration. In Making Words, the students had to see how many words they could make from a set of letters. When all of the letters were used, they made a mystery word related to the beach. In Beach Concentration, the students played the old fashioned game of Memory but with a twist - they had to match the picture to its word card.

I Can Be An Inventor, Too!

In Social Studies we have been studying many inventors, past and present. Our focus was on Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison. As a part of our study the students were able to make their own robots. As we learned, an important part of inventing is having a patent. To prove that they were the inventors of their robots, the students had to first make a plan and document it in their Inventor's Notebook. They also had to draw a diagram of what they wanted their robot to look like after they chose all of their robot parts. After building their robots, the students wrote papers about them including their name, what problem they could solve, and how. The students were very creative!

The Nature Center

With the end of the school year quickly approaching I have not been able to update the class blog as often as I would like to. But, hopefully this slideshow is worth the wait! At the conclusion of our garden and life cycle unit we were able to visit the district's Nature Center to explore many types of plants in various stages of growth. We were also able to visit the pond habitat, a creek, and see many insects, birds, and other animals along the way.

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