First Grade Overlapping Candy Canes

First Grade needed some practice back in December on how to draw objects in front of others. So, they practiced by drawing overlapping candy canes. They could make them whatever size and add whatever color patterns they wanted.

First Grade Snowmen

I asked First Graders what a snowman would look like if they tilted their head to the left or to the right to begin a discussion on perspective. After the discussion, the students drew a snowman from one of the corners at an angle to show that perspective. They colored their snowmen with oil pastels and added various details such as scarves, mittens, hats, etc.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Moseley Elementary! Each student from Pre-Kindergarten through Fifth Grade designed a turkey feather using only lines and/or patterns. Their feathers were then assembled as grade level collaborative turkeys. I love how unique each feather is and yet they complement each other.

Primary Colors Project: K-2

 

A while back, the students created artwork collaboratively using only shapes and primary colors. They first painted white construction paper in sections. Once it was dry, they cut out various shapes on the paper. They then glued the paper to a black background. Once the pieces were laminated, we assembled them with tape and mounted them around one of our classroom doors. These went along with our lessons over Piet Mondrian.

First Grade Pattern Indian Corn

First Grade has been working on using watercolors to paint and also creating patterns. They water colored Indian Corn after observing real life examples. They then used dot paints in red, orange, and yellow to paint the kernels of corn in a pattern of their choice. They also worked on cutting skills by cutting out the Indian Corn. Their corn was added to a grade level cornfield display.

Piet Mondrian Collages: First Grade

All grades have been learning about the famous artist Piet Mondrian to reinforce the concepts of lines, geometric shapes, primary colors, and to incorporate art history. As a part of their study, First Grade created a Mondrian inspired collage with primary colors and geometric shapes. They folded a black piece of paper into eight parts. They then glued two primary colored squares or square rectangles in each section starting with the largest. After they glued two shapes per section, they had to figure out which primary color was missing and glue that missing color in the middle with the smallest shape. This step was purposely done separately to promote critical thinking and problem solving. This lesson was inspired by Composition C but definitely with a twist!

Cool and Warm Birds: First Grade

First Grade drew birds using basic 2D shapes. They drew their birds sitting on straight lines like wires. For each bird, we talked about how you can change the way the birds look by moving just the position of their beaks and eyes. Some birds were drawn looking up, some were drawn looking to the side, and some were drawn looking straight forward. After tracing their drawings in black, the students painted one row in cool colors and one row in warm colors using liquid water colors.

A Rainbow of Friends: First Grade

First Grade read A Rainbow of Friends by P.K. Hallinan as a connection to creating our class Social Contract and as an introduction to the color wheel, primary colors, and secondary colors. Each student used various shaped foam stamps to paint shapes in color wheel order. The next week, once the paint was dry, they used multicultural markers to add heads, arms, and legs to the shapes. They then added basic facial features, hair, and shoes to match the shapes.

Lines That Wiggle: First and Second Grade Lines

First and Second Grade read Lines That Wiggle by Candace Whitman to learn about various types of lines. They then drew various lines with black markers and water colored over them. Firs Grade could choose whatever colors they wanted as long as they used a variety of four different colors. Second Grade had a limited selection of primary colors.

Last Day!

Our school has a tradition of having a 5th Grade Walk at the end of the last day of school. All of the students line the hallways to cheer for the 5th graders as they leave the school for the last time. Here are some pictures of the first graders as they waited for the 5th graders and for the bell to ring at the end of their first grade year.

What Do You Want to Learn?

As a class the students brainstormed things they wanted to learn in first grade. We charted those responses on a Circle Map. The students each completed a sentence about the one thing they old most like to learn. Then, as a part of a lesson on following directions, the students followed multi-step directions to color a Moseley Thunderbird.

Autograph Session

The students completed First Grade Memory booklets to share some of their favorite things about the year. Included in the booklet were two autograph pages. All of first grade joined together in our common area to have an autograph session. As they autographed one another's pages, we emphasized asking questions when you need something rather than just staring or telling someone to do something.

 

Fingerprint Trees

During the last week of school the students created collaborative art projects to take home as a keepsake from first grade. Each student had a photocopy of a tree trunk. They then added their thumbprints in paint to one another's trees.

Letters to Kindergarten

The students have been learning how to write friendly letters. This was a great opportunity to have the students write to the Kindergarten students about what to expect when they get to first grade. First, the students brainstormed their favorite things about first grade and we wrote them on a class Circle Map. Then, they learned about the features of a friendly letter using the Letter Generator from ReadWriteThink. Next, the students wrote first drafts of their letters. After revising and editing their letters, they rewrote them and practiced reading them aloud to their classmates. Finally, they got to visit one of the Kindergarten classes to read their letters to a partner. This was their favorite part!

 

Prayers

Friendly Letters to Kindergarten

In writing the students have been learning to write friendly letters. Using the Letter Generator from ReadWriteThink, the students wrote a class letter to Kindergarten about all of the things they learned and enjoyed in first grade. After modeling how to write a friendly letter, the students wrote letters to Kindergarten on their own. After editing the letters in writing workshop, they wrote their final drafts. Last Thursday the students visited Mrs. Munoz's Kindergarten class to read their letters to her students.

Blog on Fire Award

Thank you to Rebecca at Teaching First for giving my blog the Blog on Fire Award! It is very sweet of you. If you have not had a chance to check out her blog, click here! I love blogging and reading other people's blogs so it is very rewarding to know that others find my blog useful and relevant. Thanks to all who read my blog and thanks to all who share their wonderful ideas through this crazy online world!

So as a part of receiving this blog, I am supposed to tell you seven things about myself and then pass the award on to seven other blogs.

Here are seven non-educational, completely random things about me...and I mean completely random:

1. My newest obsession is Pinterest - follow me here! But, if you follow me on Pinterest, please don't blame me if you get addicted!
2. I am a technology junkie...why else would I be blogging when I'm sleep deprived?
3. I am addicted to Diet Coke. If only I could have it pumped through my veins...
4. Concerts are my favorite passtime - I saw Steven Tyler two weeks before he fell of the stage (the first time that is), a real-life Beatle (Sir Paul, himself), was in the background of a Bon Jovi video, and experienced my first "mosh pit" thanks to Jared Leto.
5. My new favorite t.v. show is Revenge. Once Upon a Time looks promising too - I like all of the literary references. (Speaking of...I'm watching Revenge right now; the life of the teacher is multi-tasking.)
6. I used to love reality t.v. until it became more fake than Kim Kardashian's wedding!  
7. I cannot put furniture together to save my life...I read the first direction and give up. So, although I love to look at IKEA, I probably will never buy anything there.

Now, to pass on the award to seven fellow bloggers. It is very hard to choose, but these are the blogs that are new to me that I have been reading lately:

1. First Grader...At Last
2. Learning With Mrs. Parker
3. First Grade Fabulous Fish
4. Rowdy in First Grade
5. Pencils Glue and Tying Shoes
6. The First Grade Jungle
7. Castles and Crayons

Thank you to all of these teachers for sharing their expertise with the rest of us!



We Are Going to Have a Ball In First Grade!

Fellow teachers, in case you are looking for a back-to-school bulletin board idea, I want to share this idea with you. I am going with a gumball theme on one of my hallway bulletin boards with the saying "We are going to have a ball in first grade." My sister drew a huge gumball machine on several pieces of posterboard and I made several colors of gumballs from construction paper. Each student's name will be written on a gumball as a way of welcoming in this year's new little first graders.