Globes: Land and Water

Last week in Social Studies we talked about different landforms and bodies of water that are found on earth. As a part of that study we played a game where the students rolled the globe to one another. When the globe rolled towards them, they could only touch it wiht one hand. They then had to identify if the part their hand landed on was land or water. As each person had a turn, we tallied their response. The students quickly realized that they landed on water the majority of the time. This led to a discussion of how the earth is covered mostly in water. After the game, the students folded a paper plate into fourths. To help them remember that the earth is mostly water and that is approximately three/fourths water, they colored three out of four parts as water and one out of four parts as land. This was a fun way to also introduce a little bit of fractions and probability.

Our Class Schedule with Clocks

Last week we learned more about telling time on the hour and half hour. To help the students remember the meaning of the hour and minutes, they created clocks out of paper plates. On the top plate there were slits pre-cut to leave spaces to write 1-12 on the clock in order with correct spacing. The students numbered the plate like a clock and them glued it down in the middle to another plate. They then folded down each number and wrote the corresponding minutes behind the number. For example, behind the 6 they wrote 30. We then created a class schedule with drawings of analog clocks along with the digital and written word form of the time. We then wrote the activity or lesson that we do at that approximate time. The students then chose on of those activities or lessons and glued down hands on their clock to match that time. They then wrote one sentence to describe what they do at that time. (Sorry -  I did not take pictures of these clocks!) After creating the clocks and the class schedule, the students completed their own clock book. They had to read the digital time and draw the hands on the analog clock to the corresponding time. They then had to write at least one sentence about the activity that they do at school during the time. They then illustrated their books. You can download the book here for free!

The Emperor's New Clothes

Last week we read The Emperor's New Clothes and the students again created a foldable to retell the story in their own words. This story is pretty complex for first grades but they did a good job!

Cinderella and Prince Cinders

As a part of our study of fairy tales, we read Prince Cinders by Babette Cole. Prince Cinders is a funny and modern twist to the classic Cinderella story. After reading, the students discussed with a partner events that were similar and different from the two stories. We then created a class Double Bubble map to chart their findings. The students then took notes on their own Double Bubble map. They then created a foldable to describe two events in the story that are similar, but not exact, along with the main idea that makes them similar. For example, in Cinderella, she goes to a ball. In Prince Cinders, he goes to a disco. In both, they go to a party.

Cinderella: Reality or Fantasy

The last few weeks we have been reading various fairy tales. One of our lessons focused on identifying events in Cinderella that could be real and events that could only be fantasy. After reading the book and discussing, the students wrote one event that could be real and one that was fantasy.

The Princess and the Pea

Last week we read The Princess and the Pea in order for the students to practice retelling the main events. The students then created foldables to write and illustrate what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

A few weeks ago, as a part of our study of fables, we read The Boy Who Cried Wolf. The students then created foldables to retell the beginning, middle, and end. They wrote their sentences underneath the flaps and then illustrated that part of the story on top of the flap. The students now independently create foldables like this during Reading Workshop over their guided reading books.

Franklin's Bad Day

This week we are reading and learning about different types of emotions and feelings. We are also learning about characters and how they change. Yesterday we read Franklin's Bad Day to learn about how character's feelings can change in a story. As we read, we thought aloud about how Franklin was feeling. The students determined that at the beginning of the story Franklin felt mad but they were unsure why. We practiced using the picture clues to help us know how the character was feeling. As we continued reading, the students determined that Franklin was now feeling sad because his friend had moved. We discussed that this could be what was really upsetting him in the beginning of the book. At the end of the book the students determined that Franklin was feeling better. After discussing how and why his feelings changed, the students created a three part foldable to write and illustrate the changes.

Each Peach Pear Plum

This week in reading we have been learning about Nursery Rhymes. Along with reading traditional nursery rhymes such as Hey Diddle Diddle and Humpty Dumpty, we have been reading books based off of Nursery Rhymes. One of the books we read was Each Peach Pear Plum. In this book, different characters from different nursery rhymes "spy" one another. The story lends itself well to retelling using a Flow Map. Using a foldable, the students wrote and illustrated the order of the characters in the story and who they "spied." They then glued them in order on sentence strips and practiced retelling the story in small groups.

Marley Goes to School

This year I have been blessed with an amazing student intern, Ms. Dix, from Dallas Baptist University. Ms. Dix visits and assists in our class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Last week our thematic unit was over pets and we are working on retelling stories including the beginning, middle, and end. Ms. Dix taught a very engaging lesson over the book Marley Goes to School by John Grogan. After reading the story to the students, she had three volunteers hold up sentence strips with the beginning, middle, and end prewritten on them. The students then had to decide in what order to put the sentence strips. The students then verbally retold the story. After verbally retelling, they went back to their seats to make a foldable on which they wrote the beginning, middle, and end of the story in their own words. Ms. Dix provided the sentence strips as extra support for the students. I wish I had pictures of the students at work but I was happily videoing the lesson for Ms. Dix. Below are a few pictures of their finished products. Great job to both the students and Ms. Dix on an awesome lesson!

Lisa's Daddy and Daughter Day

This week we read Lisa's Daddy and Daughter Day by Eloise Greenfield. Before reading, the students made predictions about what would happen in the story based on just the title and the cover picture. The students predicted that they would be going swimming based on the picture because it appears that she is in a swimsuit and by the water. As they continued to take a picture walk through the book, they changed their prediction because they saw she was not in a swimsuit but rather a tank top and by a park and river. They then predicted that she was looking at boats and airplanes because both were present in the pictures. They then changed their prediction again, as we looked at the pictures, because the last picture shows Lisa looking up. They decided that it meant she was watching the planes  because she was looking up. After making predictions and changing them as we looked at pictures, we talked about confirming and changing predictions based on the clues in pictures. We then read the book and created a class Flow Map of the events in the story. The students then created a three part foldable to write the beginning, middle, and end of the story in their own words.

Timimoto

A few weeks back we read the Japanese tale Timimoto. Timimoto is a story about a tiny baby boy, no bigger than your thumb, who was found by an elderly couple and raised as their own. As Timimoto grew older he wanted to go out into the world and explore. Along his way he had many adventures and trying times but ended up saving the day. After reading the story, the students worked in groups to create a foldable with boxes. In each box they retold one part of the story and illustrated it. They then cut the boxes apart and put them in order on a sentence strip. After each group finished their story sequencing, they shared their retell with the class.