Number Pattern Turkeys

Today we practiced skip counting by twos with both even and odd numbers. The students started by coloring the even numbers of a thirty chart. They quickly discovered that they were skip counting by two. They then colored the odd numbers on the chart. We discussed that this is also skip counting by two. The students then picked a number card from 1-20 and identified if their number was even or odd. We formed two groups based off of the numbers - an even group and an odd group. The students then circled their number on the thirty chart. They then circled the next five numbers in their skip counting pattern. Using feather and turkey body patterns, the students traced and cut out shapes to create their own turkey. They then wrote their skip counting pattern on the turkey's feathers and identified whether their numbers were even or odd. They then shared their number patterns with their table groups.

Additive Patterns

This week we are learning more about additive patterns. The students followed three and four step pattern cards to create various additive patterns with color tiles. The students then formed small groups to create their patterns with paper color tiles. They then wrote about how their pattern grew.

Pattern Turkeys

As a part of our study on repeating and additive patterns, the students created pattern turkeys. Each student started with the same hexagon pattern block. They then could choose whichever shapes they wanted to add around the edges. They continued adding to the pattern until they were satisfied. The students then recreated their pattern on white paper with paper pattern blocks and added a turkey body. As they worked we talked about how the number of blocks needed gets larger as you go. You can take a closer view of the pattern turkeys by watching the slideshow below.

A picture slideshow by Smilebox

Drop Everything and Read

On Tuesday our district held Drop Everything and Read Day (also called "Every Child, Every Seat, Everyone Reading") to emphasize the importance of reading. All of the students and staff took thirty minutes to enjoy our favorite books! Fellow teachers, I keep several large floor pillows stored under my easel for the students to lounge around on while reading and writing during stations time. They were perfect for D.E.A.R. time. I also have a "couch" in our classroom library made out of an infant crib mattress, a fitted sheet, and a body pillow. We have several different stuffed animals that "live" on the couch and on the shelves for the students to read to.

Five Fat Turkeys Podcast

This week we are learning more about poetry. In particular, we are learning about the use of rhyming, alliterations, and sensory details. The students practiced reading "Five Fat Turkeys" to identify rhyming words. To help them increase their self-awareness when reading and to increase their fluency, we used Audacity to record their readings. The students would give themselves a rating, a part of our Capturing Kids' Hearts process, and decide if they should record it again. Once they were satisfied with  their reading, we saved the recording. I later uploaded the recording to our podcasting site hosted by PodBean. You can also download Audacity for FREE to use at home. All you need is some kind of microphone input device which can be found at most electronics stores or Walmart/Target for cheap.

You can listen to their podcast of Five Fat Turkeys here. You can download the podcast to any MP3 enabled device.

Mayflower Experiment

After learning about the Mayflower and the Pilgrim's voyage, the students created their own Mayflower using a walnut shell, playdough, a toothpick, and a paper flag. The students then predicted if their boats would sink or float. We created a quick bar graph about their predictions. The students then tested their boats in a container of water. They found that the Mayflowers created with the least amount of playdough were the ones that floated. It was a great way to explore the concept of heavy and light.

Turkey Descriptive Writing

This week the students wrote about turkeys using our Write From the Beginning strategies. This was the first week that I did not model the process for them. I am so proud of how much they have learned and how independent they have become. As the students wrote, they helped each other spell and reminded one another to add details to their sentences.

An Early "Happy Thanksgiving!"

With just two days left in the school week before our amazing holiday break, we want to wish you an early Happy Thanksgiving! The artwork that they are holding is the traditional handprint turkey with the poem "Handy Turkey."

Free slideshow customized with Smilebox

Pilgrims and Native Americans

To help the students learn about Thanksgiving and the relationship between Pilgrims and Native Americans, we visited the Scholastic website. The website is filled with various articles and interactives for the students to explore and learn from. We then used Deanna Jump's Thanksgiving Unit to compare and contrast Pilgrims and Native Americans. The students placed sentences on a hula hoop Venn Diagram with whoever it identified. They then used the Venn Diagram to help them create a t-chart and write comparative sentences.

Thanksgiving Alliterations

This week we are learning about the different elements of poetry. To help them, we read a Thanksgiving alliteration and then they created their own. They first created three Circle Maps - one for the letter P (Pilgrims), one for the letter N (Native Americans), and one for the letter T (Thanksgiving). They then brainstormed words that they thought related to Thanksgiving and started with one of those letters. They then brainstormed alliteration sentences for each letter. Although the activity was pretty challenging for the students, I think they did a great job!

Humpty Dumpty Podcast

This is from about a month back but it is too cute not to share. When we were studying Nursery Rhymes, the students recorded themselves reading "Humpty Dumpty". We use Audacity recording software to record the readings and then I upload the to our podcasting site hosted by PodBean. You can visit the PodBean site to download the files to your computer, smart phones, or MP3 players.

Miss Mary Mack Podcast

This week we are learning about the different elements of poetry. Yesterday we read "Miss Mary Mack" to identify examples of alliterations and rhymes in a poem. You can listen to a recording of their reading visiting our podcasting site. The students recorded their reading using Audacity software which can be downloaded for FREE.

Phonics Focus: Sports Pennants

Last week we were studying various sounds including /sl/, /sp/, and /st/. We also were having "college week" in our district. So, the students created sports pennants to help them remember the sound for /sp/.

Comparing and Contrasting Stories

Last week our weekly theme was sports. As a part of our lessons, we read Maria Joins the Team and Carlos Joins the Team from Reading A-Z. The main purpose of the lesson was to have the students retell the story and answer multiple choice questions about the text in order to teach them the strategy of "looking back" and to assess their comprehension. The reason I chose these books is because they are the same story but with slight changes. After reading the first story, the students retold the story to friends and then answered questions about the text. Then we read the second story. As we read, the students began to have that "light bulb" moment when they make connections or notice something unique. They quickly realized the stories were the same. To help them express their thoughts, we created a class Double Bubble Map to compare and contrast the stories. Fellow teachers, Reading A-Z has many different leveled readers that can be used for this purpose.

Tasty Soil

To help the students remember the different types of soil - topsoil, sand, and clay - the students created a snack of dirt! They started by crushing graham crackers in baggies followed by Oreos. Of course they had to lick out the filling of the Oreos before crushing them. The graham crackers represented sand, the Oreos represented topsoil, and then they used chocolate pudding to represent clay. They layered all of the ingredients in a clear cup and added sour worms to the top. Yum! Thank you to all of the parents who supplied the ingredients for this tasty lesson!

Soil Demonstration

My teammate, Mrs. Timms, did a demonstration for all of first grade last week over the attributes of soil. She started with an empty container and asked the students what was in it. At first they said "nothing" but then some said "air." She then added large balls and then marbles to demonstrate that there are large and small particles in soil. She then asked what was between the particles and the students said "space" and "gaps." She explained that was still air in the gaps. She explained that this could also be called "pores" in soil. She then had the students make predictions about what it would look like if she added water to the container. After the predictions, she added the water and discussed how the water fills the gaps where the air had been.

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.