Comparing Larger Numbers

When possible, I think students should be able to work together in small groups. It not only adds to their engagement and motivation, it gives them an opportunity to explain how they did their work and why they think something. Recently the students worked in small groups to build various larger numbers with Base Ten Blocks. As they built, they checked one another's work. Once all group members had built the correct number, they drew a model of the number with sticks (tens) and dots (ones). They again checked one another's work and then proceeded to the next part. They identified how many tens and ones, the expanded notation, and then ordereed the numbers from least to greatest and/or greatest to least.

How to Make S'Mores Writing

As I previously posted about, the students made S'Mores as a part of a lesson on how to follow multi-step directions. As a part of writing, they wrote a How To paper about their steps. Here are a few examples of their writings:

Modeling Larger Numbers

During our last unit of Place Value, the students worked in groups to create three flap foldables to record various ways to write numbers. The students drew out number cards and recorded the number on the top flap. Under the flap they drew the number as sticks (tens) and dots (ones), identified the number of tens and ones, the expanded notation, and the written form. As they worked, they discussed which number was the greatest or least and justified their answer using the number of tens and ones each number had. They then compared their numbers with other groups.

Making Ten: Valentine's Chocolate

To review the concept of adding to ten, the students colored a box of Valentine's chocolate as either dark chocolate or milk chocolate. They then added the two kinds of chocolate together and completed the corresponding word problem. They then compared their number sentences with their partners. Learning the factors of ten helps students when using mental math to add larger numbers. Fellow teachers, you can download this file from my TpT store to add to your files for next Valentine!

Bubble Burst

To help the students differentiate between even and odd numbers, they have been playing a game called Bubble Burst. The goal of the game is burst all of the odd numbers. As they play, the students help one another identify which bubbles to burst and must explain why. It keeps them thoroughly engaged.

SpellingCity

One of the many ways we practice our weekly word wall and phonics words is through the lessons and games on SpellingCity. The students love playing all of the games and I love that it introduces the spelling of the words to the students as well as their meaning in sentences. We use this site on our Promethean Board as a part of Daily 5: Working on Words. SpellingCity is a fun, free way for your child to practice their words at home.

Valentine's Day Party

Thank you to all of the parents who provided the treats for the students' Valentine's Day Party. Here are a few pictures from the party:

Valentine Handprints

I saw this cute activity on Pinterest where students created hearts with their handprints. They turned out to be very adorable!

Spring Break!

Happy Spring Break! I have gotten a little behind on blogging lately. I will be updating the blog soon with some of the highlights of February and March. Stay tuned!

How to Make S'Mores

This week in reading we are learning how to follow multi-step directions and in writing we are writing to tell how. Since our weekly theme is camping, we learned how to make s'mores. The students were shown how to make the s'mores step by step. As they worked, they had to verbally explain how to make them. They are currently working on the writing portion of this lesson. Then, of course, they ate their delcious treat!

Human and Physical Characteristics

In Social Studies the students have been learning to differentiate between physical and human characteristics. To assess their understanding, we took our lesson outside to the school garden. The students drew the school garden and then identified at least two physical characteristics and two human characteristics from the garden.

Living and Non-Living

In science the students have been learning how to differentiate between living and non-living objects. They have brainstormed various objects, illustrated them, and sorted them according to their categories. They have also created a Circle Map to identify the needs of living organisms. They then worked in small groups to cut out various pictures from magazines. In their small groups, they sorted the pictures into living and non-living categories. They then created collages in larger groups of living and non-living.

Modeling Larger Numbers

In math we are working on modeling, ordering, and comparing numbers to 99. In this lesson the students worked in partners to build larger numbers with Base Ten Blocks. They then checked on another's work. After both partners agreed the models were correct, they represented their numbers on paper by drawing sticks (tens) and dots (ones). They then identified in writing the number of tens and ones, the expanded form, the standard form, and the written form of the numbers. They then again worked with their partners to check the work.  After checking, they discussed which number was the greatest and which was the least. They had to justify their thinking by explaining how many tens and ones were in their numbers. The partners then switched numbers with another set of partners and repeated the process.

100th Day Collections

The students were asked to bring in 100 items that were all the same in a bag. They shared with their friends what they brought in. We then discussed how some items filled the bags and some only took a little bit of space. We talked about how although they were all the same amount, they were different sizes which is why some looked like more.

When I'm 100 Years Old...

The students created portraits of what they think they will look like when they are 100 years old. They turned out so great!

100th Day Trail Mix

In celebration of the 100th day and to review the concept of skip counting by tens, the students made a 100th day trail mix. They first created placemats with ten colorful circles on it. They then chose ten different items for their mix. They placed ten of each item on a circle. Once they had all of their circles filled, they practiced counting by ten. They then added their mix to a bag and enjoyed their delicious snack. Thank you to all of the parents who generously supplied the snacks.

100th Day of School

We made it! Last Friday was the 100th day of school! To celebrate, the students made crowns and then we had a mini-awards ceremony. Each student was called to receive a certificate and sticker noting they had successfully completed 100 days of first grade. Then, we took these silly pictures!

Space Food

As a part of our study of space, we learned about how astronauts have to eat. We learned that they often used packaged food that can be eaten straight from the package due to the lack of gravity. The students were then treated to their own "space food" (easy squeeze applesauce).

Don't Let the Cows Out

In math we play a game called "Don't Let the Cows Out" to practice math facts. The students sit in a circle, "the fence", while two "ranchers" go in the middle of the circle. They use two large dice, "the cows", throw in the middle. The first "rancher" to add the two dice together correctly stays in the circle while the other goes to sit down. If the "cows" go outside of the fence, they both are out. This little trick deters the kids from throwing the dice to far and keeps the game from getting out of control.

Writing to Explain Why: Astronauts

The students have been learning to write to explain why recently. Since we have been studying space, they wrote about whether they would like to be an astronaut or not. They then created an astronaut out of a template a former teammate drew.