Pumpkin Stations
The Superheroes had a great time using math and science to explore pumpkins. We had several stations set up around the room and we just moved from station to station
. The learning continues as we planted some seeds in the garden and
we left one pumpkin out there to see what happens as it decomposes.
Sink and Float?
Does a pumpkin sink or float? Well, it's very heavy which makes one think it will sink, BUT it turns out they float. Our little scientists had lots of theories why which we will need to explore further.
I think the biggest surprise was that a grape sinks!
Illustrations
Here are some of the illustrations created by the First and Fifth grade buddies to match the stories. The work is displayed on our classroom bulletin board. Come by and take a look!
Fifth Grade Buddies
The Skeleton and Mummy's Soccer Game
Lt's Haunt
Th Big Strong Ghost
The Scary Ghost
The Ghost and The Bat
Fight of the Monsters
Teeny Tiny Ghost
The Spooky Cat and Ghost
The Scary Day at the Haunted House
The Graveyard Dun Dun Dun...
The Ghost and the Princess
How We Express Ourselves
We used the style of Paul Klee for our first experiment with different art forms. Paul Klee is known for using lines of different thickness and a variety of curved or zigzag lines to create art. He then uses water colors to fill in the spaces. Today we learned how to paint with water colors!
The end results are magical.
Pumpkin Challenge
Here are the Superheroes working hard exploring how to problem solve with six pieces of paper
and the winning design!
Pumpkin Challenge
Challenge: Using only six strips of orange paper, cut into 6 inch by 1 inch wide strips, create a pumpkin. Criteria: It must have the characteristics of a pumpkin ie can not be square. It must be unique ie no one else's can look like yours. This was quite a challenge especially since it was our first attempt at using a measuring tool. The results were interesting and our winner was: Juliette!!
Art a la Carte
The students were very excited for our first Art ala Carte. (Thank you to Sofia's mom!) The lesson was about Matisse and how he cut paper to create art. The students were very excited about their creations and I hope they made it home okay. This lesson fit in very well with our new planner: How We Express Ourselves.
Writing Journals
We have added a new writing activity to the writing station and the kids are very excited about it. First, we wrote a story as whole class entitled "Robert the Artist." Next, the students worked in small groups to write a story based on the the topic of the specific writing journal. We focused on creating a beginning, middle and end. The journals will be in the writing station, but I am hoping we will also be using them during our read to self time.
Summative
For the final project at the end of a six week planner, the students are usually required to put their learning into words. (You will be able to see these during student led conferences.) Here the students have gathered on the rug in front of the Learner Profile words to discuss and choose one to elaborate on. Here are some of their thoughts:
Respect: I look at the teacher when she is talking.
Commitment: I am commitment because I always try to finish my work.
Integrity: I tell the truth and never lie.
Integrity: I do the right thing when no one is looking.
Principled: I do not blurt out words.
Confidence: I am confidence because I know I can. I try new things. I don't' give up.
Respect: I am polite and kind to myself and others!
Field Day/Field Trip T-shirts
Take a look at our great looking Field Day Shirt (Thank you Tracey!). The students voted on a name and a design for the shirt. I actually combined two different pictures from Lane and Graydon for the final design. We are very excited and so proud to wear the t-shirt.
The Superheroes really are a Super Team!!!
Dramatization
Here we are acting out Graydon's story.
I was trying to get some action shots while reading the story at the same time! It looks like the Superheroes are having a great time learning about literacy through play.
Toy Dance Party
The Superheroes had a great time at the Toy Dance Party! Thank you to everyone for being flexible with the changing date and for bringing all the wonderful treats! It was a great way to celebrate our amazing classroom community. It was fun to have the parents visit and catch The Superheroes being storytellers of their own stories!
Friday Enrichment Time
We have begun our Friday Enrichment Time in first grade. Our first meeting was all about finding out interests and things we are experts on. We used that information to create shields which are displayed on our first grade bulletin board (right next to kinder hallway). The students love walking by and finding their shields and their friends shields. A great way to solidify our planner: Who We Are. Our second meeting involved creating groups that had to work together to solve a math problem. It was a great learning experience and a great way to practice our transdisciplinary skills.
Rice University Story Telling Project
Ms. Immel has begun her mentor visits to the classroom. The students love having her come and visit. Some of you have probably begun to receive copies of stories dictated by your children. I hope you find a special place to keep them and read them often. I have created a special binder in the classroom to hold all our stories.
Read To Self
We will read anywhere!! The Superheroes are working on creating stamina while reading quietly to ourselves. We have made it to fifteen minutes!!! Our goal now is to consistently read quietly for fifteen minutes. That requires us to have knowledge on how to pick a book. Some things we look for is whether or not it is an interesting topic, if we know most of the words, or if it something we want to find out more about. I hope we continue to increase our stamina for reading!
Writer's Workshop
Writer's Workshop is a time when students are writing about their lives. Each workshop time begins with a mini-lesson and then the students go off to write. This week we are learning what revision means. Too often we think it means to write it again - we learned that it actually means to make your writing better by adding more details. Here the students are conferencing with each other to determine if more details are needed. Rule number one in revision: Read your writing out loud.
Name Graphing
Marshmallow Experiment??
I don't know if you have heard, but we have been exploring our five senses using marshmallows! Today I brought out the super jumbo sized ones to explore even further. After awhile some students realized that marshmallows can become very sticky!
Testing
This is what testing in first grade looks like. I put up the 'offices' and you must stay in your office! Right now I am guiding the students through every aspect of the test. I also read the directions, questions and answers. As we become more independent, I will only read the questions for math. The Superheroes are doing a great job following the directions!
Reading
Another major component of our day is reading. Sometimes we are working in whole group or small groups discussing reading comprehension skills and strategies. We also reserve some time in the day to read independently or what we like to call Read to self. The students find a "just right" bok and a a place to read by themselves. We are working on building up our stamina (how long can we read with focusing only on our books). After this, we delve into literacy stations where we work with words, write, and retell stories.
Math Manipulatives
Students exploring using math manipulatives. Will be doing a lot of hands on experiences this year and learning how to use manipulatives is an important component.
Summer in a bag
Our first homework project: Summer in a Bag was a hugh success.
The students had a great time sharing their adventures with the whole class and then in small groups. It was a great way to build new friendships the first week of school.
Signing Essential Agreement
Here we are working together to make hands for our essential agreements.
The hand represents our agreement to follow the four rules of our classroom:
Be kind, Be respectful, Be a good listener, Be mindful.
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum is the story of a little girl who gets made fun of because of her name. I used the book to teach a lesson about how our words can hurt and you can not take them back. While we were reading the students told me when to wrinkle the heart. When something happen to make her feel better I smoothed it out. At the end of the story, the heart was wrinkled, torn and had a few holes. We use this and the poem to remind us to Be Kind and Be Mindful or our words.
Essential agreements
This is a picture of our essential agreements (or rules). As a class, we decided that these agreements would help us work well as a community.
Essential Agreements
Another important component of the first day is establishing how our community will work together. The students worked in cooperative groups to come up with ideas/rules that help a community work better. This activity ties in directly to our first planner of the year: Who We Are.
The central idea is that actions and attitudes affect our community.
The students did a great job developing ideas in their groups. One recurring issue that most groups talked about was that it was hard to hear the teacher if other people are talking.
As a result we made one of our essential agreements: Be a good listener.
How many boys and girls in our classroom?
Our first job of the day was to figure out a way to find how many boys and how many girls were in our classroom. We started by using ourselves to make a bar graph. Next, we create a picture representation of ourselves and created a pictograph. Now, it's easy to see that we have more boys than girls. The exact amount: 16 boys and 8 girls.
The first day...
I am so excited for the first day to begin. Here's what your children saw when they came into their room. Each desk had a place mat made with the pictures I took during the Back to School Rumble. In addition they also found a container of Play-doh! (Always a good ice breaker!) Soon the walls will fill up with student work and anchor charts, the desks will fill up with workbooks, and the chair pockets will fill up with notebooks and writing folders.
Viola!
The transformation is complete. Welcome to your first grade classroom.
Everything is in place and now all I need are my students. Then the real work begins!
In the beginning...
I returned to my classroom at the end of July to find a shiny, clean, but empty space.
The process of unpacking and creating a learning space begins with first setting up the furniture and
then emptying out the closet! It is a creative process that I enjoy-
wondering what will happen when the students come and how will they like it.
The End
And then there were none!
The last day is over and the cleanup is done. This does not look like our classroom anymore.
Gone is all the great student work, the books, the laughter, and the stations where we accomplished so much. I hope the love of literature, the joy of math, and the value of our PYP profile follow you wherever you may go. Keep reading, keep telling stories, keep figuring out how to put numbers together and keep performing random acts of kindness.
You are all SUPERHEROES!
Love, Ms. Musters
Performances
Now, comes the fun part. I love how the students decided on their own performances. I was sure that we would have someone singing, "Let It Go!"
Awards Day
The end of our year comes to a close with awards day.
The Superheroes are getting ready
by creating one of a kind folders to house these important awards.
Awards will be followed by performances of
The Superheroes and the PARTY!
Program Rehearsal
In case you missed some of the First Grade Program - Here are some excerpts of our practice for the lower grades. Everyone did such a great job. Love hearing the childrens' voices!
Art A La Carte
Today we got a big surprise when Mr. Johnson showed up for Art ala Carte! There was a book, balloons and treats. Mr. Johnson read World On A String, a story about friendships. It was the perfect compliment to the Memories in My Pocket Project. The Superheroes were mesmerized and we had a great discussion of what it means to be a friend. As you can guess... the story had something to do with a balloon!
A huge THANK YOU to Mr. Johnson for all the special Art a la Carte projects for this year!
Memories in My Pocket
Our project is in full swing! The posters are down and the pockets are ready. If you come by the room you will find yourself surrounded by Superheroes!! It looks fantastic. The above picture is a sample of all the amazing experiences we have had together this year. Field trips, crocodiles, dance parties, field day, experiments, Rice University and the infamous retelling tepee! I hope you are enjoying reading all the memories that are stuffed in the pockets. I know I will treasure mine.
Mapping
The Superheroes are hard at work even during these last few weeks! This week we are researching a state to determine the land forms that can be found there. In the process, we are discovering what natural resources the state may have. After researching, the students created a map detailing this information. Also, included where a map key and a compass. We had fun researching the different states and sharing the information with our class.
First Grade Program
The First Grade Program always generates a lot of excitement! The Superheroes were thrilled that they got to dress up like ladies and gentlemen. I took pictures at the performance in the morning because I knew there would be no opportunities in the evening. A huge THANK YOU to Mrs. Bardin.
I don't know how she does it, but the program is always amazing!
Memories
This week the Superheroes continued to work on completing their Memories in My Pocket Project. We have been working very hard as you can see. The results are amazing. We are so proud of the work we have accomplished! The fun part has been sharing all our stories from first grade together.
Every day we set time aside to look at our blog and write to another friend.
Pretty soon everyone's bag will be filled with memories!
Mother's Day
We had a fun time planning our secret gifts for moms. The students did a great job creating a portrait of them with their mom. Next, we read a book and used it for inspiration for writing. Each student created a card with a poem describing when they love their mom. The end results were beautiful. Hope everyone enjoyed their special gift. Happy Mother's Day!
First Grade Fiesta Friday
The testing week ended with our bash party! Thank you parents for supporting us. The kids (and teachers) had a great time creating products and playing bingo(in Spanish) for prizes!
Planners
The students are getting ready for Student Led Conferences by creating bulletin boards to help teach about the different planners. The students worked in collaborative groups discussing and planning what should be placed on the bulletin boards. They used their portfolios and previous work products to guide their decisions. Final work will be displayed during conferences.
Memories In My Pocket
The Superheroes were excited to get started on our end of year project. The students worked together to trace their friends. Once that part was finished, each student had to create an image of themselves and then design a background. Next, we will be painting our memory boards.
A Poem in Your Pocket
We have been reading and writing poetry all month. So we were thrilled when Ms. Patin announced A Poem in Your Pocket day. Some students had a favorite poem and some students used one that they had written themselves. Here some students decided to write more poetry during literacy workstations.
Jelly Bean Graphs
The Superheroes had a little surprise fun today during math time. Each student received an egg full of jelly beans. We had to sort and then graph the results. Final step, write some questions based on the results.
Test Day Recess!
Yes, you read it correctly. Not the usual Rainy Day Recess. We had to help our third, fourth and fifth graders this week by being flexible with the schedule. The result was an indoor recess where students could choose any activity they wanted. Thanks for being so caring, Superheroes!
Dance Party
The Superheroes have been working very hard as a team on their profile words. We especially like it when others notice too! That's why we have the jewel jar. Whenever someone notices us being principled or caring etc. We had to our jewel jar. This week the jar is filled and we voted and decided on a dance party. The dance party idea comes from a serious of books we have read. In the book, the stuffed animals come to life and have a dance party together. This party was special because our fifth grade buddies came too!
It must have been fun because on the way out, a fifth grader was heard to exclaim,
"This is the best party I have been to in two years!"
Superheroes know how to rock!!!
Gas Experiment
Our new planner: How the World Works, takes a look at matter and the different properties of matter. It also explores changes in matter. Today we combined a liquid and a solid that created a gas. How do we know? Well, we put the balloon on the bottle to show how the gas filled up the balloon. We tried the experiment a few times experimenting with different amounts of liquid and solids.
More solid added to the liquid equals more gas created!
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