Schultz's Super 1st Graders!!!
December 2015
2nd Quarter Coming to an End
I seriously cannot believe we are at the end of 2nd quarter!!! These kiddos amaze me every...single....day!!!! When I taught middle school, I didn't get to actually experience "learning" going on daily, but mostly just a "honing in" of skills. Teaching 1st graders, however, I get to be a part of DAILY learning experiences!! They are learning to read, learning about the Trail of Tears and Eastland Woodland Indians, learning how to add and subtract, learning about weight and balances, learning how to write, learning how to work in a group, learning how to form complete thoughts, learning new vocabulary words - believe it or not, 1st graders learn, on average, around 800+ new words in one year!!!! I am amazed how much their little brains absorb and how active they are!!! :) :)
The Pumpkin Investigation
Thank you to all the parents and grandparents who volunteered to help us investigate pumpkins and who donated needed items!! The students (well, most students *LOL*) enjoyed getting their hands "yucky" with the insides of the pumpkins, counting the seeds, learning that pumpkins float and not sink. Because of all the volunteers, I was able to walk around, take pictures, and observe the kiddos!!
Brayden
Amazed that he was correct!! He was the only student that hypothesized that pumpkins would float!! :)
Tables Investigating
JaCobey - Love this face!!! :)
For some students, this was the 1st time they had felt the insides of a pumpkin.
Thanksgiving and Eastern Woodland Indians
Students learned about the Native Americans from the eastern part of the United States: traditions, clothing, food, and homes. During this unit, we made Native American necklaces, wigwams, colored pottery and created a poem, learned about Thanksgiving, and even planted our own corn!!
Native American Necklaces
The kiddos had fun making their own necklaces from macaroni.
Corn Sprouts!!!
We had sprouts within just a few days of planting our corn!! The kiddos enjoy coming to class every day and seeing how much their corn has grown.
Pottery Poems
Smiling faces waiting to come into class!! :)
Hanging on the walls are their pottery poems...
Science - Balancing and Weighing
Students are learning to use a fulcrum (pencil) to balance a butterfly. Some students found it quite easy to balance while others struggled to find that exact spot, but eventually, they all figured it out!! :) This was our 1st lesson in this unit; we will continue exploring the idea of balancing and weighing this week.
Co-Teaching and Reading Groups
From 8:15 - 9:15 every morning, you will find our class at its busiest!! While I am meeting with one reading group, Mrs. Walker is meeting with another reading group and other students are AR testing or engaged in a Writing or Spelling center. The 1st thing each student does as they meet in their group is take a 1 minute timed Reading Passage. This helps with fluency. These timed reading passages will start going home when we return from Christmas break; I'll send home more info as I get it. Next, we read through their A-Z book together and talk about the skills (nouns, synonyms, compound words, story elements, etc.) that each book focuses on. As they leave group to go into centers, they are given a "Skills" sheet and/or writing prompt from their group book to work on independently. Lastly, they put their A-Z book into their folder to take home and read to you!!! Please remember to sign their book each evening!! It is VERY important that students bring their books back to school as we meet in groups daily. Mrs. Walker and I plan on reading the book with students Monday - Wednesday, quizzing over the book on Thursday, and on Friday, Mrs. Walker will be assessing over Word Detective rules and I will be conferencing with students over work from the week, providing feedback on what they did well and what they need to do to improve. It is definitely a very busy hour!!
Scholastic Book Fair
Upcoming Christmas Plans
The excitement of the upcoming holiday is already in the air!! We have decorated our class tree and 1st grade will be participating in many activities beginning Wednesday of next week. First, we will celebrate a Grinch Wednesday with fun Grinch activities all day - kiddos wear green; Thursday will be Polar Express and hot chocolate - students will enjoy many Polar Express activities including watching the movie and enjoying a cup of hot chocolate. They may wear their jammies to school this day but please have them wear their tennis shoes.
Event Information
Class Christmas Party
Daphne, our Room Mom, will be sending out reminder emails to those that signed up to help. If you didn't sign up to help, but would like to, just send me a msg and we'll put you to work!!! :) School will dismiss at 12:30 this day. We hope many of you will be able to attend our party!!
When?
Friday, Dec 18, 2015, 12:00 PM
Where?