Pop Rock Fun!

After using our descriptive minds to describe the gift bags, I decided to challenge my first grade friends.  I gave each of them some Pop Rocks.  This was very fun to watch their faces as some of them experienced the "explosion" in their mouth for the first time.  Take a look...

When they finished the "Pop Rock fun" I asked them to describe what they experienced while they ate the pop rocks.  I recorded their descriptive words on the chart below.  

(Thanks Babbling Abby-my kids LOVED this unit)


On Thursday we started our lesson on similes.  We talked about what similes are. A simile is when you compare two things using the word "like" or "as".  We used the chart above to decide if what was said yesterday was a simile or a descriptive word.  Then I asked them this question: 
The Pop Rocks exploded in my mouth like...
(Below are their answers)

On Friday we reviewed similes and descriptive words.  Then during writing they recorded their findings and added a little art to it.  
It was a "Pop Rocking Fun Week!"

Take a look at our Pop Rock Art---

Descriptive Writing Fun!

Today we began our study of Descriptive Writing.  

To begin we reread the book A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams.  As we were reading, the kids listened for places where Vera used Descriptive Writing to tell the reader more about what was happening.  We inferred she did this to help us create a mind movie/visualization of what was happening. We recorded the descriptive words she used.  

Then I showed the kids a gift bag.  They used their descriptive minds to come up with words that would describe this bag.  Take a peek at their thoughts...

After that I gave them their own bag/box and then the kids got into groups to decide what descriptive words they would use to describe their gift bag/box.  They recorded their words and drew their bag/box.  Take a look at a few examples.
A special thanks to Babbling Abby for the fun idea.

 

Take a look at our descriptive writing in progress.

Venn Diagram of Connections Between Characters

Today we worked on comparing the characters (Fox and Pig) in the story My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza. We used a Venn Diagram to help organize our thoughts.  

First graders have some very insightful connections. 

Take a Peak!

Froggy's Valentine Fun

The kids were met with a Happy Heart Day greeting when they arrived this morning.  It was fun to see the morning kick off with some Valentine excitement.  Some of my little friends limboed into the room.  These kidos keep me smiling!  

During our FACE lesson today we read the book Froggy's First Kiss by Jonathan London.  We compared the two main characters in the story(Froggy and Froglina).  We looked for ways they were alike/same and what makes each character unique.  We looked at their likes, dislikes, interests and events from the story to help us.  As we were reading they filled in their story diagram.  Then, during writing the kids wrote what liked best about Valentine's Day and then they created their own Froggy/Froglina.

A special thanks to firstgradeblueskies for this fun idea.

Happy Heart Day 2012!!

A Special Valentine Wish for Our First Grade Friends--  

We hope your day is as special as you are to us.  

Love, Your Teachers 

A Sneak Peek at Daily Five in Action--

I am very excited to see the progress our first grade friends have made this year during Daily Five.  As a class, our stamina during Daily Five is about 20-25 minutes.  While they are busy working on their Daily Five choice, I am able to meet with Guided Reading Groups and Reading Strategy groups.  Take a look at what Daily Five looks like in room 4.  I also look forward to seeing how the iPads change the look and learning during Daily Five.  Stay tuned to see the adventure unfold. 
Read to Self

Read to Someone



Word Work



Work on Writing



Listen to Reading

100 Days Smarter!!!!

Happy 100th Day of School
Today we read the book The Night Before the 100th Day of School.  We reviewed the Retelling elements and practiced inferring as we were reading the story.  The kids also celebrated by receiving Smartees for being 100 days smarter.  

Way to Go First Grade Friends!!  Your teachers are VERY proud of you!

Happy Valentine's Day Room 4

                         Party Day Fun!  
                        Thank you volunteers for your help in making it such a special day.
                                                         Love, Your First Grade Friends

Inferring with NO DAVID!!

The last two days we have been using the book NO DAVID by David Shannon to practice our comprehension strategy of inferring.  We read the book together and then got into groups to discuss our findings.  When the kids were in their groups they found pages where they had to infer what was happening by using their schema and/or the pictures.  When they returned to whole group, I recorded their thoughts on a large anchor chart.  








Take a look at their ideas.  They had a blast with this!!

*Thanks to thefirstgradeparade for this fun lesson idea.

Little Investigators in Room 4

After discussing all of the possibilities of what we could do on a snow day earlier in the week, the students were given the following information:

Each group was given a case file with 3-4 pieces of evidence inside. They had to work together to infer what Tim and Grandma Sue did with each item during their snow day together. They worked together and I was very impressed with their inferring minds!! Here are was what the files looked like:

                                                                Case File # 1

Case File # 2

Case File # 3

Case File # 4

Case File # 5

After looking over all of our evidence, the kids inferred what Grandma Sue and Tim did on their snow day.  

                    Take a look our Timeline of Events:

       8:00am  Ate Blueberry Muffins for Breakfast

       9:00am  Played Outside

      10:00am  Drank Hot Chocolate and did Tim's Homework

      11:00am  Played a Game

      12:00pm  Ate Lunch at McDonalds

       1:00pm    Had Smarties Candy for Dessert

       2:00pm   Went to the Park for a Playdate

       3:00pm   Read a Book and had a Snack

       4:00pm   Went to a Movie 

**Thanks to secristsuperstars for this fun idea.

Inferring Minds at Work

Today we put our investigative minds to work!! Before we could start our activity, we discussed what it meant when we were asked to make an inference while we are reading.  Yesterday our Learning Target was to be able to play the Inferring Game.  Today our Target was to be able to make an inference from a picture.  After doing a few together, the kids broke into three groups and read the sentences below the picture to decide what clues the pictures offered them to infer what was happening.  Take a Look!

Thanks to BabblingAbby for the fun Investigation lessons from TPT.

Our Favorite Snowy Day Activities

After reading A Silly Snowy Day by Michael Coleman, we talked about what we would enjoy doing if there were more snow to play in.  This activity will help prepare us for our upcoming Inferring lesson.
Thanks to thefirstgradeparade for the idea.

IPads Coming to Room 4

Our Digital Learning Begins!
 
We are excited to announce that Mrs. Zweber and Mrs. Sauber's class are going to be receiving an iPad 2 for each student.  We applied for a technology grant offered by the district in January.  On Wednesday, February 1st we were awarded the honor of being one of the 25 recipients.  We are excited to see where this digital journey leads us.  Continue to watch as our adventure unfolds.

New Year's Resolutions

Please see the link below:
New years resolutions

Check out our New Year's Resolutions!