What We've Been Up To...

We made goals for the New Year. 
Some of us want to play video games ALL DAY, and some of us want to try to read 2 hrs every day.

Oh, boy.  :D

We've incorporated math games into our daily mathematics lessons. 
The games are fun ways for the class to practice and tone their math facts, greater/less than, tallies, graphing, and more along with working cooperatively with partners and in small groups.  During this time I am also able to meet with small groups to reteach skills and practice with students who need more assistance.  We rotate new games all the time, and most days students get to choose what they want to play.  In the pictures above, the class is busy playing various "Dice Games."  Each "Dice Game" requires the student or partnership to practice a different skill.  

 These SUPER dice games are from Jennifer at First Grade Blue Skies.

My firsties just LOVE these games!

 

We learned about Martin Luther King, Jr. and how he helped to get equal rights for all people, no matter what they looked like.  We watched Dr. King's "I have a dream..." speech, and the class was stunned by how many people were there to hear the speech.  We wrote our own dreams about bad things that happen we wished would stop.

"I Have A Dream..." craftivity from Just Wild About Teaching

 

 

How-to-Draw MLK from Mrs. Miner's Monkey Business

Busy, BUSY Week

Last week was a busy, busy week for us.  We learned a lot of new things! 

First, we were able to explore our math materials during a special center time.  The students were able to explore our pattern blocks, geo boards, and base ten blocks.  There were no specific instructions for what to do at each center; I simply wanted to see what the children knew about the materials and what they would do with them on their own.  I was pleased with some of the awesome designs created on the geo boards and the symmetrical patterns made the with pattern blocks.  There were some pretty great structures built with the base ten blocks, too!

We also learned how to use our Rise and Shine Binders.  These are our daily morning work binders.  Every morning we have a simple math sheet, called a Math Minute, that is found inside of our Rise and Shine Binder.  Once we finish our Math Minute then we can work in our Rise and Shine Binder.  In our binders there are different number routines like ten frames, tallies, and +1 -1.  We also write the date out in words.  In the backs of our binders are matching games to help us quickly identify numbers 1-20 in the form of numerals, shapes, tallies, and base ten (1-100).  We love working independently (a new vocab word we learned, ask us what it means) every morning!

Finally, we did learn how to start taking Accelerated Reader tests on our classroom computers.  I am encouraging students to read stories at home with mom and dad to be sure they understand the story before taking a test.  The kids are SO excited to start taking tests, but I do not want them taking tests on books that they do not fully understand.  They are only able to take a test one time, so we have to make it count!  Since the school library has closed because of MAP testing, our classroom library is open for business and the class learned how to look for books in our room and how to put everything back where it belongs.  We are not taking home any books quite yet, unless specific permission is given, but once the routine of the classroom library is under control everyone will be able to bring a book home if they want to read with mom and dad. 

Phew!  What a week.  And we're already almost half way through another!  Where is time going...???

Hi, my name is Carl.

Hi, my name is Carl.

Carl is our classroom friend who eats all of our homework in the morning. When the children enter the classroom in the morning their first task is to check their folders for homework and notes and turn anything in to Carl's belly, thus feeding him breakfast. The kids get a kick out of this, and they are all very careful not to stick their fingers near Carl's mouth so as not to get bit. Teehee. They're too funny. Anyhoo, this is Carl...