Field Trip: School House of Wonder

We had a great day at the School House of Wonder!  There were two different programs we attended. The first was called River Watch. We learned about the environment around the river and also animals that live in the river. It ended with a trip into the cold water, by far our favorite part! Next it was time for a quick lunch break and some play in the field, then we were off to a program about insects. Our teacher, Wayne, showed us some cool insects and taught a silly song with motions. To end our day we had a celebration with a the whole 1st grade learning a new song and some cool animal noises. Enjoy the pictures!

Animal Research Project

This week, we started a very fun animal research project. Last week, we collected facts about different animals we might see while camping. Monday, the students were able to pick an animal they wanted to research and write about. Today we started the research using non-fiction books, www.pebblego.com, and facts in our brains. The rest of the week we will put our facts into writing and share with each other.

Camping Unit Update

This week we are learning about the many animals we may see if we  went camping.

Monday we learned about bears. We read a non-fiction book and collected new facts we had learned.
We also had a BLAST watching a live bear cam:
Streaming video by Ustream Tuesday we learned about raccoons. We learned they are cousins to the bear and are not shy about getting food any way they can! We also found a live cam of baby raccoons. Very cute!
Video streaming by Ustream Wednesday was deer day. We talked about the two kinds of deer that live in North America (the White Tailed and Mule) and how long they normally live. The name of the animal also gave us a chance to discuss homophones and how it is important to know meaning and spelling of different words. Thursday and Friday will be devoted to everyone's favorite stinky animal...

Rock On!

We are studying rocks and soil in our last science unit of the year. The class has been working on classifying rocks based on size and exploring different items that are made from rock material. Today, we went outside to find pebbles, gravel, sand, silt, and clay. We were able to find them all out on our playground.

A Camping We Will Go!

Today we started our Camping Unit. It will last for about 4 weeks and will be a good theme to have as review our literacy and math concepts from the year. Check back in to see all the neat camping things we are working on!

A Week in Review

We had an awesome week filled with lots of great activities. We are in an exciting part of the year. There are many things going on during and outside of the school day. Here are some pictures from the past week. 

This week in math was out last NEW topic for the year. For the next 5 weeks we will review before our  end of the year math assessment in May. This week we learned about 2 digit subtraction and addition and even learned REGROUPING!

We played a game called Scoot. During the game students traveled around the room every time they heard the bell and completed a different problem on their chart.

On Friday we attended Cafe de Glenwood. It was a French cafe set up in the courtyard. Students ordered in French from the menu and practiced speaking French with each other as they enjoyed croissants and Nutella.

A Few Lost Pictures

Here are a few lost pictures from the past month. Enjoy!

UNC Medical School Resident Presentation.

Read-A-Thon basketball game with the grinch.

Probability Activities 

Class Graph Activity...it's a Nephew! 

March Birthday Celebration

Getting cozy during reading centers. 

22 out of 22 kids LOVE Fractions!

This week in math we are working on fractions. We started the week learning about equal and unequal parts. Today we had a fraction scavenger hunt around the room. I gave the students a starting fraction and they had to find something in the room that matched. It was a challenge and they really had to get those brains in gear. Here are some examples of what they found!

See if you can find fractions around your house. The more you look the easier it gets! 

Music in the Classroom.

We use music as much as possible in the classroom. During center work in the morning we often have classical or other instrumental music playing to help students monitor their noise level. Music is also used for transitions. When students hear any of the songs below they know it's time to clean up and head to the carpet. It is such a great way to transition and gets us all singing, dancing, and smiling.

Here are a few of the songs we use:

I Mustache You a Question....

We are off to a quick start after Spring Break. I love this time of year in first grade because you can really see the student's growth take off both academically and socially.

This week in math we are looking at data and graphing. We will be working with bar graphs, tally charts, and pictographs. Here are some pictures of our activities this week.