A GREAT FALL Friday!

Look at these great representations that some kids made of the sun, moon, and earth.  I loved their creative nature and way they explained their learning.

Samuel made sure that his would move or orbit in the right way!

Beckett showed how the sun's light reflects off of the moon and makes light on the earth!

Another few fun things from the day...today was the first Lunch Bunch of the year.  I will often set a goal for the kids.  Kids that meet the goal are invited to picnic for lunch.  I love having such fun conversations, and with pretty weather like today even better!

Lastly, I have the BEST Daddy in the world!  Today he was the mystery reader.  He took time to dress as Pa Bear and even scan the book in so the kids could see the book on the active board.

Happy FALL Friday Y'all!

Conferencing about our Writing!

We are doing great things!  Today we worked with our Writing Buddies to talk through our story.  The focus was to see what didn't make sense to the listener.  This helps authors generate hear their story before ever picking up a pencil.

Several people did a wonderful job!  Here is one...

Idea for home...have student tell you their story, and after you listen use the sentence stem It was not clear when ______________ (and ask a question that they might want to include in their story - who went, how did you go, why, when etc)

rain, rain Bring US Some Us Some Clouds!

This week has been all about clouds. We used cloud identifiers to spot clouds in the sky. Today we showed how a cloud makes rain. It was a powerful experiment, be sure to ask...

...don't pop the bubble!

We are learning about PAW POWER!  The first behavior code we are focusing on is recognizing student's who Celebrate Self Control!  Today we learned what self control is and the kids came up with lots of good ideas.

Grant said is was not interrupting when others were talking.

MacKenzie said it was not running.

Cameron said it was not shouting out.

Beckett said it was waiting your turn.

We all learned that it was letting our mind think before letting our body move.  We practice by using our "Self Control Bubbles"  Students needed to wait until I told them to pop them.  Some really wanted to keep them from falling on their nose, but we practiced waiting.  Just like anything you want to be good at, you have to practice!  I can't wait to see lots of Green PAWS that show a student has exercised the Power of Self Control!

Good Readers Think About their Reading

Today we leaned to listen to our thought bubble while we read.  I modeled and then we all practiced. This will be an ongoing learning process.  When you are reading at home, be sure to ask your students to share what they are thinking.  Ask them to retell the story, and what they think will happen next in the story.

Books, Birthdays and Brain Breaks!

Another busy day in First Grade!

We learned that picking books is like picking shoes!  Not all styles, sizes or kinds, fit everyone.  Books are the same way.  We want to pick a book for PURPOSE, INTEREST, COMPREHENSION, and KNOWING THE WORDS!  Tomorrow we will be filling our book boxes with books that are appropriate!

Birthdays are special in First Grade!  We celebrate by giving the Birthday Girl or Boy a special sash that shows all the things that make him or her special!  Happy Birthday MacKenzie!

Ask you studnet about brain breaks - this is a great way to get our blood moving and our brain refocused!  Today we learned a new game called Six Dots.  Ask them how to play.