We switched poles last week, and went way up north to the Arctic! We studied lots of animals, and discussed a way of life that is different from ours. This is my favorite book about the Arctic! We learned some new vocabulary, and had fun with a matching game. We learned that some Arctic animals keep warm with a fat layer called blubber. We did an experiment to test this idea in icy water, with a glove filled with a substance similar to blubber. Since we didn't have any real snow, we made some instant snow! We even had a little time to build our own igloos. This was the planning session before creating a map of our classroom. Results coming later... How cool is this??!! We made a flag, and sent it to Camp Royds (near McMurdo Station) in Antarctica. The researchers there live in a tent! They flew our flag with the Adelie penguins! Look closely in the photo to see lots and lots of penguins.
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It was a short 2-day week with our ice days and the holiday. We still managed to have some fun with our winter unit! We learned about compound words, and created some of our own. We brushed up on our math skills with these riddles. This is such a cute book! We imagined what we would do inside a snow globe, and wrote stories. Then it was time for the marshmallow mansion challenge! Each team attempted to "build" a marshmallow house that would withstand my blizzard (a hair dryer). They made a plan first, then used their materials to create. It was fun to watch! We finished our gorgeous penguins! We have several species represented: king, emperor, chinstrap, adelie, rockhopper, and macaroni, and little blue fairy!
Happy 2018! We began our week by reflecting on the winter break, and making resolutions for 2018. We read a few rebus books this week. In a rebus story, some pictures are used instead of words. The students then tried writing their own rebus stories. Sharing is the best part! In Social Studies, we've been learning about the cardinal directions and how to read a map. Maps have always interested me. I brought in my large collection for the student to explore. We located all sorts of things! We learned about penguins this week, and did a science experiment. We colored our penguin pictures with waxy crayons to see if this would make them "waterproof" like penguin feathers. After learning that the emperor penguin is about the size of a first grader, we measured ourselves against a penguin picture. Some of them were surprised that they were taller! After learning about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., and his desire for equality, we observed two eggs. One was brown and the other white. After cracking them, the students observed that though the shells were different, the inside looked the same. Shout out to this group that took the eraser challenge! They grouped them and counted them to total over 700!
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AuthorI am a retired First Grade teacher in Texas. I have two children, two daughters-in-law, a grandson and granddaughter. Our beloved pup, Rocco, went to heaven this year. He was 15 years old. I've been married 37 years. I would love to hear from any former students! Archives
January 2021
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