It was a busy week of activities involving pumpkins. We carved our own jack-o-lantern, which was a lot of fun! After reading Spookley the Square Pumpkin, the students made some pumpkins of their own. We used our scientific skills to examine and taste pumpkin seeds. We did a technology project this month called Monster Match. We made our monster, "Smarty Monster," and sent our directions to another First Grade classroom. They returned the favor by sending directions to make their "Party Martie." We did a live videoconference to compare them. Both classes followed directions very well! Here are few other projects from this week. We made creative spiders, and we completed our books of Poetry about trees. Then it was time for PUMPKIN DAY!!! We estimated the length of yarn to go around our class pumpkin. We counted the seeds inside, observed if it would sink or float, counted the number of lines, and more! We used math all day! Time to decorate the pumpkins that the students brought! How about a dance break? We finished up playing Pumpkin Bingo. It was a great day!
0 Comments
We've been reading a lot about fall and the seasons, and just completed our Seasons writing piece. The students had fun sharing with one another. Learning about weather was another topic for us this week. We made a "tornado in a bottle" and went outside to test the wind with these pinwheels. In Math, we practiced our number skills by cutting and putting together a number line to 120. We've also been learning about spiders. They went to Art class this week, and returned as spiders! The students wrapped up the week with a special treat I call Flashlight Friday. We turn off the lights, and they read with a flashlight. We are working on our fluency and our stamina! On October 19, Highlands participated in the Read Around the Globe initiative that brings the power of volunteers together to impact literacy in our community. One of the goals was to break a GUINNESS WORLD RECORD™ for the ‘most children reading with an adult in 24 hours’. We were so fortunate to have Fort Bend ISD's Chief Information Officer for Technology, Mr. Long Pham, reading to our class. He took some time chatting with the students, learning about what interests them. Then he shared the book, Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table. He presented us with the book, and our certificate of participation. The students really enjoyed it. Thank you, Mr. Pham! Don't forget the selfie!
This week we had so much fun with apples! We learned about Johnny Appleseed and the apple life cycle, even writing about things made from apples. Then we tasted several varieties of apples and graphed our favorite. We worked with a recipe to make our own homemade applesauce. Everyone helped with the stirring. They really liked smelling the cinnamon and apple pie spice! This picture made me smile. I made them give me a "pinky promise" that they would stay away from the crock pot! Time to taste! We used the cores to make some pretty apple prints. We studied the voyage of Christopher Columbus this week as well. After working with the spices, I think they understood why this was an important reason for his journey.
We are so lucky! One of our precious students allowed her dad and his firefighter friends to visit First Grade. They shared some fire safety rules and showed us a lot of things! Once he was fully suited up, this heroic firefighter crawled on his knees around the students, so they would not be afraid to see a firefighter in an emergency situation. Time to check out the fire truck! The students were so excited to see everything that is carried on board a fire truck. Future Firefighter! In Science this week, we've been learning about weather. We did an experiment with a "cloud in a jar", made with shaving cream and food coloring. I asked the students why the food coloring was able to drift down through the shaving cream and they finally figured out that it was heavier (just like rain!). Then we made some clouds of our own! We've been learning about nouns with our ESL teacher, Mrs. Moeller. Check out our cool chart! Here are a few smiles from our time at Math Stations this week!
|
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
CategoriesScan this QR code into your Smart Phone to keep up with our blog! |