First Grade Explorations

New Home

2011-05-02T09:43:00.002-04:00

We have moved our class blog to be a part of our school newspaper. You can now fine First Grade Explorations by clicking here. We are really excited this new venture!

Words to Describe our Spring Break

2011-04-25T09:22:00.000-04:00

Shapes

2011-04-11T12:39:00.002-04:00

We've been studying shapes in geometry in math for the past few weeks. The students have become such experts on various shapes! Below you can view a VoiceThread the students have used to share all they know about different shapes.

Hemos estado estudiando las formas de la geometría en las matemáticas de las últimas semanas. Los estudiantes se han convertido en los expertos de varias formas! A continuación puede ver una VoiceThread los estudiantes han utilizado para compartir todo lo que saben acerca de formas diferentes.

Our Motion Movie

2011-03-09T14:38:00.003-05:00

We did it! We made a movie about motion. We found examples of straight motion, back and forth motion, and circular motion. We sorted all the examples we found and put them into our movie. Then we created our titles and recorded them. We are so proud! You can even watch our video on YouTube.

¡Lo hicimos! Hemos hecho una película sobre el movimiento. Encontramos ejemplos de movimiento recto, un movimiento de vaivén, y el movimiento circular. Hemos ordenado todos los ejemplos que se encuentran y ponerlos en nuestra película. Entonces creamos nuestros títulos y las grabó. Estamos muy orgullosos! Usted puede incluso ver nuestro video en YouTube.

Snow Globe Fun

2011-03-08T12:40:00.000-05:00

For several weeks we studied Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington Carver. We read books about them and wrote down what we were learning on a big data retrieval chart (the yellow chart here). At the end, each child chose one of the men in order to create a snow globe about them.

From these globes you can see how much we all learned about these men.

Abraham Lincoln here was the 16th president of the United States, is on money, and wore a large hat.

George Washington Carver was a scientist who worked with peanuts and cotton. He used a mortar and pestle.

George Washington was a farmer and our first president. He is also on money.

Benjamin Franklin is on money, invented bifocals (special glasses), and used a kite to discover that lightening is electricity.

Durante varias semanas hemos estudiado Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln y George Washington Carver. Leemos libros sobre ellos y escribió lo que estaban aprendiendo en una tabla de recuperación de datos grandes (el cuadro amarillo aquí). Al final, cada niño eligió uno de los hombres con el fin de crear un globo de nieve sobre ellas.

A partir de estos globos se pueden ver cuánto hemos aprendido acerca de estos hombres.

Abraham Lincoln fue aquí el presidente 16 de Estados Unidos, es en el dinero, y llevaba un gran sombrero.

George Washington Carver era un científico que trabajó con el maní y el algodón. Él usó un mortero.

George Washington fue un agricultor y nuestro primer presidente. También es en el dinero.

Benjamin Franklin es el dinero, inventado bifocales (anteojos especiales), y se utiliza una cometa para descubrir que un rayo es electricidad.

Oranges by DO & PBB

2011-03-07T12:30:00.002-05:00

Last week we got oranges to eat. They looked purple on the inside. They were actually orange on the outside. They were so yummy and tasted like oranges. These oranges were a little bit sweeter than regular oranges. We liked them so much because they were delicious. They were different oranges than the regular oranges but they were still tasty.

La semana pasada llegamos a comer naranjas. Se veían púrpura en el interior. Ellos eran en realidad de color naranja en el exterior. Eran tan delicioso y sabor a naranja. Estas naranjas son un poco más dulce que la naranja regular. Les gustó tanto porque eran deliciosas. Eran naranjas diferente a las naranjas regular, pero todavía eran sabrosas.

Our Readers' Theaters

2011-03-02T13:03:00.002-05:00

Last week, after a couple of weeks of practice, we presented our Reader's Theaters. These are like plays but no one has to memorize anything. The students read their parts and we worked hard on several things: volume (being loud enough), speed (not too fast or too slow), and expression. In addition, students had to really think about standing still, holding their paper below their face and still, and following along while others were reading.

This first one is from the book Click, Clack, Moo, a book we greatly enjoy.

This next one is The Gingerbread Boy.

Our final Readers' Theater is Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Valentine's Day by AMG & JC

2011-02-16T12:56:00.002-05:00

On Valentine's Day we passed our candy out to our friends. It was fun. We took it home to eat it. We ate cookies at school. They were yummy and sweet and had sprinkles. They were soft cookies. We liked them. We got a lot of cards with pets on them. It was cool and so fun.

En el Día de San Valentín que pasamos nuestros dulces a nuestros amigos. Fue muy divertido. Lo llevó a casa a comer. Comimos galletas en la escuela. Estaban deliciosos y dulces y se rocía. Eran las galletas blandas. Les gustaba. Tenemos un montón de tarjetas con los animales domésticos en ellas. Fue divertido fresco y así.

Social Studies and Technology

2011-02-15T12:56:00.002-05:00

We have been learning about famous Americans. We were learning about Benjamin Franklin and George Washington and using VoiceThread on the computers. On the VoiceThread we could ask questions and tell about what the people did.

People from George Mason University came to videotape what we were doing on the computers.

We used books to learn more information about the famous Americans.

Hemos estado aprendiendo acerca de los estadounidenses famosos. Estábamos aprendiendo sobre Benjamin Franklin y George Washington y el uso de VoiceThread en los equipos. En el VoiceThread podríamos hacer preguntas y hablar de lo que la gente lo hizo.

La gente de la Universidad George Mason llegó a filmar lo que estábamos haciendo en los equipos.

Usamos libros para aprender más información acerca de los estadounidenses famosos.

I Love Writing - UA

2011-02-10T22:12:00.002-05:00

I Love Writing - SJ

2011-02-10T22:11:00.001-05:00

I Love Writing - PA

2011-02-10T22:10:00.001-05:00

I Love Writing - PBB

2011-02-10T22:09:00.002-05:00

I Love Writing - NA

2011-02-10T22:07:00.004-05:00

I Love Writing - KAR

2011-02-10T22:06:00.001-05:00

I Love Writing - JM

2011-02-10T22:04:00.002-05:00

I Love Writing - JC

2011-02-10T22:02:00.002-05:00

I Love Writing - HA

2011-02-10T22:00:00.003-05:00

I Love Writing -- EA

2011-02-10T21:58:00.003-05:00

I Love Writing - EH

2011-02-10T21:57:00.002-05:00

I Love Writing - DO

2011-02-10T21:55:00.002-05:00

I Love Writing - DDT

2011-02-10T21:53:00.002-05:00

I Love Writing - DM

2011-02-10T21:49:00.003-05:00

I Love Writing - CY

2011-02-10T21:46:00.002-05:00

I Love Writing - AMG

2011-02-10T21:43:00.004-05:00

I Love Writing - AB

2011-02-10T21:40:00.001-05:00

Playground Fun by EH and PBB

2011-02-03T13:40:00.002-05:00

At recess we play on the monkey bars and the slides. We have fun at recess. Everybody likes the swings. We play Duck, Duck, Goose and Snakes in the Woods. There are a lot of games we play. We play Hopscotch on the blacktop. We played a lot on the equipment. One student broke her arm on the equipment.

En el recreo jugamos en las barras y las diapositivas. Nos divertimos en el recreo. Todo el mundo le gustan los cambios. Jugamos pato, pato, ganso y serpientes en el bosque. Hay un montón de juegos que jugamos. Jugamos Rayuela en el asfalto. Hemos jugado mucho en el equipo. Un estudiante se rompió el brazo en el equipo.

Math Work Stations

2011-01-17T21:16:00.000-05:00

During our math time we work on a lot of different things. Here some students are writing number stories (creating a story to explain a math problem, such as 'there are five oranges and three apples so there are eight fruits').

Others here are building two-digit numbers with blocks. This helps understand the parts of a number.

Durante nuestro tiempo de matemáticas, trabajamos en un montón de cosas diferentes. Aquí algunos estudiantes están escribiendo historias de números (la creación de una historia para explicar un problema de matemáticas, tales como "hay cinco naranjas y tres manzanas por lo que hay ocho frutos").

Otros aquí están construyendo números de dos dígitos con los bloques. Esto ayuda a entender las partes de un número.

Buzzing About Books

2011-01-16T21:10:00.002-05:00

Several days a week after our independent reading we take a few minutes to talk with a buddy about our reading and our books. We brainstormed how to buzz with a buddy about books and came up with a great list.

Varios días a la semana después de nuestra lectura independiente que tome unos minutos para hablar con un amigo acerca de la lectura y los libros. Tenemos una lluvia de ideas la forma de zumbido con un amigo acerca de los libros y se acercó con una gran lista.

What did you do over the holiday?

2011-01-04T11:37:00.000-05:00

Juggling by AB & UA

2010-12-20T12:35:00.002-05:00

In P.E. our class is juggling. We were throwing the scarves up and down. We threw it up, clapped our hands, and caught it going down.

En educación física nuestra clase es el malabarismo. Estábamos tirando los pañuelos de arriba a abajo. Lo levantó, golpeó las manos, y la tomó a la baja.

Snow by JM & PA

2010-12-16T13:04:00.002-05:00

Snow is very interesting because it is wet and soft. The snow was so amazing because everyone was happy. It was a good experience. The snow is very soft. It falls down and lands on trees. Snow falls on the ground. It falls on rooftops. It snowed for about four hours at school today. It looked very beautiful.

La nieve es muy interesante porque es húmeda y suave. La nieve era tan increíble, porque todo el mundo estaba feliz. Fue una buena experiencia. La nieve es muy suave. Se cae y cae sobre los árboles. La nieve cae en el suelo. Se cae en los techos. Nevó durante unas cuatro horas en la escuela hoy. Se veía muy hermosa.

Math Work Stations by SJ & NA

2010-12-13T12:41:00.002-05:00

We play with tangrams everyday. We make shapes and pictures with them.

We try our best to make groups of tens and ones. We are going to make groups all the way up to 100. We are taking pictures of the groups to make a movie for the 100th day of school.

Jugamos con tangrams todos los días. Hacemos las formas y fotos con ellos.

Hacemos lo mejor para hacer grupos de decenas y unidades. Vamos a hacer grupos de todo el camino hasta el 100. Estamos tomando imágenes de los grupos a hacer una película para el día número 100 de la escuela.

Using the Library Computers by DO & DDT

2010-12-10T12:17:00.002-05:00

We put the instructions on the paper for going to Go Grolier. On the carpet then we finished our instructions for the website.

Then we went to the website on the computers. We saw the states in the United States of America. We clicked on one state and we saw lots of pictures about that state. Then we could go back and click on a different state.

Ponemos las instrucciones en el papel para ir a Go Grolier. En la alfombra después de terminar nuestras instrucciones de la página web.

Luego fuimos a la página web en los equipos. Vimos a los estados en los Estados Unidos de América. Hemos hecho clic en un estado y hemos visto muchas fotos de ese estado. Entonces podríamos volver atrás y hacer clic en un estado diferente.

Morning Meeting by DM & HA

2010-12-09T13:25:00.002-05:00

We have morning meeting everyday. We shake hands in morning meeting.

Then we get to share. We stand up to share and then we say, "I'm ready for comments and questions." The other people raise their hands and then they talk about the story.

We read the message together. Then it's time to circle things. We circle tall lower-case letters, hanging lower-case letters, periods, question marks, and exclamation marks. The meeting manager takes home the message so that they will have a copy.

Tenemos reunión de la mañana todos los días. Nos damos la mano en el cumplimiento de la mañana.

Entonces llegamos a compartir. Estamos para compartir y luego decir: "Yo estoy listo para comentarios y preguntas." Las otras personas levantan la mano y luego hablan de la historia.

Leemos el mensaje juntos. Entonces es el momento de las cosas círculo. Damos la vuelta altura minúsculas, colgando minúsculas, puntos, signos de interrogación, y signos de exclamación. El administrador de la reunión se lleva a casa el mensaje de modo que tendrá una copia.

New Strategy Game

2010-12-06T20:19:00.002-05:00

We learned a new strategy game last week! This is Sudoku Jr. It is a great introduction to Sudoku because the colors help get you started. If these first graders keep up like they began with this game, they'll be ready for regular Sudoku in no time!

Nos enteramos de un nuevo juego de estrategia la semana pasada! Se trata de Sudoku Jr. Es una gran introducción al Sudoku porque los colores para que empieces. Si estos estudiantes de primer grado continúan así que empezó con este juego, que estará listo para regular Sudoku en poco tiempo!

Holidays

2010-11-23T20:09:00.003-05:00

We created a voicethread to share about our holiday traditions. We drew pictures and talked about what we do at Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Eid. If you are interested in seeing the voicethread at voicethread.com, click here.

Talking about Writing

2010-11-19T21:05:00.000-05:00

Just as we like to talk about the books we are reading, we also like to talk about the books we are writing. We spend a lot of time each day writing and it is so fun to read our work to each other. Soon, some of our books will be going for you to enjoy as well.

Así como nos gusta hablar de los libros que está leyendo, también nos gusta hablar de los libros que está escribiendo. Pasamos mucho tiempo escribiendo cada día y es muy divertido de leer nuestro trabajo el uno al otro. Pronto, algunos de nuestros libros se va para disfrutar también.

Talking about Books

2010-11-18T21:03:00.000-05:00

Do you like to talk about books you read? We do! Several times a week we take a few minutes to share with a friend about the best books we've been reading lately. We have found a lot of fabulous books.

¿Te gusta hablar de libros que lees? Que hacemos! Varias veces a la semana nos tomamos unos minutos para compartir con un amigo acerca de los mejores libros que he estado leyendo últimamente. Hemos encontrado un montón de libros fabulosos.

Reading and Writing

2010-11-17T20:56:00.000-05:00

We've been studying punctuation: periods, question marks, and exclamation marks. As readers, noticing these marks helps us read more fluently which helps us better understand what we have read. In writing, using these marks helps our readers better understand our writing. We have been noticing these marks everywhere!

Hemos estado estudiando puntuacion: períodos, signos de interrogación, y signos de exclamación. Como lectores, dándose cuenta de estas marcas nos ayuda a leer con más fluidez que nos ayuda a entender mejor lo que hemos leído. En la escritura, utilizando estas marcas ayuda a nuestros lectores a comprender mejor nuestra escritura. Hemos estado notando estas marcas por todas partes!

Ten Frames

2010-11-16T20:51:00.002-05:00

Building numbers on ten frames helps us better understand the numbers. We are better able to identify nearby numbers, those one or two greater or smaller. It also helps us recognize small groups of items without having to count each item. As an added bonus, it's fun!

Sobre la base de números de diez cuadros nos ayuda a entender mejor los números. Somos más capaces de identificar los números cercanos, los que uno o dos mayor o menor. También nos ayuda a reconocer los pequeños grupos de artículos sin tener que contar cada elemento. Como ventaja adicional, es divertido!

Building Numbers

2010-11-11T11:59:00.000-05:00

As we work on building our understanding of numbers, we are creating them on ten-frames. Then we can practice finding numbers that are one or two more or less. You can do this with your child anytime. You can point out a number at the grocery store, while cooking, or when in the car, and ask your child about that number and what numbers are nearby it.

A medida que trabajamos en la construcción de nuestra comprensión de los números, estamos creando en diez marcos. Luego podemos practicar la búsqueda de números que son uno o dos más o menos. Usted puede hacer esto con su hijo en cualquier momento. Usted puede señalar un número en el supermercado, mientras se cocina, o cuando en el coche, y pregúntele a su hijo acerca de ese número y los números que están cerca.

Recent Library Visit

2010-11-09T11:56:00.000-05:00

Last week, during our visit to the library, our librarian read Rhyming Dust Bunnies to us. This book is hilarious! We may have to get a copy for our class so that we can read it again and again.

La semana pasada, durante nuestra visita a la biblioteca, la bibliotecaria leer rimas conejos polvo para nosotros. Este libro es divertido! Puede que tengamos que obtener una copia de nuestra clase para que podamos volver a leerlo una y otra vez.

Book Character Day

2010-11-07T11:44:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, October 28th, we celebrated Book Character Day as a school. More than half the students in our class dressed up for the day, but we were so busy I didn't get pictures. I did manage to grab one of our own Fancy Nancy.

This young man said he was dressed as one of the kids from the Black Lagoon. Awesome idea!

I dressed as Mrs. Wishy-Washy, a popular character with first graders.

El jueves, 28 de octubre, celebramos el Día del Libro de caracteres como una escuela. Más de la mitad de los estudiantes en nuestra clase de vestidos para el día, pero estábamos tan ocupados que no recibieron imágenes. Me las arreglé para coger uno de los nuestros Fancy Nancy.

Este joven dijo que estaba vestido como uno de los chicos de la Laguna de Negro. idea ¡Impresionante!

Me vestí como la señora Wishy-Washy, un personaje popular entre los estudiantes de primer grado.

Wondering About Leaves

2010-10-27T18:10:00.000-04:00

Last week we collected the most interesting leaves we could find. Then we took those leaves to our classroom and taped them into our wonder notebooks. We have so many fabulous questions about leaves now!

La semana pasada se recogieron las hojas más interesantes que encontramos. Luego tomamos las hojas de nuestro salón de clases y grabado en los cuadernos de nuestro asombro. Tenemos tantas preguntas fabulosa sobre hojas ahora!

More Math Fun

2010-10-26T21:03:00.002-04:00

We've been using stamps to show numbers up to ten in order to get better at recognizing those numbers quickly. To practice identifying numbers one or two more or less we are playing Nearby Numbers. When you are stuck waiting in line or sitting in the car, tell your child a number between one and ten and ask them to tell you what number is one more, one less, two more, or two less. It's great practice!

Hemos estado usando sellos para mostrar números de hasta diez con el fin de mejorar en el reconocimiento de los números de manera rápida. Para practicar la identificación de uno o dos números más o menos estamos jugando Números Cercanos. Cuando usted está atascado esperando en la cola o sentado en el coche, dígale a su hijo un número entre uno y diez, y pídale que le diga qué número es uno más, menos uno, dos más, o menos dos. Es una buena práctica!

Math

2010-10-23T10:12:00.000-04:00

In math we begin the year working on our understanding of numbers. We count all sorts of things every chance we get. Talk to your child about how they count, what numbers mean, and what we are doing in math.

En matemáticas se inicia el año trabajando en nuestra comprensión de los números. Contamos con todo tipo de cosas cada vez que podemos. Hable con su hijo acerca de cómo contar, qué significan los números, y lo que estamos haciendo en matemáticas.

Handwriting

2010-10-22T10:00:00.001-04:00

Along with reading, we are working hard on our writing. Most of the time we are focused on our ideas and crafting our writing. Sometimes, though, we work on our handwriting. We want to be sure readers are able to read what we write.

Junto con la lectura, estamos trabajando duro en nuestra escritura. La mayoría de las veces nos centramos en nuestras ideas y la elaboración de nuestro escrito. A veces, sin embargo, trabajamos en nuestra escritura a mano. Queremos estar seguros de los lectores son capaces de leer lo que escribimos.

Talking!

2010-10-20T09:56:00.001-04:00

Learning is a social activity. Knowing that, we work hard to talk to each other about our thinking and learning. Here we are talking to 'knee buddies' about the pigeon book we were writing. (We'll be sharing that book soon!)

El aprendizaje es una actividad social. Sabiendo eso, trabajamos duro para hablar unos con otros acerca de nuestro pensamiento y el aprendizaje. Aquí estamos hablando de "compañeros de la rodilla" sobre el libro de palomas que estaban escribiendo. (Vamos a estar compartiendo ese libro pronto!)

Literacy Work Stations

2010-10-18T09:51:00.001-04:00

During our reading and writing time, one of our big jobs are work stations. During our work stations we practice important reading and writing skills.

One work station is buddy reading. Reading together is great fun.

We also get new books out of our classroom library and read to our stuffed animals.

Another work station is sorting words. We've been sorting all of our names and match them with pictures.

Durante la lectura y la escritura del tiempo, uno de nuestros grandes puestos de trabajo son las estaciones de trabajo. En nuestras estaciones de trabajo que la práctica de lectura importante y habilidades de escritura.

Una estación de trabajo es la lectura de amigos. Leer juntos es muy divertido.

También recibimos nuevos libros de nuestra biblioteca de aula y leer a nuestros animales de peluche.

Otra estación de trabajo está clasificando las palabras. Hemos sido la clasificación de todos nuestros nombres y el partido con imágenes.

Strategies Lab

2010-10-16T21:41:00.003-04:00

Every Friday we visit the Strategies Lab. So far we have learned three strategies games, Brick by Brick, Clever Castle, and Ducks in a Row. Playing these games requires quite a few strategies that are useful for many things (perseverance, looking at a problem from another angle, trying a new idea, etc.). We're also working on a voicethread to teach about what we are doing with these games.

Todos los viernes nos visita el Laboratorio de Estrategias. Hasta ahora hemos aprendido tres juegos de estrategias, Brick by Brick, Clever Castle, y Ducks in a Row. Jugar a estos juegos requiere bastante algunas estrategias que son útiles para muchas cosas (la perseverancia, mirando el problema desde otro ángulo, tratando una nueva idea, etc.) También estamos trabajando en un Voicethread para enseñar acerca de lo que estamos haciendo con estos juegos.

Fresh Fruit

2010-10-08T08:39:00.000-04:00

Once a week the cafeteria sends us fresh fruit. We've had peaches, apples, pears, and raspberries. Some students eat them right away and others want to take them home to share. Everything has been delicious.

Una vez por semana la cafetería nos envía fruta fresca. Hemos tenido melocotones, manzanas, peras y frambuesas. Algunos estudiantes a comer de inmediato y otros quieren que les lleve a casa para compartir. Todo ha sido delicioso.

Writing

2010-10-07T08:33:00.000-04:00

In addition to reading, we will do a lot of writing this year. So far it is clear that these boys and girls have a lot of fabulous ideas for writing. I am excited to see what all they do this year!

Además de leer, vamos a hacer un montón de redactar el presente año. Hasta ahora es evidente que estos niños y niñas tienen un montón de ideas fabulosas para la escritura. Estoy muy emocionado de ver lo que todo lo que hacen este año!

Using Shelf Markers

2010-10-06T20:29:00.001-04:00

On our second visit to the library we learned about using shelf markers. Students put the shelf marker in between two books and pull one out. That way if they don't want the book, they can return it to the correct location.

We have found some fabulous books on our visits to the library. I hope your child is sharing them with you at home.

En nuestra segunda visita a la biblioteca que hemos aprendido sobre el uso de marcadores plataforma. Los estudiantes pusieron el marcador en la plataforma entre los dos libros y sacar un out. De esta forma si no quieren el libro, lo pueden volver a la ubicación correcta.

Hemos encontrado algunos libros fabulosos en nuestras visitas a la biblioteca. Espero que su hijo les está compartiendo con ustedes en casa.

Free Choice

2010-09-30T09:52:00.000-04:00

I believe that first graders need some time to play. It is an important time in our day for them to work together and solve problems. I also hope they are being creative and exploring.

Creo que alumnos de primer grado necesito algo de tiempo para jugar. Es un momento importante en nuestros días para que puedan trabajar juntos y resolver problemas. También espero que se están creativo y explorar.

Dancing!

2010-09-29T09:26:00.000-04:00

First graders need to move. So, we find time to dance everyday. These kids have rhythm!

Los niños de primer necesidad de moverse. Así, nos encontramos con tiempo para bailar todos los días. Estos niños tienen el ritmo!

Computer Lab

2010-09-27T09:13:00.000-04:00

We go to the computer lab twice a week. So far the students are discovering things I didn't know! We'll be posting some of that work as soon as we finish it.

Vamos al laboratorio de computación dos veces a la semana. Hasta ahora los estudiantes están descubriendo cosas que yo no lo sabía! Vamos a publicar algo de ese trabajo tan pronto como se termine.

Library Visit

2010-09-26T08:50:00.000-04:00

We visit the library every Wednesday morning. Our librarian is the most fabulous anywhere. The students love to see her and talk to her. She is also great at helping students find just the right book.

Visita a la biblioteca todos los miércoles por la mañana. Nuestra biblioteca es la más fabulosa en cualquier lugar. Los estudiantes les encanta verla y hablar con ella. También es excelente para ayudar los estudiantes a encontrar el libro correcto.

Reading, Reading, Reading!

2010-09-24T20:32:00.002-04:00

As I mentioned at New School Year Orientation, reading is a big focus in first grade! Everyday we read. At first we were reading for five minutes. Now we are working on reading for ten minutes. By the end of the year we will be reading for twenty to thirty minutes.

Check out the video at the bottom to see what a great job these students are doing.

Como ya he mencionado en el Nuevo Año Escolar de Orientación, la lectura es un foco grande en el primer grado! Todos los días leemos. Al principio estábamos leyendo durante cinco minutos. Ahora estamos trabajando en la lectura durante diez minutos. A finales del año que va a leer durante veinte a treinta minutos.

Mira el vídeo en la parte inferior para ver el gran trabajo que estos estudiantes están haciendo.

Explorations

2010-09-23T21:02:00.003-04:00

In the first few weeks of school we spend a lot of time exploring our materials. I give the students time to play. This helps us learn about our classroom and prepares us to learn with all the materials we have available to us. Also, it's fun!
En las primeras semanas de la escuela que pasan mucho tiempo explorando nuestros materiales. Le doy tiempo a los estudiantes para jugar. Esto nos ayuda a conocer nuestro salón de clases y nos prepara para aprender con todos los materiales que tenemos a nuestra disposición. Además, es divertido!

Love the Music

2010-09-17T20:59:00.002-04:00

Thanks to the piano in our classroom we have been doing some singing and moving. This is the first song we learned, Stretch Up Very Tall.

Gracias al piano en nuestro salón de clases que hemos estado haciendo algunos cantando y moviéndose. Esta es la primera canción que aprendí: Extiende Hasta Muy Alto.

Our School Compact for Learning

2010-09-17T20:40:00.002-04:00

In the first week of school the students learned about our school's compact for learning. It includes the expectations for parents and families, for staff members, and for students. In order to be sure everyone understood the students' responsibilities we created this movie. The students planned each of the photographs and created the puppet shows.

En la primera semana de clases los estudiantes aprendieron acerca compacto de nuestra escuela para el aprendizaje. Incluye las expectativas de los padres y las familias, a los funcionarios, y para estudiantes. Con el fin de estar seguros de todo el mundo comprendía las responsabilidades de los estudiantes que hemos creado esta película. Los alumnos previsto cada una de las fotografías y creó el teatro de títeres.
(from Google Translate)

Playdough Fun

2010-09-15T16:26:00.002-04:00

On the first day of school we played around with some playdough! Each bag had playdough with food coloring in the center. The students squished it together and discovered their color. Eventually they pulled it out of the bag and made animals, shapes, letters, and numbers. Did the playdough make it home?

The Big Bad Teacher

2010-06-15T20:20:00.002-04:00

Weeks ago the class read several versions of The Three Little Pigs. After reading them, noting the setting, characters, main events, complication, and resolution, the class wrote their own version. They decided on The 17 Little ExploreOrrs and the Big Bad Teacher. I was so impressed with the creativity and cooperation involved in this writing.

Finally, weeks later we took this story and created the movie. The students planned the pictures and recorded the narration. This is their movie in every way.

Vowel Sounds

2010-06-13T09:16:00.000-04:00

As spellers one of the hardest things for first graders is to hear the vowel sounds in words. To address that we spent a couple of weeks listening to vowel sounds in words. We began with 'a' and listened to find short 'a' and long 'a' sounds. We continued with 'e', 'i', 'o', and 'u'.

After listening carefully to the vowels in words and sorting lots of words, we went back to each letter to see what we noticed. One important thing that came up was that every word has vowels.

Our Own Maps

2010-06-12T09:11:00.000-04:00

Also recently I wrote about our exploration of maps. The students did such a fabulous job of identifying various parts of maps that I knew we had to take it a step further. So, we headed down to the gym to draw our own maps. Students included all the important things in the gym and a map key or legend to explain it.

Worm Wonderings Revisited

2010-06-11T09:04:00.000-04:00

Not long ago I wrote about all of our questions about worms. As we had so many questions we needed to do some research. We checked out a variety of encyclopedias and began searching. (I also scanned the encyclopedia articles so that we could all look at them together on the smartboard.)

The students were able to find the answers to many of our questions. Of course, our research led them to many more questions!

Geometry

2010-06-10T20:56:00.002-04:00

We spent some time recently studying shapes, using our patterns of thinking. We looked at examples of shapes that are symmetrical or not symmetrical and shapes that are congruent or not congruent. Then we sorted other shapes and analyzed what we could learn about symmetry and congruence.

Finally, just for fun, we created a ladybug that is fully symmetrical (the two sides are mirror images of each other).

Knuffle Bunny Videos

2010-06-02T10:36:00.001-04:00

As with our field trip to Hidden Oaks, I've now got the video from our Knuffle Bunny field trip. The excitement began on the bus as we neared Washington, D.C. and were able to see the Washington Monument and other fabulous sights. We were even able to see the Kennedy Center as we crossed the bridge.

We entered the Kennedy Center in the Hall of States. Every one of our 50 states has a flag hanging there.

In the theater we had front row seats (but also quite a bit of time to wait). So, we read Knuffle Bunny a Cautionary Tale and Knuffle Bunny Too a Case of Mistaken Identity. After reading I asked students about their favorite part of the books.

Back at school we took our lunches outside and had a picnic. The day was absolutely beautiful. After lunch I asked students again about their favorite part, but this time their favorite part of our day.

2010-06-01T10:03:00.000-04:00

Our trip to Hidden Oaks was several weeks ago, but I had some technical difficulties getting the videos from the cameras to my computer. Now that the problem is solved you can see more about our great trip. We began in the classroom where we learned about a lot of different animals. In the above video we saw a butterfly.

We learned a song at the end of our time in the classroom. It is about frogs, toads, and salamanders.

After the classroom time we took a nature walk. During the walk I turned the camera job over to the students. At the start we were shown a Native American structure that had collapsed in the snows this winter. The students noticed a caterpillar on the structure and were fascinated.

Then we moved on and talked about ladybugs. After learning a bit about ladybugs each child was given one to set free.

After the ladybugs we moved a couple of logs aside to see all the tiny critters living underneath.

(I thought I had some video from the seed planting part as well but I am currently unable to find it. If I solve this mystery I'll post what I can find.)

Early Days of our Garden

2010-05-30T21:59:00.002-04:00

These videos (all put into one here) were taken way back in August. I managed to completely forget about them. Back then we were simply exploring in our garden with our fourth grade buddies. Soon I'll post some new pictures and video of the garden. A lot has happened there this year, by our class, our buddies, and a fifth grade class.

Watching these videos now I'm so impressed with the enthusiasm, excitement, and energy. These students noticed everything as they were digging!

Our Knuffle Bunny Field Trip

2010-05-24T20:24:00.005-04:00

As you can see we had fabulous seats in the first few rows. We were up close and personal for the entire show.

This picture is Mo Willems, the author of Knuffle Bunny, with the large Knuffle Bunny puppet from the show.

These pictures from the show were taken from others' reviews and information sites about the show (information about them is at the bottom if you want to find more).

After the show we were lucky enough to get to go to the terrace outside of the grand foyer. The students loved the fountain and checked out the Potomac River.

Information from Mo Willems' blog
PBS Newshour review with video
PBS Parents Booklights review
Publishers Weekly review
Washington Post review
DC Theatre Scene interview with Stephanie D'Abruzzo (Trixie in the show)
Studio 360 (NPR show) with audio interview of Mo Willems

Volunteer Breakfast

2010-05-23T08:44:00.001-04:00

Our annual volunteer breakfast was a week ago. It is always a lovely event and only a very small token of our appreciation for all our volunteers do for us.

Our class decided to sing a song they learned in music, We Are From Pluto. (Pardon the very loud whispers you hear from me. It's hard to hold the camera to record and whisper stage directions.)

Knuffle Bunny Portraits

2010-05-22T08:25:00.004-04:00

After our fabulously wonderful field trip to the Kennedy Center to see the Knuffle Bunny musical we managed to each get a picture with Knuffle Bunny. Thoughts, pictures, and video from the field trip is coming soon.

The Bowling Truck

2010-05-21T08:50:00.000-04:00

These pictures are shockingly overdue. Several weeks ago the bowling truck visited our school. We had two chances to go and bowl a frame. While waiting for our turn there was some fabulous music playing and many folks couldn't stand still. It was great fun.

More Book Talks!

2010-05-20T20:15:00.003-04:00

Thanks to the bravery of our first book talker, we've had lots of students ready to share the books they love. Here are a few with more to come next week. The presenters wrote their book talks, practiced them, and made their presentation. That's impressive enough but I'm thrilled with their taste in books!

Field Trip #1 - Hidden Oaks Nature Center

2010-05-20T08:25:00.000-04:00

Our first field trip of the year was wonderful! We began in the nature center's classroom. There we talked about metamorphosis, the life cycle of insects, and lots of other things having to do with animals. We got to see tadpoles, a toad, a butterfly, and bunches of other small critters.

After the classroom time we split into two groups. One group headed off on a nature walk. During the nature walk each child got one ladybug to set free in the forest. The ladybugs loved the kids and many didn't want to head off onto leaves. The feeling was mutual. The ladybugs were quite popular and everyone was sad to send them off and move on to the next step in our field trip.

The final piece was planting a seed. To begin each child got a lima bean and had the opportunity to take it apart to look inside with a magnifying glass. Students found the seed coat and the brand new plant growing inside the seed. They looked really closely at their lima beans. After inspecting their lima beans the students were given a brand new one and a yogurt cup to plant it in. They took these cups with their seed ready to grow home last week and I hope they are getting ready to sprout!

Exploring Maps

2010-05-19T08:16:00.000-04:00

We are studying maps and spent one morning exploring a bunch of them. We looked at different state maps, a map of state parks, and a simple map of the United States.

By looking at these various maps we identified a lot of different parts of maps. Using these parts we will create a map of our own.

Worm Wonderings

2010-05-17T20:06:00.002-04:00

Last week we set up our earthworms in their temporary home in our classroom. Currently it is covered in black construction paper to help them feel at home. In a few more days we'll peek in and see the tunnels they've made. As soon as the earthworms made an appearance there were a ton of questions. We had only a brief time so everyone wrote down their questions for us to research sometime soon.

The questions listed here are:
Do worms have noses?
Do they have tongues?
Why do the worms need paper? (We put paper below the dirt in their new home.)
Do they have eyes?
Do they have ears?
Do they have mouths?
Do they have teeth?
What do worms eat?
Do worms hatch out of eggs?

Talking About Books!

2010-05-13T15:10:00.003-04:00

Our fabulous librarian has introduced us to the idea of giving book talks. She has been talking up some books to help us pick good ones in the library. Well, we decided we could do it too! Here's the first one to give this a try, talking about the book Lunch Lady.

I hope we will have a lot more book talks to share soon.

Mothers' Day Tea

2010-05-11T20:47:00.002-04:00

Last Thursday the first grade classes, with the guidance and support of our fabulous music teachers, presented a tea for their mothers. It was a lovely event with a number of beautiful songs and poems written by each class. The students were poised and talented. It was wonderful.

Reading Workshop

2010-04-29T11:05:00.000-04:00

Our reading workshop is a busy, busy time! Students read independently for at least 10-15 minutes. Many students read more when they finish their center work.

Students meet in guided reading groups with a teacher. They read the same book and talk about it. This is a time when they learn reading strategies that are very focused on their individual needs.

At other times students may be working on a center. They may be listening to a story on the computer, reading words around the room, reading with a buddy, writing new words they are learning, or finding new books in our classroom library.

As I said, it's a busy, busy time for us!

Measuring Volume

2010-04-27T10:57:00.002-04:00

We've been studying lots of different kinds of measurement (length, weight, volume) recently. The students have explored with each type of measurement and have discovered many things and learned a lot. I hope they are sharing their learning with you!

Letter from NT to our Canadian Buddies

2010-04-19T21:06:00.001-04:00

Dear Rachel, Karmen, and Chantelle! I live in America. I like your letters. I hope you like my letter when you see it.

Letter from CK to our Canadian Buddies

2010-04-19T21:04:00.002-04:00

Dear Chantelle, Karmen, and Rachel,
We have lots of movies in Virginia. I like to watch football and I like the Steelers in football. Our school is called the Cougars too!
I like the Canada flag!

Letter from EA to our Canadian Buddies

2010-04-19T21:02:00.003-04:00

Dear teachers,
Thank you for the letters. What is your favorite color? Do you teach? When are you going to our school?

Letter from X to our Canadian Buddies

2010-04-19T21:00:00.002-04:00

Dear Chantelle and Karmen and Rachel,
What grade teacher do you want to be?
What kind of flowers do you love?
I live in America.

Letter from NA to our Canadian Buddies

2010-04-19T20:58:00.001-04:00

It says, "Dear Chantelle, Karmen, and Rachel, We live in Virginia.

Our Canadian Buddies

2010-04-19T20:51:00.002-04:00

Some wonderful friends in Canada have been writing to us and encouraging our writing and learning. They made a couple of voicethreads to teach us about their country and their city.

Nature Walk

2010-04-03T07:39:00.000-04:00

We had a surprise cancellation on a recent, beautiful afternoon. So, we grabbed clipboards, paper, and pens and headed out to see what we could explore. We found buds popping out on trees, flowers sprouting from the ground, and all manner of plants. Students wrote about and drew what they saw and their observations were fabulous!

Duck!

2010-04-01T19:36:00.002-04:00

After the excitement and joy of having Yertle the Turtle and the fish from the Cat in the Hat joining us we decided we needed a new guest. So, Duck from Click, Clack, Moo and many other wonderful books has joined us for a while. He has greatly enjoyed reading other books and his new friends' writing.

Library Research

2010-03-21T21:34:00.000-04:00

I try hard not to underestimate these brilliant students, but I'm often glad to have others working with us. In this instance our fabulous librarian has, yet again, shown how much these students can do.

Recently she taught them how to access the grolier online encyclopedia. They logged on to the computers, opened internet explorer, typed in the web address, and began researching anything that interested them. We'll be using these skills often, I'm sure.

Wiggling

2010-03-18T10:02:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while we get a bit antsy and need to get up and wiggle! Everyone finds a good spot in the room, we turn on one of our favorite songs, and get rid of our wiggles.

Addition

2010-03-16T09:57:00.000-04:00

We've been working on addition for the past week or so. We brainstormed a bunch of different strategies to use to solve addition problems. Students now grab whatever they need to get to work!

Math Stories

2010-03-15T09:45:00.000-04:00

In math we've been working with addition. However, it's not enough to just be able to add two numbers. So, we've been taking some of our addition problems and writing stories to go along with them.

For example, if the problem is 4 + 3 = 7, the story might be:

There were four students at a table. Three more students sat down with them. Now there are seven students at the table.

Being able to create math stories requires a much deeper level of understanding than simply adding numbers.

Writing Conferences

2010-03-13T09:27:00.000-05:00

One of the most important parts of our writing workshop is the writing conference. While students are all working on their own writing, the teachers all move around the room and meet with students. We work with them one-on-one as writers.

This class has impressed me again and again as writers. I look forward to these writing conferences everyday.

Numbers in the Computer Lab

2010-03-12T09:18:00.000-05:00

On a recent trip to the computer lab we played a fun game with numbers. It's called Shark Numbers. The game shows you some tens and ones blocks and offers you three choices of numbers. If you click on the correct number a dolphin jumps over your boat. If you click on the wrong number a shark takes a bite out of your boat.

Studying Chunks in Words

2010-03-11T21:12:00.002-05:00

We've spent some time searching for four different chunks ('ide', 'at', 'ock', and 'ake') in words in our books and around our room. We've added to our list as we've discovered new words in our reading.

After finding bunches of words with these chunks we spent a bit of time reading some and then practiced writing words with them. We learned that knowing chunks can really help us as readers and writers.

Dr. Seuss Day

2010-03-05T15:09:00.002-05:00

This Tuesday was Dr. Suess Day. We have been lucky enough to have Yertle the Turtle and the fish from The Cat in the Hat in our classroom for over a week now. We have been writing about our adventures with them (along with a second grade and a kindergarten) on a wiki. To see it, click here.