Valentines Day Box Project

In honor of Valentines Day, we are going to have a We Love Books book party! Projects will be completed at home and shared with the class on Monday, February 14.

Assignment: make a box for collecting valentine cards using one of the project ideas from the list. The box must fit above the cubbies. Each child will present his/her box to the class on Valentines Day. This project will be graded. The book selected for the project should be one of your child’s favorite books to keep the theme: We Love Books! The front face of the box should have the following information: the title of the book and the author. There should be a slot at the top for collecting cards. Your child’s name should also appear on the top of the box.

The presentation to the class should include the following information:
* title of book
* author
* brief retell of the story (using the box for help, but NOT reading from a script-the students do verbal retells in class often without the aid of text) OR (if the story is non-fiction) s/he should share facts learned
* why the student likes the book

PROJECT IDEAS

SETTING DESIGNER: Decorate your box to represent the setting of the story. For instance, if you choose a fairytale that takes place in a castle, make your box look like a castle.

COLLECTION BOX: Create a box with a removable lid. Fill the box with items that will help you retell the story. For example, if I selected the story The Mitten, I would put in some fluff (to represent the snow), white yarn (to represent the yarn that Baba used to make the mittens), a pair of mittens, toy animals of the characters, etc. Make sure the outside of the box is decorated to match the story, too.

COLLAGE CRAFTER: Using your knowledge of the story characters, dedicate one side of the box to each character. Neatly glue pictures that represent each character to each side of the box. You can use pictures from magazines, the Internet, clip art, etc. For more information on making a collage, visit Make-a-Collage.

STORYTELLER: Retell the entire story. After putting the title/author information on the front of the box, use the other sides of the box to retell the story: one side of the box should depict the beginning of the story, the back of the box should depict the middle of the story, the other side of the box should depict the end. Each side can use a combination of words and pictures, but should not be a complete script to be read.

PROJECT DESIGNER: In keeping with the theme of We Love Books and the requirement of making and presenting a valentine box, you are free to come up with your own idea! If you want to do something a bit different, contact us to explain the idea. This option requires prior approval. If your child selects a non-fiction book, this will probably be the option you choose. For non-fiction, you may also adapt one of the previously describes ideas.

I can't wait to see your creative creations! :-)

Math Skills

We are presently exploring the world of place value...tens and ones to be exact. We are also practicing many other skills each day. In order to keep skills sharp, you may want to periodically check out the following topics (clicking on them will take you to an online practice activity):
tens and ones, 3D shapes, 2D shapes, counting coins, calendar, fact families, addition and subtraction to 10

Geography

The class has been learning about the continents and oceans of the world! Did you know that there are actually five oceans? The Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and...you'll have to ask your child what the fifth ocean is. If s/he doesn't know, look it up together! Although the fifth ocean is not on this game, your child can practice locating the 7 continents and 4 of the oceans by playing World Geography. You can check out the tutorial first and then go to the quiz. Can you find any other great geography games? Post them if you do! Have fun!

More Addition Practice

Overall the first Fast Facts test went well! I am so impressed with how well the students are doing! Parents, thank you for all your work with the children! One site I like to use is Math Fact Cafe. At this site you can make your own worksheets, if that method works best for your child. Also, there is a Flashcards section that will flash traditional-looking flashcards and allow the student to answer. If your child is doing well with the +0 and +1 number sentences, you may want to begin working on the next test set: +2 and +3. If your child is doing well with all the addition facts to 10, you may also want to begin focusing on subtraction. Ultimately, each student should memorize the addition and subtraction facts to 10. Thanks, again, for all you do to make your child successful in school. :-)

Fast Facts

Since Fast Facts are part of your daily routine, I am searching for new ways to keep you entertained while learning. Sheppard Software states that they make learning fun and they definitely live up to their claim. They offer a variety of games that give you the option of choosing what type of fast facts you want to practice (addition/subtraction/multiplication/division). The only drawback I see is that they are not specifically focusing on the facts we are presently studying (the +0 and +1 facts). Still, there is no harm in exposing your child to the other facts they will encounter this year. One nifty feature on this site is that you can email your teacher your score! If you need my email address, write me a note at school. Since this is public, I am not comfortable posting my address here.

As you check out the site, you will find other topics besides addition facts. This quarter we will be exploring place value (tens and ones), time (hour and half hour), and measurement.

Check out the other subject areas at the top of the page for more exciting activities. If you have older students, there is even practice for the SAT! Have fun exploring!

If you come across any sites that you particularly like, please post them in the comments so that other families can check them out!

Absolutely Whootie

It's sometimes amazing how I can stumble upon sites when I least expect it! This morning I was checking to see if our library system carried ebooks (for my personal reading) when I stumbled upon a link on their site called Start Squad. It is from the North Carolina Library System and contains LOTS of links. Please check some of them out and let me know what you think! :-)

The one that I was immediately drawn to was Absolutely Whootie (if you follow the links in Start Squad, it is under the Reading category). It has a large selection of multicultural stories from around the world that are read to aloud. For those of you on Facebook, you can become a fan and receive updates from the site. I cannot wait to explore this one when I have more time!

OK, kids, here's your challenge...listen to some of the stories, then choose one you want others to read. Here's an example of an entry (based on The Mitten):

I read The Mitten by Jan Brett. In this story Nicki loses a mitten and all sorts of animals decide to climb inside. I think you should read this book because it is amazing how many animals can fit inside.

When you post, I will reward you at school. HAPPY READING!!!

Jan Brett Author Study

First grade is presently engaged in an author study of Jan Brett. The first book we are sharing is The Mitten. We are discussing and creating good questions about the story, a practice that all good readers share. For instance, BEFORE reading, we look at the title and the cover and ask questions that lead us to wonder what may happen in the book. For The Mitten, we asked if all the animals were actually characters in the story. We also asked why there was just one mitten (since we usually talk about 'mittens'). DURING the reading we stopped after every few pages and developed new questions based on what was going on and then formed new questions. A few of the questions we asked were....Will all the animals fit? Is Nicki going to realize that he lost a mitten? AFTER reading we asked why the author wrote the story and if there was a lesson to learn. To practice this skill, students were given other books and asked to write their own questions about those books. Help your child with this skill when you are reading books together. :-)

Online, check out Hedgie Loves to Read. It is available for download and even has audio so you and your child can listen to it.

Also, if you are on Facebook, check out the Jan Brett fan page. You can help our school win a free visit from Jan Brett by becoming a fan of hers. Make sure you hit the tab that says CONTEST and then enter our school library as your library of choice (Cape Hatteras Elementary, Buxton, NC, 27920). Please help spread the word! :-)

Letter to Santa

It's not too late to write to Santa! Use your technology skills and shoot him an email! Hope all your wishes come true!
PS. Remember to tap out your words, use proper punctuation, and use capitals where they belong. :-)

Family Reading Night

On Monday we will be sending home a notice about our upcoming K-2 family reading night. It is going to be Thursday, December 2. The doors open at 5:45 and the event will begin promptly at 6. There will be two stations. One will be a "make and take" area where you will make an activity to help your child learn sight words. Knowing sight words automatically is a vital component of successful reading. The other station will be a grade-specific session about our phonics program, Fundations. Babysitting will be available for younger children. After the sessions, there will be snacks. The CHES Literacy Committee hopes to see you there!

To practice reading and spelling sight words, try HANGMAN. :0)

Thanksgiving

In class we have been learning about Thanksgiving. One of the books we read was Thanksgiving is... by Gail Gibbons. Do you remember what kind of text it is? Remember, the question is not asking for you to make a connection (text to text, text to self, or text to world). Think about this...is the book a "character/problem/solution"? Ready for the answer? If you answered expository to the first question, you are RIGHT! :-)

Want to see an interview with Gail Gibbons? Click on her name. You can also visit her official website to learn more about her and find a list of all her books. Try one of these activities:

* In the comment box, tell about your favorite Gail Gibbons book.

* After looking at the list of Gail Gibbons books, tell about one you would like to read.

To learn more about Thanksgiving, check out National Geographic for Kids and try one or all of these activities:

* Read First Thanksgiving by Lyssa Walker. Post your 3-2-1 chart in the comment box (remember: 3 things you learned or discovered/2 things you found interesting/1 question you still have or want to find out).

* Read Thanksgiving Traditions by Sara Zeglin. In the comment box, tell us if you celebrate the holiday. Tell us what your family traditions are on Thanksgiving day.

* Check out the other Thanksgiving activities on the site. In the comment box, tell what you did. Some of those crafts look like a lot of fun! Those mini turkey pies look delicious!

* Look for other sites with Thanksgiving information and share them in the comment box so others can enjoy them.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! KEEP CHECKING BACK FOR NEWER POSTS!

AFRICA

We have been learning about the continent of Africa in preparation for our study of Anansi the Spider. This week we explored this incredible place by helping Anansi find the missing pieces of the calabash on PBS Kids' Africa! After reading about it, we used the 3-2-1 strategy to help us remember what we learned, what we found interesting, and what we still wanted to know. Post YOUR 3-2-1 ideas (remember: 3 things you learned; 2 things you found interesting; 1 question you have). Posting will earn you a prize!!

Ordering Numbers

Numeration skills are essential for building a solid mathematical base for future math learning. Here are some fun games that will practice and/or extend skills we have been working on since the beginning of the year.

Counting Caterpillar asks the student to order five numbers from least to greatest. What is especially nice about this game is that the range of numbers can be set individually. The goal for first graders is to be able to compare and order numbers from 1-99.

Oldsmobile Cars asks students to order four numbers. The directions change throughout this game. Sometimes students are asked to order the numbers from least to greatest, other times they are asked to order the numbers from greatest to least.

Penny Prizes asks students to compare two numbers and choose the one that is either the greater or lesser number for numbers up to 99.

As always, let me know which games you like best and if you find any others that you think are fun. :-)

Word Family Practice

Working with word families allows students to explore spelling patterns so they can discover how English works. Understanding how words "work" leads to a deeper understanding and enables students to read and write well. To practice several of our phonics skills, check out Sadlier-Oxford Phonics. Scroll through the activities on the site. To practice identifying the digraphs we have been studying, use the games under the heading for second grade entitled Beginning Consonant Digraphs and Final Consonant Digraphs. The Word Drop games in both the K and Grade 1 sections will help your child improve their skills with sight words/high frequency words (typically what we refer to as "trick words" in Fundations). Quia also provides word family practice for some of the word families we have studied. Students will read a sentence and spell the word that correctly completes the sentence. Not only will they practice creating words, but they will use context clues to select the correct word. While playing with your child, ask how s/he knew what word was correct. Encourage him/her to tell you the words that helped determine the answer. Have fun learning!

Writing With Elaborative Detail

The first graders had a blast writing with elaborative detail with Mrs. Carolyn! They created scarecrows with all sorts of scraps and doodads, described them in a graphic organizer, and then created descriptive sentences about their creations! Excellent work!

Go Fish

Practice the word families we have studied (-at, -an, -ack, -in, -ug, -ad, -ap) or trick words using the game Go Fish!

We have been studying about animals in science and have been learning about expository text (ask your child to tell you that expository text is non-fiction text that is designed to teach/inform) during writing. The students have been creating their own expository writing after reading about various animals. Check out the National Wildlife Federation with your child and read about a variety of animals. What is your favorite thing about this site? Share your ideas in the comments section. :)

Coins for Cancer

The Hatteras Island Cancer Foundation is presently sponsoring its Coins for Cancer fundraiser. Our class set an all-time 1st day record by collecting $241!!!! Way to go! Keep up your generous spirit and earn the ice cream buffet!! Special thanks to Emily for organizing her lemonade stand over the weekend to earn donations for this worthy cause.

Addition Game

This week we will be learning how to write addition number sentences. While looking for some math activities, I found this cute addition game called Farmer Fred's Pumpkin Patch. You may need to explain number sentences to your child (what the + sign and = sign mean), but once they get the hang of it, I think they will enjoy growing pumpkins. Have you found any online games your child enjoys? If so, share them in the comments so others can benefit. :0)

Animals

During the 1st quarter of the school year we study animals. We learn about living vs. non-living (ask your child about the experiment we did with the rock and the goldfish). We then learn about what animals need to live (food, shelter, water, air, and sometimes care from humans). We have learned that a habitat is a place where something lives. Soon we will be exploring what lives in our local habitat. National Geographic has some really wonderful articles about animals and excellent photos. Share these with your child, discussing each animal's needs and its habitat. Post something that you and your child learn about the animals you read about. Be looking for upcoming information about our field trip to Wildfest on October 29 (after linking to this site, scroll down to read the info on Wildfest). So exciting!!

Math Game

We have begun rudimentary addition. Next week we will actually begin writing number sentences to match adding one group to another. If you want to get a "jump start", check out ABCya! You will need to show your child how to make a group to represent the first addend and then another group to represent the other addend to find the sum. I like this one since there are manipulatives for the students to use. Let me know what you think!

First 1st Grade Blog!

Now that I am "settled in", it's time to start making this blog part of my weekly routine! This year's first graders are FABULOUS! We have already studied quite a few word families, met with reading groups, been to literacy workstations, ordered numbers, created and written about scarecrows using elaborative detail (be sure to check out the display case as you enter the school as well as the displays outside each classroom), learned about families, and are now beginning to learn about animals. We are very busy each day! I will use this blog to keep you up to date on what we are doing. This will not take the place of the weekly letter (which is posted on the CHES site each week). This is merely a supplement to the information you receive in the homework folder. I will provide links to online activities for you and your child. I will also share student work on here. I hope you will take part in this blog by leaving feedback. You do not have to have an account to do so. You can write a comment, sign it, and submit it using "anonymous". Please remember that this is a public forum and that it is designed to be a positive place for us all to share and support the students. Any negative comments will be deleted. I invite you to share any nifty links you find as well. Thanks for supporting our class!

We have already studied the following word families: -an, -at, -ap, -ug, -in (and are introducing -ad this week). To practice these families, try The Word Family Game. After your child has come up with the sentence, write the sentence down. Cut apart each word (make the period in the sentence separate from the words). Have your child read each word. Give your child the words in the sentence making sure they are not in order. Have him/her put the sentence back together in order and read it to you. You may want to do this on index cards and write each sentence with a different color so you can tell which words go with each sentence. You may also want to keep track of what each sentence says on a "master" list or by writing the sentence on the back of one of the cards so the activity can be used again later (you can store the cards in a baggie for safe keeping). Let your child choose his/her favorite sentence to share as a comment on this blog entry. When you check this site again, see if there are any comments and have your child read the sentences for practice.