Math Conference

On August 4th I attended a class focusing on math and the curriculum changes that will be happening by the year 2012-2013.  I found some new online activities that you may want to explore.  One game that practices counting skills is called Okta's Rescue. The student is given a number and has to select that many octopi. To finish the game, the student has to count ALL the octopi that s/he collected throughout the game.  There are different levels of play.


Another counting game, Grouping and Grazing, allows students to group objects by either 5's or 10's and then asks them to count the objects.  There are different options and level of play.

Have fun with the new games!  I hope you are almost done with your summer packets!  I cannot wait to see you when school begins!

Reading Eggs

Some of you may have heard about Study Island, the computerized program that students in grades 3-5 use to practice their skills.  Reading Eggs is a program created by the makers of Study Island for younger students.  For July's calendar activity, please sign your student up for Reading Eggs.  In order to do this, you will need to click on the words Reading Eggs to get to the site.  Once there, sign up for the free trial.  You will need to supply your email address.  If you are concerned about giving your regular email address, I suggest opening up a free account through Yahoo! or another free email site and using it solely for free trials.  After supplying the email address, you will need to launch the program through the email the program sends to you.  You will have the choice of starting your child at the very beginning of the program or having them take a placement test which will suggest activities at your child's level.  After enrolling your child, please have him/her use the program two to three times per week as long as the trial lasts.  This is a new program to those of us at CHES so we would love to hear feedback from both students and adults.  Please leave your thoughts on the program as a comment.  Have fun!

Summer Fun!

Welcome to my First Grade blog! Some of you are visiting for the first time as part of your Summer Packet while some of you are former students still looking for some fun things to do. Hopefully I have found some games that everyone will enjoy! Play as many as you like. Let me know what games you like by either commenting in the journal you will bring to school in August or by commenting on the blog. If you choose to leave a comment here, you do not need to have an account. All you need to do is choose to comment as "anonymous". Be sure to sign your name in the comment box, though. Your comment will not appear right away. I check the comments before they get posted.

Do you like connect the dots? SUPER Connect the Dots will let you practice counting. It starts with having you count to ten and then increases each time you complete a puzzle.

Here's one that is wonderful for everyone! Have fun playing Tangram! Use the tangram shapes to solve the puzzles. Can you name all 7 shapes that are used in tangrams?

Another fun game for everyone is Moon Rock Patterns. This game is out of this world! REALLY! Complete the patterns and earn points. Can you name each pattern that you create? Remember, we name patterns with letters and only name the pattern unit (the part that repeats).

Want to read or listen to a story online? Check out Lilly the Wild Cat. If you have already finished first grade, try reading it yourself before listening. If are getting ready to start first grade, try finding trick words that you learned in kindergarten. Can you find any periods (.)? Why do we use a period? Can you find quotation marks (" ")? Do you know why we use those? I bet you can find a comma (,). Why does an author use a comma? When you are done reading, think about the answers to these questions:

1. Who is the main character in the story?
2. Is this story fiction (make believe) or non-fiction (real)? How do you know?
3. How does Lilly feel about being a wild cat at the beginning of the story? Does she feel the same way at the end?
4. What does this story make you think of in your life?

Last, check out Spelling Practice. This will help you practice spelling your trick words. Start with 'pre-primer' level and move through the others. See how far you can go. This one is even good for my older, former students!

HAVE FUN! KEEP READING AND WORKING ON YOUR SUMMER PACKETS!!!

First Grade Memories

We made it through our year in first grade! We have learned a lot and are ready for second grade! Before we leave, we want to share our memories of first grade. These are the things we will always remember about our year together!

* Jose: I will never forget the ice cream on Friday.
* Bella: I will always remember that we planted some plants.
* Austin: I will never forget the math videos because they teach us math like addition number sentences and subtraction sentences.

* Olivia: I will miss learning how to count to 100 and I will miss doing "a safe a", "e Pete e", "i pine i", "o home o", and "u mule u". Also, I will miss doing syllables and I will miss ice cream on Friday.

* Daymon: I will always remember dance parties. I will remember dance parties because everyone had fun.
* Yoselyn: I will always remember first grade because of the dance parties. Do you know why? Because we got to dance a lot. We got to play Duck Duck Goose. It was a lot of fun. Finally, we got a sip of water.
* Jobell: I will never forget learning about math. I will remember about Fast Facts.
* Osmar: I will remember we played basketball.
* Berlynn: I will always remember when we got to do the ABC cards. It was fun. Some had base ten blocks and some had ones, too. Some had money.
* Clara: I will remember doing a dance party because it gets all our energy out. Of course it was fun.
* Tristan: I will always remember the ice cream.
* Sydney: I remember learning in first grade. What I remember learning about in first grade is when Ms. Kristin told us about two syllables.
* Kevin: My favorite part of first grade is water day. We had fun with water balloons.
* Gavin: I will remember reading trick words.
* Jennifer: I will never forget doing the dance party. I enjoy it because I like dancing.
* Carter: I will never forget ice cream because it tastes good.
* Kirra: I will remember doing all the writing we did all year. Yes, maybe other people won't. It's sad.

* Mia: The thing I will always remember is the dance party because it was fun. My favorite thing about the dance party was when we get to dance.
* Tommy: My favorite thing was the plants. I liked seeing them change every day.
* Ayden: I will not forget about when we grew plants.

Plants

We are presently exploring the world of plants. Yesterday we watched a short video about the plant life cycle. In class we have grown grass, planted marigolds for Mother's Day, and are now watching what happens when we rest a potato in a cup with water. We are practicing our scientific writing skills by preparing observation pieces. We tried to watch lima beans sprout with Miss Jenny, but unfortunately they grew mold and had to be thrown out. That's the fun of science! We never know when an experiment is going to work or not work. We just observe what happens and look for solutions!

To learn more about plants with your child, check out the Plants web quest. This site proposes a challenge while teaching about the basics of plant structure. Complete the task and bring in the field journal for a special prize. This will not only serve as a fantastic scientific family project, it will also help develop reading skills; encourage your child to read as much of the text as possible while supporting him/her to prevent frustration. Although the instructions tell the students they will be creating the original plant on a program called Pixie (which we do not have), my students may create the original plant using any method they would like and bring in the completed project. I know time is limited before we release for the summer; you may want to save this activity for a rainy summer day. If you complete this challenge during the summer vacation, you may bring the completed project to me within the first week of school for your prize. :-)

Have fun learning about plants!

Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month and we are certainly excited! Our school will be celebrating throughout the month and will showcase our love for poetry on April 12 at 6:30. Students, teachers, families, and community members are invited to join in the festivities by sharing self-written works or a favorite poem written by someone else. Costumes and props are welcome, but not required. Don't feel like sharing? That's fine! Come and enjoy the poetry reading and the other activities. See you there!

In our class we have been writing cinquains! We have written partner poems about characters from Julius the Baby of the World by Kevin Henkes. To finalize our fairy tale unit, students are writing individual poems about a fairy tale character of their choice. Come check out our display in the hall! To write your own cinquains at home, you can use the graphic organizer that we used in class. It's the second page.

The students especially like humorous poems. They like to find the rhyming words and giggle when they hear something absolutely crazy. Some popular poets that the students will enjoy are Kenn Nesbitt, Jack Prelutsky, and Shel Silverstein. You will enjoy visiting any of these sites and sharing the fun side of poetry.

To enjoy some other fun poems and even learn how to write your own poems with advice from poet Bruce Lansky, visit Giggle Poetry. There you will find games, poet interviews, and suggestions for how to present poems (suggestions for props, etc. - super ideas for our upcoming Poetry Night).

For students who want to write poetry, but need a more concrete format, check out the Poetry Idea Engine. There, students select words to create limericks, haiku, cinquains, and free verse poems. This is a great springboard for creating self-written poems.

So, now we come to the part where I issue your challenge: visit some of these sites and receive a prize for completing any or all of the following activities:

* present a poem of your own or one of your choosing at Poetry Night
* post a poem you have authored as a comment
* bring a poem you have authored to school
* perform a poem for the class using props
* find another fun poetry site not suggested here and post it as a comment
* bring an art project to school based on a poem you like
* CHOICE: come up with a poetry activity on your own and share it as a comment or bring it to school

Enjoy National Poetry Month!!!

The Parade of Legs

Yes, it's been a bit since I have posted. Between the Science Festival and the wicked cold I have had, I have not taken the time to post. However, now that the Fest is over and I am feeling better, I have a new post! :-)

First, I would like to know what you liked best about the Science Fest this year. Which activities were your favorite? Why? Also, to help me plan next year, what activities did you like least? Why? How could it be better? Leave your comment in the comment box (remember you can comment using ANONYMOUS and sign your name). There will be a classroom reward for posting.

Next, I would like to offer you a challenge! Go to The Parade of Legs and follow the directions. This is a parent/student activity that will help your child see that there are many ways to solve a problem. Please allow your student to attempt to solve the problem on his/her own before stepping in to help. I am constantly amazed by what incredible thinking skills these students have at such a young age...I bet you will be, too! At the bottom of the screen (on The Parade of Legs page), there are links to pages that explore different strategies for solving this problem. Bring in a solution for a PRIZE!!! Have fun learning! Can you write your own problem like this? Write one in the comment box for your classmates to solve. Yes, I will offer a prize for this challenge, too! Excited to read your posts!

Fairy Tales

Once upon a time there was a first grade that loved fairy tales....

Presently, we are examining a genre of literature that most children adore: fairy tales. We have listed the elements of fairy tales (once upon a time, magic, love, princes, princesses, talking animals, happily ever after, etc.) and have read two so far: The Frog Prince (by Edith Tarcov) and Jack and the Beanstalk (retold by Stella Williams Nathan). Soon we will be reading other versions of the stories and compare and contrast them using a Venn diagram (you can print this one out to compare two stories). We will also explore author's message: What was the author trying to teach us or tell us about by writing this story. This is sometimes difficult for students to grasp. Often, they want to describe an actual event from the story rather than a "general message" or "moral". For instance, in The Frog Prince, a student may say that the author wanted to tell us not to drop a ball in the well or that the king wanted her to keep her promise. Sometimes when asked why the author wrote the story, a child will say that the author just wanted to tell a story or s/he wanted to teach us about frogs (in the case of The Frog Prince). When asking your child a question about the author's message, delve deeper. Discuss (as in The Frog Prince) that the author was teaching that it was not good to lie or that promises should be kept by asking questions about what the characters learned (i.e. What do you think the princess learned in this story?). Then relate that to the author writing the story to teach others about lying and keeping promises. This is a higher order thinking skill and will take some practice. This skill is something we are going to begin next week. If you would like to begin working on 'author's message', read this online version of The Frog Prince. Ask how it is like the version we read in school and how it is different. Then gradually move to the questions about what the characters learned and ultimately to the questions about why the author wrote the story (linking the character's learning to the author's message). This online version also comes with print outs so you can create your own book or have your child retell the story (there are character print outs as well). For a prize in class, have your child post a comment about the author's message in The Frog Prince or examine another fairy tale of your choice (there are several online versions as well as books that you have in your personal collection). Have fun learning with your child!

Telling Time

In math we are learning how to tell time to the hour and half hour on digital and analog clocks. Telling time to the half hour is difficult for some children because the hour hand is not directly on the hour when the minute hand has traveled from the top of the hour to the half hour. What Time Is It? allows students to match a digital clock to the time shown on the analog clock. For practice with writing time, you can create worksheets at The Math Worksheet Site. Please make sure your child clearly shows the difference in length between the hour and minute hands. Likewise, please make sure that when drawing the hands for the half hour your child shows that the hand is BETWEEN the present hour and the next hour. For instance, if it is 4:30, the hour hand should be halfway between the 4 and 5. Have fun!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DR. SEUSS!!!!!!!!

This is one of my favorite days of the school year...Read Across America celebrated on Dr. Seuss's birthday! Not only do we focus on timeless classics, but we excitedly celebrate literature (getting to wear my Cat in the Hat t-shirt is pretty awesome, too!). For some background and ideas for this "holiday", check out Read Across America Day. For online links to LOTS of Seuss ideas and online games, check out Dr. Seuss Games. Your child will adore Seussville! This site is whimsical and will put a smile on your face! Visit old friends and discover new ones! While checking out another possibly good link, I discovered that there are several videos on YouTube of people reading Dr. Seuss stories (such as Dr. Seuss's ABC)! When using YouTube, PLEASE accompany your child as it is EASY to find videos that are NOT child-friendly. If you have an iPod Touch or iPhone, there is an app where you can download Dr. Seuss books. However, I do no think that this is a free app. Let us know what you do to celebrate this magnificent author on this very special day!

Accelerated Reader

Some of you may remember that we once had Accelerated Reader at our school. I am thrilled that it is now back! For those of you who don't know what it is, it is a reading incentive program that promotes reading and comprehension. How does it work? Simply, there is a test bank. Students read the specific books that are on their level. Students can read independently, with someone, or even have books read to them. Then, without the assistance of the book, the student must answer anywhere from 5 to 10 questions about the story. Typically, there are only 5 questions on the tests for 1st graders. Mrs. Couch, Mrs. Brown, and Miss Meredith announced yesterday that there would be a competition beginning next month to recognize classes making progress in Accelerated reader. I have shown the program to the class and some students have already begun taking the tests. You may want to help your child by helping her/him read books from the Accelerated Reader test list. I will send home some suggested books soon, but thought I would suggest a few here if you were eager to begin. I am adding these from memory (I am unable to access the school's list from home) so some titles may not be completely exact (but they will steer you in the right direction. If you want to practice for your test, write a retell of the book in the comments box. :-)

Days With Frog and Toad, Frog and Toad Together, Where the Wild Things Are, Runaway Bunny, Goodnight Moon, Little Bear, Little Bear's Visit, The Frog Prince, Henry and Mudge in Puddle Trouble, Henry and Mudge-Mr. Hopper's House, Junie B. Jones Has a Monster Under Her Bed, Junie B. Jones-Sneaky Peeky Spying.

New Online Activities

Presently, we are working on place value with tens and ones. When organizing blocks to show how many tens and how many ones in a two-digit number, some of the students are having difficulty differentiating between how many groups of ten they have created and the number of blocks all together. When doing the assigned homework, ask how many groups of ten they have for each number. Shark Numbers will give your child practice counting tens and ones. Be sure to ask your child how many groups of ten are in each number. Base Ten Blocks gives your child base 10 blocks and asks him/her to build numbers. The only confusing thing is that the instructions tell you to 'make x =' and then gives the number. Explain to your child that all s/he has to do is build the number. Your child can also practice showing numbers three ways in this quick game. You may need to review this with them at first, but then they will quickly master it on their own. :-)

Another skill we practice daily is reading number words. Students should be able to read the number words for numbers up to 99. Place Value Shoot-Out is a fun way to practice reading number words.

Our phonics unit is focusing on "silent e". Some of the terms we use to explain "silent e" are "bossy e" (because he makes the first vowel say its name), "busy e" (he has a busy job...making the first vowel say its name), "sneaky e". At Starfall, students can practice making short vowel words and turning them into long vowel words by adding 'e'.

Hearing the long vowel sounds and differentiating between them is equally important. Sort pictures by their vowel sounds in this fun activity. Be sure to select 'long vowels' (although practice on the other two listed topics is fine as well).

For practicing inference (using clues to decipher what is not explicitly stated while reading), play What's in the Bag. Students are given 3 words to describe what is in the bag and then they are given three choices of what could be in the bag. While playing, ask your child why they selected the answer they chose. Although it may seem simplistic, explaining their answers helps hone higher order thinking skills.

Have fun playing! Let me know which games you like best and if you find any games you like that practice what we are learning in class.

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. :-)