Home Project Connection

WOW! Throughout the week (and we'll continue into tomorrow) students have been showing their penguin projects. What talented students we have! Thanks for all your support and help with this project! We've finished our study of antarctica and look forward to an in depth study of vermont animals when we return from winter break!

 

Creative Writing

We've spent some time this week on doing some creative writing. We tied in our knowledge of penguins and began to write realistic fiction stories about them.  We have been doing some whole class oral story telling, each taking a turn to add on another part of the story. We've been talking about how all stories have a beginning, middle, and end but also include a problem and a solution. We've learned that often there are many events that happen throughout the story and generally speaking, the ending is happy! INQUIRE with your child what their story is about!

Journey Home

Tomorrow, you'll finally have your children back at home. We will arrive in Burlington via Jet Blue on Airline 548. It is a non-stop flight from Antarctica!  We are so excited to share with you all that we've learned and created! Expect to see a folder of songs, poems, worksheets, travel games, and a penguin friend come home from school tomorrow. A completed set of directions to play each game will accompany your child's luggage. Be sure to take some time to play a variety of these games over the next few weeks with your child.  INQUIRE with your child which game has been their favorite!

How-To Sharing

Students shared their finished How-To pieces today with some friends in Mrs. Wrigley's class. Tomorrow, we will share our completed writing with our friends from our own class. 

New Math Game

Students now have 2 choices of interactive math games to use to help them practice their math skills at home and at school.  Today, Cathy Clements, UES Math Coach came to visit our classroom to teach us about a new site to explore to help us strengthen our math skills. We were so engaged we actually decided to wait and have recess after lunch!

The website is engaging and fun.  The math practice embedded is embedded in a game format that is colorful, fast, and motivating.  The system will adapt the questions to the students' ability.  The more questions they answer correctly, the more they will progress.  If they are struggling with a specific topic, the system will lower the level for them.

Be sure to check this game out with your child at home. Support for the first few visits may be necessary. Again, these online games are optional but are a great opportunity to extend and provide additional practice for your child in math!

Published How-To Pieces

We have wrapped up our study of How-To books in writer's workshop by publishing independent how-to stories. Students chose a topic they could serve as an expert writer on and wrote then published a book illustrating each step in clear, detailed words and pictures. Enjoy reading 2 of the student's pieces. 

 

 

Math Problem Solving

Last week, students created their own penguin math story problems. This week, we've been having fun challenging each other to solve these stories. Remember, students are working on not just finding the correct answer, but spending the majority of their time practicing to 'show their thinking.' INQUIRE with your child what this means!

Life-Sized Penguins are TAKING OVER OUR CLASSROOM!

We've been playing a number of games having to do with sorting our penguins by their different attributes this week. Students have been using their life size penguins to aide in this activities. INQUIRE with your child what their favorite sorting activity is. Please look forward to these penguins taking residency in your home towards the end of the week! 

NAP

On our walk to Hubbard Park on Monday, we tried to determine if penguins could survive in this park.  After inferring their answers, the consensus was that all but the little blue would not!  But why? Inquire with your child to find out their thinking?

Also on our way to Hubbard Park, we explored the temperature at a different location of the Winooski river. We made predictions about whether it would be warmer, colder, or the same. We even dropped a bucket down to collect some water to feel what 36 degrees actually felt like!

 While in Hubbard Park, we learned about the solid state of water - snow and ice. Which is heavier and why? We used pan blances at a station to work in teams to compare. We also used a hanging scale to compare the weight of ice.

Some children also experimented with insulationa and tested to see what kind of fabric kept the snow the warmest/coldest.  Finally, after playing a game of 'camoflauge' students made a fire and roasted apples over it. INQUIRE with your child what kind of sticks they collected to make the fire.

Twigs

On Friday, Heather and Heidi presented an engaging and informative lesson on twigs.  Students watched a puppet show, explored and wrote about twigs, listened to stories and raps, and enjoyed a twig snack.  They even dressed Heidi up as a twig!  INQUIRE with your child about the arrangement of buds on a twig - what does it mean to have alternate versus opposite buds and what do the scales do for the buds? Can they identify the function of a lenticil?  

 

 

Note from Mrs. Schultz

Given the lice problem, could you encourage your students to bring their own art shirts or smocks on Art day, or at least wear clothes that can get a little messy?  I am going to offer the synthetic aprons only if kids absolutely need them to wear over nice outfits.  I will bag up all of the cloth t-shirts we use and take them to a laundromat, but we won't share them until the lice situation improves.  If you could remind the kids and even include a notice about this in your letters home, I would really appreciate it. 

Penguins

Students used information they have learned to create a true to life size penguin. After measuring the exact size and indicating how high on the paper it would reach, students sketched drawings of either a king, emperor, gentoo, little blue, rockhopper, or chinstrap penguin.  Then, they painted the penguin using the class data chart, making sure to include the right color beak, feet, and distinguishing features of their particular penguin. INQUIRE with your child which penguin he/she chose and how tall it is. After cutting these penguins out, students have been playing a variety of sorting games based on each penguins features. 

Trick Words

Last week, we reviewed and had many opportunities to practice all the trick words that have been introduced this year. At this point in the year, all students should be able to spell these words. Please help your child continue to practice these words at home. If you're looking for new ideas about how to help your child learn these words, feel free to drop me an email for ideas.  It is always fun to do rainbow writing, play dough words, and spelling in sand trays. 


the     of     and    to     a    was     is     he      for     as     his     has     I     you      we     they     one

said     from      or     have     were     her     put     there     what     she     been     by     who     out     

so     are      two     about     into      only     other     new     some      could     want     say     do

first     any      my      now

Friendship Day

We will celebrate each other, the kindness we have for one another, and the friendships we've created in our community this Tuesday. In the afternoon, students will have an opportunity to exchange cards with each other. Please refer to the list created by your child to help with this process. Hand made cards are strongly encouraged and if you need supplies, be sure to inquire with me and I'll send some home with your child. Make sure to include a card for every student. If you wish not to create cards, that is fine too - your child will still receive cards from others.  We will enjoy a special treat created by Ben and his family in the afternoon.

Student Art

I ran into Mrs. Schultz as I was leaving school the other night as she was hanging these masks in the front case. She is pictured here with Leaf's creation. Make sure to stop by and check these out. Can your child find theirs to show you?

Cooperation and Games

While students wait for their next raft trip to a new place in Antarctica, we often pass the time buy playing games from our 'suitcase.' Students work cooperatively with a partner and choose from a variety of games that extend and help them practice learning addition, subtraction, money, and helping them to understand base 10.

Word Wizard

The word wizard keeps an eye out and organizes our new words for us so we don't forget. We are working on inferring the meaning of new words found in stories we read. Check out this week's new words inferred and learned in the classroom. Each week we generate 4-6 new words.

The past two days we've been working with the information we have gathered (as penguin scientists, of course) about the Rockhopper, King, Gentoo, Emperor, Chinstrap and Little Blue penguins to understand how they are the same and different from one another, and us! We created a graph to help us determine their size, unique features among other things, to help us organize this information and be able to use it quickly and easily. Looking ahead, we began to plan which penguin we are going to create a life-size paper model of here at school, and what data will we use to help us determine the size materials we need. Fun "hard thinking" here at school! To prepare for next week, we used our computer time today to focus in on each particular penguin and used our chart (yes, we hauled it with us to the computer lab) to depict what each student's chosen penguin looks like, using the computer art program, KidPix.  We even experimented with adding text to label our drawings.  

 

How-To Helpers

We are continuing to be 'student-teachers' and thinking about how best to teach our readers how to do something. With ideas ranging from making pizza, taking care of your dog, to playing angry birds, students are continuing to write how-to pieces to teach. After exploring a range of informational text, we concluded that many of these books include these things to help their reader better understand the topic:

INQUIRE with your child what they are writing about and what they have included in their writing to help the reader better understand how to do their topic.  

Inferring

First Graders have been learning a new comprehension strategy to help them uncover the meaning of new words and hidden messages and to better understand what the author is saying.  To practice inferring, students are using their schema,  rereading, using the pictures, slowing down, and thinking really hard in order to be detectives to find clues in the text that will help them understand the story better.  This week, we've been closely looking at interesting words - and using our inferring strategy to uncover the meanings of these words.

 

How can you help your child with this strategy at home?

1. Read to your child and model your thinking as you read.  Modeling is one of the most effective teaching strategies.
2. Have your child “read” a wordless picture book.  Using the pictures to tell stories helps with the inferring process.
3. When reading with your child, ask some of the following questions:
 • Can you explain why the character acted this way?
• How do you think the author might feel about (the character)?
• Think about the setting… what details can you add?
• Figure out explanations for these events.
• What clues can you find in the pictures?

Remind your child that a book detective goes slowly, looks for clues, and uses those clues to support his/her thinking.


Ideas taken from Cafe Book written by Bouchey and Moser

1,500 Hoots

We reached our goal and celebrated 100 days of hard work with a pajama party today. Screech came to visit us, delivering a certificate for a job well done. He even brought his own stuffy (an owl)!  Although he had his jammies ready to wear, he became a little overheated from his feathers and decided to leave them back in his nest. He taught us a new dance - the swimmy!

Note from the Nurse...

Please see the note from our health office and the Department of Health regarding whooping cough. If you did not receive this note, feel free to contact me, Tree-sah, or Joy.

Reading to End Racism

"Reading to End Racism (RER) provides engaging age appropriate forums designed to explain and explore racism with students. Through interactive presentations led by volunteer readers, students have an opportunity to listen to literature, personal stories and insights regarding racism. Readers facilitate class discussions and assist students in creating proactive solutions for real life situations."

Today, Maika, originally from Norway visited our classroom and introduced our class to the words - racism and prejudice.  Students explored what these concepts meant and learned about ways to put an end to them happening. The students used their personal stories and background knowledge to connect with the discussion. Our class also read a book called, My Name is Hannah, and learned about immigration and what it's like to move to a new country. INQUIRE with your child how to sing the new version of "Hokey Pokey" they learned from Maika. 

Day 100

On Wednesday, February 8th, we will celebrate the 100th day of school and celebrate earning our goal of 100 more hoots this week - 1500 total! To celebrate the hard work your children have showed, students will have a 'pajama party' and be allowed to welcome a stuffed friend into school for the day to help them celebrate. Please help your child remember to bring in a friend - no larger than their backpack or a plastic bag. Students will enjoy an extended choice time in the afternoon and hopefully enjoy a visit from their large friend - Screech!

NAP

Today, our class explored temperature in various places en route to Hubbard Park. We compared and contrasted the temperature of the air, water, and ice at various points along the way. We even measured the temperature of the river. INQUIRE with your child how we did this from the bridge. Once in Hubbard Park, students reviewed concepts of force and motion - and built mini-sleds for small animals. INQUIRE with your child what their nature name is and what materials they used to build their sled.