A Little Adjectives Fun!

We have been learning about adjectives. We started the week by watching the original School House Rock "Unpack Your Adjectives" video. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkuuZEey_bs

Throughout the week we did a variety of different activities to practice using adjectives. One of the kids favorites was our guessing game. For this game I gave the class a category such as "food". Each child chose a food and had to describe it using adjectives. After they described it the class would guess the food. 

Later in the week each child received and decorated a sheet of paper with their name on it. Then each classmate put down an adjective to describe them. They LOVED reading all the kind things written about them. Here are a few examples: 

Gearing Up For Summer

After returning from Spring Break, and having warmer temps, it is a realization that we are in our last few weeks of this school year! Can you believe only 6 more week (32 days)?!?!

It seems like just a few weeks ago I was meeting my precious class for the first time at open house. Now my kiddos seem so grown up and ready for 2nd grade. They are fabulous readers, writers, mathematicians, and GREAT friends!

These next few weeks we will have lots of fun and some learning too! :)

For all you rising 1st graders out there I have created this interactive packet for you to do over the summer to keep your brains active and ready for first grade. This fun packet has recommend books to read, websites to use, built in rewards, sight word practice, letter practice, writing, counting, and fact practice. Be sure to check it out on my TPT store. It can be printed by teachers or parents.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ready-for-1st-Grade-2490135

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It was a Happy St. Patrick's Day indeed in our first grade classroom! We were very lucky to have Lucky The Leprechaun come visit our classroom at some point this morning. He left a note for us on the board that was a little difficult to read because it was written backwards.

 After finding the note on the board our class eagerly went down to the freezer and found lime sherbet and Sprite. We decided to make Lime floats for a sweet treat at recess. Thanks so much Lucky for coming to visit us today!

Today, we also created our own Leprechauns using paper plates. Then each child wrote about how they would catch a Leprechaun. There were some creative ways!!

It was a great St. Patrick's Day in 1st Grade!

Read Across America Week

It has been an exciting, and fun week celebrating Dr. Suess. Each day our school had a different theme to celebrate with:

Monday: Mixed up Monday
Tuesday: Lorax Day
Wednesday: Crazy Socks
Thursday: Cat in the Hat
Friday: 1st Grade (Green Eggs and Ham)

Even us teachers got into the themes :)

Throughout the week we did several fun activities and projects that focused on Dr. Seuss. One day we read Oh, the Places You'll Go! After reading the book, each child created themselves and described why they are unique. Here are some of the finished products: 

Cat in the Hat day would not be complete without reading The Cat in The Hat . After reading the book, we completed a step-by-step drawing of the Cat in the Hat. Then each student wrote about what they would do if Thing 1 and Thing 2 came into their house. Here are our finished drawings: 

One day this week, students worked as a group to look up facts about Dr. Seuss using a kid search engine called KidRex. They then wrote about their facts while also including a hook sentence and a closing sentence. Each group chose one of Dr. Seuss' books to illustrate. Here is an example of a finished movie: 

On Friday, after reading Green Eggs and Ham, each child was able to make up their own poem about something that they did not like to eat. Here are two examples:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. SEUSS!!! 

The Water Cycle

Over the last few weeks we have been learning alot about the Water Cycle. First, we learned the different stages of the water cycle and what happened at each stage.

1. Precipitation
2. Collection
3. Evaporation
4. Condensation

We even made our own water cycles on the classroom window using plastic baggies that contained colored water. The kids loved being able to watch the water cycle happen in our own classroom!

After learning about the water cycle it was project time. For this project, students were in groups. Each group had to create a drawing of the water cycle. They then wrote down what happened during each phase of the cycle. Last, they used Educreations to create a finished project. Here are our final products:

http://padlet.com/nolan3/c62grpd2it8m

Valentines Day Fun

It was an exciting and busy week in 1st grade! On Tuesday, we were overjoyed to get to take a quick break from our learning and go outside to play in the beautiful snow! We even kept the blinds open all day to keep an eye on the snow. I just loved hearing, "Mrs. Nolan, it's snowing outside!" all day.

This week our first grade was hosting a cereal drive for the whole school. We encouraged every student to bring in at least one box of cereal for children in need. Our goal was 600 boxes. On Tuesday, our class was in charge of counting the cereal boxes brought in that day. We had lots of fun grouping the boxes into groups of ten and then counting them all up. The kids were sooo happy to hear at the end of the week that we had collected 684 boxes!

Lastly, it wouldn't be Valentines week without fun crafts, Valentine exchanges, and Valentine books.

I also was treated to a late birthday celebration from my class, and man did the make me feel special! They brought me flowers, gift cards, coffee, and lunch. THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!! :)

Now for a girls weekend at the beach to enjoy some relaxation and sun!

George Washington Carver and Harriet Tubman

Our last unit in Social Studies was on Harriet Tubman and George Washington Carver. We started out our unit by reading books on each of the characters.

First, we studied George Washington Carver. We learned that George Washington Carver made many different things from peanuts and was often referred to as the "plant doctor". Students even went home and did some research on their own to see how many different things he created using peanuts. They brought their lists to school and shared them with the class.

Next, we learned all about Harriet Tubman. We learned about how brave she was. We also learned all about the Underground Railroad.

To conclude this unit we did group projects using the free app, ChatterPix. For this project, each group did some research on either Harriet Tubman or George Washington Carver. Next, they drew a detailed picture of their character. Last, they were able to make their characters come alive using ChatterPix.

Check out our finished projects on this Padlet site:

http://padlet.com/nolan3/lqe6kpd8xgsn