Turn into a Turkey Day 3

Today was our final day of Turn into a Turkey check out the two letters for today as well as the finished turkeys.

E - Everyone Matters. EVERYONE!

Our first letter today focused on the idea that everyone matters. We read a couple books and discussed how all people should be treated with kindness and fairness regardless of disabilities, race, gender, age, or race. We related this also to the golden rule, treating others the way we want to be treated.  

Y- You Make a Difference

Today we discussed that everyone makes a difference in the lives of others. We read a book called Have you Filled a Bucket Today? and brainstormed ideas on how we can be bucket fillers and make a positive impact on others days and lives. 

Light - Transparent, Translucent, Opaque

The last few days in science we have been focusing on the science words transparent, translucent, and opaque. We have investigated many different objects and classifying them. Below is a picture of the items we experimented with yesterday.

This is the criteria we used to determine which it was:

Transparent - Clear - All Light Passes Through - No Shadow

Translucent - Cloudy - Some Light Passes Through - Light Shadow

Opaque - Dark - No Light Passes Through - Dark Shadow

Turn into a Turkey Day 2!

Today we tackled the middle two letters of the word turkey. Below you will find more information on our day.

R - Relax with Friends and Family

Our 1st focus today was on Relaxing with Friends and Family. We discussed how to relax over break. Some of their ideas included reading a book, watching the football game, watching a movie, watching the parade, napping, and relaxing in a hot tub were just some of their great ideas! As a class we also then did a few Go Noodle exercises that focused on relaxation and calming. 

K - Kindness and Caring Count

The second focus of our day today was on Kindness and Caring count. We brainstormed how we can be kind to and help others. We also read a book called reach out a give. Some of the ideas the kids came up with were holding the door for people, donating toys and clothes, random acts of kindness,  helping out, saying thank you, and more! 

We then added two new feathers to our turkeys! :)

Time to Turn into a Turkey!!!!

This week in class our focus during literacy is going to be on Turning into a Turkey! To turn into a turkey we will focus on books and activities that are centered around the idea of giving thanks and giving back. Each day we will work on two letters from the work turkey. For each letter the kids will add a feather to a turkey body. I will post what we learn each day so you can see and follow up at home if you wish. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

Today's Letter Were T & U:

T-

Today we took time to thank someone by writing thank you cards. The kids each picked one (or two) people to thank. Some ideas we came up with were thanking parents, thanking siblings, thanking the PTO, thanking a teacher, thanking a friend, thanking a veteran or soldier. We also discussed that it is important to tell me why we are thanking them.

U-

Today we also discussed using our skills to help out. We brainstormed ideas on how we can use our skills to help out. The ideas we came up with included: raking leaves, shoveling, cleaning, teaching skills, and more. One additional skill we discussed was reading. We then read books from the website We Give Books and practiced vocabulary on Free Rice. We Give Books is a website that donates books to kids in need for every book read online. Unfortunately, this website is changing soon and will no longer be offering the same program. We also used Free Rice to practice vocabulary and donate rice to the hungry. 

Friday Fun!

Today in class we had many things going on. The kids got a free book from the PTO, it was dress like a book character day, we had a birthday, we had a going away party, and it was a half day! Below are some pictures from our exciting day.

PS. We also won the traveling trophy for making safe choices on the playground and being quiet in the hallway. :)

Book Dress Up Day

The 1st Grade Teachers                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

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PTO Book Distribution

 Traveling Trophy

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

New Science Unit- Light and Sound Waves

I am very excited to share with you that we are starting a new unit in science this week on light and sound waves. This is a new unit for me as well as for the kids. Starting next year we will be switching our science curriculum to align with the recently released Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in West DePere. These standards are grade level specific and include Science and Engineering Practices. Because I serve as a member of the science committee for the district, our classroom is piloting some new materials to help us find high quality and effective teaching materials. From research that we did last year we decided to give Carolina's Building blocks of Science units a try. We did one lesson yesterday and it went very well. The kids seemed to enjoy it and we had lots of meaning full discussion about light. Today we continued to discuss light as we went on a scavenger hunt around the school to find light sources (see pictures below). One change that you will notice because of this pilot opportunity is that on the 2nd trimester report card your child will not be graded on force and Motion. Instead they will be graded on light and sound waves. There will be a reminder note in the report card letter. With this unit there are also some family science activities that your child will be bringing home. These are optional. If you do decide to participate please send them back to school so we can discuss and reflect on your learning at home, as a class. Stay tuned for more information and to see the exciting things we will be doing with light and sound!

Story Element Review

Today in class we worked on reviewing story elements for our fiction stories. This included working on character, setting, and plot. I read the kids the book and then they filled out a Read All About it graphic organizer. The story that we read today was called The Very Hungry Bear. We also watched a couple YouTube videos to help us remember our story elements I included them below as well as a few pictures. :) 

Synonyms

Last week in class we learned all about synonyms. Below are a few games your child can play at home to practice. :)



Super Word Toss



Synonym Sam



Word Frog