Sunday, April 29, 2012

Weekly Update~4/29/12

We had a fantastic week in first grade!

Language Arts
- In Language Arts, we read Kevin Henkes adorable book, Kitten’s First Full Moon.  The children loved this entertaining story about a kitten that sees a full moon and thinks it’s a bowl of milk.  Poor kitten keeps on chasing the moon, but cannot get it!  He even ends up in a tree, and in a pond!  Will kitten ever get the “milk”?  Ask your child about the ending of the story! 








Extending the Learning in Language Arts
For additional practice, check out the following sites:
Kevin Henkes website: http://www.kevinhenkes.com/
Cause and Effect: 


Spelling

-In Spelling, the students were introduced to r-controlled words with -ir, -er, and    -ur.  The students took part in many spelling activities throughout the week to practice their new words.  Please be sure that your child completes his/her nightly spelling homework neatly!  Also, the children should be using proper letter formation in their daily writing.


 



Extending the Learning in Spelling
For additional practice, click on the following links:



Grammar

-Our Grammar lessons focused on identifying and using adjectives that tell how a nouns acts, sounds, feels, smells, tastes, and looks.  We practiced using a variety of describing words throughout the week, while taking part in many exciting hands-on activities.  To introduce adjectives, we played a guessing the hidden objects game.  Mrs. Swisher presented six mystery bags to the students.  The students had to feel the hidden object and give their teammates describing words to guess the hidden object.  We had a blast describing keys, tissues, play-doh, fruit snacks, and more!  For our next activity we described spring using six colorful adjectives to make spring windsocks.  We also drew a self-portrait and described ourselves using adjectives. 




Extending the Learning in Grammar
For more practice, check out the following links:
Adjectives:


Math

-In Math, we introduced chapter 22, Counting Money.  The students practiced counting pennies, nickels, and dimes.  We had a marvelous time counting mixed coins, and playing banker in math centers.  We also created daily restaurant specials and counted mixed coins as we set a price for our special feature menu item! 
 






Extending the Learning in Math
For additional math practice, check out the following sites:







Sunday, April 22, 2012

Weekly Update ~ 4/22/12

SAT-10
-This week, the students took the Stanford Achievement Test-Tenth Edition.  I’m so proud of my students’ hard work!  It was a lot of testing, but we all survived! J  I think we will all be happy to be back to our normal routine this coming week!

Hokey Pokey Energizer


Taking a break from testing with a puzzle energizer!



Decorating bags for Earth Day!



Popsicle Celebration!


Science

-Our first graders have green thumbs!  This week, we began our new Science Unit, Kinds of Living Things.  The students took part in planting seeds in our plant viewer.  We discussed the parts of a plant, as well as plants’ needs for growth and development.  Over the next few weeks we will be observing the growth of carrot, radish, and green bean seeds.   

Planting our seeds!





The students participate in plant-themed centers!


                   Skyping our Pen Pals
-Miss Toni Zusinas, a senior at Moon Area High School, has been leading our first graders in a pen pal project throughout the school year.  The students have written pen pal letters back and forth with their pen pals at Allard Elementary.  This week, we had the opportunity to talk with our pen pals via Skype.  The students loved seeing and speaking with their pen pals!  Special Thanks to Miss Toni for all of your hard work and dedication on your senior project!  It was a pleasure working with you and I wish you all the best with your future plans in education. 

Skyping with our Allard pen pals!


Sunday, April 15, 2012

Weekly Update ~ 4/15/12

We had a Rootin’ Tootin’ Fun Time in First Grade this week!


SAT-10 Test Prep

-As we returned from Spring Break, we quickly got back into the swing of things in our classroom. We worked in small groups and played some review games covering many math and Language Skills. We began our Stanford Achievement Test –Tenth Edition (SAT-10) Practice Test, which covered various skills in Reading, Language, Spelling, Math, Problem Solving, and Environment. The Practice Test was not graded, and was a great opportunity to review and discuss testing procedures. The students practiced filling in test bubbles properly, using the process of elimination, and taking an educated guess.  We will begin our SAT-10 tests on Monday, April 16th. Please be sure that your child gets a good night sleep throughout the week, and arrives to school on time. Also, please be sure your child eats breakfast, and brings 2 healthy snacks each day this week. Thank you for your cooperation!









Science Fair & Electricity Projects
-The McCormick Elementary Science Fair was held on Thursday, April 12th. Our first graders sure had a blast checking out all of the interesting science fair projects. We even had 2 students from our class participating in the event! Check out Sophia’s fantastic fruitricty project, which shows how an electrical current can be generated using fruit. The citrus acid in these fruits are strong enough to power a small light bulb!
Fruitricity

Kaveri worked with potatoes to create electricity! Using potatoes, nails, and cooper wire, she was able to create a potato battery, which conducts enough electricity to run a small digital clock! Check out Kaveri's cool creation!
Potato Clock

Checking out the Super Science Fair Projects!



-Mrs. Cronin’s class also had science on the mind, as they created electricity projects in 4thgrade. As part of their science unit, groups of students worked together to create a project with 3 working circuits. They graciously invited our first graders in to check them out! From a rock concert at a stadium, to a campfire at the beach, the projects were quite impressive! The pictures are kind of blurry because my camera doesn’t have a flash and the lights were off…but you’ll get a good idea of how much the first graders enjoyed these creative projects! J









Hand washing Demonstration
-Sewickley Valley nursing students visited our classroom to teach our students about the importance of staying healthy by washing our hands.  First, they demonstrated how our lungs work.  The students plugged their noses and blew into straws to demonstrate how our lungs work.  Then, they blew bubbles to show germs spreading through the air when they are not covered properly.  Yuck!  Finally, the students put pretend germs (glow germ lotion) on their hands, and placed them under a black light to show germs.  After a hand washing demonstration, the students practiced washing their hands properly.  The students then returned to the black light to see the germs disappear!  Special thanks to Miss Tawnya and Miss Christina for a fun, interactive, and healthy lesson! 



Western Day!
-YEE-HAW! On Friday, McCormick Elementary Students Participated in another fun special dress day!  Of course we couldn't celebrate the day without Mrs. Swisher tying in a good book!  We read a wonderfully cute book about friendship, called "Every Cowgirl Needs Dancin Boots," by Rebecca Janni. 
We had a rootin’ tootin’ great day!



Yee-haw!  My Rootin' Tootin' Adorable First Grade Cowgirls and Cowboys!

I didn't make into our class photo, but here's a picture of me and my own little cowgirl!