Summer Fun

I can't believe it is already time to start thinking about summer activities. Here are a few really fun learning activities to work on over the summer.

Logic Problems are a great way for learner to creatively solve problems. Logic Link Book is a great resource. The best part...the activities are hands on, so you can use them again and again!

Another fun brain puzzle is Analogy Challenges. Here is a link to a few problems. You may need to get beginner and the next step as

Summer Reading List. Reading is it own best medicine. As 2nd grader, your child will be working on comprehension, fluency, and expression while reading. Here is a list from a library in New Jersey but the book list is great! 2nd Grade Book List  Don't forget to check out the Frisco Public Library for summer activities and programs!

Use this link to find printable dots cards. (Called BLM: Dot Cards 3-8) These dot cards are a great way to practice number senses, addition and subtraction facts, and subitizing (aka breaking apart numbers).


See this video for an example of how we use dot cards in the classroom.

Thanks Dasha for being a good sport and letting me video your thinking.

Earth Day Station

Happy Earth Day! (or close to it) To learn how and why we need to take care of the earth, our class use ipods with OR code readers and QR code to access learning clips and websites. We had a lot of fun!

A few student using their inferencing skills to match Earth Superheros to their description. 

Students using www.planetpals.com to learn about how Earth Day started. Then they shared their facts by grafitting the wall with knowledge.

Watching a learning clip about what happens to your trash after it leaves the curb. I think everyone was stocked by how big the trash sorter is!

Using ipods to scan a QR code to gather information about reusing products. I think we all still have the jiggle in our head!

More Graffiti artist!

Watching a learning clip about recycling materials!

Making art from newspaper!

More Superhero matching! We love using our schema to making an inference!

Just another awesome day with these super cool 1st graders!

How Do You Say Butterfly?

Today we released half of our butterflies!

Poet's Corner

We have been learning about poetry. Poems can have a rhythm, rhyming word, and repeating lines. But most importantly, poets pain a picture in the reader's mind. We can write a haiku and an acrostic poem. 



A few haiku by authors in our class.



Thank you for coming to our performance!

 

Sea Life Aquarium

Thank you to everyone for making our trip to Sea Life so wonderful. We had a great time and the kids learned so much about all the animals we have been talking about.

I think this picture says it all!

Can't wait to see you all at Open House on March 8th!

Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming, Swimming, Swimming, Swimming

We have been learning so much about the ocean and the animals that live there. Today we got to explore more of the ocean by using itouches and MacBooks.

Using the itouch to scan a QR code to learn more about taking care of the ocean

Using an itouch to watch a learning clip about animals that live in the dark zone

using an itouch to scan a QR code to learn about dolphins and their young

Sharing everything we learning on our graffiti wall

watching a Brain Pop Jr video about food chains

Special thanks to Mr. Vacek, our Watch Dog Dad, for being another set of hands!

Exciting Day in Our Class

We will soon be the best mathematicians. Thanks to Frisco Education Foundation, all of 1st grade will soon have Math Tool Bags.

Supplies coming soon!

Reading in the Dark

Everyone bring your flashlight! We are having a reading in the dark party!

Fire Safety Town

Boosterthon

Check out all the fun we had a Boosterthon Fun Run!

Costume Ideas for the Folk and Fairy Tale Festival

Here are a few costumes from years before!

The mouse from The Little Red Hen

two Cinderellas and two of The Three Little Pigs

The Big Bad Wolf

Two more Big Bad Wolfs

Thank you for helping make our learning come alive!

Scientist!

We have been explore science tools and how to use them! We got to use hand lens, pipettes, goggles, and balance scales. Here is a look at how much fun we had!

Centers- What are they and how do they benefit your child?

Centers are one small part of our literacy and math instruction.  A typical reading and math lesson has many parts. First, there is the whole group lesson; this is when I teach a new skill. In the whole group lesson, the learner is given time to explore and get explanation for a new skill. There is normally some type of work to check the learners understanding. When students are finished with their work from the whole group lesson the learner works in centers. You may be wondering what is Mrs. Young doing during this time, I am pulling small groups of students for re-teaching lessons, extension of learning lessons and guided reading group. This is why centers are so important!!! The quality small group instruction that can be given while everyone is still actively engaged makes for an unbeatable approach to meeting everyone’s needs.

There are other great things about centers:

·         The learner is independently working on an activity to make them a better reader or mathematician. They are using a map to manage completing the required activities while building great time management skills. They must complete a number of centers (usually 11 centers) before Fun Friday!

·         Once the learner completes an activity they must put it in their Center Folder until Friday to be checked for Fun Friday. This builds great accountability for your own learning as well as your belongings.



Brenna's Center Folder



·         Students must also learn to use their resource around the room. This is one of the main reasons I love centers. As learners of a technology driven world, our students do not have to be experts at any one topic any more…they just have to be experts at finding the answer to any question.  During centers the learner must navigate around the room gathering supplies to complete centers. They can also use any resource in the room to complete their centers. For example, during our “Read the Room” centers the learner can use words found on the wall or in books from our classroom library. These students practice the important emergent reader skill of beginning sounds while learning that a book can give you the answers.

resource around the room

·         Another wonderful aspect of centers is…everyone is having fun while practicing a needed skill. There are lots of games, hands-on activities and social interactions. 

	What are the students doing?	What is Mrs. Young doing?	Example from this week:
Whole Group Lesson	Actively listening Learning new skill Exploring new skill	Teaching a new skill Monitoring students learning	I taught a lesson about fact families (2+3=5, 3+2=5, 5-2=3, 5-3=2)
Work to check students understand of new skill	Practicing a new skill	Monitoring and correcting any misconceptions about the skill learned today	The students played Go Fish with fact families. They have to find all 4 number sentence that belong in the same family. The student had to ask for any fact that belonged in the 4,5,9 family.
Centers/Small Group Time	Independently practicing on a skill already learned	Meeting with small group for Guided Reading, Extension Lessons or re-teaching lessons	A couple of examples of centers: Double fact game (4+4=8, 6+6=12) Making a graph and reading it Things Mrs. Young might be doing: Extension lesson- a few students understood fact families well enough we were able to play Go Fish by asking for a specific fact that belong in the family. For example they would have 4+5+9, 5+4+9, and 9-5=4, they would have to ask for 9-4=5.

A map from a few weeks ago

First Day Jitters

Today we read First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg. There is surprising ending! To build our class community we talk about how we were all a little nervous. Then we catch all our fears in a web.

Earth Day

Butterfly Release

We have had a great few weeks watching our butterflies grow but the time has come to set them free!

Reading 10,000 pages for a fish!

We have been reading Miss Daisy Is Crazy. A hilarious chapter book about A.J. a 2nd grader in Miss Daisy's class. Let's just say Miss Daisy is not always the smartest ;-) Her students teach her a lot!

In the story A.J. wants to turn the school into a Video Game Arcade so Miss Daisy tells the kiddos to read one million pages and she will make it happen. Our kids loved this so much...we are doing it to! But only 10,000 pages and we are trying to get a class fish!!!

Only 3 day in and we already read 1,647 pages!

Happy Reading!

Gobble It Up!

Customize a free greeting

Dallas World Aquarium

Here are just a few picutes. More to come!