How to Cook the Thanksgiving Meal

For the past eight years, my students wrote how they would cook the Thanksgiving turkey. This year I asked my students what they like to eat for Thanksgiving. Using a graphic organizer students, were able to write how they think you cook the food that they enjoy eating. We made a Voice Thread for all the recipes that were written. You can listen to each student tell how they would cook their dish. You can also click on the comment section and type or speak a comment to one or all of the voice threads. We hope you enjoy reading how our first graders would cook the Thanksgiving meal.
http://voicethread.com/share/2464524/

Why Should I Eat Apples

My first grade students did a Project Based Learning Unit on Johnny Appleseed and Apples.  One of their assignments was to work in pairs, groups, or by themselves to create an advertisement convincing people to eat apples.  We then took their advertisements and used VoiceThread to make commercials.  I hope after watching this you will be convinced to go and get an apple or have a glass of 100% apple juice.

http://voicethread.com/share/2151812/

What Every Teacher Wants to Tell Parents

I saw this article on Facebook and 100% agree with it. I only wish we could tell our parents what they really need to hear. Please read it. http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/06/living/teachers-want-to-tell-parents/index.html

Apple Discipline

Our class and school rules for the year.
1. Give Respect.
2. Allow Learning
3. Think of Others
4. Observe Safety.
5. Remember Responsibility
Each child will have a large apple with five small apples. If they follow the rules, they get to keep their small apples. If they keep all their apples all day they will get a chomp ticket at the end of the day. If they keep 20 apples all week they will get a special treat. Students will be rewarded for having a certain number of chomp tickets throughout each six weeks.
The following is what happens if they pull an apple:
1 apple = warning
2 apples = time out/modified recess
3 apples = silent lunch
4 apples = contact parents
5 apples = principal

Crayon Wreath

My coworker and friend Sarah Cates made me this awesome crayon wreath. She used about 2.5 boxes of crayons, a cardboard wreath shape cutout, some hot glue, and ribbon. My students really LOVE it!!! Thanks Mrs. Cates

Salt Art = Teamwork

My favorite first week of school activity is a lesson on teamwork. Everyone in our class (adults included) works together to make salt art. This is so easy. You just pour some table salt on a paper plate. Next you rub a piece of sidewalk on the salt until it changes the color of the chalk. Last you pour the salt in to a jar. When we finish the project we discuss how it took us all working together to complete the project. We talk about how if just one person did not do their part the salt art would not have been complete. We then relate that to the class and how important it is for all of us to work together to make our classroom run smoothly. I leave the jar of salt art where the students can easily see it. When the students stop working together, we refer back to the jar of salt art. My students LOVE doing this and always beg to do it again.

Calming Down

Each school year one of my first lessons is to talk to students about what to do when they are upset or mad. We read, discuss, and interact with Shubert is a S.T.A.R. After the story, students draw on a star what they can do when they are bug crazy mad to change to caterpillar calm. We use their stars as one of our first boards.

Color Hunt

One of my favorite first week activities is Color Hunt. My students work in groups of two or three to go through magazines to find pictures to match the color construction paper they were given. The students always does an awesome job working together. What I love to hear during this activity is students sharing pictures with students not in their group. I love seeing the children working together. Here are a few pictures of my students during their color hunt.

Rockingham County Educator's Conference

On August 4, 2011 I very reluctantly got up early to attend the Educator's Conference. I almost decided not to go because it was one of my last two days to sleep late and I just wanted to be lazy, stay at home, and read. Thankfully I forced myself out of the bed and went. I returned home that afternoon with a lot of websites and ideas that I am excited about using in my classroom. Here are some of the better ones that you might want to try too.

The first one is one that I wished I had when I was in college. It is a bibliography maker. It is so super easy http://www.bibme.org/

The next one is a website that allows you and/or your students to make music. There is a cost for this one but if you go down to the left there is a button called "In the classroom". You can click here and apply for a grant which is just a few questions. You will quickly be given an email opening you up to free stuff. www.jamstudio.com/Studio/index.htm

Another one I loved is called Story Bird. Students select a set of art pieces and write a story to go with the art. You can order the completed stories for a small fee. They have added it where you can do this as a fundraiser in your class. I think students really will love this. http://storybird.com

This one takes long url's and turns them into little ones. http://tinyurl.com

This one is really cool, students can make a newspaper clipping. What a great way to retell a story. A lot of interesting pieces could come from this. http://www.fodey.com/generators/newspaper/snippet.asp

Here is a silly animated book website http://www.sillybooks.net

If you want creative ideas for book reports, then you may want to visit this online article. http://theapple.monster.com/benefits/articles/8529-10-technology-enhanced-alternatives-to-book-reports

This is a whole cluster of reading/language websites. There is a lot of valuable resources here. http://techtoolsforreading.wikispaces.com

Juxio is a cool website that allows students to create posters http://www.juxio.com/beta/index.php

If cute clip art is what you are looking for then you may want to visit here http://www.phillipmartin.info/clipart/homepage.htm

Students can review characters from stories by making character trading cards. http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/trading_cards

This site is really helpful to find favorite children books on students reading levels. I know I will be using this http://www.simonandschuster.net/?intcmp=z_100402_MC_Net_Monopoly

Student Book 2010-2011

This is the first year I made a photo book of my students but it will not be the last. My mom had the idea of allowing each student to write what their favorite thing about first grade was on the last two pages since they are blank. At first, it really stressed me out but now I love having their writing and ideas in the book. As I said before, this will become a tradition for each year.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Reading tip

How many times have you had parents say they did not understand why their child was on a reading level when they can read the guided reading book with no problem.  You then have to tell them for the 10th time that by the time their child takes their book home they have read it several times in class.  Parents often have a hard time accepting that the first several times they read the book in class they struggle.  The following was sent to me from Mailbox as their timely tip.  Parents can't argue when their own child writes down words they don't know.

Assessment Tip: running records

This management strategy makes it easy to do running records during reading group time. Set out a supply of sticky notes. Complete running records on individual students as the rest of the group reads independently. If a child who is reading on his own has trouble figuring out a word, he writes the word on a sticky note and flags the page with it. When you are free, help him figure out the word(s). You’ll be able to complete the assessments without interruption, and students will get practice monitoring their reading!

The Final Space Flight

Today I watched NASA space shuttle Atlantis leave Earth, marking the program's final flight. It is unclear as to what will happen to the space program.  It has been said that there will be no more space flights.  Does this mean that there will be no more astronauts?  What about NASA?  It is sad to think that 5 or 10 years from now children will not know what an astronaut was or what a space shuttle looked like.  It is so hard to believe that this is yet again something that will have to be taught from a textbook or the internet.  My heart is heavy for the ones that will either be without a job or will have to go and work for the Russians.  I guess this is just another job that is being sent overseas.  What about the kids right now that have only dreamed of being astronauts...what will happen to their dream? 

Reading Comprehension Strategies

Every month we had a different Reading Comprehension Strategy.  We did different activities each month to make sure our students understood what each reading strategy meant.  I always knew my students understood the strategy when they would start using it while they were "playing school" during center time.  It always made me smile to hear my students using each comprehension word on their own and remembering to use them while they were reading.  I had several parents tell me that their child/children were using them at home as well. 

Blogging for Educational Purposes

I first started reading blogs when my cousin's wife was expecting twins.  He would blog how they were preparing for the birth of their little girls and once they came early he used the blog as a way to keep us informed on how they were doing.  Now we get to watch them grow and change as they will soon be 3 years old.  Less than a year ago, when I had to participate in a blog at school, I decided to make my own personal blog.  loved expressing my thoughts, concerns, and ideas on the computer.  Towards the end of the school year, I created a blog for my students to use as a way to reflect on what they were learning.  It was not until I went to the workshop to learn about my students blogging, that I realized teachers had their own classroom blogs.  This is a wonderful way to display the terrific activities and lessons that are taking place in our classrooms.  I hope to be able to keep this going.  I know this would be a wonderful way for me to keep up with the lessons that my students and I really loved.  I can see me revisiting this every year to refresh my memory of the lesson that really worked.  I am excited and looking forward to blogging the highlights of our school year.  I am going to go and upload some pictures to show some of the lessons that went well this past school year.