Doubles

We have been working a lot on adding doubles. Here are two great songs to help your child memorize the doubles facts.

 

Sound and Light Investigations

We just finished a fun unit on Sound and Light. The first part of the project focused on sound. The learning goal of the sound unit was for students to be able to identify sound sources, explain the difference between volume and pitch, and understand that sound travels from the source to the receiver.

First, students practiced identifying sound sources. They took turns with a partner to drop objects and identify what object (i.e. coin, pencil, ball, etc.) made that sound. 

Next, we practiced making sounds and changing the volume and the pitch. We learned that the longer the tube or string, the lower the pitch. We also learned that the harder we tap the tube or pluck the string, the louder the volume will be. 

Last, we learned about how sound travels from the sound source to the sound receiver. We made spoon gongs and played telephone.

The second part of our unit focused on light. The learning goal of this portion of the unit was to identify how shadows are made. Students were given flashlights and a variety of objects and given the task to make a shadow. They really enjoyed making different shadows. They learned that shadows are made when an object is placed in front of a light source. 

The students learned so much in this unit! It was a lot of fun to teach, too! 

Thanksgiving Feast

First Grade had a feast on Tuesday to celebrate Thanksgiving. Each class contributed to the meal. Mrs. Flanegin's class provided the soup. Mrs. Porter's class made mashed potatoes. Mrs. Malaponti's class made cornbread, and our class made dirt cake (complete with gummy worms!). We prepared the dirt cake together on Tuesday morning and shared it with all of the first grade classes on Tuesday afternoon. Each student also brought a placemat that he/she created. We learned about appropriate manners at the dinner table, as well as how to set the table. It was a fun time!

Veteran's Day

We did so many wonderful things today to honor our veterans. We learned all about Veterans Day, who veterans are, and why we celebrate. We created this video to thank our veterans.

We took some time to honor our family and friends who are veterans. These students made little military men to share with the class since their special veterans couldn't come to school with them. 

We had a surprise visit from a very special veteran today, Ed Emory, and we learned about the hard work it takes to become a member of the military. Ed, Mrs. Jeffers' Dad (our computer teacher), told us about his role in the army. The students loved his story and had lots of questions for him.

 We ended the day by making a book to teach others about Veteran's Day. It was a very special day to honor very special people in our country. Thank you for all you do! Happy Veteran's Day! 

Fall Party Day

We had so much fun on Friday! We celebrated our Fall Party in the afternoon--complete with a donut competition (Ghosts vs. Bats), eating witch's brew, spider hat craft, and pin-the-nose-on-the-jack-o-lantern! However, we didn't wait until the party to have fun... In the morning, we had a school-wide assembly, celebrating students with perfect attendance, Students of the Month, and Character Kids. Then, we dissected plants to identify and label plant parts. We also wrote about How to Carve a Jack-o-Lantern. Of course, in order to do this, we had to actually carve a pumpkin, with the help of Ms. Foster! The kids had so much fun, especially on the "scooping the guts" part. See the video for some highlights of the fun day! Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween weekend!

Faulkner's Ranch Field Trip

We had an incredibly awesome time on our field trip today! We learned about the life cycle of a pumpkin, fed animals at the petting zoo, went on a scavenger hunt through a sorghum maze, went on a hayride, picked our very own pumpkins, and played all sorts of fun games! It was a huge success! See more pictures here: https://goo.gl/photos/XVYuTa4aLW5m7zkB8   

Introducing Vowel Town

 At our school we have a phonics program called Pathways to Reading. Pathways to Reading teaches vowel sounds and spellings using a visual called Vowel Town. The hill on the left is called Smile Hill because all the sounds on that side make your mouth smile. They are placed going down the hill according to how open your mouth is when you say the sound. As you go down the hill your mouth opens wider and wider. The valley is called the Wide Open Valley because your mouth is wide open when you make that sound. The hill to the right is called Circle Hill because your mouth makes a circle as you say those sounds. As you move up the hill, your circle closes more and more. The bottom sounds along the road are called taxi sounds because when you say them, your mouth moves from one position to another. The hill in the background houses the R Apartment. The /ir/, /er/, /ur/ sound lives at the top on the curve. Mr. R lives in the middle apartment. He often says /ar/, and /or/ lives in the bottom apartment by the door. (This incredibly clear description of vowel town was borrowed from this wonderful teacher.)

After students learn the vowel sounds and spellings, they are prompted to spot the vowel in words to help them decode the word. This is very helpful because often times the vowels are the trickiest part of the word. If they can figure out the vowel sound, then the word is much easier to decode. Watch the video below for more information about vowel town and how we use it in the classroom.