Math: Graphing

To begin our graphing unit, I gave each table some similar items to sort. I thought they would all sort the items in the same way, but they fit not.

This group sorted their items: food & not food

This groups said their were grouped: Things we eat & things we use to eat.

This group made three piles: food, cups, and dishes.

This group sorted their as: vegetables & not vegetables.

The final group made 4 categories: food, cups, plates, and utensils,

Sight Word Egg Hunt

We had a beautiful day on Friday for our Sight Word Egg Hunt. Students each searched for 6 eggs that had sight words written on the outside: who, what, when, where, why, and how.

I explained that they only picked up 6 eggs to put in their bags. They had to read the word and see if they had it already. They kept track with the word list on the front of their bags.

 Once they had 6 eggs, they double-checked that they had each of the 6 words.

After everyone found their eggs, we headed back inside the classroom to see what was inside the eggs. Thanks to the parents who volunteered to cut out the sight words to put inside each egg. You saved me a TON of time!!!

They had to match and arrange the words in the correct order and then glue them onto a recording sheet. This was a fun and challenging activity for the kids. They had such a great time!

*Thank you to all of the amazing families who donated plastic eggs! The kids had a GREAT time!*

Math: Heavy vs. Light

We have been weighing objects in the classroom to see which is heavy and which is light. We've used a balance scale in our lessons. Students would first predict which item would be heavier before weighing the object. Then they would test to see if they were correct.

Here are some examples of student journals of their ideas of real-life objects in comparison to heavy and light.

Reading: Compound Words

We started introducing compound words this week. We read books that used compound words, brainstormed a list as a class, and then worked in small groups to build compound words.

I love watching the students interact during these "team" activities. Some are natural leaders.  I love how they help ensure that all members of their team get to help and participate. They have great cooperation skills.

The conversations they have are wonderful. They are teaching each other, solving problems, reasoning, and working cooperatively on a common goal. These are important traits to have as they grow into adults.

Once they complete the task, they feel so proud of their accomplishment! I am one proud teacher, too!

Math: Measurement

This week we are studying Measurement in Math. The class is looking at non-standard measurement this week. Today they were comparing 2 objects and learning how they need to line the objects up with an end point on the same line and then compare. Here students are working with a partner to compare common classroom objects. They were using the sentence frame:

The ______ is longer than the ______.

The ______ is shorter than the ______.

Reading/Writing: Creature Feature

Last week we read a different non-fiction book about animals each day during whole group. We talked about facts vs. opinions and took notes on a graphic organizer. Then they created a mini flip book about an animal during writing. We focused on how to find certain facts about an animal and how to compile the information in an organized way.

This week I found 5 new non-fiction animal books that I thought the class would enjoy learning more about. Students chose which animal they wanted to research and created their own groups. Each day this week the students are reading their "Animal Book" and finding the facts in their group. They are creating a Creature Feature Animal Report.

We have one group who is learning about Koalas.

 Another group is learning about Polar Bears.

This group chose to learn about Gorillas.

This is the Water Bug group.

And the last group is learning about Dogs.

It is great to see them all working together as a team to find the factual information and then record it on their report. I can't wait to see the final piece.

Science: Glove Gardens

We started another science project today. Each table received a glove, 5 damp cotton balls, and some Zinnias seeds. They put one cotton ball inside each finger and dropped the seeds inside. We are going to see how the zinnias grow in the gloves without soil. It should be interesting.

The table teams worked together to get everything ready for their experiment. 

The glove gardens are ready!

Decorah Eagles

As we have been learning about animals, we found a great live streaming link to see some new baby eagles. Every once in a while as we were making transitions from each subject throughout the day, I would click on the link. Most of the time the mother eagle was sitting on her 3 sleeping babies. We were able to catch glimpses of her feeing them a squirrel and a fish. Once we even saw the father eagle come and visit his family. 

 The kids were entranced when the streaming would come on...

http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles 

Science: Cutting the Grass

Our grass seeds have grown so quickly. It was time to cut the grass. The students used their scissors to cut the grass. Here are their before pics.

They were too quick for me to take "action shots" of cutting the grass. However, a few students were taking their time and I was able to capture it.

The grass needed another cut the next day. The kids could not believe how quickly it had grown!