Bold Beginnings

We've been working on bold beginnings or leads.  I've been introducing one a week and the kiddos have been practicing with Post-It Notes.

Today's mini lesson was reviewing the ones we've learned.  I picked books from our own class library and read each lead.  The kids had to place the correct Post-It on the book.

Then, I introduced a new lead.  SOUND EFFECT!  These are the books I used.

We went to my bear writing and I had the kids help me with my beginning.  They came up with,

"Vroom, vroom."
"Beep, beep."
"Yawn."

They practiced in their own Writer's Notebook.  Here are a few examples.

The sound of an ambulance.

Pooh pooh that is the fire works.

Next up...riddle or joke leads!  

Reindeer Door

Here's our decorated door!

Un update on our Random Acts of Classroom Kindness.

Day 7: Hold the door for someone.

Day 8: Write a letter and donate a book to the public library (look for pics tomorrow).  We're lucky to have Cindy from the public library come and read to us.  We'll be surprising her tomorrow!

Run, Run, Run As Fast As You Can!

This week we'll be reading different versions of The Gingerbread Man and we'll be keeping track of the setting, characters, and how the story ends.

We'll also be creating our own gingerbread stories.  I have some kids writing about gingerbread pirates, dogs, girls, boys, and tigers.   Here are some of the Snapshot Leads they did today.

The First Thanksgiving

Today I told the story of the first Thanksgiving.  For each part the kids added a bead.

Brown bead:  Pilgrims left England
White bead:  Sailed on the Mayflower
3 blue beads:  Long trip on the ocean
Green bead: Spotted land
Black bead: Long hard winter and many didn't survive
Tan bead:  Native Americans who helped the Pilgrims
4 beads for the foods served at first Thanksgiving
   -1 red: Cranberries
   -1 yellow: Corn
   -1 orange: Pumpkins
   -1 brown: Turkey

Here are their bracelets.

Colonial Day Activities

Today the kids went to other first grade classrooms to participate in some Colonial day activities.  Kids dipped candles, weaved, wrote with quill pens, and played some games.

I was busy with the games.  The kids had the opportunity to play hopscotch, marbles, and bowling.  Here are some pics!

Love this photo!  Daysin got a strike.  This was their reaction.  Priceless!! 

Good Readers Ask Questions

I read Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathman.  We've been learning that good readers ask qeustion before, during, and after reading.  Here's our work.

How to Cook a Turkey

If you're looking for a DELICIOUS recipe, look no further!!  That is if you trust a first grader.  They began this lesson by doing a Quick Write.  They had to list everything they would need in order to cook a turkey. Then they wrote.  Here's an example.

We've also been reading nonfiction books on turkeys and completed this chart.

Raven

Today I read Raven and we completed some art to go with the book.  This is a Native American trickster story.  We have been reading many legends.  Here they are working!

Colonial Day Venn Diagram

Here's the Venn Diagram we completed the other day on Colonial Kids Vs. Kids Today.

Some interesting facts the kiddos learned are...
1.  Kids served their parents dinner.
2.  They had lots of chores.
3.  Siblings shared the same plate.
4.  If you didn't bring wood to the school master, you had to sit in the back of the classroom.
5.  Classrooms weren't comfortable, they sat on benches, and it was cold.

Turkeys

Kids listened to All About Turkeys by Jim Arnosky.  They brainstormed a list of new facts they learned.  They wrote on sentence strips, which were used as the turkey's feathers.