Classroom Highlights from 2014-2015!
HTeCV
June 12, 2015
What a fantastic final week of school!
Thanks to everyone for coming out to our Time Capsule Exhibition! We hope you enjoyed seeing the work we created to help us remember our first grade selves and hearing about how we built our capsules. The kids were all so excited to share and it was a joy to see how their confidence has grown as presenters as they have become more comfortable talking to visitors outside their families (thank you, parents, for going around to see other kids' work - doing so allows your child the opportunity to talk to different people and you get to help build the confidence of other kids too!). Make sure to put their time capsules in a safe place as the kids are all looking forward to opening them when they graduate from 5th grade in 2019!!!
Thanks to everyone for coming out to our Time Capsule Exhibition! We hope you enjoyed seeing the work we created to help us remember our first grade selves and hearing about how we built our capsules. The kids were all so excited to share and it was a joy to see how their confidence has grown as presenters as they have become more comfortable talking to visitors outside their families (thank you, parents, for going around to see other kids' work - doing so allows your child the opportunity to talk to different people and you get to help build the confidence of other kids too!). Make sure to put their time capsules in a safe place as the kids are all looking forward to opening them when they graduate from 5th grade in 2019!!!
We ended our year with a super fun picnic for all first graders and their families!!!
Thanks to everyone who helped make the day possible. We hope you all had as much fun as we did!
Thanks to everyone who helped make the day possible. We hope you all had as much fun as we did!
Thanks for a wonderful year!!!
Have a great summer and best wishes to all!
Have a great summer and best wishes to all!
June 1, 2015
Today we went to MakerPlace to build our time capsules! It was so exciting to cut out our pieces on
the chop saw, then sand, glue and nail- gun the pieces together! We got to watch the laser cutter
cut out our initials and paint our completed time capsules...what a great experience!!!
We can't wait to show off our final work at next week's exhibition!
the chop saw, then sand, glue and nail- gun the pieces together! We got to watch the laser cutter
cut out our initials and paint our completed time capsules...what a great experience!!!
We can't wait to show off our final work at next week's exhibition!
May 7, 2015
New Project
As our year together is coming to a close, we find ourselves often reflecting on how far we've come as learners and community members. This has prompted the beginning of our new (and final) project where we have decided to create time capsules to remember our 1st grade selves! We have brainstormed ideas for artifacts to include in our capsules that will remind us of our current interests and experiences, and have begun creating our first artifacts... a book of our favorite things and a letter to our future selves! We have critiqued and edited these letters that include information about 1st grade and wonderings about the coming years. We have also begun to learn about geometry which will help us plan and draft what
we'd like our time capsules to look like before building them. Our plan is to seal our capsules at exhibition, then open them after 5th grade graduation so we can compare our 1st grade selves with
our end-of-elementary-school selves. Stay tuned for more on this project in the coming weeks!
*Also, please mark your calendars...we have set the date of our final Exhibition for
Monday, June 8 from 5:00-6:00pm in the Commons.
As our year together is coming to a close, we find ourselves often reflecting on how far we've come as learners and community members. This has prompted the beginning of our new (and final) project where we have decided to create time capsules to remember our 1st grade selves! We have brainstormed ideas for artifacts to include in our capsules that will remind us of our current interests and experiences, and have begun creating our first artifacts... a book of our favorite things and a letter to our future selves! We have critiqued and edited these letters that include information about 1st grade and wonderings about the coming years. We have also begun to learn about geometry which will help us plan and draft what
we'd like our time capsules to look like before building them. Our plan is to seal our capsules at exhibition, then open them after 5th grade graduation so we can compare our 1st grade selves with
our end-of-elementary-school selves. Stay tuned for more on this project in the coming weeks!
*Also, please mark your calendars...we have set the date of our final Exhibition for
Monday, June 8 from 5:00-6:00pm in the Commons.
Community Meeting
Each month our school has an assembly called "Community Meeting" that everyone attends and is hosted by students in buddy classes. This month was our turn, so we hosted with our 3rd grade buddies! The 1st and 3rd graders led the whole school in a greeting; shared community news; led a fun game show style activity that helped us all get to know our new sight manager, Ms. Dulce, better; and ended the meeting with the whole school singing one of our favorite songs, "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story.
Everyone had a part and were so brave - they did a super job! It was also great to see the
bigger buddies step up and help the little buddies know what to do or say when they needed it!
Each month our school has an assembly called "Community Meeting" that everyone attends and is hosted by students in buddy classes. This month was our turn, so we hosted with our 3rd grade buddies! The 1st and 3rd graders led the whole school in a greeting; shared community news; led a fun game show style activity that helped us all get to know our new sight manager, Ms. Dulce, better; and ended the meeting with the whole school singing one of our favorite songs, "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story.
Everyone had a part and were so brave - they did a super job! It was also great to see the
bigger buddies step up and help the little buddies know what to do or say when they needed it!
Fundraiser
You may have heard...one of our 5th grade classes has started a fundraiser to earn money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Each classroom has a piggy bank where we are collecting spare change.. If you would like to donate, please send it to school with your child. Thanks! |
We Love Our Moms!
We ended our week creating a little something for our moms to celebrate Mothers Day...we hope you like your special treat! Happy Mothers Day! |
March 27, 2015
WOW!!! What a fantastic couple of weeks we've had with TWO big exhibitions!!! First, performing with Ms. Latanya's classes last week was so exciting and precious to watch! Kids dancing...one of my favorite things to see :) Then, last night we exhibited all our hard work from our "Tell Me a Story" project and it was GREAT!!! The kids were thrilled to share their books and the process they went through over the course of the project. They were also so proud of themselves and I was PROUD of them too!!! Their careful work, enthusiasm, and growing confidence was a pleasure to see...I hope you thought so too!
Enjoy the slide show...
Enjoy the slide show...
Our 9th Grade Buddies also delivered the rest of our night lights today! They look so cool...
we appreciate all their hard work for us!!
we appreciate all their hard work for us!!
Have a great Spring Break! See you back at school on Monday, April 13.
March 13, 2014
Our class has been hard at work on the stories they have created for our project!
As authors, they have created characters, a setting, a problem, and a solution for their stories;
they have revised and edited their stories with partners; and have been careful to make sure
their stories will make sense to their readers!
As illustrators, they have completed several drafts for each page of their story; they have critiqued
each other's work multiple times to help their partners create their best work; they have made sure to
make their pictures match their words, to color carefully, and to show how their characters are feeling in
the story...all to help their reader understand their story better!
Whew! It's taken a lot of work to get this far and we're not quite finished...soon they will compile all of their final drafts into their own book to share with you at Exhibition next week!
As authors, they have created characters, a setting, a problem, and a solution for their stories;
they have revised and edited their stories with partners; and have been careful to make sure
their stories will make sense to their readers!
As illustrators, they have completed several drafts for each page of their story; they have critiqued
each other's work multiple times to help their partners create their best work; they have made sure to
make their pictures match their words, to color carefully, and to show how their characters are feeling in
the story...all to help their reader understand their story better!
Whew! It's taken a lot of work to get this far and we're not quite finished...soon they will compile all of their final drafts into their own book to share with you at Exhibition next week!
As part of our project work, we have gone on two fun field trips! At the San Diego History Center we were able to learn a bit about a famous local author and illustrator...one of our favorites...Dr. Seuss! We also got to be creative and participate in several fun Seuss-themed activities. At the Chula Vista Library, we listened to a story, learned about the great resources offered at the library, and got to check out books with our very own library cards! We hope that you will make visiting the library a regular part of your family activities!
Another big event for our class is the Performing Arts Exhibition that we will be in this week! I have been able to watch some of their rehearsals and it is adorable!!! I can't wait for the real thing - on the big stage, under the lights - you are going to LOVE it!!! Please be sure to send any donations for Ms. Latanya to school this week and to drop off your performer at the Eastlake HS auditorium at 5:00 on Thursday (myself and other teachers will be there to supervise them as you wait outside).
This is a very exciting time of the year...I'd like to thank you, in advance, for your attendance and
support of these important events for your child and HTe!
This is a very exciting time of the year...I'd like to thank you, in advance, for your attendance and
support of these important events for your child and HTe!
February 6, 2015
Project launch... "Tell me a story!"
Tuesday morning first graders came to school and were surprised to find that we would be launching
our new project! We spent the entire day rotating through activities in each classroom involving some of
our favorite stories and had so much fun creating art to go along with them! With Ms. Leahy, students
dove into Where the Wild Things Are (by Maurice Sendak)...with Ms. Fox, they ate their way through
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (by Eric Carle)... and they finished the day exploring Elephant and Piggie
books (by Mo Willems) with me! They created their very own wild thing masks, tissue paper caterpillars, and stick puppets of Elephant and Piggy!
our new project! We spent the entire day rotating through activities in each classroom involving some of
our favorite stories and had so much fun creating art to go along with them! With Ms. Leahy, students
dove into Where the Wild Things Are (by Maurice Sendak)...with Ms. Fox, they ate their way through
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (by Eric Carle)... and they finished the day exploring Elephant and Piggie
books (by Mo Willems) with me! They created their very own wild thing masks, tissue paper caterpillars, and stick puppets of Elephant and Piggy!
In this "Tell Me a Story" project, first graders are going to be exploring this essential question:
What choices to authors and illustrators make to tell their stories?
As we explore author and illustrator techniques, we will become authors and illustrators...who will write, illustrate, and publish their own stories! We are so excited about this work and can't wait to share
our stories with you at Festival del Sol on March 26!!!
Check out these pictures from our launch...
What choices to authors and illustrators make to tell their stories?
As we explore author and illustrator techniques, we will become authors and illustrators...who will write, illustrate, and publish their own stories! We are so excited about this work and can't wait to share
our stories with you at Festival del Sol on March 26!!!
Check out these pictures from our launch...
January 23, 2015
In the weeks since our return from winter break, First Graders have been busy at work... meeting with their 3rd Grade Buddies for some partner reading; meeting with 9th Grade Buddies to assist them with their nightlight designs (there will be an exhibition in February so keep a look out for more info to come!); learning song and dance routines with Ms. Latanya (I caught a bit of their performance this week and it was adorable!!! Can't wait for their exhibition in March!); learning about recycling from 4th grade experts; and practicing their critique skills while creating multiple drafts of a favorite animal drawing (the difference between their 1st and last drafts is fun to see...you can click on the examples below to enlarge them!).
Finally, they are also working on skills in reading, writing, and math... here's a quick peek into that work:
Our readers are working on reading smoothly (fluently) and using different strategies to help them when they get stuck ("Stretchy Snake", "Skippy the Frog", and "Chunky Monkey" are just a few). Using just one strategy often isn't enough, so knowing how to use multiple strategies can help solve problems in reading faster. Before the winter break, I sent home a page with a description of all our strategies
so you can reinforce their use at home too! |
Our writers have created a check list of things that we all need in our writing
at this time of year... * It must make sense, so re-read many times. * Capital letters at the beginning of sentences and names only. * Punctuation marks at the end of sentences * Spaces between words. * Word Wall words are spelled correctly. * Handwriting is easy to read (tall, small, and underground letters) |
Our mathematicians continue to work on addition and subtraction equations and number stories, and practicing the use of pictures, number sentences, and words to show their work (how they figured out these problems). They are exploring more challenging problems like:
* Helena has 12 grapes. Some are red and some are green. How many can be red? How many can be green? This type of problem asks students to find as many combinations of the number as possible! |
Hopefully, this peek into our work will help you with ideas for discussion starters and
things to practice at home with your First Graders. :-)
things to practice at home with your First Graders. :-)
December 19, 2014
What a crazy and wonderful last couple of weeks we've had! We have been involved in so many things... besides the usual work we do on our reading, writing, and math skills, we also:
* visited our 9th Grade Buddies to critique their designs/prototypes for the night lights they're making for us.
* created beautiful plates to help us (and our families) make balanced, healthy meals at home.
* choreographed our own workout routine.
* videotaped our routines in front of a green-screen.
* created a 1st grade workout DVD to help us (and our families) exercise at home.
* designed our own beautiful DVD covers.
* used critique to help us create our best work on our routines, plates, and DVD covers.
* went on a fun, informative, and tasty adventure to Suzie's Farm.
* helped our 3rd Grade Buddies practice for their Mystery Project exhibition.
* practiced for our exhibition.
* had our first exhibition of the year (and it was great!)
* had a fun Winter Wonderland Luncheon with all of our 1st grade friends!
Please enjoy the slideshow!
* visited our 9th Grade Buddies to critique their designs/prototypes for the night lights they're making for us.
* created beautiful plates to help us (and our families) make balanced, healthy meals at home.
* choreographed our own workout routine.
* videotaped our routines in front of a green-screen.
* created a 1st grade workout DVD to help us (and our families) exercise at home.
* designed our own beautiful DVD covers.
* used critique to help us create our best work on our routines, plates, and DVD covers.
* went on a fun, informative, and tasty adventure to Suzie's Farm.
* helped our 3rd Grade Buddies practice for their Mystery Project exhibition.
* practiced for our exhibition.
* had our first exhibition of the year (and it was great!)
* had a fun Winter Wonderland Luncheon with all of our 1st grade friends!
Please enjoy the slideshow!
Happy Holidays!!! I look forward to seeing you all back at school on January 5, 2015!
November 21, 2014
The First Graders in Room 149 have
been very busy.... * We participated in the HTe Fitness Challenge fundraiser and it was a lot of fun! It's a good thing we have been working on being healthy because the obstacle course kept us moving for about 30 minutes! All the 1st Graders tried their best to go around the course as many times as possible...they worked hard! Thanks to everyone who collected donations for this event! |
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* In our Healthy Me project, we created several drafts of our own healthy plates and, with the help of our friends' critique, we ended up with really beautiful work! We decided that a good way for us (and our families) to remember how to create a balanced meal would be to make our artwork into something permanent, so.... we sent off our final drafts to a company that will turn them into real plates! We are super excited to see how they turn out and to take them home to use! We, of course, are continuing to exercise and have come up with a plan to help us (and our families) exercise at home, too... we are going to create
our own workout routine and put it on a DVD!
our own workout routine and put it on a DVD!
* In other news... We are very excited about a new partnership with 9th Graders! We have been invited to participate in their Night Light Project where they will be building solar powered night lights for the 1st Graders in our class and Ms. Leahy's class! In their initial meetings, the "Littles" and "Bigs" started to get to know each other and began the first stages of the design process... the 1st Graders gave them ideas about what they would like their night light to look like and the 9th Graders drew up their first drafts. We are really looking forward to working together throughout the entire process!
* Finally, we completed our first SLCs of the year! The kids were all so enthusiastic about sharing their learning with their families!! I hope you all enjoyed seeing the growth they've made in this first trimester!
Have a great Thanksgiving...I'll see you all back at school on December 1!
Have a great Thanksgiving...I'll see you all back at school on December 1!
October 31, 2014
Here's a peek into our work the last couple weeks...
We have now learned about all 5 food groups and how to fill our plates with healthy foods so that we are eating a balanced, nutritious meal! A fun way to learn about these foods was to do some taste tests! Everyone enjoyed tasting familiar and new foods from each group...they also recorded whether or not they liked each food, then we graphed our results! We have also learned about another group of foods called "Sometimes Foods"...these are the not-so-healthy-foods we like (cookies, candy, cake, chips, etc) but should not eat every day.
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Another important part of our Healthy Me project is fitness! We have been exercising regularly as a class, paying attention to how our bodies feel (faster heart beat, heavy breathing, sweating, etc) when we move for a period of time. We also go out once a week with the other first graders for an exercise class with special fitness experts, Coach Shannon and Coach Tyson (our very own Dane's mom and dad!)...this is always great fun and really gets us moving!
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Our mathematicians have been working on an important skill called "counting on" to add more efficiently. For example, in a dice game where a 2 and 3 are rolled...they are practicing saying one number (usually the bigger one) and counting on the rest ("3, 4, 5") instead of counting all the dots ("1, 2, 3, 4, 5"). They have also been taking surveys of their friends' favorite foods and graphing that information.
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Our readers have been learning new strategies for helping them when they get stuck on words.
The readers in these pictures are also using special "phones" that help them hear themselves as
they read...this helps keep them focused on their own reading (not their neighbors) and assists
with fluency (reading more smoothly, not like a robot!).
The readers in these pictures are also using special "phones" that help them hear themselves as
they read...this helps keep them focused on their own reading (not their neighbors) and assists
with fluency (reading more smoothly, not like a robot!).
Finally, we had a great time celebrating Halloween together! We started the day with a school-wide costume parade...it's always fun to see everyone's costumes (kids and adults!). Then, we ended our day with a craft activity and yummy treats (from all the different food groups!). Thanks to everyone who donated food and/or their time to help with this celebration...we all had a good time! Check out these cuties...
October 17, 2014
We have launched our first big project and we are having a BLAST!!
Throughout our Healthy Me project, students will be exploring these essential questions:
*How can we live to be healthy?
*How can we eat to be healthy?
*How can we move our bodies to be healthy?
*How can we share what we learn with others?
We launched our project last week with a 1st grade Move-A-Palooza down on the grass field!
We had 10 different movement stations set up with activities like hula hoops, relay races, ladder runs,
and bean bag toss. Students were in small groups and rotated through each stations with the goal to
keep their bodies moving! We exercised for 1 hour and had so much fun! After our launch, we were brainstorming what we know about being healthy. We realized that we need to move and eat healthy.
So this week we began exploring different food groups. We investigated fruits and vegetables, learned
how they help our bodies, and even had a taste test! We are so excited to continue our learning and
find new ways to be healthy!
A big thank you to all the parent volunteers who helped to make our Move-A-Palooza a success!
Take a look at some pictures from the past two weeks below!
Throughout our Healthy Me project, students will be exploring these essential questions:
*How can we live to be healthy?
*How can we eat to be healthy?
*How can we move our bodies to be healthy?
*How can we share what we learn with others?
We launched our project last week with a 1st grade Move-A-Palooza down on the grass field!
We had 10 different movement stations set up with activities like hula hoops, relay races, ladder runs,
and bean bag toss. Students were in small groups and rotated through each stations with the goal to
keep their bodies moving! We exercised for 1 hour and had so much fun! After our launch, we were brainstorming what we know about being healthy. We realized that we need to move and eat healthy.
So this week we began exploring different food groups. We investigated fruits and vegetables, learned
how they help our bodies, and even had a taste test! We are so excited to continue our learning and
find new ways to be healthy!
A big thank you to all the parent volunteers who helped to make our Move-A-Palooza a success!
Take a look at some pictures from the past two weeks below!
October 3, 2014
Our class has been so busy the last couple weeks! Here's what we've been up to....
* Our 3rd grade buddies taught us what they
learned in their project about gears. It was fun doing different activities with them! |
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* We have learned a few more math games to help us with counting and comparing amounts...they are called "Collect 20 Together", "Compare Dots", and "Compare Numbers"....
maybe you could play one at home! |
* We created self portraits and included 3 words that describe us....then we used critique to help each other make our work better! We learned that it often takes multiple drafts to make our work as beautiful as we can, and that when we give critique we must give suggestions that are kind, specific, and helpful. You won't believe the improvements that were made from the first to the last drafts...they'll be posted in the hallway soon so be sure to check them out!
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We continue to become a stronger learning community who plays and works well together!
We often reflect at the end of the day by asking "What did you do today to be a positive member of
our community?"...I encourage you to ask your kids about this at home, too!
We often reflect at the end of the day by asking "What did you do today to be a positive member of
our community?"...I encourage you to ask your kids about this at home, too!
September 12, 2014
Take a peak into some of our classroom activities over the past 2 weeks...
We continued to get to know each other
through fun games and sharing time. We used our names to create art!
We started practicing working with
small groups during "Centers"! |
We practiced being "Whole Body Listeners"
when others are speaking! We worked with friends to
make interesting creations! We are really starting to come together as a community! We even started to create "norms" (or expected behaviors) for a positive learning community that we will post in our room... we will finish those and share them with you soon!
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August 29, 2014
Wow! What a terrific first week of 1st grade! Everyone was so excited to start a new year! Here are a few things we did this week...
*We have begun to come together as a community by learning about each other and the routines and expectations in 1st grade. This will continue to be our focus for the next few weeks.
*We have started to think about (and illustrate) our "Hopes and Dreams" for this year.
*We met our 3rd grade Buddies! They will be working with us weekly...I'm looking forward to seeing the relationships that form between the "little" and "big" kids!
*We read lots of great stories!
*We played a fun math game with a partner!
*We created our own cubby name tags...be sure to check them out the next time you're in our hallway!
With such a great first week, I know that the rest of the year will be a big success with lots of fun and learning together! :)
*We have begun to come together as a community by learning about each other and the routines and expectations in 1st grade. This will continue to be our focus for the next few weeks.
*We have started to think about (and illustrate) our "Hopes and Dreams" for this year.
*We met our 3rd grade Buddies! They will be working with us weekly...I'm looking forward to seeing the relationships that form between the "little" and "big" kids!
*We read lots of great stories!
*We played a fun math game with a partner!
*We created our own cubby name tags...be sure to check them out the next time you're in our hallway!
With such a great first week, I know that the rest of the year will be a big success with lots of fun and learning together! :)
Check out these photos from the week! Enjoy!