We are continuing our Stayin' Alive unit on the human body and animals.  The kids already love this one, but who am I kidding? I knew they would!

We started off learning about the bones and making skeletons {perfect Halloween decorations!}.  You can read all about that HERE.  Then, we made life-size human body collaboration posters from butcher paper...


Listening to all of the silly giggles while they were tracing and cutting was seriously so fun for me!  I love watching my firsties love learning!  We have been reading about a different organ or muscle each day.  We charted our learning through shared research...
      

During Science, we charted heart, brain, muscles, lungs, kidneys, and the digestive system.  In writing, we used this shared research to write an informative paragraph about each organ or muscle.  Read more about that HERE.

Also, during Science, our table groups worked together to color, cut and glue their organ/muscle on their human body posters.  They even did a great job of adding capillaries to their lungs!

Check out this activity and more--including a mini-me poster version, anchor chart templates and a my body journal--in my Human Body Mini-Unit!  And try out a smaller sample here!
It's been a while since I've blogged about Math...and since I'm pretty much  Math Junkie, that's a sad, sad thing in my book.  So, here's what's been happenin' in math in Room 210 over the last few weeks!

We are continuing to focus on the Standards for Math Practice each week as our overarching goals.

We will continue to use these posters and anchor charts to guide our goals, objectives and instruction throughout the year.  We have still not introduced all 8 practices as we have spent more than one week on some.

Make Sense of the Problem

For example, the first math practice we introduced was #1: I can make sense of the problem and persevere in solving it. {You can read more about that HERE}.  We discussed unpacking then.  But just last week, we revisited this practice and brainstormed and added "all of the things that could happen to my set of stuff."  Then, we dove deeper into this practice by not only unpacking the problem, but naming the action specifically.  This really set up a great background for the next week's focus of math symbols!

If students can identify what is happening to a set, then they can begin to write equations or expressions to notate their thinking.  Understanding what happens to their set of stuff helps them identify which symbol accurately shows the action in the story problem.

Using Math Symbols

This is our symbols chart we used when we revisited practice #3 {construct viable arguments...}.  We talked about how mathematicians use equations and notation as their argument.  We added symbols ONLY as students began using them or knew to use them.  For example, as we shared and saw a friend use the + sign, we talked about what that meant and then added it to the chart.  And although students are able to naturally understand and think about math and numbers, symbols do not just naturally come to them without some help...just as speaking develops naturally, but reading has to be directly taught.

So, no....I didn't have any kids that just "discovered" the multiplication sign.  But, NO, I did not stand up and tell my kids, "Today we are going to learn about the multiplication symbol."  That means nothing to them either.  But I did have a few kids when we were solving multiplication problems that used a + sign instead of an x sign {3+5=15} so I was able to conference with them about whether or not 3 + 5 really did equal 15.  Some of them, will say, "But I just didn't know what else to put there."  And that's where my role comes in.  I always say, "Mathematicians use this symbol when they are talking about groups of the same number."  During math problem solving, I carry a colored pen with me so I can notate their thinking on their papers with a color pen that stands out.  That way I can see {and so can parents} when I've helped them notate their thinking.  Last year, I even had a sweetie who wrote his equation with a box where the symbol should go {Like 3 [ ] 5 = 15}.  When I conferenced with him, he said, "Well, I just couldn't figure out what would go there, so I just put that box because I don't know it and decided to wait until you could come help me!"  I loved that!!
I will be adding the division sign, I just haven't had that come up yet.  Most of my higher thinkers are actually flipping their thinking into multiplication and using an x sign right now.  It will come...it always does...But I'm not pushing it, because I know that's not helpful for kids anyways.

Looking for Structure

We also spent some time a while back on #7, looking for structure.  I like to focus on this one when we first start doing change unknown problems {unknown addend}.  Since it was the beginning of the year, we simplified this and just talked about which part of the story is missing, Beginning, Middle or End.  Later in the year, we will revisit this one and dig deeper....stay tuned on Facebook and BlogLovin.

And since you made it all the way to the end of my blog, you'll be happy to know that I've just put out my November Math Mysteries packet...

Check it out HERE, or grab my Year Long Combo Pack and save too!

This week is red ribbon week!  I love integrating drug free learning into our writing.  And this owl craft is the perfect fall bulletin board display and is meaningful for red ribbon week too!

This year, our drug free week coordinated perfectly with our study on the human body in our unit, Stayin' Alive.  We were able to make some really good connections when learning about drugs to the organs and muscles when had been studying.  We watched this video on drug education.  It's short and to the point and has plenty of info for first graders to understand!

We paused the video after they talked about each category of drug {tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs} and charted the information from the video.  This was another great way to tie in shared research with a non-fiction video instead of a text.  Our kiddos are learning quickly that there is a variety of non-fiction resources.

Every year, I'm amazed at how engaged kids are in talking about drugs.  Even at 6 and 7 years old.  And the knowledge they have about alcohol and even illegal drugs is unbelievable.  Scary, actually.  This year was no different.  Again, this year brought great conversation, concern for parents who smoke, and that one sweet firstie who brags about how much the parents drink and how many times the dad or mom has been to jail for drinking.  I know I'm a naive person.  But, again, I say how blessed I was to grow up in a home where there was no fear of dad or mom going to jail for any reason.  There was no need to think that alcohol was "cool" at the young age of 6, because I didn't even know it existed.  Yes, again, I say,

Thank you, Lord, for blessing my childhood with innocence and purity.

Moving on...

After we charted our research on drugs, my firsties wrote their opinion on staying drug free.  Of course, all of our opinions were to be drug free.  Although our Stayin' Alive unit writing focus is informative, we will continue to work on opinion writing here and there throughout the year.

After our writing, we made "wise owls" to display our writing.
 "slur speed"....errr....slur speech.  I love first grade writing!


You can find this writing and craftivity in my Stayin' Alive Unit or by itself!  Happy drug free week, friends!

This is week 2 on our Stayin' Alive Unit!  We are digging deep into inferring the main idea from non-fiction text!  

We started by charting main idea.  Then we became inferencing detectives with our main idea bag stations!  I have 6 group tables, so I made 7 main idea bags--1 for each table and one for us to model together with.  

We did a bag together first.  I took each detail out of the bag and said, "This detail is ______," trying to reinforce the language of "main idea" and "detail."  Then, we did a think-pair-share with carpet partners to figure out the main idea.  After each main idea inference, we went through each detail on the back and said, "Would skeleton be a good detail for a human body main idea?"  I modeled how to write the main idea and illustrate the details on their recording sheet.

Then, they went back as inferencing detectives to their group's table.  I told them how important it was that they worked quietly so they didn't give away the main idea to other groups.  They spent 5 minutes at each station.  


The main ideas I used were: human body {for modeling together}, animals, vehicles, Halloween, toys, school supplies, and shapes.

Once they figured out the main idea as a group, they wrote it on the corresponding number line on their recording sheet and then illustrated and labeled the details from the bag. {We worked super duper hard on labeling last week! Read about that HERE.}  Then, they rotated through all 6 stations after our 5 minute timer.  After we finished rotating through all 6 stations, they had a few extra minutes at their desk to color their detail illustrations and finish any labeling or illustrating they didn't finish at stations.  

After that, we came together as a whole group and discussed the correct main idea for each bag!  They had so much fun with this!!

Here's the {{FREEBIE}} main idea handout we used. Click to print your copy!  I hope your kiddos enjoy it as much as mine did!!
This week we are kicking off our Animals Unit....which means that, among other *amazing* things happening in our room, we get to add the groovin' Bee Gees song to our list of brain breaks! ;)

Our animals unit is all about using non-fiction texts to learn information.  We study non-fiction text features, main idea and detail, informative writing, asking informed questions, and we manage to learn about animals and the human body {from our state's science standards} along the way!  Gotta love literacy-based science integration!

Non-Fiction Text Features: Labels

We talked about two non-fiction text features: photographs and labels.  We really have been talking about photographs since the beginning of the year, and working on that during guided reading, so this time we focused mostly on labels.

I introduced labels and showed them the label "bubble" that goes with our chart.  Then, I asked them to help us label me.  I had volunteers that labeled my head, leg and hand with sticky notes.  Then, as a quick reinforcing activity, I had them partner up and label each other with 3 sticky notes.  This literally took 10 minutes or less, but they LOVED it!  They were so engaged, really trying to sound out words so they could write the words and label their friend, and they had a BLAST!  Plus, it was a great "learning brain break" since we had been sitting on the carpet and were going to have to sit to read our story some more!

Once we had labeling down, we read the non-fiction book on bones from this **awesome** scholastic series:

It was the perfect book because it's about the skin AND bones.  No, I'm not crazy.  I know we weren't learning about the skin Monday.  But we had just discussed and charted that non-fiction books do not have to be read in order and you don't have to read the whole book.  So, we used the table of contents and found only the parts on bones and skipped the rest!  As we read, I had the kids listen for information from the text that they learned about bones.  They also helped me watch for labels in our text and loved pointing them out to me!

We stopped after each section and did a think-pair-share on information they learned.  At the beginning of non-fiction, I always have to stress how the information they share must come from the text.  That's a BIG deal in Common Core.  And it's hard sometimes for first graders.  They want to share what they know {or think they know} about the topic. So as each person shared information, I asked, "Did that come from ____'s head or from the text?"  When they answered, "From the text," we had to prove it!  So we turned in the book and read the sentence(s) together that taught us that detail or information.  This has been a huge shift with Common Core over the last few years, but I think it's definitely for the better.  Not only is it a deeper understanding of the text, but it is also very engaging. First graders get very lively when trying to prove something they learned actually came from the text....and this teacher might just be guilty of throwing out the ole, "I think you just made that up.  I don't remember reading about that..."  Gets 'em good.  Every. Time.

Bones Shared Research

Back on track...We charted our research....

Labeling Skeletons

Then, they each assembled their own skeleton and we practiced our labeling skills.  We used words and arrows to label our skeleton.  My favorite bone to label is ribs.  That's because I get to tell my sweet firsties that I have an extra pair of ribs.  Yes, you read that right.  I have 13 pairs of ribs...not 12.  I found this out because of some severe numbing and pain I was having in my arm and fingers.  I had surgery when I was a teenager to remove one of the ribs.  So now, I'm an even weirder person with an odd number of ribs.  Go figure.  They absolutely love that story and year after year, it's one of my favorites to tell!


The rest of this week and next we will continue to research other organs and muscles from our body.  We will be learning about the brain, heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, kidneys and muscles!  And we will be learning about more non-fiction text features along with our content!  I can't wait and the kids are literally on pins and needles too.  This unit is hands down a winner in my classroom every year!
We've been working hard are the elements of fiction...see my previous post....  Today, we're chatting about our end of unit collaborative posters!

This is the anchor chart we have been using all throughout our Cinderella Unit as we learned about the elements of fiction


As we read each different version of Cinderella we talked about the elements of fiction together and charted them together. (Find this anchor chart template here.)

So, for our final project, each first grader wrote an opinion piece about their favorite version of Cinderella.  Then, I grouped them by the version they chose.  The groups worked together to make a story map about their Cinderella to present to our class.




I love how these turned out!  And it was a great way to check their understanding of the elements of fiction in a fun and collaborative way!  You can find my Cinderella Unit here.
Several weeks ago now, we started talking about fiction stories and their elements.  We had already discussed and charted {sorry, no picture, but grab the anchor chart masters HERE} the difference between fiction and non-fiction stories.  So, our kids were ready to focus on fiction and retelling stories.  And we managed to weave in opinion writing and adjectives, too--OH MY!

Fiction Elements

We started reading various versions of Cinderella stories.    We charted each of the 4 elements of fiction.  I added a new element each day and we focused on that element with our read aloud.  So, the first day, we really talked about the characters.  The second day we reviewed characters, but focused on setting.  The third day, we listed the characters and setting in the book we read, but focused on the problem.  Day 4, we reviewed the first three elements in the book we read and focused on the solution.  Day 5, we reviewed all of them, and really looked at the idea that the solution needs to match the problem.  This was especially important because most read aloud level books have multiple problems and solutions and when we retell, that can get confusing.  Making that connection really helped the kids!

They loved brainstorming other ideas for each of these elements...and putting it in the context of a movie really helped get lots of ideas going!

I have several graphic organizers that I use during whole group and during guided reading groups {get them HERE} to reinforce fiction elements and retelling.  Since we had just started guided reading during this time, we used some organizers whole group.

Opinion Writing

This year, we are teaching opinion writing at the beginning of the year instead of the end.  So, here is what opinion writing looks like at the beginning of first grade!  We first discussed the difference between fact and opinion.  We charted the differences.
Our first "real" experience with writing opinion paragraphs was last week.  Before last week, we had been working on writing a complete opinion sentence with a supporting detail.  We did this as we were wrapping up responsibilities in our School, School, What Do You See? booklets.  The wrote, "I like ______.  She _______."

Then, last week we "beefed up" our opinion writing and turned it into a paragraph.  We also changed the opinion sentence to a more first grade sentence instead of those silly kindergarten "I like..." sentences. :)  You can read more about the OREO organizer HERE, but I love this graphic organizer.  And the kids love that I buy Oreos as rewards for writing complete paragraphs! {Those who have only half of the paragraph only get half of the Oreo. :)
It's hard to see, but I write the sentence frames on the black part of the oreo.  And, yes, I forgot the "s" on "That's," but I've fixed it now.  My white chalk marker was not being very nice to me during the lesson.  But once I laminated the chart, I was able to go back and fix it!

Later in the year, we will add the other sentence frames for the first opinion sentence {The best ____ is _____, and Did you know _______ is the best...?}

I do not put sentence frames on the reason sentences.  And we do not use "because."  Those linking words are in 2nd grades standards and, honestly, it is just too hard for them to understand.  Especially in September.  I always tell them it is possible to start a sentence with because, but when they write, "My favorite sport is football because...." it either becomes way too long of a sentence and I can't tell the difference between their opinion and reason sentence, or it becomes an incomplete sentence.

Character Traits & Adjectives

Last week, our focus was on character traits.  By the end of the week, our kids needed to be able to describe a character from a familiar Cinderella story just by looking at a picture {This was a task our district asked us to do!}  So, we spent a good part of the week talking about adjectives.  On Tuesday, we talked about what and adjective was {a describing word}.  We brainstormed 3 of the categories on our anchor chart {feel, smell and sound}.  I had one of our class stuffies, "Moosie," for us to describe.  First, we described his feel, then smell, then sound.  After 15 minutes of discussion and sharing with partners, I could tell we were getting restless {it was also 2:00 in the afternoon...hello???}  So, I decided to stop at those 3 categories.  I dug through my reward tubs and found 6 objects--one for each table group.  I had them go back to their tables and describe the feel, smell, and sound of their object.  And they made webs describing them.

This was the basic "on the fly" idea here and it wasn't "pretty!"  I didn't even take pictures.  But it was REALLY good.  I could easily see which groups were getting it and not.  And having the 3 categories gave me a frame for scaffolding my questions: "How does it feel? Smell? Sound?"  After they had written at least 5 adjectives, we went back to the carpet and I quickly shared {for time} each poster.  They actually really liked this and even liked finding groups that came up with similar adjectives.

Wednesday, we brainstormed the other 3 categories {taste, look, how many} and I used my left over almonds for us to describe whole group.  Since Tuesday's group work was so successful, I was able to plan a little better and decided to give each group an Oreo to describe.  They had one Oreo and I told them we were leaving "taste" for last!;)  They did SO well again!  And, really, their hand drawn webs were just as cute, so I didn't even make up a handout for this.  They just did it on blank paper again.  Nothing fancy with 2 late nights of parent conferences! *wink*

Here is the anchor chart we made together!

Adjectives are not something I normally do a whole lot with at the beginning of the year, but the group work made it fun and accessible so early in the year.  And it was great background building for describing characters in a story.

Because of our great adjective work, they have done an even better job writing about their favorite character this week. {We have been reading a version of Cinderella and then they are choosing their favorite character to write an opinion piece on.} The supporting details for their favorite character writing have been great describing sentences and I know it's because they got so good at using adjectives last week!
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