Royal Readers

The children were so excited to find out who would be crowned our first Raz Reading King and Queen.  We have been tracking our reading minutes on Raz Kids all week, anticipating the Friday crowning.  WOW!  The students really worked hard!  As a class, we read 4,071minutes!  Amazing!!!!  However, there was only one king and queen for this week.  Our king read 278 minutes and our queen read an incredible 488 minutes this week. 
Drum roll please......

Our royal readers had a crown and a reading scepter.  They led our line everywhere we went today and got to make a special visit to the principal's office.   While our royals are very special, there was also other great reading achievements to recognize.  There were 11 children that read over 150 minutes this week, that is more than 20 minutes every night.  For being so bright, these 11 students got a glow bracelet.

The children are very motivated to read before next week's crowning.  The contest has already begun!  You can log on to Raz Kids from your home computer, ipad, iphone, Kindle Fire, or even an Android device.  Our classroom username is connectedkinders.  Click here for more specific directions to bring the Raz Kids home.  Happy reading!

Place Value Bootcamp

We are working hard on place value concepts.  We have been counting objects, grouping objects in sets of ten, and using base ten blocks to compose and decompose numbers.  Base ten blocks are a math manipulatives specifically designed to help children concretely understand place value concepts.  The blocks are composed of tiny cubes to represent ones, rods to represent tens, and flats to represent 100.  We even did a little place value boot camp.  I found this great video by the Teacher Tipster.  Hilarious! 


After watching the video, we made ourselves into base ten blocks to build numbers.  Standing tall meant ten and making yourself into a small ball meant one.  The students were really showing understanding and could easily figure out how many tens and how many ones were in each number called.  Watch these students make numbers!  They are just awesome!


There are some great interactive web sites to practice our place value objectives.  Click on the links below to play.

Shark Pool Place Value

Dino Place Value

Critter Junction

Base Ten Fun

Base Ten Bingo

Of course, don't forget there are ways to practice these important place value objectives on the ipad as well.  Montessori Numbers has students building and ordering numbers for $2.99.  There is also the app called Base Ten Bingo for $1.99. 

Hundreds Day Cape

In the envelope today there was a shared homework assignment.  The hundredth day of school is on Tuesday, February 4th.  We are having a SUPER hundreds day.  Each child was asked to make a special hundreds day cape.  The blank cape also came home in your Wednesday envelope.  The cape needs 100 of something on it.  The letter attached to the cape gives a little more direction and has some ideas.  I can't wait to see what you come up with!  Feel free to call me with questions or concerns.  Here are some pictures from other classes to help with ideas.

Teaching Typing

The first graders are working so hard at typing.  They have great hand placement and are becoming familiar with the home row.  We have started using a new typing program at TypingWeb.com.  With this program, each of the children have an account set up under my class.  They log in with their username (first.last) and password (student id number).  Once in their account, the students are walked through lessons and practice sessions.  I can see each students' progress and accuracy.  The next time the student logs in, he/she starts right where they left off!  We have only done a couple sessions in the program but the students are loving it!  Since it is web based the students can practice at home as well.  I have added a new link on the top button bar called "Typing."  If you click on this page there are several links to help the students practice typing in fun and engaging ways.

The Mitten

      This week we read one of my favorite books, The Mitten.  Jan Brett made a beautiful adaptation of the Ukrainian folktale.  The illustrations and work choice are just amazing.  The children loved the book.  When we read the book the second time we really focused on the great verbs that Jan Brett used to describe how the animals move: wriggled, lumbered, snuffling along.

     We read several other Jan Brett books this week as well.  We have read Annie and the Wild Animals, Three Polar Bears, and The Hat.  She is quickly turning into one of the class's favorite authors.  The Mitten seemed to start a bit of a winter clothing theme, so we did a little mitten science.  Our question was "Are mittens really warm?"  First, the children made a hypothesis.  Then, we set up the experiment.
    We had to learn how to read a thermometer.  We read the thermometer at room temperature.  We put the thermometer inside the mitten for two minutes and took the temperature again.  Last, we put our hand in with the mitten for two minutes and took a reading.  The scientist recorded the data and their observations in their science notebooks.  We found that the temperature went up when the thermometer was inside the mitten and it went up even more with a hand inside.  Our conclusion, mittens ARE warm and perfect for January weather.

Typing Tuesday!

The post below is actually what I posted for the students this week.  We had our first typing lesson and practice.  The children used the Chromebook lab.  They had to find the blog and follow the lesson below.  This lesson uses two typing website games.  They worked so hard.  The room was silent as the children concentrated so hard on the keys and their hand placement.   I can hardy wait to see what happens as we continue to practice this important skill.  As with any new skill, extra practice will only help.  Feel free to try the lessons below at home!

It is our very first typing Tuesday!  Yahoo!  First start with just finding the keys on this Rocket Game.  Play the rocket game three time.

Rocket Game

Next let's learn where your fingers should rest for typing.  Do level 1 of Dance Mat typing to practice the home row.

Dance Mat

If you worked very hard and did your very best....you may have some choice time on the learning link games.  Good work!

Learning Links

Snowy Day Inferencing Investigation

     To work on the reading comprehension strategy of inferring, the students of Connected 1.0 became investigators this week. To infer in reading, you have to use your schema (your background knowledge) and the clues the author gives you to infer things that might not be written on the page.
We read a story about Tim and his grandma. Tim and his grandma were spending a snowy day together while Tim's mom went to work. When she came home at 4 o'clock, Tim and Grandma were no where to be found. However, they left many clues about what they had been up to during their "snow day."
     As inference investigators, each group of students got an envelope with some of the evidence Tim's mom collected. As a group, the investigators went through their envelopes. They would write down the piece of evidence and then infer what Tim and his grandma might have been doing. For example, one group had a McDonald's french fry container, so they inferred that Tim and Grandma had McDonald's for lunch.

 Some of the evidence was tricky.  For example, one group had a wrapper and some of the group members inferred that Tim and Grandma had a cupcake for snack while the other investigators in the group thought maybe they ate muffins for breakfast.  Great ideas, both could be correct.  Later, the group found a recipe for muffins and decided the wrapper was in fact from blueberry muffins!  The groups did a nice job collaborating before they wrote down their inferences.  One group decided they had to all put their arms in to agree.  If all their arms weren't in, it meant they had to have some more discussion.

 

The investigators used the evidence to figure out many of the activities that Tim and his grandma did all day.  They still had a question to answer, where were Tim and grandma at 4 o'clock when his mom came home.  One group had a movie schedule with the 4 o'clock showtime for frozen circled.  That was it!  Great job inference investigators!   After all that hard work and thinking, we went out to recess for our own snowy day fun!

The Snowy Day

     One of my all time favorite stories.  The children read this Ezra Jack Keats Calldecot winner in library on Thursday.  With Mrs. Jensen, they made a list of activities they like to do on snowy days.  We took the list and made a class book of our own.
     The Snowy Days ends with two friends going out in the deep, deep snow.  We decided to start our class book there.  We have some new word wall words, they and with.  Each pair of students had to complete the sentence "They like ___________ with friends."  With the writing, the students not only practiced writing they and with, but they also had to add "ing" to the snow activity verb.  This made for some interesting phonics discussions like when do you double the last consonant like in sledding and why do you have to drop the e in words like skating.  The students did great!

     Next, the pairs illustrated their sentence by tearing and cutting out paper.  We added snowflakes with paint on Q-tips.  While the children worked on the art project, I cut up their sentences word by word and mixed up all the pieces.  The last job was to reorder the sentences and clue them to their illustrated page.  Our Snowy Day book turned out fabulously!

Toast to a New Year

  On our first school day of 2014, we had a "toast" to the new year!  For morning snack we all had toast with cinnamon and sugar.  We sang a fun New Year's song and wrote resolutions with our 5th/6th grade buddies.
    Part of of keeping a New Year's resolution is having friends and family hold you accountable!  So, we wrote our resolutions on a name tag for our desks.  I am also posting the resolutions to the blog since many of the children's resolutions are things they want to do at home.  Thank you for supporting us!

Adalyn ~ I resolve to be nice to my family.

Addie ~ I resolve to feed my dogs and cats.

Blayze ~ I resolve to try not to buy Pokemon cards everyday.

Bridger ~ I resolve to be nicer to my brother.

Camble ~ I resolve to be nice to my brothers.

Cameron ~ I resolve to clean my room.

Cole ~ I resolve to do what I am told.

Cyrus ~ I resolve to pack my own lunch.

Eric ~ I resolve to read more.

Gannon ~ I resolve to clean my room more often.

Jenni ~ I resolve to be nicer to everyone.

Johnny ~ I resolve to help my mom cook.

Kassie ~ I resolve to walk my dogs 10 minutes a day.

Lauren ~ I resolve to be kinder to my family.

Layla ~ I resolve to read more often.

Maizy ~ I resolve to do my chores.

Peytan ~ I resolve to do my homework.

Liyah ~ I resolve to be patient with my little sister.

Tanner ~ I resolve to clean up my games when I am done.
Tatem ~ I resolve to play more football.

Pajamas, Presents, Gingerbread, and SUGAR!

What a great last day before break.  The children in pajamas always starts the Christmas break out right!  They were adorable and comfy.  We started our morning with a little pajama programming....student choice!  We also had donuts and hot coco.  The children finished wrapping gifts for parents and they got to unwrap and read the present for me.

 

The morning passed by so quickly.  Time flies when you are having fun.  Before we knew it parents were there to decorate gingerbread houses.

Create your own slideshow design

When the children were leaving, they all discovered a bell from Santa's sleigh mysteriously in their coat pockets....just like the story Polar Express!  How magical!  I hope  you and yours had a beautiful holiday.