Circle Stories

During Writing Workshop we are currently working on writing our own circle stories.  Circle stories end where they begin.  We read many examples by Laura Numeroff such as "If You Give a Pig a Pancake."  Using a graphic organizer, the students came up with their own character and plot.  The trickiest part is to make sure that you make the full circle and that your character and events end up where they begin.  The students had so much fun with this writing project and came up with several different stories.  Each student chose his or her favorite one to publish.  The students typed up their own stories and are currently working on making the illustrations for their stories using the mediums of crayon and watercolor.  We will be having an Authors' Celebration mid February to share our finished books with our families.  Not only are the stories very creative, but the illustrations are detailed and beautiful!

Line of Symmetry Masks

We have been studying symmetry in our math curriculum for about a month now.  The students have practiced finding lines of symmetry on given shapes and cutting their own shapes with a line of symmetry. Today we made line of symmetry masks.  I found this idea on www.mathwire.com.  I thought this would be a fun project for the students to incorporate what they have learned about symmetry.  Everyone did a great job following each step of the project, and the students made some very unique masks!

Winter Snowflakes

Today we ended our day by making our annual 3-D snowflake project.  This project requires that the students listen very carefully to each step.  The steps include specific folding, cutting, rolling, taping, and stapling.  This year we also added a little sparkly fake snow that was left over from our Christmas ornaments.  The result is a big fluffy snowflake that is perfect to decorate our classroom as we wait for actual snow to fall upon us!  Each year this project produces a mix of excitement and frustration.  The 2nd graders feel excited because they know what the final product looks like, and with their experience they feel confident they can do it.  In the beginning, the 1st graders may feel a little overwhelmed because the steps have to be followed very specifically or one of the snowflake pieces may have to be redone.  As the 1st graders catch on, they also begin to move through each step with ease.  I love to see the students come together to help each other with the steps once they have gained the confidence themselves.  Once students finish their own, they move on to help other students who have questions.  It is teamwork at its best!