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!

Winter Authors' Celebration

Today we invited parents in to celebrate the stories that the students published in the fall.   We started with some Christmas poems that the students have been practicing and really enjoy reading.  Then each student had the chance to read his or her story in front of our audience and into a microphone.  It is always very exciting for the students to use the microphone.  Afterwards the class had the chance to read favorite Christmas stories with their families.  Thanks to all who joined us today.  It is very special to the students to share their work and accomplishments with their family.  Merry Christmas!

Letter Writing Unit

Returning from Thanksgiving break we begin a letter writing unit in our classroom.  This is one of my favorite units because not only are the students able to work on their writing skills, but it also builds a sense of community in our classroom and in our school.  I begin by teaching the students about the different parts of a letter and modeling how to write letters.  The students start writing their own letters including the date, a greeting, at least 3 sentences in the body of their letters, a closing, and their signatures.  The class also learns how to address an envelope, and we use stickers as stamps. The students are free to write to anybody.  If they write to someone in the school, the letters go in our classroom mailbox, and the students take turns delivering mail all around the school.  We also receive mail in our mailbox from other classrooms and students who write back to us.  It is so very fun!

Presenting our Habitats

We have worked hard on creating our habitats.  The students were very creative and made the environment and animals out of paint, clay, straws, toothpicks, buttons, pipe cleaners and other art supplies.  The students completed the project by writing about the animals that live in the particular habitat they created and list facts about the habitat.  We invited kindergarten guests over to do a walk through and learn about the habitats.

Holiday Concert

This past Monday Lanesboro Schools hosted their annual holiday concert.  All the groups did a fantastic job, but I think the first and second graders were the hit of the night!  Their upbeat songs and fun dance moves had the crowd laughing the whole time.  The music teachers do such a good job preparing and directing the kids. Way to go!