Five for Friday!

Happy Friday! I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share with you five things that happened this week!

This week we started our three week unit, "All About Me". This first week we spent learning all about our five senses.  Here is our anchor chart that the kids have been labeling all week. The labels are in the library to be laminated (nothing like finding a fun idea on Pinterest last minute!!) so we have just been using sticky notes!

To introduce the Five Senses, I used a Common Core in the Classroom lesson from Discovery Education. My Five Senses: How They Help Me Learn About the World is an amazing three day lesson that really helped my students understand the importance of our senses. Using the wolf from the fairytale, Little Red Riding Hood , I introduced the five senses to my kiddos. They were HOOKED! We then watched different video clips, read books about each sense and did a lot of whole group and independent writing to explore how our senses help us learn about the world around us. I plan to do a more in-depth post about this over the weekend!

This week we also began our AMSTI Science Weather Kit. Before we became scientist though, we had to brainstorm exactly what a scientist does. Here is our super cute anchor chart that will hang on our science board all year!

Our first lesson on weather began with a book by one of my favorite author/illustrators, Jim Arnosky, Rabbits and Raindrops. I love his books and so do the kids!  In theory we would have contrasted our weather with the rabbits but since the weather was exactly the same, we had a great time comparing them. My kiddos fell in love with being a scientist and observing the weather. For the first time in three weeks, they were ALMOST quiet! :)

Later we discussed different types of weather that we have here on the Gulf Coast and graphed our favorite kind! As hot as it has been the past few weeks, I don't think I blame them for liking cold weather best!

  This week we have begun our Counting Jar morning work. Counting jar is part of AMSTI Math from the Terc Investigations math book. We have PE first thing so there is not a lot we can get done in the short amount of time so we do our counting jar. The kids come in and they have a counting basket on their table. In the basket there is a bowl of buttons, four empty containers, sticky notes and counting manipulatives. The students count the buttons, create a counting basket containing the same amount, and then write the numeral (if they can at this point) and draw a picture representation of the number. The students post their sticky notes on our class counting jar. After finishing my morning work, I walk around and check their baskets. This has worked out great! We are still working on working quietly and independently but it is going really well!

 We are also starting Daily Data. Right now it is more like weekly data but (fingers crossed) it will become daily soon. Each day there will be a question for students to answer in the form of a graph. Our first question is below. We had a great discussion about what all this chart could tell us. I love the last sentence. "If you put 9 boys and 9 girls together, that is like 9+9=18." WOO HOO!!!

What amazing and fabulous things have you done this week? Leave a comment and then check out all the other Five for Fridays from Doodle Bugs Teaching!

Five For Friday!

Happy Friday! I hope you all survived Halloween and Post Halloween! We had a fun and crazy week. I am definitely ready for the weekend! I am linking up with Doodle Bug Teaching to share with you 5 random things from my week. 

We had a wonderful party thanks to my fabulous parents. These kiddos sure are going to be spoiled this year! A HUGE thank you to the families that sent in items, to the three moms that came Wednesday to help make cups and bags and the moms and grandmothers that came Thursday to help serve these wild kiddos! I am so proud of the Frankenstein cups! They turned out so cute and were super easy. I don't remember where I found the idea, I am sure Pinterest but I could not find the pin. For the cups we just used sharpies to draw on the face and hot glued Rolos on for the bolts. For the punch we used 1 scoop of lime sherbet and then filled with Sprite. The kiddos loved the bubbles. We also had pumpkin cookies and "Mummies in a Blanket".

My kiddos LOVE Onomatopoeia!!! I was amazed at how easily they caught on and how even three days later they were talking about it and asking to add words to the poster!

This week we finished our AMSTI Science & G.L.O.B.E. unit on weather and clouds. We  had such a great time learning about clouds. Every time we go outside, my kiddos start naming the different clouds they see. 

Today is just one of those dreary rainy days that I miss my babies and wish I were in my chair at home curled up with them reading a book! So for the first time all week, I plan to leave school early and actually go straight home. No working late, no running errands, nothing! What do you like to do on rainy days? 

 2012 Mamma Mia - Spaghetti Western 

Again saving the best for last: Next Saturday is Daphne's educational foundation's, SEEDS - Supporting Education Enrichment in Daphne School, Mamma Mia Cook Off! The Mamma Mia cook off is in front of the Daphne City Hall on Main Street. Last year our theme was "Spaghetti Western". We won 1st place for the second year in a row for our recipe and we won the Mamma Mia Award - 1st place for spirit! Next week we will be preparing and cooking and hoping for another 1st place victory! If you are in the Daphne, Alabama area, come check it out. The cost is $30/person in advance and $35 at the "door". 

What five things are on your mind this week? Link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching and let us know. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Melissa

Starting Five For Friday (a day late)

This week has been crazy busy - just like the other three weeks!! I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for my very first Five for Friday (a day late)!

1.

AMSTI Science

 I am loving AMSTI Science and so are the kids. So far we have learned about three different types of clouds while making them with shaving cream. We have discussed what the weather is like in Daphne right now and graphed if we like hot, cold, or warm weather best. We have begun learning about the water cycle by making puddles in pie plates. The kids were astonished when all that was left was a blue stain 3 days later. The kids and I both are learning a lot!!! I am now working with a wonderful teacher from AMSTI to incorporate Talk Moves into my science lesson. (More info coming soon! Talk Moves mini posters here.)

2.

Rockin' in Our School Shoes / Digital Renaissance

 We LOVE Pete the Cat and we are in the process of finalizing our very own Rockin' In Our School Shoes video. We are using Garage Band and iMovie to put together our own version of our favorite cat's book! It has been a slow process. I am still learning how to really edit music and video in both Garage Band and iMovie while letting the kids help as much as possible. We also found out that making projects like this is about to get a whole lot easier. Our school board voted to extend the county's Digital Renaissance, which has previously put MacBook Air laptops in the hands of student 8th-12th grade, to K-6th grade as well. All K-2 students will be receive iPads to use in class while all 3rd-6th grade students will receive MacBook Air laptops. How awesome is that! So, if any of you have any great lessons you teach using iPads, PLEASE feel free to post!

3. 

Gluten Free/Dairy Free Soy Protein Shake

 First, please, do not judge my messy desk! My teacher neighbor introduced me to these FABULOUS coffee flavored protein shakes. I have recently learned I am allergic to dairy and very sensitive to gluten. I have felt a little down over how hard it is to eat anything other than meat and fresh fruit & veggies. Don't get me wrong, I love those things but finding filling breakfast foods I can eat on the go has been hard (I can't eat eggs either). These shakes are now my new addictions and are really filling. I usually drink mine around 7:00 and I am just getting hungry at 11:45 when we go to lunch.

4.

piZap - Free Online Photo Editing

I have been using Instagram and the many different apps associated with Instagram to make collages and edit pictures I take on my phone. However, tonight when I wanted to make some collages using pictures already on my computer, I realized that my Instaframes app was not going to do me much good. I did a quick google search and tried the first site that showed up. piZap is a free online photo editing tool that is so easy to use. I am not an expert in photo editing so someone more picture savvy might feel differently. In my oppion this site (and app!!) is a lot of fun. I think it might even be easy enough for my kiddos to use. The picture of my beautiful puppies above is a little on the obnoxious side but I just wanted to show some of the different features of the site. The other collages in this post are also from piZap.com as well. You can make collages, edit filters, add text, backgrounds, and stickers all for free. You can save your creations or post them to the site (I think) or to Facebook and Twitter. I did not spend a lot of time of the site - I was watching a very tense football game (we won by 4) and just played with the parts I needed for this post. I will definitely use it again!!!!

5.

Scrappin Doodles!!

I have an unhealthy addiction to all things Frogs! I discovered Scrappin Doodles this summer when I decided to redo my room decorations/arrangement from the past 8 years. I have learned how to use PowerPoint to make really cute numbers, letters, calendar sets, and more for my room. It has become an obsession.  Thanks to the TOAD-aly cute Froggy series at Scrappin Doodles I can no longer use just any kind of sign in my room. NO! I have to make them myself so I can add frogs to it. I am now working on making Daily Five signs. (Update: Here is a link to my Daily 5 signs!)

Thank you for stopping by for my Five for Friday!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Melissa

AMSTI

This summer I was very fortunate to receive training in AMSTI (Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative) for Math and Science. It has only been two weeks but I am really loving how my kiddos are soaking up all the hands on math and science goodness! Even my most challenging students are more attentive during math and science.

For math we are using Terc Investigations math series. This series is not AMSTI but does embody AMSTI's teaching methods. Both are hands on and student centered. The past two weeks we have been exploring our math manipulatives and learning how to compare attributes. We have also introduced our Daily Data (DD). For DD we use a counting jar, pan balances, and many different graphs. Right now we are doing a graph a week. I am focusing on teaching procedures for the different types of graphs and how we can interpret the data.

Single Loop Venn Graph

"Have You Ever Built a Sandcastle?"

This was our first graph. Each student wrote their name on a sticky note and then chose their answer. Using Math Talk Moves, we had a very involved discussion about how we could determine how many people have built a sandcastle and how many have not. We counted the sticky notes and then to double check we created a live graph and counted the actual students. A lot of great conversation and counting!

 Pan Balance

"Do you like to play inside or outside?"

I had 20 bears in the basket (1 for each student on roll). Students came up and placed a bear on either the "outside" or "inside" pan. As we began discussing how to "interpret the data" (yes, I use this vocabulary with them) one child realized there was still a bear in the basket. So along with the great discussion on how we could determine which choice received the most "votes", we also had a great discussion on why we had a left over bear. 

Double Loop Venn

"Do You Have Any Siblings?"

This is our graph for next week. We will use sticky notes again. I will introduce the graph and show them how to post if they have a sister, a brother, or both. I will not mention what to do if they are an only child. I want to see how they think and try to figure out where to put their sticky note. 

(I have parents give me this information on my Kindergarten Questionnaire.)

I am so pumped about AMSTI science this year!!! AMSTI science is a two year training. This summer I learned how to implement two of the four AMSTI units. 

Our first unit is weather. We have spent the past two weeks learning how to be a scientist. We have talked about our 5 Senses and how we can use them to investigate and collect data. Over the next 6 weeks or so, we will be studying weather, how to read a thermometer, how to gauge wind speed, how to identify the  different types of clouds and contrails. We will create a weather calendar to record temperature, cloud cover, and precipitation. We will also be collecting data for G.L.O.B.E.. "GLOBE's vision is of worldwide community of students, teachers, scientists and citizens working together to better understand, sustain and improve Earth's environment at local, regional and global scales." Our class will be imputing types of clouds, amount of cloud coverage, and amount of contrails we see in our sky. We will also adopt a class tree for our Trees unit that will begin in January. 

 Our First Anchor Chart for Science!

I told them we were going to get to be all kinds of scientist this year! I asked them what they thought a scientist was? What do scientist do? These are the ideas they came up with. Thank you to The First Grade Parade for the supper cute anchor chart! I laminated the poster and then used dry erase markers to write the responses so I can reuse the poster every year!