Mystery Readers

It is so much fun when a Mystery Reader visits us in 1-Thomson!  Over the next several weeks, each Friday a Mystery Reader will join us to read a favorite picture book to the class.  It is not only exciting to be surprised with a mystery guest, but Mystery Readers also model how to read aloud with fluency and expression.

So far, we have been lucky enough to have Alia's mom, Ryan F.'s dad, and Colin's mom join us as Mystery Readers to share The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka, My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza, and Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey.  
Thank you for visiting!  If you are interested in joining us as a Mystery Reader, please contact me...we'd love to have you!   We are looking forward to more Mystery Readers in the coming weeks...stay tuned! 

Skype Mystery Number

On Friday, we used Skype to play a game of "Guess My Number" with the first graders in Miss Klipfel's class.  Using a 120 chart, both classes chose a mystery number for the other class to guess.  Students were invited to the computer to ask questions about the mystery number using mathematical language such as "Is the number greater or less than___", "Is the number between_____ and _____", and "Is it even or odd?" As we gathered more information about the number, we crossed off numbers on our 120 charts (try this game at home)! You can also visit http://www.kidsmathgamesonline.com/counting.html for math games to play on your computer at home. 

Miss Klipfel's class was able to guess our mystery number (106) after asking some great mathematical questions. Nice work, Miss Klipfel's class!  We are looking forward to our next classroom connection using Skype! Common Core Standard: 1.NBT.A.1: Count to 120, starting at any number less than 120. In this range, read and write numerals and represent a number of objects with a written numeral.

Nonfiction Penguin Study

What are the features of nonfiction text? Since we returned from holiday break, the students in 1-Thomson have been focused on the features of nonfiction text.  We kicked off our nonfiction unit with a study of penguins. After reading some nonfiction books about penguins, we chose the most interesting facts that we learned and shared them with each other:

Penguin Facts

After studying the features of nonfiction and gathering information about penguins throughout the week, the students were ready to write their very own nonfiction books about penguins!  They included information about what penguins are, what they can do, and what they have.  After that, they created illustrations or diagrams with labels or captions to match their writing.

We are nonfiction authors and illustrators!

Penguins followed us into writing where we learned about compound words.  Our penguins made snowballs of compound words!

First graders loved learning about penguins and they are now penguin experts! Share your favorite fact about penguins in a comment below! Common Core Standards: RI.1.5: Know and use various text features (e.g., headings, tables of contents, glossaries, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text. W.1.8:With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Happy New Year from 1-Thomson!

Happy New Year from the first graders in 1-Thomson!  This past week we talked about what it means to make a resolution, or goal, for the new year.  We started with a literature share of Pat Miller's story, "Squirrel's New Year's Resolution".  

Click to listen

Next, the students wrote their own New Year's resolutions for school.  Some goals included "becoming a better reader", or "adding more details to my drawings and writing". We hung these in the hallway for our friends to see!

Finally, as part of our daily reading routine, the students always practice their poetry to build fluency and expression while reading aloud.  Our favorite poem this week was "Happy New Year Chant".  Click below to hear this poem.