I took the title of this post from the name of a great book by Cynthia Rylant that students in Room 202 read this week. While November is a time of trees becoming bare, temperatures dropping, and shorter days, Room 202 continues to grow and explore! We spent many days looking at many kinds of animals and determine how we could classify and sort them. We have also become such great readers. Every day, I am so proud when I see students using their decoding skills to discover new words, read in clear, "1st grade" voices, and look back at texts for more information. We have also become math superstars! Students have many strategies to pull from to solve math problems, and have also done a great job starting to explain how they come up with their answers in writing. Speaking of writing, Room 202 is full of wonderful authors! We have been practicing our writing from our own perspectives and experiences, as well as trying our hands at creating our own characters and making up stories. Way to go 1st grade!
This week, Room 202 students dove right in to studying everything about plants. With a background in living versus non-living characteristics from the past few weeks, students began recognizing what basic needs plants have. On Monday, we soaked lima beans in paper towels and began keeping track of their progress in our seed journals. Next, we continued our exploration by beginning to look at pumpkins. It is fall after all! We read some great books about pumpkins, as well as a weekly reader that taught us some super cool facts! Did you know there is a pumpkin called the cotton candy pumpkin? Stay tuned for our pumpkin fact book the kids have been writing! We ended the week by checking in one last time on our seeds. The roots have begun to sprout! We also did seed sorting and talked about characteristics of different types of seeds. Next week, we add soil and students will be bringing them home! I have loved seeing students discovering new things and having fun with hands on activities.
We are wrapping up a fabulous September here in Room 202. Students were introduced to literacy centers, music class, morning meeting, and explorations of so many subjects. This past week we celebrated apple week. Students brought in apples, both 1st grade classes participated in apple-themed centers, and we ended the week with apple taste tests! I am looking forward to many exciting events in October, including studies of plants, pumpkins, and bats! I am also so proud of how well all of our students have gotten into the school routine with homework, weekly reading, and organization. |
About Blog 202I will post any upcoming events or fun things students are doing on our blog page. Archives
October 2016
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