Reading Goals & Focus

Today we worked on setting realistic reading goals.  We want to read more and more books to help us become stronger readers.  We realized that we really need to *focus* in order to reach our goals.

We set a goal of how many books we thought we could read and kept a tally throughout Reading Workshop.

Check out how focused we are with our reading during Reading Workshop....we're building strong reading habits!

Hopes & Dreams

This week and last week we have been working on our Hopes & Dreams.  We have been thinking about what we hope and dream to learn in first grade this year.  Many wanted to be scientists like Einstein and work with chemical "potions."  Others want to get better at reading or be math teachers.  Still others hope to become mermaids and drive cars!  No matter what, we shoot for the stars in Room 408.

Our parents are coming in soon for Hopes & Dreams Conferences.  We'll have a chance to share our hopes and dreams and our parents will share their hopes and dreams for us.

Meanwhile, we are busy representing our hopes and dreams with a variety of materials.

So many supplies to choose from...

I have even witnessed the seeds of COLLABORATION in Room 408!

Kierstyn offers to help Zane come up with ideas for making his structure more stable.

Albert Einstein

We have been studying Albert Einstein (and have of course noticed his hair):

We read a few books about Einstein and his life growing up.  

We learned that he studied light, sound, and space...just like we will this year!  He is a reader, a writer, a mathematician, a scientist, and a researcher, but most of all--a thinker.  

When we read On a Beam of Light we learned that he was very unique.  He didn't speak until he was almost four, and started wondering about our world when his father gave him a compass.  He asked LOTS and LOTS of questions--so many that his teachers thought he was trouble.  ;)

He is a perfect person to study for LEADS because he is so full of questions.

Here is a short video so you can see him in action:

We designated one of our notebooks as our "Think Book" and put his picture on the front.  We will record our important thoughts, ideas, and questions in this notebook.

What are you curious about?

Studying Jane Goodall

For the past few days we have been learning about the life of researcher, Jane Goodall.
We started learning about Jane by reading a book about when she was little.

We even learned that when Jane was little she had a stuffed toy chimpanzee named Jubilee.

We also read the book The Watcher, which told us more about how Jane accomplished her dream to work and study with chimpanzees in Gombe, Africa.

Jane was not only a researcher, but also a writer.  She kept piles and piles of research in her tent when she was working with the chimpanzees.

We learned that one of her favorite chimp companions was named David Greybeard.

However, after many years Jane realized that the chimpanzees she loved were in danger of becoming extinct.  She realized that the best way to help the chimpanzees was to share their story with the world.

Jane Goodall is an excellent example of the 3 A's:  Activism, Awareness, and Aid.  When we do our inquiries this year, Room 408 will keep these 3 A's in mind.

When Zane went home this weekend, he actually found the National Geographic issue from 1965 that featured Jane Goodall!  Way to go, Zane!

This is an excerpt from the National Geographic video that we watched.  We will be reflecting on this video in our own research notebooks, called our "Think Books."

What inspires you about Jane Goodall?

...And it's only our 5th day!

In Reading Workshop we have been working on what readers do before, during, and after they read.  We have also been working in our reading partnerships. It's only the fifth day of school and already Room 408 is hard at work, particularly when we read and discuss books in our partnerships.

We were doing such a great job that a teacher walking by noticed our work, and walked her class through our room during our partner reading time to show her students what partner reading looks like and sounds like!

This afternoon we got a visit from Mrs. Going, who talked with us about growth mindsets.  If you're not sure what fixed and growth mindsets are, click on these words to link to one of my older blog posts.  On this link you'll also find a great video for parents about instilling a growth mindset.

We love it when Mrs. Going visits!

We have also started talking about our Hopes & Dreams for our year together in first grade.  We read a book called The Man Who Walked Between the Two Towers.

We learned about a man named Philippe Petit.  In 1974 he had a dream to walk between the Twin Towers in New York City.  He snuck up with his equipment at night and accomplished his goal.  Room 408 was amazed to find out it was a true story!

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What was your favorite part about today?

Guided Discovery

Guided Discovery is a way that we introduce materials in LEADS classrooms.  We talk about all the creative possibilities as well as care for and storage of the materials.  Thursday was a day full of guided discovery.  We explored construction paper, gluesticks and scissors...

Hard at work, creating...

Look what Lucy made!

It's a mustache!

Careful work by Nikolaus.

...as well as some math materials.

Kenehsaeh taught us a domino game.

Shealee's creation with geoboards.

How many can I add before it falls over?!?!?

Mrs. Pozorski would be proud of our rainbow pattern.

Here is a more in-depth video of our Guided Discoveries:
Which do you enjoy more, art or math?

Fifty Nifty

As part of our lining up routine for lunch we use the Fifty Nifty song. Here is the link to the youtube video we use, in case you want to memorize the song!

What is your favorite state and why?

First Day!

We had a great first day of school in Room 408.  When students arrived they started in on a the task of creating something out of pipe cleaners and tin foil.

Then students created a page to share things about themselves so we could get to know them better.  Click on the video link to see their pages.



What do you like about school so far?