Serious Readers

We started our day by drawing ourselves walking the wire with Philippe Petit on the Morning Message.

Anderson made a throwing star by following printed directions (literacy in action!):

...And we had a fabulous Reading Workshop time.  We talked about why we read a lot in first grade.  Room 408 said we could get smarter, we could learn new words, we could read better when we're an adult, and it helps us learn to talk.  We discussed what the students' job is, as well as what the teacher's job is.  Here we are getting smarter by reading!


What have you been reading?

Room 408 Expectations

We are in the process of representing our Hopes & Dreams in Room 408.  We have also been talking about what we want it to be like when we work, learn, and play together this year.  We brainstormed ideas such as helping others, no pushing, finding your best learner spot, etc.  Then we sorted these ideas into three easy categories to help us remember our expectations:  I can take care of myself, I can take care of others, and I can take care of our place.

We also learned a fun new poem today, and the kids made up motions to go with it:

We ended the day with activity time.  This is a time when we explored the art materials in the room and learned about the care and clean up of these materials.

At the end of the day we shared our creations.  Check out these proud faces!

What did you like best about your project?

Hopes & Dreams

Today we read the book The Man Who Walked Between The Towers:

It's about a man named Philippe Petit, who in 1974 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!

Above is the news video that aired around the time when it happened. Enjoy!

Would you do something daring like this?  Why or why not?

Friday Learning

We did a Guided Discovery of construction paper and gluesticks so we could practice learning how to use them and take care of them properly.  They made so many great creations.

Mrs. Going came to read with us and talked about her "pet book."

We did a Guided Discovery with watercolors, as well.

We learned that we get smarter when we talk about our thinking.  We practiced turning and talking.  We learned about disagreeing respectfully by saying, "I beg to differ."

We also worked really hard in Writer's Workshop.

What a great Friday!

The Roots of Collaboration

Today we had many opportunities for collaboration in Room 408.  Students worked together on various projects and felt such a sense of accomplishment (as you can see in the celebration pictures below).

Literally jumping for joy!

This group used every single cube to create a wall that did not fall down.

This group completed every floor puzzle in the cabinet.

We also practiced collaboration skills by playing games such as Uno and Checkers.

This afternoon we started talking about classroom rules and how my job is to keep everyone safe by making sure we all practice and follow our classroom rules.  We read and talked about how each student is like a train on a track.

We're all working together to do our best to learn and grow smarter in Room 408.

However, sometimes trains get derailed...

We talked about logical consequences as a way to get us back on track.

If someone needs help, I will use the following logical consequences to get them back on track:

If you can't, you won't be able to use it for a time.

This counts for hurt feelings, ruined creations, and accidents.

Sometimes we need time to separate ourselves and think about what we can do different.
Taking a break does not mean you are in trouble.  It's a tool to regain self-control.

Tomorrow we will be discussing what kinds of rules we think we need to have in our classroom in the 180 days we'll be learning, working, and playing together.

What rules do you think we should have in Room 408?

First Day in First Grade!

We started out our day with early specials followed by our Morning Meeting.

We started our poetry collection by adding two new math poems to our Fluency Notebook, and we came up with hand motions for each:

Here is a video of our day together:

What was your favorite part of our first day together?

Welcome!

Hello, new 1st graders and LEADS families!
This blog is a place where you can catch up on what your child is learning in Room 408.  We'll post lots of links, videos, learning activities, and information through our classroom blog.  Feel free to share our classroom blog with family members, friends, and anyone you think might be interested in our learning.

Right now I am busy getting our classroom ready for our year of learning, working, and playing together.  We'll be using our literacy skills through studying topics like light and sound, plants and animals, and earth and space.  If you are interested in our specific learning objectives, feel free to visit the Next Generation Science Standards by clicking on the links that are highlighted when your mouse hovers over the topics in the previous sentence.  If you are interested in learning more about the Common Core State Standards, click on this link.

At LEADS, we believe in living a life of inquiry-based learning.  Last year Mrs. Heins (our LEADS Kindergarten teacher) and I decided to do an inquiry about the Appalachian Trail.  From December to June, we researched section-hiking the Appalachian Trail.  We decided that we wanted to hike for about a week in Georgia in July.  We did an inquiry, researching everything from backpacks to local wildlife.  We ended up hiking about 56 miles in 6 days, doing a major Georgia portion of the trail.

We filtered our drinking water...

...pitched our own sleeping arrangements... (our favorite was "cowboy camping" under the Super Moon)

and basically kept ourselves alive.  :)  

We even avoided bears by singing as we hiked! (Although Mrs. Heins was more brave and a better singer than I was.)

The people we met on the trail were surprised to find out that this was our first time backpacking.  We were able to be so successful because of all the research we did to prepare, using our inquiry skills along the way.  

My hope is to lead your child into school in a way that will make learning meaningful in their lives.  Our early schooling years should inspire and support us for lifelong quest for learning, and I believe that LEADS can accomplish that.  I look forward to a great year!

See you tomorrow night at our Back to School Fest!