A conversation with a 6 year

Our Snow Castle

This week, I am reminded again why I love teaching First Grade!  This is a snippet of a conversation I had with a blooming first grader after they read a story to me about plants.
  Me: Based on the book What Comes From Plants, how are green plants different from other living things?   Child's response: That's an easy one... they're green and they don't talk! Me:  Name three things that plants need to make their own food. Child's response: Mint, strawberries, and oranges!   Me: I was looking for water, air, and sunlight. Child's response: Ugh! I'm not good with trivia!!!  Me: We eat carrots. What part of the plant is the part of the carrot that we eat? Child's response: um the bottom, not the top ah you know...the yummy part. Me: You're amazing and bright!  I love being your teacher! 

Snowy Literacy Centers for Daily Five Reading

The winter weather has not been cooperative, so we decided to bring the snow indoors.  The last five days the students have been focused on components of the Daily Five.  Word Work: learning syllables, blend identification,  matching compound words, and winter weather poetry.  Work on Writing: Students have been reading the fairy tale: The Three Billy Goats Gruff,and writing a narrative re-tell of the story.   Listen to reading:listening to fairy tales. 

Clapping syllables like a penguin

Scooping up snowy blends

Writing wintry words

Making hot chocolate compound words

I Love Winter poem

Listening and reading fairy taleshttp://safeshare.tv/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvimeo.com%2F42385213 together

The OREO writing Check

Using this graphic organizer students are learning to persuade in writing. First graders wrote about why their house is  better than any other house in Topsfield, MA.

Check out the K-1 halls for OREO writing

Winter Weather

                                            The sun and its effect on the weather

Using a large globe and a powerful light, Mr. Prazar created a model of the Earth and sun to show which parts of the Earth get the most sunlight during which seasons.  This led into a discussion of why it’s warm in some areas year-round and why other places have distinct seasons.  

Kids were able to see the Earth’s relative position to the sun during spring, summer, fall, and winter. 

Later, we headed outside and see if areas in sunlight are warmer than those in shade, but also how direct sunlight is different than indirect sunlight.  

The kids used a digital thermometer to observe and record sunny and shady temperature readings.