Ms. Shapiro's First Grade Class

Word Work

2009-09-21T21:38:00.001-05:00

Each Monday we will introduce the words for the week. The students will get to take turns holding the words, saying sentences using the words, then we will all alphabetize the five words and put them back on the board. Then, each child will highlight the weekly words in their B.E.A.R. book.

Each Tuesday, during D.E.A.R. time, the students will cut out the letters they need to create that week's word wall words. Then, during Word Work, we manipulate the letters, spell the words, and see what other words we can make using those letters. We also work on our word family for the week. These letters will come home the following week to be used with their homework packet.

Wednesdays is "Active Spell" and Handwriting day. Students will spell the words while doing physical activities like pretending to bat a ball, jump rope, yo-yo, beat their chest like a gorilla, etc..

Thursday is "Game Day." We'll practice the words by playing "Word Wall Detective," "Wheel of Fortune," "Letter Scramble," or playing "Mystery Writing" on their friends' backs. They "write" the letters to spell one of this week's words on the back of their partner and their partner had to guess what word it was. This was a fun way to practice spelling our words.

On Fridays, during Word Work this semester we will be practicing our words with some type of sensory activity. One week we used playdough to practice our words. The students spelled Texas, Austin, and Zilker and then they got to spell their name and their friends' names.

The next week, we used shaving cream to spell our words.

The third week, we went outside and used sidewalk chalk. Hmmm.... I wonder what we'll do next week?

Five Senses

2009-09-21T21:25:00.001-05:00

Our first unit in Science was "The Five Senses." We talked about our five senses and then we went on our "Senses Walk." The students recorded what they saw, heard, smelled, and touched. We talked about how as first grade scientists we will be focusing on those four senses. During the rest of the week and into next week, we will be doing specific activities for each of those senses. The students put their recording sheets in their science notebooks when they finished.

Then, we focused on the sense of Sight. We read Eric Carle's "Hello, Red Fox." This book was a BIG hit during our study of five senses. It plays "tricks" on your eyes. It is based on a the basics of color theory developed by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Here is a link that explains a little more about the book: http://www.eric-carle.com/bb-HRFnotes.html

Then, we played a game with our 4th grade buddies where students put six items on a tray. Then one turned around while their partner removed an item from the tray. Recalling what they had seen, the first student tried to identify the missing object.

Next, we focused on the sense of hearing. First we past a few containers around. Using only our sense of hearing, we predicted what was inside. Some cans were harder than others! Then, we played Animal Sounds Bingo. The children worked together to figure out what animal sound they heard. It was fun listening to all of the different sounds the animals made.

After hearing, it was time for touch. The students reached inside of bags and only using their sense of touch, had to figure out what was inside the bag. We recorded and shared what we thought. We all thought that the items were pretty easy to figure out, but we realized we couldn't tell the color of the items just by feeling them. You would need your sight to be able to figure out the color.

Finally we focused on our sense of smell. We passed around numbered film canisters. Students took a sniff and then had to determine if the scent was lemon, perfume, vanilla, vinegar, chocolate, or baby powder. They recorded their observations and discussed the results. Some of the scents smelled so good!

To wrap up learning about the five senses, the students each created their own collage by cutting out pictures of things they could see, hear, smell, our touch in magazines. After they finished, they added the collage to their science notebooks. While cutting, we talked about which senses we use the most and the least.

Week Two

2009-09-21T08:05:00.001-05:00

During the year, we will keep a tally of how many children lose teeth during the month. We were able to end August with our first two tallies of the year! Two of our students lost a tooth! It's fun to see which months had the most missing teeth. Let's see if we'll have more than two in September!

We talked about the various stages of writing. Then we had Writer's Workshop. We spent the first 5 minutes writing with no talking. It was a great way to get our thoughts together, and write and draw what we were thinking about. Then we spent about 15 minutes working with our friends, talking about what we were writing, and illustrating. Then we spent the last 5 minutes sharing. One table got to share their work. After each student shared, the others gave them "hurrays!" (a.k.a. compliments). Our classmates were so kind to each other. The children were already looking forward to next week to continue working on what they were writing.

We also had a lot of fun playing the card game Compare. The children took turns each turning over one card from their deck and comparing them with their partner. The one with the highest number got to keep the cards. They really enjoyed playing this game.

We read “A Porcupine Named Fluffy” by Helen Lester. It was such a cute book about a porcupine who has an unusual name. After reading the book, each child drew a picture of an animal and then came up with a creative name for it. For example, on student said "A turtle named Rush." The children were very creative! Their work is hanging in our front windows.

We also reread the big book Lunch. This time we learned what an adjective was and we picked out all of the adjectives in the book (red, juicy, tender, green, etc..). Then, I had the children tell me an adjectives to describe the top they were wearing. They really got the hang of it! We also practiced recalling the order of the fruits and vegetables.

We also focused on letters vs words. After re-reading Lunch by Denise Fleming, the students each received a mixed up sentence from the book. They cut up the words, put them back in order, glued them, and then illustrated the sentence.

This week we are focusing on our names. First, each student wrote their name on an index card. Then they put a star sticker over each vowel. We counted how many vowels were in each students' name and then we graphed our names by number of vowels.

We practiced what it should look like and sound like during D.E.A.R. time (Drop Everything and Read). Reading by yourself or with a friend (looking at pictures, thinking about the story, reading words, or listening to someone else read).

In social studies, we created "All About Me" glyph quilt squares. We compared our glyphs and looked for things that were similar and different among our classmates. They are hanging in our front windows.

1st Week of School

2009-09-19T12:56:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful first week of school! The children were excited to be back, see old friends, and make new ones. We read "We Share Everything" by Robert Munsch. He is definitely one of our favorite authors! Then we worked on our first class book where each child completed a page and wrote and drew what we could share in first grade.

We spent quite a bit of time reading books about rules and then we created our own class rules together. We read a very silly book called The Rules by Marty Kelley. Then we read Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. We talked about how Max didn't follow the rules and why it's important to have rules and follow them. One of the highlights of the week was wrapping up our Where the Wild Things Are activities. First we did a following directions activity where the students had to color certain monsters certain colors and add certain details. Then, we made Monster Munch with rat toes, bug eyes, drie worms, and ant eggs. The children brought home recipes so you can make it at home, too!

As the week went on, we added to our calendar routine. Now we are working on days of the week, months of the year, place value, tally marks, patterns, the math problem of the day, and more! We also used our prompt writing journals for the first time. Every day we will complete a prompt in these journals. We are really working on "Kid Writing," writing down all of the sounds that we hear.

During Word Work each child created their own name necklace with alphabet beads. We also worked on "Me Mobiles." Each child wrote and illustrated three things that they do well on stars. Then, I helped them attach their stars to a moon. We also learned the "Tooty Ta" song and dance!

We also explored some of our math manipulatives--pattern blocks, geoblocks and color tiles and worked on a time capsule, which we will open on the last day of 1st grade. Whew! What a busy week! I am so thankful for my fabulous bunch of first graders! We are going to have such a wonderful year!

Welcome 2009-10 1st Graders!

2009-08-23T18:40:00.002-05:00

Dear 2009-10 1st Graders and Families,
Welcome to a new school year at Zilker Elementary! This year we will be posting entries in our class blog and sharing what we are doing. Please make sure you check back often and ask your child about the activities we are doing in class. I am very excited to be your child's teacher this year and I look forward to getting to know each of you.
Love,
Ms. Shapiro

First Grade School Supplies 2009-10

2009-08-23T18:35:00.001-05:00

First Grade School Supply Fee 2009-10

For the 2009-10 school year, we will be doing something different. In the past, we have ended up with supplies that we didn't need, parents have expressed certain items were sold out and we wanted to make it as easy as possible for everyone.

(Each child will still be responsible for bringing a backpack to school each day- preferably one without wheels.)

Therefore, instead of requesting that you purchase various supplies, we are asking for a flat amount of $40. The school supply fee will be $25, $5 for a class t-shirt (that we will tie dye), and $10 for field trips.

Cash, Check payable to Zilker, or Money Order will be accepted.

If you have already purchased school supplies, we are flexible and that is absolutely fine! Just please remember to include the $15 fee for a class shirt and field trips. Thank you!

Thank you so much for your support!
Sincerely,
The First Grade Teachers

Scientist of the Week-Paper Petals

2009-03-13T00:04:00.000-05:00

What happens when you draw, color, and cut out a paper flower, then fold it and put it in a plate full of water? Today's Scientist of the Week showed us!

More Published Work!

2009-03-04T20:23:00.007-06:00

Here are a few more stories that our budding authors wrote! Enjoy!

There are still more to come!

Scientist of the Week-Balloon Blow Up

2009-03-04T16:06:00.003-06:00

We learned about carbon dioxide as we watched what happens when vinegar and baking soda mix!

We Are Authors!

2009-03-03T18:46:00.012-06:00

Over the past several weeks, we have reviewed different aspects of writing a story. We brainstormed lists of characters, settings, problems, and more. Then each child chose a setting, a problem, and one or more characters and began writing a beginning, middle, and end to their story. Next, they needed to make sure they included a solution to their problem. Each child also added three or more "fancy" words (adjectives) and dialogue. We went through the process of editing and then we learned about and created page breaks in their stories. Finally, each child typed up their own pages, typed a title page, and finally illustrated their pages. Please enjoy the stories read by the authors. I am so proud of them and I know you will be, too! (If needed, push pause on the iPod to stop the music so you can hear their voices.)

**More stories will be posted as soon as they are "published."

Adventures with Felix

2009-03-03T08:21:00.002-06:00

"Me and Felix went to a restaurant and we went to a houseboat. We had fun and looked at the stars. We rode a motorboat. We went on a big boat. We went to the desert. It was pretty. My friend came with me, Tivoli, and Soleil."

Scientist of the Week-Bottle Tornado

2009-02-24T16:46:00.003-06:00

Today we learned how we can make a tornado in a bottle!

Adventures with Felix

2009-02-23T16:43:00.002-06:00

"We went to the Laguna Gloria Art Museum. Felix liked it. We took pictures & Felix sat on a statue of a lion. We had fun! Felix and I ran around in circles. We watched TV and made a book called Friends. The characters were called Love Monkey, Brownie, and Felix. We had fun! We walked and ran & ran and walked and ran and ran and ran. We hugged and flipped and jumped up and down and all around, and we jumped up and down and all around and climbed up a tree and jumped out of it and Felix liked it. Felix also liked the book I drew. He likes me and he doesn't want to go he wants to stay here. I like him here and it is fun with him here I hope he can come back next time."

Scientist of the Week- Giant Bubbles

2009-02-18T12:59:00.003-06:00

Today we went outside and learned how to make giant bubbles!

Adventures with Felix

2009-02-17T12:57:00.001-06:00

"Me and Felix went to a restaurant. Then we went to a Lego shop."

Our Valentine's Celebration

2009-02-12T17:21:00.004-06:00

Today was our Valentine's Celebration. We started the morning with the prompt "Love is..." The children had such wonderful things to say about love. Most wrote about their family members. We have their responses posted in the classroom. Then, it was time for our Valentine Centers. Each child make a Love Bug cookie, practiced skip counting and creating equal piles with conversation heart candies, and delivered their valentines to their classmates' valentine boxes. Then, they had a few other Valentine centers to choose from. Some students created Love Bug bookmarks, other made sentences with conversation heart candies and illustrated them, some did measuring math activities with their heart candies, and others read valentine books.

Before we knew it, it was time for martial arts. In your child's BEAR book today, they brought home our Martial Arts booklet. Feel free to keep track of their "Acts of Kindness" at home, too. After lunch we headed to the library for a Valentine Story Time with Mrs. Kraal. After Art we delivered our valentines to our big buddies. Finally, it was time for valentines and cookies! We opened all of our valentines and thanked our friends. Some students were very creative with their valentines. Everyone had such good manners. Next we ate (and enjoyed) our Love Bug cookies! Yum!

Finally, we finished the day with the game "Steal My Heart." Students paired up and challenged their partner to see who could "steal" the most heart candies by using only chopsticks! It was SO quiet, you could hear a pin drop! It was such a great fine motor activity and the children had to concentrate to use their chopsticks. They loved it! When the bell rang the students headed out with their valentines, candies, and balloons. Love was in the air! Happy Valentine's Day to all of my little valentines! Enjoy your long weekend and I will see you all on Tuesday!

Publishing our Stories

2009-02-12T16:48:00.001-06:00

We have spent the last few weeks reviewing all of the steps to write a good story. This week we focused on editing and many students began typing their stories. Next week, as students print out their pages, they will work on their illustrations. Finally, we will bind their stories to complete the publishing process. I plan on having the students read their stories aloud and post movies of their stories when we are all finished. I am so proud of the hard work your children are putting forth! Way to go young authors!

Scientist of the Week- Colored Flowers

2009-02-10T17:33:00.001-06:00

Using some beautiful white flowers, some water, and little food coloring, our scientist showed us how to make colored flowers.

Adventures with Felix

2009-02-09T16:03:00.002-06:00

"Me and Felix went in a big tree and I worked with Felix."

Our Plants

2009-02-07T18:56:00.001-06:00

Wow, look how much our plants have grown! We were pleasantly surprised that everyone's plants grew. After taking good care of them at school, it was now time to take them home. Don't forget to water them and replant them at home!

100th Day of School

2009-02-06T19:59:00.001-06:00

We just celebrated our 100th day of school!
Hi, ho! Hi, ho! 100 days ago...
We came to school and we're so cool!
Hi ho! Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho!

We started the day off with 100 exercises. Next, our big project was making our special 100 Day Hats. We counted by 10's on each strip, then we added in all of the missing numbers from 1-100. They turned out great! Then, we weighed and compared our baggies of 100 items. After that, we had the choice as to which special centers we wanted to do. I made sure there were centers that addresses each child's interests and strengths. Our 100 day centers included: Making glasses out of the number 100, stringing 100 fruit loops to create a necklace, writing around the room 100 words, flipping a coin 100 times and recording how many times it landed heads up and how many times it landed tails up, typing numbers 1-100 on the computer, and reading a 100 day poem and drawing pictures of how you will look when you are 100 years old, what you would wear if it was 100 degrees outside, and something that weighs 100 pounds or more.

As a class we wrote our names as many times as we could in 100 seconds. We predicted and then discussed who wrote them most and who wrote the fewest. We also predicted if we took 100 steps down the hall where we would end up. After we placed sticky notes where we thought we would end up, we walked the 100 steps together down the hall. We were surprised to find out where we ended up. Can you guess where 100 steps from our classroom would be?

With our buddies, we played various math games with dice focusing on the number 100. We had such a great day but we couldn't believe that 100 days of 1st grade is over! We only have 75 days left!

Terrariums & Aquariums

2009-02-04T20:05:00.000-06:00

Ms. Thomson has been teaching us all about organisms. First we began by learning all about seeds. We observed different kinds of seeds and then each table planted a different type of seed. We planted pinto beans, sunflowers, pumpkins, and peas.

We also learned about the parts of a plant. We learned a song to the tune of Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.
Flower, stem, leaves, and roots, leaves and roots.
Flower, stem, leaves, and roots, leaves and roots.
All it takes is sun and showers.
And a seed grows into a flower, into a flower.

Next, we created terrariums and aquariums. We also added moss to the terrariums and guppies and snails to the aquariums. We also created our own paper snails.

Scientist of the Week- Soft Egg

2009-02-03T17:54:00.003-06:00

Today we saw (and felt) what happened when an egg sat in vinegar over night! It was interesting to learn why it happened.

Adventures with Felix

2009-02-02T17:03:00.001-06:00

"I played with Felix and I loved playing with him. I built a chair for Felix out of Legos."

Tangrams

2009-01-27T20:12:00.000-06:00

We read "Grandfather Tang's Story" by Ann Tompert. Then, we used tangram pieces to recreate the characters in the story. Next, each child created their own characters and then they wrote their own stories using the character they created.

Chinese New Year

2009-01-27T20:09:00.001-06:00

We learned all about the Chinese New Year. After reading "Lion Dancer: Ernie Wan's Chinese New Year" by Kate Waters and Martha Cooper, we created dragon masks and danced around the room. We also read "Sam and the Lucky Money" by Karen Chinn and then created red money envelopes. During Music, Ms. Price taught us about our zodiac signs. Did you know that horses are talkative. Guess how many horses are in our classroom...16!! We read "How My Parents Learned to Eat" by Ina R. Friedman and then we practiced eating with chopsticks. We ended our celebration with fortune cookies!

Scientist of the Week- Solids Test

2009-01-27T19:39:00.005-06:00

Today's scientist poured different solids into both hot and cold water and we observed what happened. Some things changed in hot water, others in cold water, and some didn't change.

Organisms

2009-01-26T20:17:00.000-06:00

We started our new science unit on Organisms. Students drew a picture of any organism and what they needed to survive. We discussed the similarities and differences among all of the organisms.

Adventures with Felix

2009-01-26T16:45:00.002-06:00

"Today I went to my Aunt Niki's party. We washed her feet and then went to dinner."

Scientist of the Week- Seeing Sound

2009-01-20T20:21:00.002-06:00

Today we learned that we can actually see sound. Watch this week's scientist to learn how!

Adventures with Felix

2009-01-20T20:03:00.004-06:00

"I went to my cousin's basketball game. It was fun! Then me and Felix sewed. I have my own sewing box! On Monday I went to the Zilker Botanical Gardens. In the pictures Felix and I looked cute. My brother, sister, mom, and grandma came. It was so so so fun. I also went to a park with friends. They were: Diana, Myka, Danny, and Jose."

Ms. Shapiro's Crayons

2009-01-18T19:55:00.004-06:00

Here is the finished product!

"We are a box of crayons,
Each one of us unique.
But when we get together,
The picture is complete!"

Landforms & MLK Jr.

2009-01-16T20:04:00.003-06:00

As we learned about "Me on the Map," we discussed landforms and bodies of water that cover our earth. To illustrate what we learned, we created a flip book titled "What is My Earth Made of?" Stop by to check out our finished products!

This week was full of art projects. We did a following directions activity where the children were given basic shapes of paper and then they had to find specific shapes and cut how I indicated to make their own Martin Luther King, Jr. It was amazing to see the similarities and differences among them. We will put them together with illustrations of his dream and our reflection on what we've learned at the end of the week.

Bear Bus & The Crayon Box that Talked

2009-01-14T19:57:00.004-06:00

This week we read "The Crayon Box that Talked" by Shane Derolf. I asked the children to think about why we were reading this story and what it had to do with Martin Luther King, Jr. They made the connection that it doesn't matter what we look like, but we are all important and we all need to work together to accomplish our goals. Then, each student drew their self portrait in the oval and cut it out. Then, they chose a crayon to glue their self portrait on. Finally, we will put the crayons together in a crayon box to represent our class box of crayons.

In math, we continued to work on place value by playing Bear Bus. We took turns rolling two dice and putting "bears" onto the bus. If there were more than 10 bears on the bus, the bears would wait at the bus stop. Then, the students recorded how many ones and how many tens of bears were on the bus or waiting.

Scientist of the Week- Vinegar Volcano

2009-01-13T19:35:00.002-06:00

Look what happens when you add food coloring to vinegar, dish soap, and baking soda!!!

Adventures with Felix

2009-01-13T07:18:00.003-06:00

When we returned to school after Winter Break, we began a new routine, Adventures with Felix. First we read "Adventures with Felix- A Little Rabbit on a World Tour" by Annette Langen. Each chid will have a turn to bring home Felix over the weekend and record their adventures together. Here is the journal entry from his first visit!

"I took Felix to Crazy Park today. I also brought my friend Sophie. My sisters came too. My dad drove us there. He swung us on the saucer until we felt like we were going to fall off. It was cool! We also went on this thing you could walk on. My mom took a picture of Sophie, Maddie, Felix, and I on my bed. Sophie, Felix and I read the Felix book together."

Today We Lost a Tooth!

2009-01-08T20:25:00.003-06:00

This afternoon after Art, we were settling down to read a story when one of the students said "Ms. Shapiro, I just lost my tooth!" He was so excited to add a tally to our Tooth Tally chart. It was his second lost tooth of the year!

Place Value

2009-01-08T16:51:00.003-06:00

We continued working on place value each day this week. On Tuesday, I showed the students a group of ones and 10's blocks on the screen and then they wrote down the number on a dry erase board.

Then on Wednesday, I showed them a number and they represented that number with the blocks. After practicing as a whole group, they worked in small groups taking turns writing down and number and the other students representing it with blocks.

On Thursday, we learned a game where we took turns rolling a dice and then we would put that amount of ones onto the place value mat. As soon as we had ten blocks we could trade the ones for a ten's stick. The students had so much fun! We will be playing several that build upon these skills.

Welcome Back!

2009-01-06T19:16:00.004-06:00

Wow, our first day back and it was filled with fun! We started off the morning with our first spelling pre-test and for each of the 5 words of the week that the students could already spell correctly, I replaced it with a misspelled word from their writer's notebook. Your child brought home their list in their backpack. The children will be tested on these individual lists on Friday. The spelling test will consist of 5 words, 3 bonus words, and two sentences.

We had a wonderful visit from Ms. Pundt! We always look forward to spending time with her!

In math, we began a unit on place value. We reviewed the terms one's and ten's places and then we used cubes and determined how many we had by first counting by 10 and then adding the 1's.

In social studies we began our unit on "Me on the Map." We talked about when we have used or seen maps before and how they help us. Then we read "Me on the Map" by Joan Sweeney and began to create our own books. Since the children are very creative and into art, I knew this would be a perfect project for them!

January Tooth Tally

2009-01-06T19:15:00.002-06:00

The month has just begun and we already have three lost teeth! (Yes, one student lost two teeth!)

December Tooth Tally

2009-01-06T12:56:00.002-06:00

Several of our students lost their teeth in December! Smile!

Gingerbread House Building

2008-12-18T15:53:00.005-06:00

On our last day before Winter Break, each child created their own "gingerbread" house. We all had a lot of fun! Here are some of the finished products!

Zilker Holiday Sing-a-Long

2008-12-18T14:30:00.008-06:00

On Thursday, the entire school met in the cafeteria for a Holiday Sing-a-Long. Each grade level led several songs that they practiced with Ms. Price in music class. We had so much fun! Here are a few short clips of the children singing "Silent Night" and "Must Be Santa."

Holiday Reindeer

2008-12-18T10:42:00.002-06:00

We transformed into reindeer to celebrate the holidays! We even made name necklaces with Christmas lights to practice starting with a capital letter and writing the lowercase letters the correct direction. The children were very festive and looked so cute!

You've Got Mail!

2008-12-17T15:55:00.002-06:00

Earlier in December we wrote letters to Santa's reindeer. Each child decided whom they would like to write to and then each thought of questions to ask and facts to tell that reindeer. We were pleasantly surprised when we received a large green envelope postmarked from the North Pole! Each child received a response!

Scientist of the Week- Rocket Balloon

2008-12-16T14:45:00.000-06:00

Today we learned about air using a balloon, string, straw, and two chairs. Whooosh!

1st Grade Holiday Rotation

2008-12-14T13:00:00.000-06:00

The first grade classes learned about many winter holidays during our Holiday Rotation. Each day the children spent 45 minutes with one teacher. We read stories, played games, and did art activities. We learned about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, La Posada, and Christmas. We discussed the similarities and differences among the holidays. We embraced how people celebrate different holidays. Happy Holidays!

Playing Dreidle

2008-12-12T15:00:00.003-06:00

With our Buddies today we played the dreidle game. We learned what each symbol meant and what to do when we landed on them. Then we took turns spinning and following directions. Some students were luckier than others!

Yogurt and Yoga with Your Yogi

2008-12-11T11:15:00.005-06:00

Today we celebrated what we had learned over the past 10 weeks with Ms. Sarah, our yoga instructor. We invited family members to join us and participate and then we returned to our classroom for a healthy snack--yogurt! Thank you, Ms. Sarah, for teaching us!

Nouns & Blends

2008-12-10T11:09:00.001-06:00

During Language Arts, we learned that proper nouns always begin with a capital letter and they are specific people, places, or things. Each child received a noun and they had to find their "partner."

We also practiced "s" blends. Children worked at their tables to put their puzzle pieces together to spell real words.

Scientist of the Week- Great Explosion

2008-12-09T14:42:00.000-06:00

This week our scientist used mentos and diet coke to create a great explosion!

A Few More November Lost Teeth

2008-11-26T13:03:00.001-06:00

These children are loosing their teeth right and left! They are certainly keeping the tooth fairy busy!

Scientist of the Week- Magic Milk

2008-11-25T11:46:00.003-06:00

Today's scientist teaches us a cool experiment using milk, food coloring, and liquid soap! It is called Magic Milk.

Scientist of the Week- Changing States

2008-11-21T17:33:00.004-06:00

Each week one student will have the opportunity to be the Scientist of the Week. They will choose and practice an experiment at home and then perform it for the class. Here is our first scientist!

Thanksgiving Dinner Lunch

2008-11-19T12:34:00.000-06:00

To celebrate Thanksgiving, we invited our families to join us while we told the story of Thanksgiving in an ABC story. We also enjoyed eating lunch with our family members, too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-19T12:00:00.002-06:00

I am thankful for all of my wonderful students and their families!

We Are Thankful For...

2008-11-18T16:27:00.002-06:00

Here is our first entire class project using the iPod! First the children wrote down at least five things they were thankful for. Then, they recorded their voice using the ipod & microphone. Next, we typed up their list on http://wordle.net. Then, they chose the color background, layout, and font for their words. After a little iMovie magic...tah dah! Our Thankful Project! Please take a few minutes to listen to the children tell you what they are thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving!

Counting by 5's With Turkeys

2008-11-18T12:51:00.001-06:00

Ms. Tang helped us practice counting by 5's using turkeys! First, we each made our own handprint turkey. Then we practiced counting by 5's (5 for each finger we used to make our turkey). After standing up and practicing, we wrote own own equations using 5's and then acted them out! Gobble, gobble!

1st Grade Photographers

2008-11-17T19:46:00.001-06:00

BubbleShare: Share photos - Craft Ideas

When we went on our 1st field trip of the year I took this opportunity to teach the students how to use a digital camera. They had a blast photographing the dinosaurs and each other. I loved watching the children teach each other how to zoom and then view the photos they took. Here are a few pictures that I took of them taking photos.

Another Lost Tooth!

2008-11-14T20:30:00.000-06:00

Yippee! We added another tally to our Tooth Tally Chart! Congratulations!

Screening Rocks

2008-11-11T15:30:00.002-06:00

Today we used screens to separate mixtures of pebbles, gravel, and sand. Here is a short movie to show what we did!

Lost Tooth!

2008-11-11T09:19:00.000-06:00

Today another student added a tally to the November Tooth Tally. She was so excited to add her tally to the chart! Congratulations!

Dia de los Muertos

2008-11-03T16:51:00.001-06:00

Today we learned about Dia de los Muertos. We listened to Jenny read us a story and we all wanted to share what it made us think about. We learned that the skeletons at Dia de los Muertos aren't scary and they are very colorful. We worked on making our own colorful skeletons. They should be hanging in our hallway soon! Jenny also showed us sugar skulls and bread of the dead. We LOVED eating the bread, too! Thanks for teaching us today, Jenny!

The 1st November Tooth Tally

2008-11-03T16:50:00.000-06:00

Today one of our students lost his tooth at lunch, making him the first student to lose his tooth in November!

Halloween Festivities

2008-10-31T19:23:00.000-05:00

Finally, it was time for our Halloween Celebration! Many parents and family members came to help out! Thanks to them, everything ran smoothly! We played Spooky Bingo, Ghost Toss, stuffed Popcorn Ghost Hands, created Scary Monster Hands, graphed Witches Brew, and make a Halloween picture frame. We ended the day doing the Monster Mash! Happy Halloween!

More Halloween Pictures!

2008-10-31T19:20:00.000-05:00

We were able to go on a Halloween Hayride before lunch! Whee! What a blast! Then after lunch we enjoyed our Friday Guest Reader! We loved listening to him read two Halloween stories to us. Thank you so much for coming!

Halloween Festivities

2008-10-31T19:15:00.000-05:00

We decorated our door for Halloween inspired by our Weekly Poem "What Will You Be?"

For Share & Care, one of our students brought two Halloween books. We took a vote and she read the book to us that received the most votes.

We had a special Halloween D.E.A.R. time with the rest of 1st Grade! We met them outside in the hall and read under our jack-o-lanterns!

To reinforce the concept of right & left, we played a Halloween Twister game. Students took turns calling out which hand or foot and which Halloween symbol to put it on. It was so much fun!

Estimation & Past, Present, and Future

2008-10-28T19:09:00.000-05:00

Today, Ms. Tang taught us about estimation and Past, Present and Future. First, we learned about estimation and then practiced what we learned by estimating how many pieces of popcorn it would take to cover three different sized ghosts. We estimated one at a time and then counted to find the actual number. Then, we used that knowledge to create our next estimation. Luckily, we got to eat the popcorn for snack when we finished!

We also learned about the Past, Present, and Future. Ms. Tang read a few books and showed us a powerpoint with pictures of things now and then things in the past. We had to choose two topics (cars, schools, houses, books, etc..) and draw what they used to look like, what the look like now, and what we think they may look like in the future!

Exploring Rocks

2008-10-28T07:07:00.000-05:00

We began our new science unit on Pebbles, Sand, and Silt. Today, the children explored three types of rocks- Basalt, Scoria, and Tuff.

Halloween Science

2008-10-24T15:53:00.002-05:00

Today with our buddies we made Atomic Slime and Screaming Witch Balloons. It was so much fun and really got up into the Halloween spirit! Click the links below to read the directions and explanations, see photos and videos of these experiments.

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/atomic-slime

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000080

AISD's Mock Election

2008-10-23T13:57:00.001-05:00

On Thursday, each student in Austin ISD had the opportunity to vote for who they think would be a good president. First the students filled out their own "Voter Registration Card." Then, after lunch, the student council members checked our cards and gave us each a ballot. The students went into the voter carols and checked the box next to the name and photo of who they would like to be president. Then, the students put their ballot into the ballot box. At the end of the day, Mr. Thomson announced the results of the election. We look forward to see our results compared to the other AISD school.

Dem Bones

2008-10-22T16:59:00.001-05:00

This week we have been learning about bones. We've learned all sorts of interesting facts about bones. For example, adults have 206 bones in their body. We did many different fun bones activities. We made foam skeletons beginning with the skull and working toward our phalanges. They are hanging in our room. Then, we sorted candy bones, recorded how many of each type we had and then answered questions about our results. We also read several fun books about bones and skeletons.

October Tooth Tally

2008-10-21T14:03:00.001-05:00

Two more of our students lost their teeth this month. The tooth fairy must be busy! That makes four lost teeth this month!

Healthy Food Choices

2008-10-21T14:01:00.000-05:00

This week, Ms. Tang taught us about nutrition, healthy eating, and the Food Pyramid. On Monday, the students colored in their own food pyramids and then found at least one food for each group. Then, on Tuesday, students went "shopping" for food and created their own healthy meals.

Y Can Make the Sound E!

2008-10-21T11:04:00.001-05:00

We learned that sometimes when there is a y at the end of a word it makes the sound E as in creepy or property. After brainstorming a few words together, the students went on a hunt around the room searching for words that have the y that makes the sound E. We found them around the room, in books, on posters, and even on some of the student's t-shirts!

Guest Reader

2008-10-17T18:40:00.000-05:00

This week, our guest reader read one of the Skippy Jon Jones books. We love Skippy Jon Jones! She read the background information to us so we learned about the author's daughter, too. Thanks for reading to us today!

Spooky Story Problems

2008-10-17T16:20:00.001-05:00

This week we have been working on "Spooky Story Problems." First we practiced coming up with addition and subtraction story problems with Halloween foam characters. Then, each child created their own problem and wrote it down in their math notebook. After editing their work, the students re-wrote their problem on an index card and flipped it over to write their answer. Next, after reviewing the concept of a setting, students created a Halloween setting for their problem on their paper. Next, they stuck their Halloween characters onto their setting and I helped tape their problem. I will be hanging these in the hall later this week. When you stop by, see if you can solve the Spooky Story Problems!

Open House

2008-10-16T20:19:00.001-05:00

Thank you so much for all of your support by attending Open House! The children were so excited to share with their parents, siblings, and grandparents all of their hard work. I saw several students and parents beaming with pride as they read their writing, explained their science investigations, identified the pattern on the calendar, and much more! What a wonderful evening!

Toss and Spell

2008-10-16T16:17:00.001-05:00

For Word Work today we practiced spelling words a new way. Each child found a partner and they took turns spelling the words by each student saying one letter to spell the word and tossing the bean back after saying the letter. It was a unique way to include movement while practicing our weekly words.

Top Ten Reasons to Come to Open House...

2008-10-16T08:28:00.000-05:00

Tonight (Thursday) at 6:30pm...…**

10. You will get to complete a scavenger hunt with your child!

9. At your Parent Conference it was a time for discussion about your child’s progress and work…now your child can show off their work and talk about all the fun stuff we do!

8. It’s a chance to meet other families in the classroom.

7. It’s another way to show the home-school connection.

6. There could be treats…

5. Your child giving you a tour helps to develop their oral language, listening, and speaking skills.

4. You can sign up to help out with Zamboree, Halloween, or “Lend a Helping Hand.”

3. There is something inherently cool about coming to the classroom when it’s dark outside.

2. Ms. Shapiro would be lonely if we all stayed home and she was there by herself.

1. Zilker is a great place for kids!

** Please meet in the cafeteria for a brief PTA Meeting and then we will be opening our classroom for a visit!
You can also visit the library, Art, Music, and P.E.!

Look Who Lost a Tooth!

2008-10-15T16:16:00.001-05:00

Two more students lost a tooth! For one student, this was her very first tooth lost. We were very excited for her. So far our students have lost 10 teeth this year!

Rainy Day Recess

2008-10-15T16:15:00.001-05:00

Today was our first "Rainy Day Recess." Since we stayed inside, we were able to choose games off the game shelf, read at the book center, take out the geoblocks, write and draw at the writing center, and more. Here is what the students decided to do!

Dot Addition & Writing on Paper

2008-10-14T16:14:00.001-05:00

While working on understanding addition, the students used at least three dot cards to equal certain numbers. Then, they glued down the cards and wrote equations. The students are really getting good at number combinations.

As we continue to work with paper, today we used various types of writing utensils to figure out which type of paper crayon wrote on best, marker wrote on best, and pencil wrote on best. Then, students decided which type of paper would be best to write a letter on. Which type to do you think would be best for painting on? How about for making an envelope with? There's so much to explore!

Paper Fun With Our Buddies

2008-10-10T15:28:00.003-05:00

Yippee!!! It's buddy time! This week we had fun folding paper with our buddies. We created paper cups which actually held water and hats! It took a little patience, but we were excited with the results. The children each brought home a booklet with instructions on how to make the cup, hat, and more! We look forward to our next activities with our buddies next week!

Today's Guest Reader

2008-10-10T15:28:00.002-05:00

Today Gus' Grandpa was our guest reader. The children loved learning more about Christopher Columbus and seeing where he traveled on the globe. Then, after learning about Columbus, Gus' Grandpa read a few of Gus' favorite dinosaur books. They enjoyed learning about the dinosaur with teeth as long as pencils, the dinosaur the size of a turkey, and more! Thanks for reading to us!

Exploring Paper & Our Ant Farm Update

2008-10-09T15:26:00.001-05:00

Today I introduced 8 different types of paper. The students explored the pieces and described the similarities and differences. We will use these paper samples next week.

Here is an update on our Ant Farm. We observed and recorded the changes that the ants have made. It has been so interesting and exciting seeing the new tunnels that the ants create.

Word Family Competition

2008-10-08T15:25:00.001-05:00

To practice our word family words this week, the students worked in teams of 3 to come up with as many words they could think of that end with -ad. They took turns writing down real words on their dry erase boards and then when the time limit was up, each team took a turn reading off one word. Anyone who had the same word, erased it from their board. The team with any remaining words won. The students had so much fun and can't wait to play again!

Creating Plywood

2008-10-07T15:24:00.000-05:00

Today, we made the other man made wood- plywood. We learned the nickname for plywood is sandwich wood. We glued 4, 5, or 6 thin layers of wood together with white glue to create our sandwich wood.

Creating Particle Board

2008-10-06T15:23:00.000-05:00

Today we used sawdust and a matrix, which acted as glue, to create particle board. After mixing the two ingredients together, students shaped their particle board into any desired shape. We had hearts, rectangles, and even a chicken finger!

Friendship Bracelets with our Buddies

2008-10-04T10:01:00.001-05:00

Boy we love our buddies! Today we did an activity with patterns, solar energy, and friendship. We made friendship bracelets! Together the buddies created patterns and they were each able to add a few solar energy beads to their bracelet. Can you guess what happened to the beads when they went outside? Ask your child to find out! Even the big buddies were excited to make something with their little buddies.

During the month of October we will be doing some paper folding activities to go along with our Science unit and some Halloween Science with our Buddies! We can't wait!

Five in a Row & Our Guest Reader

2008-10-03T21:59:00.002-05:00

During Math, we played Five in a Row. With a partner, students took turns rolling two dice and finding their sum. Then, they would look on their game board to see if they had that answer. If they did, they covered it with a marker. The goal was to cover up Five in a Row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Some students were so quick, they had time to try to cover their entire board. We will spend more time on subtraction and story problems next week.

Today, Emma's Mom was our guest reader. We really enjoyed listening to her read two books to us. We were glad to learn about Rosh Hashana with Sammy the Spider! Thanks for reading to us!

Rainbow Writing & Feathers for Lunch

2008-10-03T09:58:00.001-05:00

During Word Work today, we learned how to write our words using Rainbow Writing. To practice spelling them, we wrote each word in one color crayon, then rewrote it with a different color on top of it. We repeated the steps so that each word was written in four colors. Then, the word looked like a rainbow! It was a fun way to practice writing our words.

Our big book this week was Feathers for Lunch by Lois Elhert. Our main focus was onomatopoeias, when a word imitates the sound it is describing. After reading it today, the children each created their own bird, gave it a name, and then wrote down the sound it makes. We hung up their work outside our room for you to see!

Working with Wood

2008-10-02T21:52:00.001-05:00

This week we continued to work with wood during Science. First we explored if it was possible to change the shape of wood. All the students answered, YES! We introduced sandpaper and the children sanded pieces of basswood. We observed what fell onto their paper plates as they sanded. It was both sand dust and wood dust.

Then, the next day, we looked at sawdust and wood shavings. We observed and recorded what we noticed. Then we added both to water and observed. We let the sawdust and wood shavings sit overnight and we were excited to see that all of the sawdust and most of the wood shavings had become waterlogged (our science word for the day). We brainstormed ideas as to how we could get the wood out of the water without making a mess or loosing any of the wood or water. After a few unsuccessful attempts, I introduced screens. The children each had a turn to practice using a screen to separate the wood from the water. I explained that we will be using several different sized screens during our next science unit "Pebbles, Sand, and Silt."

Towers of Ten

2008-09-29T09:51:00.001-05:00

In math we've been working on "Understanding Addition." Today we played a game called Towers of 10. Each child had a different colored set of interlocking cubes. Then, the children took turns rolling two dice. They added up the number and used their cubes to show that number. Then their partner added their cubes to the first tower. As soon as they had 10 cubes on their tower, they would begin the next tower. When three towers were build, they recorded what their towers looked like on their recording sheet. Finally, the children added number sentences to show their equations.

Another Fun Friday!

2008-09-26T21:46:00.001-05:00

This week we read Tumble Bumble by Felica Bond several times. We focused on rhyming words, action words (a.k.a. verbs), and sequencing the events of the story. Today, the children cut out each character and glued them in order on a sentence strip. Then, some students requested to make theirs into headbands.

Later in the day, during Word Work, we went outside with sidewalk chalk to practice our weekly words. It was fun writing on the sidewalk!

Today, Clarissa's mom returned to be our guest reader! We really enjoyed the stories she shared with us! We gave her a "firecracker" for reading to us.

Our day ended with Buddies with Mrs. Russell's 4th grade class. Today we created Venn Diagrams and discussed how each set of buddies were the same and different.

Two More Lost Teeth!!!

2008-09-25T18:57:00.001-05:00

Can you believe that our students lost two more teeth?! That makes seven for September and nine for the entire year! Wow, the Tooth Fairy must be busy!

Yoga

2008-09-25T18:55:00.001-05:00

Today was our first day of Yoga with Ms. Sarah. We had so much fun learning and practicing various poses and learning new breathing techniques. We will have the opportunity to participate in yoga on Thursdays for ten weeks.

Say Cheese!

2008-09-24T18:59:00.000-05:00

Since we had all 19 students present today, we wanted to take a group picture! What a good looking bunch!

Sinking Wood

2008-09-24T18:56:00.000-05:00

This week in Science we learned about the properties of wood. First, we made predictions if pine and plywood would sink or float. Then we tested them. The next day we experimented to see how we could make the pieces of wood sink. We put a rubber band around each piece of wood and slipped paper clips under it. We predicted and then counted how many paper clips it took to sink each piece of wood.

Word Wall Detective and Our Ant Farm

2008-09-23T18:58:00.000-05:00

Today during Word Work, I introduced Word Wall Detective. I would give the children clues, one at a time, and they would determine which of the weekly words it could be. After each clue they would eliminate some of the words and finally figure out which the mystery word it. For example: 1. It has two letters. 2. It rhymes with slow. 3. It starts with the sound /g/. What is it? It's GO!

Our young scientists have been observing the new addition to our science center, our space age ant farm. Using our sense of sight, we discussed what we noticed. The children drew what they saw and then wrote about it. We will make observations and record them again soon and discuss the changes. The children were very excited about the tunnels that are forming. Feel free to stop by and see it!