Spring into Mrs. High's Class!

In March we made a lion/lamb art project to predict what kind of spring weather we would have this year. I definitely think the "lion" weather is hanging on a bit longer this year! :)

This spring we have been busy putting our new writing skills to the test on some fun writing projects. A few weeks ago we read the book, How Do You Hug a Porcupine, and then wrote about how we would hug a porcupine. 

We also read a book called, What If You Had Animal Teeth?, and my students wrote about what they would do with a certain kind of animal teeth. 

These turned our really cute! :) 

Terrific Technology

Our class has really been enjoying the new technology that we have received this year. The iPad cart has been a great addition to our First Grade pod. Last week we had a math lesson about congruent shapes and we used a Geoboard app on our iPads. The students LOVED this and were very engaged the entire lesson!

 If you want to try this FREE app at home it is called Geoboard.

In reading we have been working on our sight words and spelling by using the Cimo Spelling app. There are two different Cimo Spelling apps. One is for sight words and one is for sounding out new words. Below are pictures of my reading student using these two apps. 

We have been using our Smartboard to play sight word bingo as an entire class. You can play bingo and other interactive educational games at home by going to the website abcya.com. 

Mrs. High

February in Pictures

We have been very busy bees in February. From the Valentine's Day party to having two snow days we have not stopped buzzing around our classroom. Here are a few pictures to show you what your "busy bee" has been up to in February!

We made Bumble Bees for Valentine's Day!

Our front bulletin board is a HOOT :) The kids really enjoyed making their owls for Valentine's Day!

On Ground Hog's day we predicted whether or not Punxsutawney Phil would see his shadow.

This week we made The Cat in the Hat to celebrate Dr. Seuss'  Birthday!

Tomorrow we are going to write about what we would do if The Cat in the Hat came to our house! :)

In writing we have been working on the writing trait, word choice. We have talked about using "WOW" words when we write! This past week we did a writing lesson with popcorn. We filled out a graphic organizer about what senses we use when we eat popcorn. The students had to come up with adjectives that describe the five senses they use when eating popcorn. Yesterday we used our graphic organizer to write a story about popcorn. We talked about using the other traits we have talked about (ideas, organization, and using good conventions) in our writing. I am so excited to see how all of my students are progressing in writing! I LOVE teaching writing! :)

This is all for now! Looking forward to warm, spring weather!

Mrs. High

100th Day of School

Today my students are 100 days smarter! :) I am so proud of all their hard work so far this year.  For the 100th day of school we were able to Skype with a principal in California by using FaceTime. We have been studying ocean habitats in science and so this morning the students were actually able to see the ocean live. We used Mr. Badura's iPad and the principal used her cell phone to connect us halfway across the country. We used FaceTime so that the students were able to see the ocean live. One of the first things my students asked was, "WHAT is that sound???" They were referring to the sound of the ocean in the background. Yesterday we came up with 8 questions to ask about California or the ocean. Eight of my students got to walk up to the iPad and ask Ms. Clark their question. Here are a few pictures from our Skype this morning!

The iPad was projected on my Smartboard through a reflection app on Mr. Badura's iPad. What you are seeing on the Smartboard was live video footage of the ocean. 

Here is a picture of the principal answering our questions about the ocean. 

Here is a picture of exactly what beach Ms. Clark was on this morning!

My students LOVED seeing the ocean live and talking with Ms. Clark about California! If you are a teacher, I HIGHLY recommend that you Skype with someone in a different state!

The rest of the day we did 100 day activities. Here are a few pictures from the day!

They made 100 day hats with Mrs. Luzum. 

We sorted 100 food items using a math work mat. 

I will quickly catch you up on what else has been going on in Mrs. High's First Grade Class the past month. We are REALLY enjoying our new iPad cart in first grade.

 We have made several winter art project including a self portrait, a penguin and a writing snowman. 

Each student was able to make themselves wearing snow clothes and then painted the snow around them. Go check out Kidblog.org/Mrs.HighsClass to see your child's writing and art work. 

 In writing we have been working on using organization in our writing. The students made a snowman where they wrote how they would build a snowman.  The hat was their lead and the three snowballs that made up the snowman was the beginning, middle, and end of their story. They did a great job on these!!! They are currently being proudly displayed in our classroom!

I can't believe it is ALMOST February! This year is flying by.....

Looking forward to a great rest of the school year!!!

Mrs. High

Thanksgiving and Christmas FUN!

This time of year is CRAZY busy and we have a lot of FUN things going on in First Grade!
During the week of Thanksgiving we made turkey wanted posters. We pretended that we were farmers and our Thanksgiving turkeys had escaped and dressed up as something else. We wrote a story from the farmer's perspective about what they dressed up as and what reward we would give  to get them back. This was SUCH a fun project and it was  neat to see what the students disguised their turkeys as. Here are a few pictures.

We also made word choice turkeys. The students had to come up with different words that they could use in their writing instead of always using the word fun. 

This week we have been doing a Jan Brett author study in reading. We have read many of her books and done several projects. First we read, "The Mitten" by Jan Brett and created our own mittens and described them. We put all of the characters from the story in our mitten. 

The next day we read, "The Three Snow Bears" and the students filled out a story map and drew the characters from the story on a blue sheet of paper!  

We also completed igloo sight word worksheets that went with the story, "The Three Snow Bears."

During writing this week we read the book, "Who Will Guide My Sleigh?" This books discusses different animals that Santa might have guide his sleigh. My students then got to write about which animal they would have guide Santa's sleigh. These turned out really cute!

 Today we read the following two books by Jan Brett. My friends then got to play a game where they got to draw and color a gingerbread baby themselves!

It has been SO much fun doing an author's study in reading this week. Tomorrow we will end the week by reading the book, "The Hat" by Jan Brett and doing a few activities with it!

Mrs, High :)