Mystery Number Skype

Today our class did our first Mystery Number Skype! Our class connected with Mrs. Cassidy's Grade One class from Moose Jaw, Canada via Skype. 

First, we learned some things about our new friends. 

• They live in Canada.
• They are two hours ahead of us.
• The weather in Moose Jaw today was snowy! Mrs. Cassidy showed us the view outside their window. Our kids were amazed!

Next we started our Mystery Number game. Each class chose a secret number (between 1-20) and then asked "yes" or "no" questions to try to figure out the other classes secret number. We used our white boards to cross off numbers as they were eliminated. Our class asked questions such as: Is it an even number? Mrs. Cassidy's class asked us if our number had one digit. That was a great question that we had to discuss before we could answer. The students took turns asking questions and crossing off numbers until they were ready to make a guess.

Mrs. Cassidy's class guessed our number first! It was 15. Way to go!

Then we guessed theirs. It was 11! Amazing job, first graders!

Thank you to Mrs. Cassidy's class for playing with us today! We hope to do this again soon with another class. I wonder where the next class we Skype with will be from?

The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics

The Olympics are a great opportunity to learn about sportsmanship, geography, and different winter sports! 

My son is really into maps, the states, and countries, so we have already looked at where Sochi is many times on his globe in preparation for the Winter Games.  Then, last night, I sat with Avery and Cade and we watched 20 minutes of the women’s snowboarding qualifying runs.  It was great to see my son recognize the athletes from different countries and root for them as they jumped and twirled off ramps. I can’t wait to watch the Opening Ceremonies with my kids tonight!

I hope you will take some time to watch and talk about the Olympics with your kids, too! If you do, I'd advise you to use your DVR to record it, since it starts kind of late at 8:00 PM. Also, it would be a good idea to limit the amount of time they are watching it (20 minutes was perfect for us), and to fast forward through the commercials, if possible. 

In addition, here is  a resource from Common Sense Media for turning the Olympic games into teachable moments. http://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/what-kids-will-remember-forever-from-watching-the-olympics-with-you

And here is a guide to the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games for Kids. http://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/2014-olympics-guide-for-families

Happy Olympic Games!

Matter!

Today the students learned a song about Matter. We made up the hand motions to go with it!

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Matter

Solids like to keep their shape.

Liquids flow just like a lake.

Gases float right through the air.

Matter, matter, everywhere!

Martin Luther King, Jr

This Wordle was created by our class after we had learned about Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Thankful Book by Mrs. Diaz's Class

Working on the iPad to create a class book.

This week, our sharing topic was to tell what we are thankful for. Everyone shared that they are thankful for their parents, school, siblings, friends, houses, etc. We realized that we have lots of things to be thankful for! Then we read The Thankful Book by Todd Parr. Our class really appreciated this book because the author wrote about little things that he is thankful for. For example, Mr. Parr writes, "I am thankful for my ears because they help me hear beautiful music." We decided to make our own class book using our iPads and an app called Drawing Pad. We hope you like our first digital class book!

DEAR Day!

Today was DEAR Day! DEAR stands for Drop Everything And Read! So, we lounged around the classroom reading books for part of our day. Here are some photos of us having a great time sharing books with friends!

Our New York Connection

As part of the Global Read Aloud, our class read Marty McGuire, along with Mr. Water's first grade class in New York. In the book, Marty is reluctantly chosen to play the part of the princess in the class play, The Frog Prince. Mr. Waters had a great idea that we could make tissue paper frogs and use them to get to know more about each other. To do this, our students took pictures of themselves and their frogs in different places near our homes and then shared them with the other class.  Our class received a package a couple of weeks ago with many pictures of the New York kids and their frogs standing in places like the Statue of Liberty and Central Park! Our class decided to create a slideshow of our photos to share them. The final product is below. We hope that Mr. Water's class likes it and will leave us a comment!

Asking Questions As We Read Marty McGuire

The students were introduced to the reading comprehension strategy, Asking Questions last week. When good readers use this strategy they ask questions as they are reading. Then they look for the answers to their questions as they continue to read more. Here is what we wondered about Marty McGuire.  

Predictions About Marty McGuire

We are collaborating with another first grade class in New York as we read Marty McGuire for the Global Read Aloud! Here are the students' predictions before they started reading the book.

Created with Padlet

Skyping with Our Partner Class in New York!

Today our class Skyped with our partner class in New York! It was amazing, to say the least!

In preparation for the Skype call, we looked up their school using Google Maps. Using the street view and pictures, we were able to learn that their school was in an urban area of Lower Manhattan. This a lot different from our suburban neighborhood school! We compared and contrasted the difference between urban and suburban communities. Then we brainstormed the questions we wanted to ask them.  During the call, several students asked and answered questions about our schools as well as the book, Marty McGuire. Here were some of the things we learned about Mr. Water's class.

• If we drove to their school and didn't stop once, it would take us over 40 hours and almost 3,000 miles to get there.
• Their school is located in a building 12 stories high.
• They have a pool in the basement and they have swimming as part of their PE.
• The playground is on the roof!
• They have 15 students in their class and two teachers.
• They love to read Marty McGuire, too!

The Global Read Aloud - Marty McGuire

Today is the start of the Global Read Aloud! Our class is going to be reading the chapter book, Marty McGuire with many first, second, and third grade classes all over the world!  You can see who is participating in the map below:

View Marty McGuire Participants Map in a larger map

Our class is partnered with another first grade class in New York! We are going to be collaborating with them as we read the book together! We are so excited!

International Dot Day!

This year, our class celebrated International Dot Day! First, we read The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds, which is a story about a girl named Vashti who believes she cannot draw. In frustration, Vashti jabs her pen on the art paper to make a dot. Vashti's teacher views her paper thoughtfully, then asks her to sign it. The next day, Vashti's dot is proudly displayed in a gold frame above the teacher's desk. Vashti gains confidence in her ability to be creative and sets to work making more and more dots.

Our class loves to read the book over and over again! I think we've read it at least 10 times already. It has turned out to be a very inspirational book. Here is their wonderful art in the style of Vashti! These kids are ready to "Make their Mark"!

Getting to Know You

Welcome to a new school year! I am so pleased to be your child’s teacher this year and I’m looking forward to getting to know each of my young scholars and their families. I know this is going to be a fantastic year of growth and learning for each child and I will do everything I can to make sure it is a successful one! While I will only have your child for one school year, I would like to make a contribution that lasts a lifetime! Please help me to become better acquainted with your son or daughter by sharing some information with me. This will help me to better understand your child and work more effectively with all my young scholars. Don't worry! All information you share with me is private and confidential. Thank you for taking your time to fill these questions out completely and thoughtfully!

One Week Away...

I can't believe we are one week away from starting first grade! I am so excited to meet all my young scholars very soon. I have been very busy getting our classroom ready for learning and I can't wait to share it with all of you! We are going to have a very exciting year of learning and growing!

Parents are encouraged to follow this blog to be updated about special projects we are working on through out the year. You may also share this blog with your family and friends who you think would be interested to know what we are learning and doing. Our class encourages those who read our blog to leave us a comment so we know you were here!

Looking forward to a fabulous year!

Mrs. Diaz

Welcome to the Class Blog for First Grade Findings!

This blog is for sharing what we are doing in class with parents and other classrooms around the world. We are a class of first graders who are learning about the world around us. We hope you will follow us as we embark on a new school year!

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