Ladybugs

    We began our study of Ladybugs by sharing our schema (what we think we know) and then we added to our new learning all week.

    We read From Larva to Ladybug and charted the life cycle. Then students created their own ladybug life cycle.

    We read Ladybug Fiery Red and Bright. Then we graphed our favorite color ladybug and analyzed our data.

    We used a leaf mat and ladybug counters (ladybug stickers on index cards, laminated, and cut out) to tell addition stories. We recorded in our math journals.

   We went to the science lab to find out which temperature ladybugs like better. We graphed our predictions before we did the experiment.

    Students used a hand lens to observe the ladybugs in the tubing.

    Then we put one end of the tubing into ice water and one end into warm to hot water and observed where the ladybugs went.

    Then we recorded on a small sheet of paper where we observed our ladybugs once we put the tubing in the water cups.

    For teachers who are interested, these activities (and more) can be found in my Ladybug Learning Fun  unit.

Celebrating Dr. Seuss

Here's our Dr. Seuss work we displayed for Open House.

Valentine Math and Literacy

 Valentine addition with us as the manipulatives.

 Independent practice

 We read I Love You! by Deanna Jump and then played "Bee the Word" by putting the sentences from the book in order.

 We worked in math stations...

 ...while friends passed out their Valentines.

 Then we sorted, graphed and added our Valentines.

Groundhog Day

    We watched a Discovery Streaming video about the history of Groundhog Day. Then we created a puppet and used our puppet to share what we learned from the video about Groundhog Day with our partners. 

    We read Go To Sleep Groundhog! Then we reviewed the lesson they had with Mrs. Riggins in the science lab about shadows and what makes a shadow. Then we graphed our prediction for the groundhog and analyzed our data. 

    We read Punxsutawney Phyllis and then voted on a name for our class groundhog for Project Groundhog. Then we went outside to look for shadows so we would know if our class groundhog "Smiley" saw his shadow. When we first went outside it was cloudy and we couldn't see shadows. Right before we went back inside, the sun came out and we saw our shadows. Most of the student predictions were correct.

Day and Night

    We read My Day: Morning, Noon, and Night. As we were reading, students showed me thumbs up for day or thumbs down for night for each activity in the story. Then students were given an index card and drew a day or night picture. Then we created a tree map with their drawings.

    We graphed which we liked better day or night and then analyzed our data. We also read Little Quack's Bedtime and discussed what we saw in the sky in the story's illustrations. Then we created a circle map of objects in the night sky using the students' illustrations. We added a frame of reference for our learning around our circle map.

Snow Fun Graphing

    We read Huggles' Snow Day by Ted Arnold. We talked about the different snow day activities in the story. Then we talked with our partner about which one of the the following three activities we would want to do: build a snowman, have a snowball fight, or make snow angels. We lined up and made a graph on the carpet. 

Then the students put their name cards down to graph the activity they chose.

    Finally, we collected data by making tally marks to represent those who chose each activity. Then students created their own graph. We discussed the data represented on our graph and wrote about the results.

New Year's Traditions

    We're back at school and started 2012 by learning about New Year's traditions. We read Squirrel's New Year Resolution. We talked about what resolutions are: a promise you make to yourself for something you want to learn or do to make yourself better. Then we talked with our partners about some possible resolutions and then shared and created a bubble map. Then the students created these balloons with their resolutions. The most popular was help mom or dad every day.

    We also read The Night Before New Year's and discussed what we did on New Year's eve. We illustrated/wrote about a tradition we shared with our partner. Then we talked about the foods we eat on New Year's Day and why we eat those foods. We tasted black eyed peas and graphed if we like them or not. Then we analyzed our results.

Christmas Around the World

We watched a video on Discovery Streaming about Kwanzaa and then made and ate fruit kabobs because part of Kwanzaa is a harvest celebration. The kids noticed that Kwanzaa is a similar to our Christmas and Thanksgiving celebrations.

We read Mrs. Greenberg's Messy Hanukkah and discussed how Hanukkah was started and why it is celebrated. Then we tasted pancakes and latkes. Then we created a real object graph using the students to answer the question Which did they like better?. Then we collected and analyzed the data from our graph.

We watched a Multi Cultural Christmas video on Discovery Streaming and focused on the origin of Christmas card tradition. Then we made a Christmas card for the firefighters who came to visit us back in October.

We read The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree and talked about how the tradition of trees and ornaments started in Germany. Then we created snowflake Christmas ornaments.