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.

Reading Comprehension

We worked on making inferences which is using what the story says, what I know, and looking at the pictures to figure out things are aren't completely explained in the story. This is a chart we made as we read three mini stories. I modeled the first one, the students and I talked through the second story with the students, and then the students talked to their partner for the third story and agreed what we should write in each column. 

We've been working on using our five senses to identify sensory details in stories and poems. We read the poem Christmas Presents. Then we charted the sensory details the author used to help us create a mental picture. We also acted out the poem. 

We read Christmas Angel in the Clifford's Puppy Days series. As a class, we created a story map that included the main characters, setting, and key events from the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

ABCya

Found this really cute, fun, and great website for reading and math practice through Mrs. Bickston who teaches first grade at our school. The great thing about this website is it offers reading and math practice through 5th grade!!! Once your child masters the kindergarten games, you can move them to the next grade level games to practice. Check it out here!

A Treeful of Good Behavior

 For the last couple of weeks, students have been earning ornaments for their Christmas trees. Every time they were caught doing something good or making wise choices and following directions especially when those around them were not, they got to add a sticker (ornament) to their tree. Once they earned 12 stickers, I put a sparkly blue snowflake at the top of their tree. The students were so proud of their Christmas trees!

Oh the Things Santa Can Help Us Learn!

We finished our needs and wants unit by writing a Christmas wish list. Before writing their list, we practiced stretching out words and writing the sounds we hear. Then students wrote/illustrated three things they want for Christmas. They shared their list with their partner and then identified the items on their list as needs or wants and explained how they knew the item was a need or want. We created a Santa glyph to compare Santa family traditions such as if they write a letter to Santa or not, if they leave him cookies/milk, or not, etc. Then we collected the data from our glyphs and compared using more/less/same as. 

Creating Sets and Comparing Numbers

We've been working on identifying and creating sets of numbers 1-15. I gave the students a Christmas light cut out. We drew a card from a deck and put that many "lights" on our Christmas tree. The students worked together to create the set and then we counted to check our work. Once students were able to do this quickly, we drew a card and then used the more/less spinner to create a set more/less than the number we drew. Once again the students worked together to figure it out and then we counted to check.

 

Then students went back to their sets and worked with their partner, to create sets of decorations on a Christmas tree from the number card drawn. Then we used the more/less spinner to create sets more/less than the number drawn.

We also played a comparing numbers game, where each partner drew a number card and then they used math talk to compare numbers (9 is less than 13. 13 is more than 9.). Then they laid their cards on the more/less mat and then spun the more/less spinner to determine who won the cards. Once all the cards were played the partners counted their cards and then spun the more/less spinner to determine the winner.

Gingerbread Man Learning Fun

We read several different versions of The Gingerbread Man and we compared and contrasted the different versions of the story. We created a story map that included characters, setting, and key events for Deanna Jump's Gingerbreadman story. We also acted the story out. We also used our five senses to identify sensory details in the story and charted the words that helped us to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell details in the story. We also wrote a Gingerbread poem and created Gingerbread men glyphs. 

We did an experiment with a Gingerbread Man cookie to figure out why he didn't swim across the river himself. We put a cookie in a cup of water and recorded our hypothesis.

We recorded what the cookie looked like when 20 minutes had passed.

 We recorded what the cookie looked like after an hour and wrote/illustrated our conclusion.

Of course, we enjoyed eating gingerbread man cookies.