Hurrah! All 28 first graders were present for an awesome team-building adventure today!. The Question of the Day was: Have you ever built something tall? Morning work involved distributing and going over a Homes Around the World activity book. Students will keep this in their daily folders to work on during the school day as time allows.
After our morning meeting, we looked at the Unit 7 spelling words. They all follow the vowel-consonant-e pattern. The spelling test will be on Thursday so study the words well in the three days ahead!
The main event of the day was the team building experience. The students were shown the building materials and their building sites. We talked about the importance of a good foundation and balancing the items. Each team was comprised of four students. They first designed plans for their structures. After starting with six building components, the teams arranged them in a sturdy fashion, adding tape for extra security. Following this, the teams were free to go to the supply stations to acquire new materials for their structures. After some work time, we took a break and then returned to building with fresh eyes.
After the structures were completed, the students decided on names for them. Finally, we had a debriefing session, sharing what went well and what was challenging. Not everything worked as expected, but the boys and girls spoke to each other about what was happening and made adjustments as they worked. Choosing a name for the structure proved to be the trickiest aspect of this project for a couple teams. Overall, I was very proud of the first grade teams. They showed excellent teamwork and were rightfully pleased with the outcome of their efforts.
The two specials classes of the day were Music and Civics. In between, the first graders were introduced to the American beaver on loan to us from the Field Museum. We looked at the impressive rodent, shared prior knowledge about beavers, and learned more about them by reading selections from books such as Animal Architects. The beaver is visiting us because we have been studying homes and it lives in North America, our continent of the month. We looked at the world map and globe as an introduction to the geography of North America.
The final activity of the day was a return to the structures built in the morning. The students sketched their final products. These sketches will soon be on display in the hallway with the structures. My hope is that all will still be standing for Report Card Day next Wednesday!
We will review our geometry and fractions unit tomorrow. Next week, we will head to the computer lab to begin a project about shapes!
After our morning meeting, we looked at the Unit 7 spelling words. They all follow the vowel-consonant-e pattern. The spelling test will be on Thursday so study the words well in the three days ahead!
The main event of the day was the team building experience. The students were shown the building materials and their building sites. We talked about the importance of a good foundation and balancing the items. Each team was comprised of four students. They first designed plans for their structures. After starting with six building components, the teams arranged them in a sturdy fashion, adding tape for extra security. Following this, the teams were free to go to the supply stations to acquire new materials for their structures. After some work time, we took a break and then returned to building with fresh eyes.
After the structures were completed, the students decided on names for them. Finally, we had a debriefing session, sharing what went well and what was challenging. Not everything worked as expected, but the boys and girls spoke to each other about what was happening and made adjustments as they worked. Choosing a name for the structure proved to be the trickiest aspect of this project for a couple teams. Overall, I was very proud of the first grade teams. They showed excellent teamwork and were rightfully pleased with the outcome of their efforts.
The two specials classes of the day were Music and Civics. In between, the first graders were introduced to the American beaver on loan to us from the Field Museum. We looked at the impressive rodent, shared prior knowledge about beavers, and learned more about them by reading selections from books such as Animal Architects. The beaver is visiting us because we have been studying homes and it lives in North America, our continent of the month. We looked at the world map and globe as an introduction to the geography of North America.
The final activity of the day was a return to the structures built in the morning. The students sketched their final products. These sketches will soon be on display in the hallway with the structures. My hope is that all will still be standing for Report Card Day next Wednesday!
We will review our geometry and fractions unit tomorrow. Next week, we will head to the computer lab to begin a project about shapes!