Remote Wednesdays give us the opportunity to enjoy longer morning meetings with each other. After some chit chat, we took care of our usual morning tasks including coloring in gumball #145 in our gumball machines. So far this month, however, we do not have any lost teeth to note on our tooth charts.
After reading the morning message and the Question of the Day, the boys and girls shared a few personal experiences they'd had with frogs. Everyone was excited to learn about these amphibians. Each student received two simple DIY frog crafts to start the day: a big mouthed foam frog and a frog/log combo. The Fun Facts of the Day informed us that some frogs can live up to forty years old and a group of frogs is called a colony or an army. Check out the frog army on Ms. Kaim's desk!
After reading the morning message and the Question of the Day, the boys and girls shared a few personal experiences they'd had with frogs. Everyone was excited to learn about these amphibians. Each student received two simple DIY frog crafts to start the day: a big mouthed foam frog and a frog/log combo. The Fun Facts of the Day informed us that some frogs can live up to forty years old and a group of frogs is called a colony or an army. Check out the frog army on Ms. Kaim's desk!
The book National Geographic Kids: Frogs! provided us with information about frog diets, the size of frogs, adaptations for survival, and the frog life cycle. The book also explained how to distinguish between frogs and toads. I learned that there is a frog that communicates by dancing. Ask your child about this! The first graders then labeled a diagram with the names of a frog's body parts. In addition to the more obvious frog body parts, the students labeled the tympanum and nictitating membrane. Ask your child to describe the function of these parts.
Next, we visited the class water frogs. I pointed out body parts we had identified and gave the frogs their breakfast. Following the frog feeding frenzy, we turned our attention to D"Nealian handwriting. The capital letters A and B were the focus of this week's lesson. After this, the students took a quick break and returned to class to watch the "My Body is Mine" video presentation from CPS. Please feel free to reach out to me if your child has any questions or concerns that come up after participating in this activity.
In the afternoon, we all gathered together to listen to music and read/draw/write during Quiet Time. We then watched Ms. Miller's daily announcements before moving on to math. Today, the students represented money amounts less than one dollar using two (or more) combinations of coins. For example, we found several ways to show 24 cents, including those shown below.
In the afternoon, we all gathered together to listen to music and read/draw/write during Quiet Time. We then watched Ms. Miller's daily announcements before moving on to math. Today, the students represented money amounts less than one dollar using two (or more) combinations of coins. For example, we found several ways to show 24 cents, including those shown below.
Each first grader also cut and assembled drawings of parts of a frog. Following the steps shown below led to the creation of nifty models that illustrate the transformation from tadpole to adult frog. Ask your child to demonstrate the stages of this amazing metamorphosis to you! A bit later, the boys and girls also labeled diagrams to show the stages in a frog's life in their proper sequence. In addition, they selected other frog-themed activity sheets to work on independently.
On a completely unrelated topic, the first graders received an introduction to our final Continent of the Month: Antarctica. We looked at the way Antarctica appears on a flat map and on the globe. I also read the book Pinkie Leaves Home to the class mainly so that they could spot the geographic anomaly therein. Pinkie is a penguin. One of his friends at home is a polar bear. These two animals would never meet up with each other in the wild!
During closing circle, I read the poem "Warning" to the class. Then, each student received a turn to read the poem aloud as well. Ask your child for your own personal dramatic reading of the poem!
Parents, please check the May 6 learning plan to prepare your child for another day of learning in first grade!