MLK Week...

Hi Everyone!

I'm finally ready and able to blog about this past week. Needless to say, this weekend was crazy! Good, but crazy!

To start, I wanted to share our adorable Martin Luther King writing projects. We read a book titled "Happy Birthday Martin" and watched Brainpop. We discussed why he was a great leader and how he has impacted our world today. The students then wrote about it and made their very own Martin Luther...not pre-cut or traced of course!

  

So cute! I love the one with arms...his closing sentence says "This is why the world loves Martin Luther." Love it!


We also reviewed the concept of verbs! The students chose a verb to use in a sentence and then made a foil person to coincide! My teammates found this idea on another first grade blog, but I'm not sure of the name! So, here's a shout out to that blog! Creative and out of the box idea. The kids had a very fun time "foiling!"

                                   

Moving on, I LOVED, and I mean LOVED our writing focus last week. We are in the process of learning to write How-to-Books/detailed directions. My brilliant team came up with the idea of a reversed Writers Workshop. After several lessons, the students were given about 15 minutes to write their own directions for making Peanut Butter and Jelly!

 

Then, the students sat with a partner and had to read their own instructions to the other student. The student listening had to follow the directions exactly! WOW...I had so many students say, "Now we know why we have to add details!" Exactly my point I thought...

  

After they gave directions, and ate their sandwiches, we came together to discuss how important it is to add details to our writing! I did have students say, "This was the best Writers Workshop ever!...Maybe we should call it Eaters Workshop!" Haha

I wanted to close by showing a few "random" things going on in our room! Due to the winter season, we have hung up our snowflake stained glass! We change these out every season...so hearts are next! We pre-cut the construction paper outline, pieces of tissue paper and contact paper! Easy breezy! 

Check em' out! 

After the Christmas break, I wanted to help my students be a bit more organized! I always tell them that our space needs to be organized so that we think clearly! This will help our brain stay organized. 

Anyways, I bought cheap plastic bins for the students to use as desk drawers. All of their supplies go into the drawer. It keeps the clutter contained! 

     

Ahhh....love clean desks! 

Finally, we are heading into the 3rd quarter and it is time to renew our AR reading goals! Based on the students latest STAR results, each student has a new amount of tests to take. I made these new recording sheets to keep on their desks to keep track of their data. I wanted something short term and visible that would not get ruined! After taking a test, the student can use a dry erase maker to fill in a box. When they have reached the star, they have met their goal!

 

Trying something new and I hope it keeps the students motivated to keep reading and learning! 

That's all for now! Have a fabulous week and keep checking the blog for classroom updates. 

--Mrs. Hunter 

First Week Back! Here we go...!

 

 Ok all,

It's been a great week back and we have accomplished so much!

We are learning how to skip count and my team and I thought it would be great to incorporate authentic literature into our math block on Tuesday.
We read "The Napping House" and then skip counted how many heads, eyes, fingers, and toes were in our families. The students then wrote a paragraph explaining their work! We are always trying to come up with ways to incorporate writing!

 

    

 

 



 

We also prepared for literacy week next week through reading "Leo the Late Bloomer." We discussed how everyone blooms in their own time and how we can set goals to help ourselves bloom. We brainstormed reading goals and also reasons why being a good reader is so important! Then, they all went up on the outside of the door to complete the vision!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So cute! 

 

 



 

We have also finished a cute writing project on hibernation! We read non-fiction and fiction books about hibernation as well as watching Brainpop, and the student created their own story about hibernation. I also took pictures of the students pretending to sleep and attached them to their writing.

It really spiced up the writing!

 

 

     

 

 

 

So proud of them!

 

Looking forward to another great week ahead! Now, off to enjoy the weekend!

 

--Mrs. Hunter

 

 

 

 

Hi all!

Before I write a post on our first week back, I had to take a while to catch you up on our pre-Christmas break projects! There were a few things that were just too good not to share!

At our last class meeting of 2012, we discussed the meaning of the word PERSISTENT.
I knew I wanted to instill the word and concept,  for many students at this age have short attention spans for working through work/projects, so I gave it a go!
We passed the talking stick and shared how we could be persistent and what it meant, then they wrote it down. I have heard the students use it in their conversations with each other, with me, and have heard cute stories from parents on how it is playing out at home!

WINNING! :)

Here are a few!

       

 

 

I also helped the students write their own Mission Statements! I even let them trace them in "Special" markers! Who would have thought such a simple thing would get them going?! They are precious. Check em' out!

 

 



Here, this student explained to her classmates that to be a vet and help others learn about animals, she had to play pretend. I tought the kiddos the new word "visualizing" to encourage creative play!

 

 

I thought it was so cute how she spelled "through"...."thoow." Funny! 

Now I have to admit, teaching writing in First Grade has become a favorite of mine! My team and I are always trying to think of new ways to encourage writing, so this time it was "Publishing Pencils."
We bought sturdy mechanical pencils and had them edit and publish their Gingerbread stories with these special pencils. They also made their very own gingerbread houses to coincide (without me pre-cutting of course!)

So fun! I've never had a class so quite for so long! It was A-maz-ing!

These are a few!

  

 



Love!


I'm so proud of the progress my students are making and I can't wait for what is to come!

Happy Writing!

--Mrs. Hunter

Happy New Year!

Happy 2013!

It's already been wild and I know the year will be filled with many ups and downs as well as several learning and growing experiences!

The first day back from break has come and gone and it was really nice to get back into a routine with the students and with myself! Ha!

Today we read "Squirrel's New Years Resolution" and discussed what our new years resolutions would be! The students came up with some really cute ideas! My favorite was "to learn all the signs of sign language!" So precious.

Now..be for warned.I let the students make their very own project today, cutting and pasting all themselves, so what you will see is  not perfect, but very kid friendly! I'm trying to move away from pre-cutting and tracing everything to improve not only their fine motor skills but their creativity as well.

So here area few cute examples..

 

So cute and so scary at the same time! :)

We also spent a huge part of our afternoon creating a student led rubric for our Read to Self time! Here is what they came up with...

 

 

I was very impressed!

After our reading time the students rated themselves and said what they could have done better if they were not a 3 or a 4. I'm trying to really impress on my students the power of self reflection on a consistent basis and this has been a great way to do so within reading!

 

Happy New Year Everyone!

--Mrs. Hunter

It's Been a While...

Hi all!

It's been quite a while since I have been a part of the blogging world, but after the Newtown tradgedy, I felt sudden inspiration to begin sharing those small moments in and out of the classroom that really make you think and evaluate the life you are living. :)

With that being said, let me take you back to Monday, December 17th, 9:00am. (The Monday after the tradgedy)

It was a chillly morning here in St. Augustine, and the morning routines of the classroom started off like normal....breakfast, morning work, morning announcements, etc. The students cleaned up and we met at our classroom carpet for  what I thought would be a tough morning meeting.

Our principal had asked us to breifly discuss the tradgedy (in kid language) to ensure our students that they are safe and what we need to do to stay safe. No big deal right? Umph!

Well, I began our talk by explaining that something happended in a school up north that was not normal. Students and teachers were hurt, but there were many heros that day that helped people stay safe. I assured the students that they were safe, and we went over the procedures for a lock down drill very quickly. Here's where it gets good...

All of a sudden, one of my students raised her hand. Here is what she said.

Student: "You know Mrs. Hunter, the man that did this probably just had a rough life. He didnt know how to make good choices and he was so angry and didnt know how to handle it.."

Hmm...what to say...?????

Me: "You're right, so what could he have done instead of this?"

Student: "Well, he could have talked to someone and just got over his anger and moved on. He needed to be proactive for himself and not hurt others for his anger."

Wow...then of course 15 other little pairs of hands popped up with solutions to this issue. I of course had to stretch this converstaion on and let the students share! Who wouldn't?

With all of this being said, I was very humbled by the power of this students thinking, feelings, and ability to convey to other students truth.

Let us not ignore what happened and think we can not talk to our students/children about this tradgedy. Evil is very prevelant in our world, and they need to be able so share feelings and visions for a safe and positive future.

Talk on!

--Mrs. Hunter

7 Habits...

Ok, so quick story for everyone out there!
As we have been teaching and modeling the 7 Habits of Happy Kids to our students, I have been BLOWN away by how quickly the students are picking up the language and practicing the habits.

Today for example, two students were independently working on an assignment.
One of my little ones asked her neighbor if she could borrow a marker...he said no...
She paused, surprised think, and said "Wait a minute, lets just Think Win Win..I'll put my crayons in the middle and you put your markers in the middle and we can share!" He replied by saying, "Ok!" WOW.....So wonderful to hear! :)

Made me smile and had to share this cute moment. :)
Happy Habits Everyone!

One Student...9/11

As I continue to watch the footage of 9/11 I am deeply reminded of how precious life really is...I cant seem to stop the tears, even though I did not know anyone personally who lost their life. Its just that I remember so vividly where I was and how I felt...

I was beginning my first year in high school and was nervous already because I was in a new environment and was the low man on the totem pole! I remember walking into health class and taking my seat like normal...but then an announcement came across the intercom for all teachers to turn the news on in classrooms. My large football coach of a teacher was completely silent. There was no movement and no sound. Just worry and fear that filled the walls. We left class and as I walked into English we watched the second plane fly into the second tower...

My teacher cried, and I know I felt helpless....why would this happen? My naive mind thought it had to be an accident...right? No one would do this on purpose would they? These were my thoughts even as I learned the truth. It took me quite a while to understand this because in my short life I had never seen such planned out and purposeful evil. I remember being scared to get on the bus...would I make it home? Are we really safe? My thoughts are blurry after this as I do not remember who I spoke to about this and what we discussed, but looking back I know that this has affected not just me but my generation forever...

Two years later I visited ground zero and the feel upon seeing it is one of awe...of quiet...of respect...of sadness...yet one of pride in our men and women and of hope for a brighter future.

I thought of my students today and how they were not even born...they did not experience it first hand, but how they will be forever affected. We did a short lesson on Friday on our Heroes and what makes someone a hero. We brainstormed the many heroes in our lives such as parents, pets, teachers, policemen, firefighters, doctors, nurses, God etc.

One answer though stopped me in my tracks and really made me think. One student raised his hand and said that He was his own hero...umm...ok, I thought...how do I respond to this???

He continued to explain that he was in charge of himself..he would be proactive and be his own leader/hero...WOW.

I started thinking about the men who actually committed this crime and tragedy...what if they had been in charge of their own lives and decisions like this little 6 year old and had not rallied behind another just because they thought it's what they should do? What if they had the courage to make their own choices and say No...I want more, I want a better life...? While these questions do not change the past, this one student in my classroom impacted me as a teacher in a great way.

Yes it is important to remember and honor those that gave and lost their lives. Yes it is important to teach respect and honor for our country. More importantly though, it is critical as educators that we teach students how to make honorable decisions...how each one can be their own HEROES.

Remembering 9/11 and this tiny moment in my classroom forever...