The Next Chapter!

I haven't posted for a very long time because student teaching has ended along with my time at the University of Maine. Saying a final farewell to all of my kids as well as some of my friends and co-workers was extremely hard for me, but now I have a B.S. in Elementary Education (with a concentration in Mathematics) and I feel ready for the real world. Applying for teaching positions is practically my second job (it's extremely time consuming), and I'm on edge all of the time about interviews. I'm ready to land my dream job! As a first generation college graduate, I've never felt more accomplished in my entire life, but I'm ready for the next step: actually teaching my own class!
I'm excited and nervous all at the same time, but I want this more than I have ever wanted anything.

Wrapping up the Seasons

Yesterday, I went over the diagram that I expect them to know on the test. This diagram basically shows what the reasons for the seasons are, and when each season occurs. The students had to draw this diagram when they wrote in their science notebooks about the model that we made on Monday (the earthmallows). When I reviewed their science notebooks, I noticed that the class in general struggled with this model, so I decided to go over it. It turned out to be a great review of the material.

After I went over that, we did some reading on time zones.

Today, we incorporated technology by doing a websearch. I found that the fifth graders really need some practice using their typing skills because entering the websites in the search bar ended up being a longer process than I had originally envisioned. We also had a lot of computer malfunctions, so some people had to share computers. All in all, this lesson was a really good indicator of what knowledge each student was grasping, and what they really needed to study for tomorrow!
Tomorrow is test day; the students will be taking the first test I have ever compiled. I'm nervous, but I know that the students know the material. We'll see how they do!

"Earthmallows"

Today we made models of the earth during different seasons with marshmallows! We called them "earthmallows"! We used orange drink mix to represent where the sunlight shines on the earth, and we used Ovaltine to represent where the sun wouldn't shine (at night). Using these two (and water to make the powder stick onto the marshmallow) we created models of equinoxes and solstices. We used a pretzel as the axis of the earth and muffin cups to put the marshmallows in. The lesson was a great review of some of the key terms involved in our unit, and I was extremely proud of the student's knowledge about the seasons! I am hoping that the test will go well on Friday!

Our models involved quite a lot of materials, but I think that the kids enjoyed the experience! They really loved it when they got to eat their product at the end :D!

5th grade!

My last message of the day in first grade :(

Fifth grade is different! I'm learning (slowly) that, despite all of the difficulty I am having (with behavior and content: pretty much just transitioning in general), fifth grade can be really rewarding. The kids act like they don't really care, but they have moments where I know that they do. I cherish these moments and linger on them for as long as I can! I have been trying to establish good relationships with my students, and although I will be in this classroom for a shorter period of time, my goal is to be just as close to them as I was with the first graders.

I've been teaching math consistently, and I have learned that FRACTIONS ARE HARD. They're hard for the kids to understand, they're hard for me to explain; fractions in general are just hard. I've also been doing spelling, which is fun!
I recently decided what read aloud book I am going to read when Brenda is finished with the one she is reading now: Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham.

I think the kids are going to love trying to predict the events of the story!
This week I also started my unit on the reasons for the seasons. I made a bulletin board for them to reference to:

They have taken a pre-test (which they moaned and groaned about...) read an informational text and answered related questions, and we've done some notes about the key facts involved in this unit. Today I read them Gail Gibbons' Reasons for the Seasons, even though some parts of it are kind of young (it had great information)! Next week, we will be making the representations of the earth in each of the four seasons with marshmallows and chocolate powder. We will also do more with the globe and a flashlight so that the lessons are more visual (as the concepts are really abstract). I'm excited for these next lessons. We will also be doing a unit test in math next week, which will be interesting to observe and help correct.
<3

Writing Mini Lessons!

I just want to document some of the mini writing lessons that I have taught:

To, Two, and Too!

Too much too!

Capitalization, punctuation, spelling known words (for take home journals)

Making normal happenings interesting (with details).

Editing (the spider leg would hang off the side of the paper).

Shared writing

Today was Mrs. Berube's first day back in the class (I made it through the week alone!). We made this banner for her:

Needless to say, she loved it! I gave all of my thank-yous out today and made the kids thank-you cupcakes:

Thank you first grade!

Unfortunately, Monday is my last day in first grade :(

Winter Wellness

Today was Winter Wellness day at our school! We did a bunch of great activities, such as fort building

ABC hunting

using an obstacle course, making winter pictures, and doing the Limbo. It was a great day overall. At the end of the day, we had a school-wide Wellness Assembly and our class sang the song "Party Broccoli" with a fifth grade class. It was really cool, and the kids did well (we've been practicing all week!).
It was a fun day, and a wonderful start to February Vacation!

You are what you eat!

Today, I did a lesson on physical activity and why it's important to stay active. After the lesson, we brainstormed different ways that they could stay active.

Later in the day we made healthy people! The kids loved it! First I laid out the food cut-outs across all of the desks like this:

I made sure there were some tricks in there like cake and ice cream and candy (they didn't pick any of them!). Then, I gave everyone a paper bag, and they wrote their names on them:

After, I explained my expectations and wrote a checklist on the board for the students to reference to if they forgot what to do next:

The students did their shopping and wrote a list of the foods that they picked. Later, I had them get their shopping bags out and they made "healthy people" with their healthy foods. I gave them examples to reference from, but they were pretty creative!

He's riding a skateboard!

His name is Mario!

A "healthy princess"

After we shared them (and named them, told everyone what they eat, etc.), I made us a new bulletin board to show them off:

It came out great! <3

Healthy Habits!

Today we did a mini lesson on healthy and unhealthy habits. I read the book I Know How to Brush My Teeth by Kate Rowan (which was cute, but a little more detailed than I needed it to be), and then we talked about healthy and unhealthy habits. We made this T chart:

Some of the things listed on the unhealthy side were a little stretched, but they really enjoyed making the chart. After we made the chart, we did a sheet about brushing our teeth. On the sheet, they had to draw their smile, write how many teeth they've lost, and then write a sentence about why they are glad they have their teeth. They liked drawing their teeth, so I put the pictures up above their cubbies with the words "Our Class is Healthy". It looks like this:

I also switched out some of the books on the book display this week:

Tomorrow we're going to talk about staying active and make healthy people! I'm excited! :D

A "Smooth" Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!
This is the Valentine holder that Kelly made for me (because I had a day-long meeting):

Anyway, today in class we did food riddles! When I had made the plan to do this I didn't think the kids would love this as much as they did! They turned out so good!

 We glued each part on either side of a piece of construction paper and they walked around and asked each other their riddles. They loved it. I also put together our book, and we will draw in the pictures tomorrow!

Lastly, my roommate came in at the end of the day and we made smoothies while the students were opening Valentines. We pulled up groups of four to the table and they got to add all of the ingredients themselves. The smoothies were called "Go Green" smoothies, and they had kiwi, green grapes, spinach, yogurt, apple juice, and bananas in them. They were kind of sour, but most of the kids liked them!

All in all, it was a great day (and now I have mounds of chocolate)!

Nutrition

Last Monday I started my first unit! I decided to do my unit on nutrition because it's around that time of the year and also because one of my roommates is in the nutrition program (so I have plenty of resources).  Nutrition has really turned out to be fun, but most things are in first grade :D.
We started out with K-W-L anchor charts:

I also made other anchor charts to enhance their learning, and to make nutrition more visual. This is what they looked like at the beginning of the week:

I introduced the new nutrition guide (MyPlate) and we talked about one food group each day of last week. When we talked about how much of each food group was necessary(with a powerpoint), we added an amount of that group that would fulfill our everyday requirement. After we learned about each food group, we ended the lesson by filling out our nutrition packets and then "adding a scale to the dragon". This consisted of drawing and labeling a scale-shaped piece of paper with a food item that would fit in the food group of the day. Now, our anchor charts look like this:

 On the fruits day of our unit, we made observations in our nutrition packets about two bananas and how they looked outside and then inside. Since the insides were the same, we talked about how bananas can get bruises but can still be healthy inside and compared the banana's peel to human skin.

In addition to our lessons on fruits and vegetables, we did a lesson about colorful fruits and vegetables and what they do for your body:

Every day we talked about different nutrients and what they do for your body (in kid terms), as these nutrients were mentioned when talking about each food group. I thought it was great to get them acquainted with these terms, and they really like to use them!

Today was the 100th day of school, but we tried to weave in nutrition a little bit by having the kids generate sentences about nutrition. We wrote all of the sentences on the board so that no one had the same one, and then they typed and printed all of their sentences during computer lab. These sentences will form a class nutrition book.

That's it so far!