Winter, World Connections, Mysteries & LOVE!

First Graders have been learning so much about weather lately -- thanks to our wonderful winter we have been having!  We took advantage of these cold days and really put our weather tools to work.  We took temperatures outside and inside, we observed our windsock and even Skyped with our first grade friends in Chicago & Oregon to see how they were surviving the winter months. (They get to have outside recess if the temperature and wind chill are 10 degrees or above!!!)  Click on the few samples below of student's winter weather PixNTell slide shows:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/d91cemjcfo77yu0/Awinter%20Day.mp4

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a89ma5ebolw8l07/Snow%20Day.mp4

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mi0xha8lxecjv8y/Winter%20Ellie.mp4

We have also been busy working on comprehension connections as we read.  Recently students read a story about Cesar Chavez and immediately make a "text to world" connection comparing how he worked to better the lives of farm workers just like Martin Luther King, Jr. worked to make laws more fair for African Americans.  They are getting so smart!  Students created slide shows using PixNTell to explain their connections. 

 Click on the couple of links below to hear/see a  few of our connections:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e1omm1hajt7w3th/Text%20To%20Word%20Coneshin%20With%20Mlk%26cesh%20Caves.mp4

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zerz7y3yqn60x11/Good%20World%21.mp4


This past week we also began to do a few "Mystery Number" Skype sessions with our First Grade friends at Grapevine Elementary.  We used the iPad app called SchoolKit  Math (100's chart) as we  listened to clues to solve their mystery number.  Then we got to give clues and have our GES friends solve one from us!  Great practice for all of our number concepts and a great way to practice at home too!

Last, but not least... we ended the week on a LOVE note!  We had such a fun Valentine's Day Party.  Thank you to our homeroom Mom, Angela Hall and all the parent helpers who contributed to its success!  We LOVED it!

Goodbye to January!

January was a busy month for teachers and students.  We completed all of our district and state required middle of year assessments.  And in the mist of all of that hard work, students worked on their PBL (Project Based Learning) event which was to create a USA table for Bear Creek Around the world.  We really hope everyone was able to come to that yearly event to enjoy all of the different cultures we are lucky to have here at Bear Creek!   First Graders focused on learning about America through a select set of symbols that represent liberty and citizenship in this great country of ours.   They wrote about their favorite USA symbol, created Pic Collages on their iPads and blogged about what they were learning using their KidBlog iPad app. They even blogged about a famous American -- Martin Luther King, Jr. and learned how he was a man that made great changes for our nation in a peaceful way.  Be sure to check out your child's posts on Kidblog on this link:
http://kidblog.org/MrsSimmonsClass-5/
Your child can help you navigate in KidBlog and please comment on their hard work!!

Here are a couple of pic collages showcasing our busy month of January!