Skills Block Activities

 Using a wooden block with "ir, er, ur, ar" on it, students were invited to roll the dice and find a word with that "r-controlled" combination. They found the word, placed their chip on the word, and then wrote it on their clipboard. This kind of "hands-on" practice helped to review and reinforce these tricky words and always proves to make Skills Block a little more fun!!

Math Reflex Honors and Writer of the Week

We like to celebrate our top mathematicians and writers every couple of weeks. The children look forward to getting their work up on the board to be shared with the class. Most recently we had "C" who made the most gains Math Reflex and "A" who wrote the cutest story about using a blanket to clean up a picture (using Kevin Henkes as a mentor.)  They also get to sit on special chairs during mini lessons for all of their hard work.  What a fun way to get recognized and to keep Writing and Math so special. 

Puppets Close Up - Speaking and Listening

One of the Speaking and Listening Standards for first grade states, "Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion). Using puppets was a wonderful way to meet this standard and have lots of fun at the same time.

 Lilly and Mr. Slinger from "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse."

We love Kevin Henkes and his wonderful characters!!

Puppets for Retelling - Kevin Henkes Stories

 

Students were invited to create their own puppets to go with their favorite Kevin Henkes books for homework. For the past few days, children presented their retellings to the class and enlisted friends to help them with their parts. 

 


Now they know the books inside out and upside down. What a great way to make each book come to life.