On our way to October: September 27, 2007

It is hard to believe how quickly the school year is flying by!  At morning meeting today, our calendar leader exclaimed, "We've been in school for 32 days!" 

Inquiry

This week, the students practiced note-taking.  The steps include reading a sentence (or sentences), figuring out the important facts, and rewriting the sentence in one's own words.  The students also formed research groups.  Our Invertebrate group is TC, SY, and CH; the Bird group is MM, LW, and KM; the Amphibian group is AW, KL, and JH; the Mammal group is SA, AK, and KJ; the Fish group is SY, EM, and ZC; and the Reptile group is ER, MH, and JC.  Since cooperative and collaborative learning is a fundamental aspect of our multiage classroom, the students discussed the importance of working together and created a web of "what it takes to be a good team member."  They came up with the following: listen to your group members; help each other find information; respect your partners; work together to find information and take notes; never yell at your partner; take turns; be friends; and focus on your work.  We will continue to emphasize the importance of working together and learning from our classmates as we delve deeper into our Animal Inquiry unit.

Upcoming Field Trips
Calling all parents!!!  As part of our Animal Inquiry, we will be visiting the Honolulu Zoo and the Waikiki Aquarium.  We invite you to join our class on these field trips.  If you are interested in chaperoning, please call the classroom or e-mail me.  I will also be sending home a chaperoning sign-up sheet with your child on Friday.  The dates and times for the field trips are:

• Waikiki Aquarium - Tuesday, October 9 - Depart MPI at 8:30 a.m. and return at lunchtime.
• Honolulu Zoo - Tuesday, October 23 - Depart MPI at 8:45 a.m. and return at lunchtime.

Halloween Heads-Up
Since we are studying animals this semester, our class will be dressing up as some type of animal or something animal-themed for the school Spooktivity on Halloween.  Please have your child wear a costume related to our topic of study; they can dress as an animal, a person who works with animals, or a habitat where animals live.   Please save the pirates, vampires, witches, and princesses for trick-or-treating at home. 

Book Orders
Look for round two of the Scholastic Book Orders in your child's homework folder this week.  Thanks to the effort of Mrs. Adams, our book orders arrive at our classroom packaged and ready to go home with the students in a timely manner.  If you are interested in ordering books, return the order form(s) and check by Thursday, October 4.

Thank You!
Thank you to the Kim family for the birthday books and the delicious rainbow Jell-o to celebrate AK's birthday.  The children loved eating the yummy Jell-o while listening to Junie B., First Grader, Aloha-ha-ha!  Thank you to the Cullinan family for donating the following birthday books for ZC's birthday: The Prince and the Li Hing Mui, Issunboshi, Waltah Melon, and The Surf Rats of Waikiki Beach.  Thank you to EM for donating books to our classroom for researching animals.  The children are learning a lot from the books: Horses and Ponies, Photo-Fact Collection and Dogs, Photo-Fact Collection.  Thank you to Mrs. Adams for reading and donating the book Mr. Peabody's Apples to our class.  After reading the book, Mrs. Adams led the class in a great discussion about how what someone says can have a huge impact on other people.  As Madonna notes in the back of the book, the story "is about the power of words and how we must choose them carefully to avoid causing harm to others."  We love reading and discussing stories with a thought-provoking and important message. 
 

Posted at 11:25 AM| Permalink

Books Galore! September 20

Reading
Our classroom library is rapidly growing!  Thanks to all of you who ordered books from Scholastic and the efficiency of Laura Adams in preparing the book order, we have a pile of brand new books for the classroom library.  It's amazing how quickly the bonus points add up from the books that you order for your children; these bonus points can then be used to get additional books for the classroom.  The students were thrilled to see the stack of new books for them to explore.  There is nothing like a room full of children who are excited to read and discuss what they are learning from reading.

First Grade Math
The first graders have been busy describing, identifying and comparing 2-D shapes.  Using patterns blocks, the students filled in the outlines of Pattern-Block Fill-Ins and recorded the number of each shape and the total number of blocks used.   We have also been exploring the different ways to compose various shapes using combinations of pattern-block shapes.   For example, what pattern block shapes can you use to make a rhombus, trapezoid and hexagon?  By engaging in activities that focus on shapes, the students are becoming more aware of the shapes around them and how shapes can be described, sorted and compared.

Thank Yous
Thank you to SA and AW for bringing in bouncy balls for our class.  The children love playing with the new balls at recess!  Our classroom is chirping up a storm thanks the crickets brought in by ER and TC.  Jackson is thrilled with his scrumptious food supply and the nature noises have a calming influence in our classroom.  Thank you to KL for generously donating books from the book order to our class library.  The students have been reading up a storm.  Thank you to Laura Adams for organizing our book order in such a timely manner!  And thank you to all the families who ordered books.  Thank you also to all the children who have brought in animal books to share with the class!  After a book reading by Donna Wong last week, the children were treated to homemade cookies baked by ours truly, LW,  thanks for the yummy treats!  We really appreciate all the box tops that are being sent into school - please keep cutting them out and sending them in!

Posted at 10:17 AM| Permalink

Animal Stories: September 13, 2007

Thunderbird Excitement
The elementary campus was buzzing with excitement this morning as the Thunderbirds flew overhead.  While the students were in Writer's Workshop, we heard the jets pass by.  We seized the thrilling moment and joined the other elementary school classes on the courtyard to watch the Thunderbirds practice their formations for the air show this weekend.  With arms waving and loud cheers of excitement, the children jumped up and down as the jets zoomed by.  From the conversations I overheard, many of the children are eagerly awaiting the Thunderbird show in Waikiki on Saturday.

Animal Stories
After Mrs. Adams (SA's mom) read Diary of a Worm, a few students began writing animal stories in their journals.  One student shared the beginning of the piece she wrote about a cheetah, and the students came to a consensus that we should all write a story about an animal.   Using the books Diary of a Worm and Diary of a Spider as models, the students will create a story that is an adaptation of the books by Doreen Cronin.  The students will be working with a partner throughout the writing process.  The teams decided to research and write about the following animals:

• SA and LW - Raccoon
• TC and SY - Koala
• ZC and CH - Pig
• KL and MH - Dolphin
• MM and KM - Tiger
• ER and JC - Shark
• AW and JH- Jaguar
• SY and EM - Butterfly
• AK and KJ - Dog

Yesterday the students brainstormed the who, what, where, when, and how elements of their stories.  The creative energy is really flowing in Room 11.  We can't wait to share the final published drafts with you!

First Grade Math
We finished our first unit in Investigations, which focused on addition, subtraction, and the number system.   The students completed a few addition word problems for assessment and then reflected on the mathematical strategies they used to solve the problems.  Next week the first graders will began Unit 2: Making Shapes and Designing Quilts, which focuses on 2-D geometry.

Good Sportsmanship
On Monday our class joined together with Ms. Revard's class to discuss sportsmanship, with a special emphasis on the kickball games that students love to play at recess.  We focused on creating a list of rules for playing kickball and agreed on how teams should be selected.  Both classes did a great job talking about what to do when there is a problem or disagreement (call a time-out, talk about the issue) and how to include everyone who wants to play.  After our discussion, the two classes went to the ballfield for a fun game of kickball.  It was great to see all the students playing together!  We will continue to focus on playing to have fun and including everyone in the game.

Reminders:

• Field Trip: On Wednesday, September 18, our class will be going to see the Honolulu Theatre for Youth production of The Little Mermaid.
• Box Tops: Please continue to save and send in those Box Tops for Education tops!  We would love to fill up the blue shoebox in our classroom.
• MPI BBQ: Saturday, September 15, 2:00 - 5:00 pm.  Hope to see your family there!
  

Posted at 10:09 AM| Permalink

Our New Class Pet: September 6, 2007

Jackson, the Jackson Chameleon
We have a new addition to our classroom!  The Ramirez family has generously contributed their pet Jackson chameleon to us. The students are thrilled to have such a cool class pet.  Jackson came complete with a beautiful cage, plant, spray bottle, and supply of food (crickets and mealworms).  It was very exciting to witness Jackson's first meal at school - a juicy mealworm that he snatched from the plant in his cage.  The class discussed what Jackson needs to be healthy and happy.  The students came up with the following:
    What Jackson Needs

• Food: Crickets, Mealworms - 2 every 3 days.
• Water: Spray leaves every day with water bottle.
• Change newspaper when dirty.

    How to treat Jackson

• Treat Jackson the way you want to be treated.
• Do not take him out of cage without permission from teacher.
• Treat Jackson with respect - do not poke, taunt, or hurt.

We look forward to learning more about Jackson chameleons along with many other animals as part of our animal inquiry unit.
Animal Inquiry
We began our Animal Inquiry this week with a discussion about what we think we know about animals.  Since "animals" is such a broad topic, we focused our discussion on the classification of different animals.  So far, the students have come up with the following list of "What We Think We Know About Animal Classification":

Birds

• Birds lay eggs.
• Some birds fly.
• Wild ducks can fly.
• Some birds can swim.
• Birds live in nests.
• Penguins and ducks swim.
• Birds have soft feathers.  
• Birds are scared of people.
• Feathers are many different colors. 
• There are many different types of birds.
• Some birds chirp a lot and wake you up.
• Parrots can copy what you say.
• Some birds have different feet.
• Some birds have three toes.
• Birds have beaks.
• Some birds eat dead things - vultures.
• Some birds have long beaks and some birds have short beaks.
• Parrots have two voice boxes so they can make two sounds at once.
• Flamingos turn pink because of what they eat.  They eat crab.
• Names of birds: pigeon, parrot, Emperor penguin, eagle, hawk, owl (pueo), bald eagle, woodpecker, pelican, golden plover, puffin, seagull, cockatoo, robin, peacock, ducks, toucan, parakeet, flamingo, hummingbird, chicken, rooster, vulture, kingfisher, ostrich, emu, dove, finch.
  

Fish

• A shark is a fish.
• Fish need to live in water.
• A fish lives underwater and it doesn't need to go up to get air to breathe.
• You can tell if it's a shark or if it's a dolphin by gills.  A dolphin doesn't have gills.  A dolphin is not a fish.
• A fish sleeps with its eyes open.
• Fish die when they don't have water.
• There are a lot of different kinds of fish.  
• All fishes do not have to have salt water.  
• Fish need food.
• Some fish have shiny scales.
• The black tip reef shark has cartilage bones.
• Names of some types of fish: Ahi, Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, goldfish, bait stealers, swordfish, tuna, the frog fish, clownfish, flying fish, aku, salmon, catfish, guppy, fighting fish (beta), mahi mahi, parrot fish, pink glowfish, puffer fish, sucker fish, jellyfish, stingray, viper fish, angler fish, piranha, barracuda, tilapia, gobi, lionfish.
• A Portuguese man-'o-war is three types of animals and a fish - one catches the food, one stings, and one is the bubble.
  

Reptiles

• An alligator is a reptile.
• Reptiles have scales.
• Alligators eat meat.
• A snake is a reptile.
• Some crocodiles live in salt water.
• The largest snake in the world is the anaconda.
• Dinosaurs are reptiles.
• Some snakes swim.
• A male Jackson chameleon has three horns; female Jackson chameleons do not have horns.
• Reptiles can bite.
• Snapping turtles get food by pretending it's a rock.
  
• Reptiles protect themselves using camouflage.
• Iguanas are big lizards.
• Some sea turtles have moss on their shells.
• A python is a big snake.
• The biggest lizard is a Komodo Dragon.
• Some lizards can go in water.
• The Komodo dragon is an endangered animal.
• Names of reptiles: turtles (sea turtle, snapping turtle, box turtles), chameleon, Jackson chameleon, crocodile, alligator, snakes (boa constrictor, black mamba snake, King Cobra, python, brown tree snake, rattlesnake, Hawaiian blind snake), lizard.
  

Amphibians

• Amphibians can be big and small.
• Some amphibians have horns.
• They live in the water and on land.
• A bufo frog feels like a balloon.
• Some amphibians eat flies.
• Frogs are slimy.
• Frogs and toads are kind of different.
• Frogs are smaller than toads.
• Some frogs have bumpy skin; some frogs have smooth skin.
• Frogs jump high.
• Some frogs are poisonous. 
• All frogs are cold-blooded. 
• Some frogs and toads have poison sacs.
• The Hawaiian blue frog is poisonous.
• Frogs have webbed feet.
• Names of amphibians: bufo frog, red-eyed tree frog, toad, bullfrog, frogs, Hawaiian blue frog, coqui frog, poison dart frog.
  

Mammals

• Some mammals have horns like the buffalo.
• A bull runs fast and has huge horns.
• Some mammals live on land and some live in the water.
• Mammals do not lay eggs.
• Humans are mammals.
• Names of mammals: bull, cheetah, lion, tiger, dolphin, ox, saber-toothed tiger, humans, dog, horse, cat, bunny

Today we will be focusing on the needs of animals and where animals live.  The students will create a list of "What We Think We Know About The Needs of Different Animals" and "Where Animals Live."  We will also come up with questions we have about animals, or, "What We Want to Learn About Animals."

Math
This week, the first graders continued their work with addition story problems.  We also focused on finding and exploring relationships between combinations of numbers up to 10, solving a problem with multiple solutions, and representing the solution using mathematical notation.

First and second grade parents, please be involved with your child's math.  Read the Family Letters that go home, play the games as much as possible, and save the materials that are sent home to use throughout the year (primary number cards).

Thank You
Thank you to EM for donating two games to our classroom: Eye Spy Eagle Eye and Scrabble Junior: The Disney Edition.  The children love having an exciting selection of games to play with!

Thank you to JC for giving our class our very own violin concert.  JC played a few songs for us, and we were so impressed with his musical talent!  The students also enjoyed the shave ice from Matsumoto's Shave Ice and the delicious cookies that the Chen family brought for post-concert refreshments.

Posted at 10:18 AM| Permalink