Happy Halloween!

Halloween in the middle of the week is not what every first grade teacher hopes for!  So, I decided to just go with the very high level of energy in the room and do lots of fun Halloween themed learning activities.  One of the things we did today was a counting, sorting and graphing activity with M&M candies.  Our third grade buddies from Mrs. Giroux's class came down to join the fun and help us out.  The students loved the activity and I love that they didn't even know they were learning in the process!

Happy Halloween everyone--stay safe!

Working hard!

This is fun!

One graphing strategy.

Sorting and counting.

One way to sort....

and another...

and another!

Behavior "punch" Cards

The first graders were given their punch cards today.  They can earn hole punches for listening, following directions, participating, using their manners and being on-task.  They are very excited to fill up the card (20 hole punches) and be able to choose a reward from the reward catalog.  There are choices like, bring in a stuffed animal, have lunch in the classroom, swap desks with a friend, read a book to the class and wear only your socks in the classroom for the day.  They are very excited to start!!

Boy 

Girl

Read The Room

Today we tried a new activity called "read the room."  Students were given a clipboard and a sheet of paper numbered 1-10.  Then they walked around the room looking for pictures with 'at' words on them.  The pictures also had a number on them so students knew where to write the work once they found it and read it.  Students reported that this activity was "awesome," "like I spy," and "like an Easter egg hunt!"  It was a hit and we will be doing it again for sure, maybe next time with math problems!

Hard At Work

I put the students in pairs and gave each pair a bag of number tiles.  The tiles were numbered from 1-100.  Their task was to put the numbers in order and it was up to each group to decide how to do that.  As you can see from the pictures below, some partners put their numbers into a hundreds chart while others created one long line of numbers.  One group even had a bend in their line!  It was fascinating listening to the conversations that arose during this activity as well as the different strategies that different pairs used to find the numbers they needed.  The students loved this activity so much, they volunteered to give up their free time so they could complete the task!  I love when that happens!!

UVEI

Emily Sheehan is our intern teacher from The Upper Valley Educators Institute (UVEI).  She grew up in Plainfield, NH and attended Bates College in Maine.  Emily is the third intern I have had from the UVEI program.  It is a wonderful resource in our area for those choosing to enter the field of teaching.  You can learn more about UVEI here.  

Having Emily join us is a wonderful opportunity for the students and myself.  The students benefit from having two teachers and it is a great professional growth opportunity for me as a teacher.  The collaboration and learning that takes place between mentor teacher and intern is ongoing and so valuable to both of us.

Emily will complete 7 solo days, 2 individually and 5 consecutive.  I will let you know in advance when her solo week is approaching.  I hope that your child is enjoying having Miss Sheehan in the classroom.  I know that I am.  It will be a sad day in December when she leaves!