Are you prepping for Earth Day?

If you are...I may have what you're looking for:

The interactive mini book included in this packet is appropriate for end of the year first graders. I wanted a book with a little more text and information than a typical first grade mini book, so I created this resource for my class. Cuz, they come soooo far as readers during first grade, right! :-) The mini book would be perfect for social studies and the flip book would be great for science. There's also some stuff for reading/language arts too. This pack is definately cross curricular! Check it out here. 

Seeds and Pants, and Plants and Seeds: A Science Class Recap

We've been learning about plants in science class. Last week we focused on the parts of a plant and this week we learned about the life cycle of a plant and seeds.

We examined a lima bean and recorded our observations.

We also checked out a BrainPop Jr on the life cycle of plants. My firsties love BrainPop. 

I secretly think they love it for the quizzes, more than the video. They are obsessed with the quizzes. They cheer for the quiz and for every answer they get right. Their preffered method for taking the quiz is writing on their desks with dry erase markers. But, I digress...

If you are looking for a good book about seeds and how they travel, check this one out. 

The next day, we observed what happened to some seeds that had soaked in wet paper towels for a few days. The kids opened up the seeds and most were amazed by the embryo. 

Next, we made a prediction about what would happen if we planted seeds right side up and upside down. 

Yep, the prediction is wrong. But we are completing a gravitropism experiment to learn if our prediction is correct or not. 

My fabulous partner teacher told me about this little experiment. The kids place damp paper towels inside of baggies. Then place some seeds on top of the staples I put in their baggie. We used popcorn kernels and lima beans. One of each kind of seed is right side up and the other is updside down. We are going to use droppers to moisten our paper towels daily and we will record our observation in our science journal. 

And, our campus has a raised garden on the playground. First grade is trying to grow some cucumbers. I hope some firsties have green thumbs, because I wanna make a cucumer salad ;-)

I'm off to shop for a car. I can't stand car shopping. Wish me luck!

Five for Friday: Favorite Pins {April @ School}

How do you organize your Pinterest Boards? When I first started pinning I was too general. For example, I think I had a board called "Stuff for School". Ha! Pinning newbie. Next, I got a little more specific and created some subject area boards like "Math Yo!" and "Bulletin Boards". But theeeen, I happened upon a teacher pinner who organized her boards by month. LIGHT BULB! So I started doing that because I was sure this was a genius idea. So now, I just check out my "(Insert month here) @ School" board to see what I thought was a groovy idea when I first ran across it. And that brings me to Five for Friday: Favorite Pins for April :-)

But first, you can still Pin It to Win It! and get my Pete the Cat Easter: CLOSEer Reading, Writing Prompts, and More Packet. Read about it in this post. And, I just added Pete the Cat: Pattern Block Activity to TpT this evening. The activity and craft would be an excellent supplement to the Easter packet. 

Now, about those pins...

I pinned this awesome volcano craft from A Day in First Grade. This blog is awesome! My new fave, for sure. The kiddos spayed a mix of paint and water out of water guns onto their volcanoes. We are not studying volcanoes, BUT we are studying poetry. Maybe this can be a Friday craftivity if we write a poem about volcanoes. I know my firsties would L-O-V-E it.

I love books and I really love it, when someone compiles lists of books for school. This comes from Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas.

And, I just found this foil and sharpie egg on there too!

I don't know what it is about these bunnies...but I love them! Maybe it's the brightly colored stripes. A lil Easter painting, anyone? This pin is from Learning in Spain.

We're currently studying plants, not insects. But if we were... This pin is from Annie Moffat. 

Say it with me, "AWWWW..."

It looks like I pinned lots of crafts for April. But other months include pins for other stuff too, like science experiments, teacher made resources, ideas from teacher blogs. 

You can check out my Pinterest Boards at http://www.pinterest.com/kasandrateach/.

How did teachers keep up with anything before Pinterest???

Your turn. Link up!

Pete-the-Cat-like Pattern Block Activity

Easter is just around the corner! Can you believe how this year has just flown by?

On holidays I like to stray a little from the district scope & sequence. Nix that. I did not officially say that. What I meant to say is I teach first grade skills and concepts, but I like to put a holiday spin on them. Where I teach,  first grade is discouraged from teaching thematically. We leave that to the Kinder teachers. But I'm going to supplement my plans with a little Easter fun from Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure by Kimberly and James Dean. 

 I created this packet for my firsties: 

You can find the packet here. Or, you can Pin It to Win It and maybe get it for FREE! Here's how:

1. Pin the cover of the packet on Pinterest. 

2. Leave a comment including your email address and the link to the Pin.

I've never hosted a Pin It to Win It, so I have no idea how many teachers will enter, but I'll randomly choose one person for every five pinners and send you the packet. Contest closes Sunday, April 13th at noon (central time). 

Wanna incorporate a little math and a craftivity with your Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure? 

Check out this Pete the Cat made from pattern blocks. 

 Students can accomplish this several ways:

1. Freely construct a cat out of pattern blocks.
2. Use a pattern/tracer and fill in blocks.
3. Guided activity. 

First, design the face of a cat on blue construction paper using pattern blocks. Then, trace the cat. 

Next, trace the eyes on orange construction paper and the nose on white construction paper. Then cut out the face, eyes, and nose. Arrange the pieces to look like Pete the Cat, then glue the pieces.

To make this craft more Big Easter Adventure-like, draw bunny ears, cut them out and glue to them behind the cat's ears. That what my class is going to do. This craft would be an excellent along side one of the writing prompts in my packet. 

Need the tracer? I'll upload one to TpT later this week. 

You can have your kiddos build the cat on the tracer, then trace it to make the craftivity. 

I'll be back later this week with the link to the tracer and a fabulous suggestion for Easter egg hunts at school! Don't forget to check back. 

Poetry Practice & April Currently

Spring showers bring April poems! We are two weeks into our poetry unit and this week's mini lessons include Using a Mentor Text and Choosing a Mentor Text. I got us started with this book of shape poems:

After reading two poems yesterday, we created this anchor chart to refer back to during Daily 5: Work on Writing.

I quickly sketched two flowers and the kiddies volunteered the poetry. Don't worry, I didn't make them sit there while I took the time to color it :-) At the Work on Writing Center, I left theme poem outlines from ReadWriteThink.  

I printed blank shapes. My firsties practiced both of the styles of shape poems from the anchor chart. One on the front and one on the back. 

First, students wrote inside the shape. Then, they flipped the work sheet over and wrote around the shape. The shape outline could be seen through the paper. 

Today we read some poems from our mentor text that showed a shape poem as part of a larger picture. We used die cut shapes to get us started. I chose a blue cowboy hat for our anchor chart and, once again, the kiddos contributed the words to our poem. Then I sketched a cowboy riding a horse. This is the finished chart:

When the kids went to Work on Writing they chose a die cut shape and got to work. Most of the boys chose wolves and the girls chose puppies. Are you surprised?

The blue bars are covering up the student's name. 

Then, we actually found time for the Share Chair. 

The last two days have been exhausting. Due to state testing we did not get recess or specials. The kids were in the same room for every single minute of the day, except lunch. But we made it. Tomorrow we get recess back, unless it rains. I think it's gonna rain :-(

And now for this month's CURRENTLY. 

Listening - Yep, you read it right. Can you believe this curly haired girl is all about the rangers??

The rangers fan is the older one. You know it's spring when the ice cream truck cometh! You know your four old is silly when she makes an ice cream mustache just for giggles. 

Loving - Vowel Diphthongs Packet

Thinking - Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser is coming to Houston. Can't hurt to get a little attitude adjustment when it comes to fitness. I'm slacking.

I think the rest is self explanatory.

Until next time...