Breakout EDU (1st Grade Edition)

A few weeks ago, Dr. Carreiro brought Breakout EDU to our Fuller Meadow staff meeting. After trying Breakout EDU with some Fuller Meadow colleagues, I just HAD to let my 1st graders try! Dr. Carreiro let our class be her guinea pigs. She set the boxes up and got the learning activity ready.

Students were split into two teams to work together to solve clues and unlock locks in order to break into the box. Clues were based on one of our favorites, Pete the Cat, making it fun and educational for students. During the Breakout EDU, Klipfel & Kids were problem solving, using critical thinking and working on their communication skills. 

Personalities, strengths and leadership skills were apparent during this activity. This breakout allowed quiet bystanders to have their voice heard and help their group solve the clues in order to crack the clues. Dr. Carreiro and I were blown away!

and then....

victory!

Thank you again to Dr. Carreiro for introducing this amazing learning activity to me and facilitating it with us. We will definitely be back for more!

Tide Pool Research

1st graders had a wonderful experience getting their hands wet with tide pool creatures when Joppa Flats brought their amazing Rocky Shore presentation to our school. Thank you PTO!

With our curiosity peaked, students began using both digital and print non-fiction texts to learn facts and information about different tide pool animals. 1st graders were split into groups to fill out organizers and learn facts as they read.

Deep in research

Each group became the expert on that ocean animal so they could then teach the rest of the class. We recorded all their information on large posters hanging in our classroom and our own field guides (making sure to add labels and captions-just like in our nonfiction texts). 

To top it off we even created our own classroom tide pool. We can't wait to share all our scientific knowledge with you at the tide pools on Thursday!

RI 1.7 Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas. SL 1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

Chicks!

Talk about one egg-citing day! In case you haven't heard, Room 116 had thirty-seven new feathered friends. Yesterday was our official hatch day and our chicks didn't disappoint. 21 days ago the wonderful Mrs. Bucchiere (also known as Farmer Darcy) brought in eggs, an incubator and her chick hatching knowledge to let us observe this life cycle right in our classroom. 

We had viewing parties throughout the day and watched some chicks hatch right in front of our eyes. Enjoying chirping background music throughout the day, we observed egg tooths, first pips, and zipping in real time. We saw first hand how much work it takes for chicks to hatch out of their shell and see how exhausted they are when they make it out.

To end our day, scientific observers wrote, drew and diagrammed what they had been observing for the past 21 days. Students even made books entitled, How To Hatch Chicks.

 

Today we said goodbye to our feather cluck-mates. We watched as their down feathers puffed up and saw them pecking away. Room 116 might be sad to see them go but know they are off to a good home.

It truly has been a special science experience (for me too). Another special THANK YOU to Farmer Darcy for allowing us to take part in this real life science learning!

How To...

In Writer's Workshop, 1st graders have been focusing on informational writing. Each student chose a topic they were an expert on to create a "How To..." book. Once students decided on a topic they began with a rough draft, making sure to use rich transition words to organize their writing to make sense. After that, 1st graders used a new app Scribble Press to create a digital published book.

Check out our published digital creations by clicking on the book titles below:

Emma: How to Make a Fun Play

Brady: How to Play Minecraft

Dylan: How to Play Football

Lucia: How to Make Your Sister Laugh

Izzy: How To Run a Race

Gavin: How to Make Fruit Salad

Nikola: How to Play Basketball

Nathan: How to Swim

Oliver: How to Open Lego World

Colin: How to Draw a Hot Rod

Andrew: How to Run a Race

Trevor: How to Play Football

Olivia: How to Play Baseball

Isabella: How to Make My Brother Laugh

Abby: How to Make a Self Portrait

Reader's Theater

1st graders have been hard at work learning about the water cycle. We have been learning about all the different places water can go by following two drops in a reader's theater. After practicing reading it with fluency and expression, first graders were ready to hear themselves read. We set up a giant green screen (thanks to Mrs. Klipfel for letting us borrow it) and we were ready to record. Using the Green Screen app by Do Ink (one of our favorites) we were able to add real water, clouds and even waterfalls behind our videos. Students said they were nervous to record but proud of their finished work..and they definitely should be very proud. Check out our Water Cycle Reader's Theater video below. It is definitely worth a view or ten.

Common Core State Standard RF 1.4 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.