Spiders, Spiders, Spiders!!!!!!!

We had so much fun with spiders last week! I wanted to start on the Common Core ELA standard involving research.  I have seen these "Can, Have, Are" charts all over Pinterest and various blogs so I started there! We talked about facts and how they had to be things that were true. Then, I read several nonfiction Spider books to the kids.  They loved it! Well, one of my little "drama mamas" shivered and shook every time I showed a picture of a spider, which was completely adorable! As we read the nonfiction books, we added cool or important facts we found to a chart.  Then we made a Can, Have, Are chart and put our facts in the correct column.  (I think next time I will bypass the writing facts on a chart first and just fill in the Can, Have, Are chart from the nonfiction books).

After we made the class chart, my fab firsties made their own can, have, are chart.

The next morning, I asked the kids to take their very own spider and decide if spiders were harmful or helpful.

 Obviously helpful won.... I was surprised, but I do have only have 6 girls and 13 boys in my class! LOL

Then I made an "Evidence Chart"...I have no idea if that is what it is actually called, but it sounds good! :-) We were presented with this concept at a recent district pd. I made the statement, "Spiders are helpful" at the top.  Then, I made two columns, one is evidence for and the other is evidence against. We talked a lot about what that meant and they were actually really good at it! Then we went back through some of the facts we had written down and our Spiders Can, Have, Are chart and put any evidence we found under the correct heading.  The kiddos really wanted to prove a side (harmful or helpful) right or wrong, but we ended up with two pieces of evidence under each! lol

Then, I modeled how to take our can, have, are charts and turn them into a nonfiction story about spiders.  My kiddos did a really good job of taking their own can, have, are charts and turning them into a nonfiction story.  They had so much fun and worked really hard. 

Aren't they so sweet?!

More Daily 5!!!

I am still totally LOVING Daily 5! I love that I am not spending my Friday after school time pulling papers from center folders and stuffing them with new papers!!!! Whatever will I do with myself - oh wait, I am trying to align all of my lessons to  Common Core! LOL

I really needed a way to track the kiddos through the week besides just highlighting their choices on my tracker.  Which, I figured out if I use different color highlighters for each round it is MUCH easier to track!

Find this tracker here

So I created this reflection:

I used the clipart from these Daily 5 cards found here and free borders found here!

My fab firsties only have time for 3 rounds each day so I made this reflection for the week.  At the end of our Daily 5 time, they will fill in at least one area, knowing that the entire sheet has to be completed by Friday! I also created a quick rubric to go along with it.  I am hoping this holds my kiddos more accountable and gives me another way to track what they are doing in each round. 

I do have to brag a little about my firsties....they are ROCKING the Daily 5! Our Daily 5 time is the quietest time of our entire day! They love, love. love to make their own choices and are doing so much better at it than I thought! I was super nervous to let go of that piece, but they are doing so stinking awesome! :-) I am sOooooOOOOoooooo thankful that I was introduced to the Daily 5 and the "Two Sisters!"

Postcard fun!

So we are taking part in a postcard exchange from Mrs. McHaffie! We received our first postcard the other day from Albany, New York.  I should preface the rest of this post by saying this is more of "Awww that's so cute!" post as opposed to a "Wow! I can use that in my classroom!" post.

I show my fab firsties the postcard and we talk about the pictures on the front.  I read to them what the postcard says.  Then I ask.... "Does anyone know someone who lives in New York?" Now, I am expecting a relative or friend here.... An adorable little guy raises his hand and says, "Ummm I believe George Washington lives there." LOL After I explain that he does not, I for some reason go on to ask another student who he knows in New York.  He tells me that a king lives there. Where do they come up with this? :-)

I decide to change focus and ask if anyone has ever visited New York.  I see 15 out of 21 little hands go straight into the air!

This is when I decide to just move on to Google Earth. We took a trip from our small town in Ohio to Albany, New York. The kids LOVED it!!! I then got bombarded with requests to see: their own houses, California, Kings Island (an amusement park here in Ohio), Disney World, and my favorite- Justin Bieber's house!!!!! lol

If you get an opportunity to participate in a postcard exchange, I say, "Do it!!!!!" We are so excited to receive postcards from the other 49 states!!! The kiddos have begun asking everyday if we've gotten any more postcards yet! I love their excitement!!!