Happy Spring!!
On Monday the Basic Skills kids made a Spring bouquet on paper, and they were very creative with it! They made their own flowers out of construction paper and/or drew them on with markers. Believe it or not, it took a lot of listening and following directions to complete this project. They first had to trace and cut out their hands and then together they glued on the palm so that the fingers could bend over; that way it looked like it was them holding a bouquet of Spring flowers. There was also a silly Spring poem attached to it that the students enjoyed.
We made a beautiful Forget-Me-Not, which is the name of a flower, and playing on words, completed the sentence, "I remember when..." We learned the saying, "Forget me not," is another way of saying, "Don't Forget Me!"
We made Spring bunny booklets (accordian style) on Thursday with words we know by heart. The students in Basic Skills had a great time making their individual bunnies with a cotton tail on the back.
This is a last week for many things, including the last week before Spring Break, and it will also be my last week here. My last official day will be on Friday 3/27/09. I cannot believe how quickly my Student Teaching went by, and I honestly couldn't have imagined a better group of students and parents to have experienced this with. Thank you so much for all the support and encouragement. I am really sad to leave, and have formed many attachments within this unique, diverse and amazing group of kids!
I am currently filling out my substitute certificate, and will wait to apply to schools and districts once I get my Teaching Certificate in June 2009. I hope to cross paths with you and your kids someday, and would love to keep in touch. I am so lucky to have been placed in such a great school for my internship. It's been a pleasure, Thank you!!
My e-mail: jessapak@gmail.com
Monday, March 23, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
As I'm sure you've heard, we had a little visitor from the leprechaun on Tuesday! With gold glitter, green footprints and shamrocks everywhere, and a few special notes from him, we were lead to the closet in the back of the room for the Pot of Gold! We also have our beautifully made dancing leprechauns hanging up in the back of the room.
Tuesday was also special with a great performance from a jazz band from a local high school. They were fantastic, and featured a lot of solos that all the students seemed to enjoy! P2 Basic Skills also made individual graphs with Lucky Charms, and we were able to eat them after we graphed them. Yum!
On Wednesday, P2 Basic Skills will be reading Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day, and discussing ways to help express our feelings (other than physical), and also discuss some of the bad days we have had.
Thursday we will have Art with Gabby, and will be taking home the amazing Scratch Art that was created last week! They turned out really neat!
Happy almost Spring!! I hope the weather starts to feel like it!
Reminder: No School this Friday, 3/20/09
Tuesday was also special with a great performance from a jazz band from a local high school. They were fantastic, and featured a lot of solos that all the students seemed to enjoy! P2 Basic Skills also made individual graphs with Lucky Charms, and we were able to eat them after we graphed them. Yum!
On Wednesday, P2 Basic Skills will be reading Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day, and discussing ways to help express our feelings (other than physical), and also discuss some of the bad days we have had.
Thursday we will have Art with Gabby, and will be taking home the amazing Scratch Art that was created last week! They turned out really neat!
Happy almost Spring!! I hope the weather starts to feel like it!
Reminder: No School this Friday, 3/20/09
Monday, March 9, 2009
Magical Monday
On Monday we (Basic Skills) discussed the story we read on Friday, titled Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. A great story that I read as a child, and was glad to see that the students enjoyed it as well. We have written down on a poster, "If I had a magic pebble I would..." and there were many creative answers. A popular answer was to become invisible, to own a lot of toys, or to become an animal. After we shared, we read a silly, fun book titled, Alice the Fairy. Without real magical powers, Alice is a little girl with a huge imagination. The students really enjoyed this silly book, and then wrote and drew what their one magical power would be if they could have one.
Some of these reading comprehension activities were turned into a book, and some will be taken home (for Basic Skills). Skippyjon Jones was turned into a book, and the students helped me to sequence them using, "first," "middle," and "last," in the order of the story. Each paper was held up one by one, and students were able to compliment each other on their art work, as well as bragging rights for seeing theirs shown in front of the whole class. :) It was great to see first graders looking through the work of their classmates and "re-reading" the story in their peers' voices and illustrations.
On Wednesday, we read The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka. The students were to think about whether the wolf was really "big and bad," or if he was telling the truth and was nice. Students were to write what they thought about the wolf after hearing his side of the story. It was interesting to see what they thought, and 12 of the students thought that he was actually innocent and nice, while 8 of the students thought he was really a bad, mean and lying wolf. They did a great job on the illustrations too!
In Math for the Kindergarteners, we have been measuring objects in the classroom using different tools. A couple days ago we traced and cut out our foot onto paper, and used that to measure. The students enjoyed using that, a ruler, and unifix cubes to measure. Tomorrow we will be doing a review on graphs, and make our own involving pets that we have at home.
On Friday, we plan to read (K/1) Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, and write what we predict for the future. "In 100 years, I think..." and they will fill in what they think it will be like in the world, and also draw a picture of what they imagine it to be.
I came across this site, which allows students to write words in a virtual pencil, save it, and play it, meaning that they can see how they wrote the letters. It is a really great tool to learn words, letters or numbers, and to practice writing from the top. This can even help students with using a mouse on the computer. Here is the link below, enjoy!
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/games/writingRepeater_v5.html
Some of these reading comprehension activities were turned into a book, and some will be taken home (for Basic Skills). Skippyjon Jones was turned into a book, and the students helped me to sequence them using, "first," "middle," and "last," in the order of the story. Each paper was held up one by one, and students were able to compliment each other on their art work, as well as bragging rights for seeing theirs shown in front of the whole class. :) It was great to see first graders looking through the work of their classmates and "re-reading" the story in their peers' voices and illustrations.
On Wednesday, we read The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka. The students were to think about whether the wolf was really "big and bad," or if he was telling the truth and was nice. Students were to write what they thought about the wolf after hearing his side of the story. It was interesting to see what they thought, and 12 of the students thought that he was actually innocent and nice, while 8 of the students thought he was really a bad, mean and lying wolf. They did a great job on the illustrations too!
In Math for the Kindergarteners, we have been measuring objects in the classroom using different tools. A couple days ago we traced and cut out our foot onto paper, and used that to measure. The students enjoyed using that, a ruler, and unifix cubes to measure. Tomorrow we will be doing a review on graphs, and make our own involving pets that we have at home.
On Friday, we plan to read (K/1) Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, and write what we predict for the future. "In 100 years, I think..." and they will fill in what they think it will be like in the world, and also draw a picture of what they imagine it to be.
I came across this site, which allows students to write words in a virtual pencil, save it, and play it, meaning that they can see how they wrote the letters. It is a really great tool to learn words, letters or numbers, and to practice writing from the top. This can even help students with using a mouse on the computer. Here is the link below, enjoy!
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Happy March!
We are so happy to have Miss. Kelley back with us! She is such a trooper, and all the students have been very helpful with her.
The first Monday of March we celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday with some fun activities. We also read a few of his famous books, including Horton Hears a Who, and Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! The Kindergarten students are doing a great job at 'reading' the story with me, by listening for the rhyming word.
With the first graders with us, we were able to read The Cat in the Hat, and made up our own lists of (some silly) rules that we had in our house when our parents were not there. The bottom half was to list ideas of what to do on a rainy day. Another part of this activity was to follow the directions, writing three rules in complete sentences at the top, and listing things to do on a rainy day. I am pleased to say that with a few reminders, students followed the directions well! :)
As you have my noticed, a lot of the (Basic Skills) students are finishing up their handwriting A-Z packets, which are split up in half. The students are NOT forced to complete the whole packet in one sitting, and are encouraged to do this more as an 'after worksheet' activity. Usually students fill out 2-3, but sometimes more, letters at a time. We are still practicing starting our letters and numbers at the top.
Tuesday in Math we learned about sequencing and ordering. After doing an example with numbers (lower to higher), we did sequencing events in a day and made sequencing pictures with captions written by a teacher/volunteer. Although many of them did not have time to color, all of them turned out REALLY well! The paper was sectioned off into three, and the students wrote #1, #2, #3 on the sections, and they were to think of their own morning, afternoon and night time (or after school) activities. A lot of details in these pictures, and students were not prompted on what to draw. Though most students wrote about a daily school day, a couple students wrote about what happens on a weekend day. This will be bound into a book that the students and parents can look at in the front of the room!
On Tuesday we also began an awesome art project with Gabby, where students painted wooden slates and will be continuing this next week to make 'Scratch Art.' It was a lot of fun being able to use paints in the classroom, and the students did an excellent job on following directions and working hard on their project! Many of the students wanted to take it home that day. :) On Thursday we will be working on another silhouette project with Missy. This was re-scheduled due to the unexpected snow day last week. Hopefully there will be no more of those, we are all ready for Spring!
The first Monday of March we celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday with some fun activities. We also read a few of his famous books, including Horton Hears a Who, and Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! The Kindergarten students are doing a great job at 'reading' the story with me, by listening for the rhyming word.
With the first graders with us, we were able to read The Cat in the Hat, and made up our own lists of (some silly) rules that we had in our house when our parents were not there. The bottom half was to list ideas of what to do on a rainy day. Another part of this activity was to follow the directions, writing three rules in complete sentences at the top, and listing things to do on a rainy day. I am pleased to say that with a few reminders, students followed the directions well! :)
As you have my noticed, a lot of the (Basic Skills) students are finishing up their handwriting A-Z packets, which are split up in half. The students are NOT forced to complete the whole packet in one sitting, and are encouraged to do this more as an 'after worksheet' activity. Usually students fill out 2-3, but sometimes more, letters at a time. We are still practicing starting our letters and numbers at the top.
Tuesday in Math we learned about sequencing and ordering. After doing an example with numbers (lower to higher), we did sequencing events in a day and made sequencing pictures with captions written by a teacher/volunteer. Although many of them did not have time to color, all of them turned out REALLY well! The paper was sectioned off into three, and the students wrote #1, #2, #3 on the sections, and they were to think of their own morning, afternoon and night time (or after school) activities. A lot of details in these pictures, and students were not prompted on what to draw. Though most students wrote about a daily school day, a couple students wrote about what happens on a weekend day. This will be bound into a book that the students and parents can look at in the front of the room!
On Tuesday we also began an awesome art project with Gabby, where students painted wooden slates and will be continuing this next week to make 'Scratch Art.' It was a lot of fun being able to use paints in the classroom, and the students did an excellent job on following directions and working hard on their project! Many of the students wanted to take it home that day. :) On Thursday we will be working on another silhouette project with Missy. This was re-scheduled due to the unexpected snow day last week. Hopefully there will be no more of those, we are all ready for Spring!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Welcome Back!
I hope that everyone had a restful, and fun-filled mid-winter break!
The Monday back from break happened to be our 100th day of school (already)! The students in Basic Skills incorporated a count down for the 100th day during Math, and we were all very excited about it. Students participated in the celebration, which included them making Fruit Loop necklaces, which many were clever and pre-counted 100 Fruit Loops before making their necklace. There were also 'hidden' sticker dots numbered #1-100, and they went around the room with clipboards and a #1-100 grid to cross off every time they found a number. All students enjoyed this type of "treasure hunt." Tomorrow we will collect the stickers dots and place them on a large #1-100 grid. Miss. Kelley has warned that we will most likely not find all numbers, and will search for it throughout the week. :)
Students (on Monday) in Basic Skills also finished the sentence, "On the 100th day of school I..." and a popular choice was to mention making the Fruit Loop necklaces. One student completed the sentence in all honesty, "On the 100th day of school I did not want to come to school." :) Understandable after a long break. This was made into a booklet that the students can look at during Reading or their free time.
We have also wrapped up our Science unit with animals, including: goldfish/platys, land and water snails, Earthworms and Nightcrawlers, and Isopods -- pillbugs/sowbugs. On Tuesday the K/1 class filled out two large posters full of what we learned about animals (in general) to complete our K (know) W (want to learn) L (learned) chart about Animals!
This Thursday, a parent volunteer from a different class will be coming in to help with an Art Project, which is for the Art Auction/Walk* at the end of the year. It will be a surprise for all of us, and I'm sure it will turn out great!
*Not yet confirmed.
Thursday is also our Black History Month Assembly at 1:30-2:00 PM.
Our thoughts are with Miss. Kelley as she had her surgery on Tuesday, and called the school to reassure us that she is doing well! The students think it is pretty cool for Miss. Kelley to be on crutches once she gets back on Monday. :)
Have a great rest of the week! We can't believe it's almost March!
FYI: This is just an extra something to read and let you be a little more involved in the classroom. This includes both the Kindergarten Basic Skills class as well as the K/1 split, just to make it clear. :)
The Monday back from break happened to be our 100th day of school (already)! The students in Basic Skills incorporated a count down for the 100th day during Math, and we were all very excited about it. Students participated in the celebration, which included them making Fruit Loop necklaces, which many were clever and pre-counted 100 Fruit Loops before making their necklace. There were also 'hidden' sticker dots numbered #1-100, and they went around the room with clipboards and a #1-100 grid to cross off every time they found a number. All students enjoyed this type of "treasure hunt." Tomorrow we will collect the stickers dots and place them on a large #1-100 grid. Miss. Kelley has warned that we will most likely not find all numbers, and will search for it throughout the week. :)
Students (on Monday) in Basic Skills also finished the sentence, "On the 100th day of school I..." and a popular choice was to mention making the Fruit Loop necklaces. One student completed the sentence in all honesty, "On the 100th day of school I did not want to come to school." :) Understandable after a long break. This was made into a booklet that the students can look at during Reading or their free time.
We have also wrapped up our Science unit with animals, including: goldfish/platys, land and water snails, Earthworms and Nightcrawlers, and Isopods -- pillbugs/sowbugs. On Tuesday the K/1 class filled out two large posters full of what we learned about animals (in general) to complete our K (know) W (want to learn) L (learned) chart about Animals!
This Thursday, a parent volunteer from a different class will be coming in to help with an Art Project, which is for the Art Auction/Walk* at the end of the year. It will be a surprise for all of us, and I'm sure it will turn out great!
*Not yet confirmed.
Thursday is also our Black History Month Assembly at 1:30-2:00 PM.
Our thoughts are with Miss. Kelley as she had her surgery on Tuesday, and called the school to reassure us that she is doing well! The students think it is pretty cool for Miss. Kelley to be on crutches once she gets back on Monday. :)
Have a great rest of the week! We can't believe it's almost March!
FYI: This is just an extra something to read and let you be a little more involved in the classroom. This includes both the Kindergarten Basic Skills class as well as the K/1 split, just to make it clear. :)
Sunday, February 1, 2009
P2 News
Hello Parents/Guardians/Students!
This is the first blog post for P2, the special Kindergarteners and First Graders of Miss. Kelley Clevenger's class. Jessica Pak, Kelley's student teacher has set this up so that parents can see for themselves any updates, news and information in the classroom.
I have been taking over the class while Miss. Kelley continues to supervise. It has been an amazing experience so far working with this diverse group of students. Kelley has given me a huge amount of resources, support and suggestions. Through my Internship III (in November) and student teaching so far, I have learned so much about classroom management, even more about the interaction of young students, and the methods in which these particular students learn best with.
Since mid-Internship III and at the start of student teaching, I have taken over calendar, math, and Science. I also read aloud for about 15-20 minutes, and the students really enjoy The Magic Tree House series. We have already read through eight Magic Tree House books and will continue book #9 tomorrow by popular demand. We have also read a couple Horrible Harry chapter books as well.
Most recently this week, we have started Math Centers, which include writing numbers #1-100 with random blank squares for the students to fill in. This was sent home with each child either yesterday, or today. There are also Dot Tiles that the students use to correlate counting dots with the actual number, and it helps the students add and read the equation as a sentence, "Five plus two equals seven," for instance. They also rotate through the pattern blocks, which is a great tool to be used for fun as well as a manipulative. They love it, and you wouldn't believe the creations the students come up with!
For reading and writing, the students have been practicing their handwriting with the letters, and will (in a couple weeks) be taking home the alphabet, with each page filled with capital letters and lowercase letters. Students know to "always start their letters (and numbers) at the top," but many of them do not follow that rule of thumb. By working on this alphabet packet, it will hopefully improve their handwriting, help them with letter recognition, and with deciphering the difference between the letters, "b," "d," "p," and "q."
I plan to update this approximately once a week, but please know that this is my first time using this and may not be able to navigate it as easily as I would like! Thank you again for your support! :) Look forward to having a fun-filled Valentine's Day Party this Friday at 2:30 PM!
* Also, there is a website that you may or may not have known about, found at www.starfall.com. I don't think that the computers in the classroom have access to this, but it is an amazing tool for reading and letter recognition. We have used it in our graduate classes, and there are tons of interactive websites within a certain category, including: music, poetry, letters, rhyming, and tons more.
This is the first blog post for P2, the special Kindergarteners and First Graders of Miss. Kelley Clevenger's class. Jessica Pak, Kelley's student teacher has set this up so that parents can see for themselves any updates, news and information in the classroom.
I have been taking over the class while Miss. Kelley continues to supervise. It has been an amazing experience so far working with this diverse group of students. Kelley has given me a huge amount of resources, support and suggestions. Through my Internship III (in November) and student teaching so far, I have learned so much about classroom management, even more about the interaction of young students, and the methods in which these particular students learn best with.
Since mid-Internship III and at the start of student teaching, I have taken over calendar, math, and Science. I also read aloud for about 15-20 minutes, and the students really enjoy The Magic Tree House series. We have already read through eight Magic Tree House books and will continue book #9 tomorrow by popular demand. We have also read a couple Horrible Harry chapter books as well.
Most recently this week, we have started Math Centers, which include writing numbers #1-100 with random blank squares for the students to fill in. This was sent home with each child either yesterday, or today. There are also Dot Tiles that the students use to correlate counting dots with the actual number, and it helps the students add and read the equation as a sentence, "Five plus two equals seven," for instance. They also rotate through the pattern blocks, which is a great tool to be used for fun as well as a manipulative. They love it, and you wouldn't believe the creations the students come up with!
For reading and writing, the students have been practicing their handwriting with the letters, and will (in a couple weeks) be taking home the alphabet, with each page filled with capital letters and lowercase letters. Students know to "always start their letters (and numbers) at the top," but many of them do not follow that rule of thumb. By working on this alphabet packet, it will hopefully improve their handwriting, help them with letter recognition, and with deciphering the difference between the letters, "b," "d," "p," and "q."
I plan to update this approximately once a week, but please know that this is my first time using this and may not be able to navigate it as easily as I would like! Thank you again for your support! :) Look forward to having a fun-filled Valentine's Day Party this Friday at 2:30 PM!
* Also, there is a website that you may or may not have known about, found at www.starfall.com. I don't think that the computers in the classroom have access to this, but it is an amazing tool for reading and letter recognition. We have used it in our graduate classes, and there are tons of interactive websites within a certain category, including: music, poetry, letters, rhyming, and tons more.
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