Cats



Cats

Kittens are born with their eyes shut.  In about a week their eyes open so they can see.  Kittens are born little. Kittens can not talk unless it is in a literary story like, Splat the Cat. When kittens first get on their feet they are wobbly.   Kittens get big enough to lap from a dish.  Kittens like to play attack and wrestle with each other.  Kittens are mischief makers.  Kittens can run.  Kittens like to chase moving butterflies and turtles.  They get curious when they see moving things.  Kittens and cats like to catch mice.  Some kittens and cats are fluffy.  Some kittens and cats are not fluffy.  Some cats live outside.

      We learned about exotic cats. When they are born they have short fur but it can get longer. They can be different colors.  They have round faces. The cats are born with blue eyes.   As the cats get older their eyes turn brown.  They might have runny eyes.  You can wash them off gently.  Exotic cats need food and water every day.  They make really good friends for boys and girls. 

      Big cats, like lions, tigers and cheetahs do not live in West Virginia.  Big cats live far, far away in Africa and Asia.  Big cats can not purr, they can roar.  Big cats hunt their prey. Lions hunt together but other big cats hunt alone.   Cheetahs are the fastest animal on land.  They can run up to 60 miles per hour which is as fast as a car. 

      We learned there are all kinds of cats.  There are killer cats and regular cats.  There are nice cats and mean cats.   Some cats eat cat food and treats and others cats eat other animals. Some cats like to play with people and some cats could eat the people.  There are all kinds of cats.

Illustrations by Room 19

 Resources Used in the Writing and Making of our Article

Writing Station Officially Opened

As you can see from our stories below, our writing work station has officially opened.  We have had stories, letters to Grandma, pictures in frames, notes to our BFFs and our teacher and so much more already created this week.  The class loves the writing station.  I try to keep it well stocked with interesting materials that will inspire my authors.  Be sure to watch for more published pieces from our class.

 



Apples by Alexis

 

 

Apples by Alexis

I love apples.

 Apples are nice.
Apples are my favorite fruit. 

Apples are wonderful.
Apples are healthy. 
I eat apples. 
 I like apples so much.



Dinosaurs

by Harley

Once upon a time there were plenty of dinosaurs but all of the dinosaurs had a problem.  There was a big dinosaur.  It was 500 feet tall and it weighed 60 pounds.  But one day one dinosaur knew a way to stop the big dinosaur.  They took him DOWN!

Open House And A Treasure Chest

Thank you to all the parents and students that attended our Open House tonight.  The weather was beautiful, the food was a real steal of a deal and everyone left with a smile on their face.  The students that came shared their data notebook with their parents.  I was proud of how they took ownership of their data.  So far we have our attendance calendar, our reading stamina graph, levels A-C sight words, lower case and capital letter recognition and numbers 1-20 recognition  pages in our notebooks!  We had our book boxes, poetry journals, new readers and math journals at our place for our parents to look through.  We also had our cute little "busy bees" hanging around the room.  Good job class!

Another fun part of the day was many of the students first visit to the treasure chest.  They earn the privilege by their daily behavior that fills in their sticker chart.  It was a much anticipated event and everyone was happy with the "treasure" they chose.  Tomorrow several more students will be able to find their own treasure.  Keep up the good work everyone!

I PICK Song for "Good Fit" Books

The students are learning how to pick "good fit" books. If your child reads lots of "good fit" books they become a better, more fluent reader.  That is a goal we are working towards!

 A "good fit" book is... 

1. I choose, not you!

2. Purpose- Why am I reading? 

3. Interest- Do I like it? 

4. Comprehend- Do I understand? 

5. Know- Do I know most of the words? 

The first letter of the above spells out "I PICK". If you hear your child singing the song below you can sing along.  

(This was posted by saccoccioj on You Tube)

First Week Books Becoming Our Favorites!

 My class loves singing and dancing to the "Rules Rap" by Dr. Jean.  We have the coloring book that goes along with this new favorite.  My students have added this book to their book box  that they read from everyday.  They know all the words and enjoy reading it together or quietly to themselves.

 

 This was the class' introduction to the wonderful author Mo Willems.  This book is a great favorite with its simple words in word clouds and the mice marching around saying "please" on so many pages.  They are looking forward to more books by Mo because of this funny book.

 

 Skippyjon Jones was not on my beginning of they year list but one of my students told me these were his favorite books.  I had gotten my Skippyjon stuffed animal this summer at Kohl's and so I just had to read this one this week.  I downloaded the ipad app and we listened to the author read her own story.  It had lots of little fun interactives to add to the story.  By the end of the day we were all saying "Holy Guacamole!"  I found this new informational text about chihuahuas and plan on reading it soon to the children.

 We read this old rhyme and then played the game with our Smartboard.  I added each child's picture to a slide and we repeated the rhyme and they answered the class when it was their turn.  They loved it.  At the end I had a slide that allowed the computer to randomly select a slide of the "real" cookie thief.  It was such fun and they can't wait to check this book out of the library to read it with one another.

 This was a book about being frustrated with  some things at school and how to "move on" and find new friends.  We practice this skill a lot in first grade when feelings get hurt by others on the playground. "Moving on" and finding someone else to play with for a while helps them to problem solve in social situations.

This is a big book in our room.  I have the song by Raffi that is identical to the book.  We listened to the song several times during the day before I introduced this book.  When I read it the next day the class was so pleased they knew all the words to the book.  I am sure this will be a new favorite and much read (and sung) by the students.

This book will also be added as a math station.  The children will create word problems using the story.  They will use counters as the ducks and use words and illustrations to show what math was happening in the story.

We also read this math story.  It is about a snake that collects mice in a jar to eat for dinner.  Of course the mice get away.  This will also be added to one of our math workstations to create words problems of addition and subtraction.  They will put the problems and illustrations showing their work in a blank book I will provide.

This is to become another class favorite.  They can read most of the words and can related to David.  Everyone had a smile on their face as they watched and listened to  David's antics.  After reading the story we did a "follow the directions" picture to draw David.  They did a nice job.  I have them hanging in the hallway and you will get them home soon!