Puzzled Penguin is a character that often visits our classroom because he needs help with his math thinking. When we hear from Puzzled Penguin, we know that our brains are going to need to power up and help him. We also know that it is important that we share with Puzzled Penguin where his mistake was and what the correct way of doing a math problem is. Check out some of our latest thinking as we helped Puzzled Penguin with his mountain math addition.
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The first graders amazed us in their ability to digest three stories while thinking critically about them. The kids found commonalities that the stories had by writing specific examples from each text. They then assigned a "message" or "lesson" that all the stories were trying to teach the readers. This was a powerful lesson that can be carried throughout all of life.
Visible thinking routine: Peel the FruitTo better structure our science topic, all about rocks, we have created a giant board in our classroom that is holding all of the information that we uncover as a class throughout this science unit.
This framework is called, "Peel the Fruit". It is a researched based approach to making thinking visible (and leave a lasting, meaningful impression) created by Ron Ritchhart, educator and researcher at Harvard University. This routine helps students "make his/her thinking visible" by uncovering knowledge and understandings layer by layer. Our document (thinking) started off with very basic thoughts. We recorded our observations about rocks and our questions. After conducting many experiments, we have added more to our creation. As we move closer to the center of the "rock," we are getting closer to the "heart of the message" or the "big idea." Stay tuned for more! **It is important that children see that thinking changes over time and it is an ongoing process. When we show our children that thinking is never "done", we are communicating that being a lifelong learner is powerful!** If you have walked through the hallway that leads to our classrooms lately, you would notice that we have been very busy! We know that not all families get the chance to check out our displays, so we would like to share with you virtually! Please take the time to view our latest thinking. These boards could also help you launch conversations with your child about our learning and thinking in the classroom. Enjoy!
As part of the first grade social studies unit, we have been learning about the helpers at our school. The first graders generated as many "helpers" as they could think of in our school community. Then we wrote questions that we would want to ask them if we had the opportunity to interview these helpers.
The first helper we interviewed was our very own Troy School District Superintendent, Dr. Machesky. He came to visit Bemis Elementary's first graders and was interviewed about his role as a helper in our school community. What a treat to ask him our questions and hear his thoughts! The next Bemis helper we interviewed was Mr. Whan, our school principal. The first graders asked thought-provoking questions and showed what great thinkers they are becoming. We also watched an interview of our Bemis secretaries, Mrs. Barry and Mrs. Clifford. The questions asked during the interview were written by first graders. The first graders thought about each of our specials teachers and how they are helpers in our school as well. We used the chalk talk thinking routine to give everyone a chance to share their thinking about these helpers in our school. To watch our learning as it is happening, tune in to www.twitter.com/@Bemis1thinkers you can also search by the hashtag #bemisthinkers. Reading strategies are an important part to being a great reader in first grade. We have begun to review these reading strategies that many first graders learned in kindergarten at Bemis. When you come to a word you don't know, start with "Eagle Eye" to help you figure out a word. then try "Lips the Fish", and so on! Whatever you do, don't "sound it out"! We have strategies to help us figure out words now!
This week as part of our reader's workshop, the first graders practiced reading with a partner. here's what the first graders say about why partner reading is so important: To better structure our writing topic, small moments, we have created a giant board in our classroom that is holding all of the information that we uncover as a class throughout this writing unit.
This framework is called, "Peel the Fruit". It is a researched based approach to making thinking visible (and leave a lasting, meaningful impression) created by Ron Ritchhart, educator and researcher at Harvard University. This routine helps students "make his/her thinking visible" by uncovering knowledge and understandings layer by layer. Our document (thinking) started off with very basic thoughts. We recorded our observations about what we know about writing and writing small moment stories. Then we added our questions or what we wonder about writing and writing small moment stories. After each lesson, we have added more to our board to illustrate what we have learned and what we are still wondering about. As we move closer to the center of the "rock," we are getting closer to the "heart of the message" or the "big idea." Stay tuned for more! **It is important that children see that thinking changes over time and it is an ongoing process. When we show our children that thinking is never "done", we are communicating that being a lifelong learner is powerful!** Before the first graders began their math thinking, we took a minute to generate our knowledge of math by answering the question, "What is math?" Using the chalk talk routine, each child is asked to share their thinking through writing which can help those students who are hesitant to talk put their thinking out there! The first graders have some wonderful ideas and I think their thinking will grow leaps and bounds as we continue through the year!
As part of our community building, the first-graders learned about what they have in common with one another by playing a bingo game. After we found out who likes chocolate cake, who knows how to ride a bike, who likes to read, who knows how to swim, etc., we shared a "fist pump" with those other students who like the same things. To symbolize how these commonalities make us super, each group created a "Super Hero" for their common interests. These superheroes are then displayed in our classroom for all to see! |