Eggciting Experiment

The grade 1's are currently partaking in an experiment with other students from British Columbia,  New Zealand,  Newfoundland, Texas and many other places. A few weeks ago we skyped with Mrs Soltau-Heller's class from Vancouver Island.  She put out a question on twitter about if anyone was interested in different classes all doing the same egg experiment and recording the results on a common Wiki. Check out the Wiki here Eggciting Experiment Wiki.  We thought it was a great idea.  Our common question is "Do you think eggs are the same all over the world?"  We were given instructions and I created a list on Twitter so other classes could tweet about the experiment at #eggciting.  We began our experiment yesterday.  Here are a few pictures:

We put a raw white egg in a clear plastic cup and covered it with vinegar. 
Here are a few of our predictions that we tweeted:

We will continue to observe our eggs and write our observations.  We will also be looking at the other classes' data to see if they are seeing the same things we are.  Stay tuned.... things should really start happening tomorrow...What do you think will happen to our eggs?

What Brings You Joy?

Joy. The feeling of delight, happiness and pleasure. It’s one of the most cherished emotions you can experience in life. What brings you joy?
I have been wanting to invite other classes to tweet and Skype about this particular topic for a while now. What puts a smile on your face?  I don't mean just a polite smile but a real, genuine and infectious smile?  What makes you as happy as the animals in these pictures?

via: utterlycute.com

via: wowcoolpics.blogspot.com

This would be a wonderful writing topic for my students.  On Monday we are going to talk about what brings them joy.  I am going to have them tweet and Skype about it on Tuesday.  I would love for other classes to join in!  Please contact me on twitter if you are interested in participating!

Redesigned Blog

Did you do a double take when you visited my blog today?  Do you like the new design?  There are a few things that are not finished yet but I couldn't wait any longer to switch it over.  I just love it!  A big THANK YOU to my husband (Mr. Wideen) for working so hard to get it just perfect.  Check back often because I will be finishing some of my links (Math Stations and Literacy Stations links).  We have been on break all week enjoying this beautiful weather and I need to take some pictures of my stations for the explanations.  Leave a comment, I would love to hear your feedback!

Math Problems

The Grade 1's have been working very hard on using pictures, numbers and words to solve word problems.  At the beginning of math class, students put a sticker in their notebooks with the word problem printed on it.  They also put a sticker of the same problem in their agendas to show their families what they have been working on at school.  Here are a few examples of students' work:

I drew 5 fish in a bowl and I drew him eating 2 of them.

I love how this child drew out the problem.

I think this picture is great! This student showed the two fish in the person's belly.

It's World Read Aloud Day Tomorrow

World Read Aloud Day: March 7, 2012

Take Action for Global Literacy, Celebrate the Power of Words, Change the World

Worldwide at least 793 million people remain illiterate.

Imagine a world where everyone can read...

World Read Aloud Day is about taking action to show the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people. World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words, especially those words that are shared from one person to another, and creates a community of readers advocating for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology.

By raising our voices together on this day we show the world’s children that we support their future: that they have the right to read, to write, and to share their words to change the world.

It’s time to join the Global Literacy Movement.

The grade 1 class will be participating in a Read aloud with author Sarah Albee via Skype.  We will listen to her read aloud one of her books and talk together about the importance of global literacy, marking this as a special day of reading! 

Math Stations

Here are some pictures of our newest Math Work Stations.  We are mainly working on addition and subtraction and 3D shapes this rotation.  The students start out on the carpet with a mini math lesson (10 minutes or less)  The students then get into their math groups.  They have 11 stations all together and the students do 2 stations a day and work with the teacher in a group almost every day.  

Students need to order the cards by 2's,  5's and 10's. 

Students' are playing Top It on the iPads (an addition game).

We are working on number stories using numbers, pictures and words in our answers.

Playing addition games on funbrain.com on the smart board.

The students love making pictures using pattern blocks then recording the shapes they have used.

Quad Blogging

Next week we will begin our Quad Blogging. What is Quad blogging you ask? Imagine four schools that have a partnership/agreement.  That would mean that for a four week cycle, each school’s blog will be the focus for one week out of four. Each school in the Quad spends some time visiting the blog of the school for that week, leave comments etc. After that week, another one of the four schools will be the focus and this will be repeated for the four week cycle. It won't take the pupils long to work out that during their week, they would get a boost in visitor numbers and comments. This would give a real focus to have posts online ready for this bulge in visits. During the other three weeks, pupils get to visit and comment on other blogs in their quad.  We will be the first school blog that the other schools will visit, so check back often to see who has visited!  The other 3 schools are from Australia and England.  One class is a class of 23 girls!