We are becoming bat experts!

Last Thursday, a large, winged visitor made an appearance in our classroom.  This huge paper bat is our interactive KWL chart for our next science unit.  

First, students shared what they think they already know (K) about bats.

Then, students thought about what they wonder (W) about bats and hope to learn during this unit.

On Friday, children learned that bats are mammals not birds.  Can your child tell you what a mammal is?  Can he or she remember any of the interesting details we have learned about bats in the two books we have read so far? Stay tuned!  We are learning so much about these fascinating creatures!  My class of bat experts will soon be creating their own nonfiction books about bats.
Do you or an older sibling know some information about bats?   We'd love to hear in the comment section below!

Author and Illustrator, David Biedrzycki, visits Fuller Meadow!

We were so excited to meet a real author and illustrator yesterday!

David Biedrzycki captured the attention of our Kindergartners with pictures of his friendly book characters and photographs of the snowbanks in front of his house and his relaxed cat, Sox.

Students learned that all you need for a story is an idea...

and that personal experiences can inspire you!

This local author encouraged children to keep a little notebook or sketchpad beside their beds.  That way, if they have a dream with interesting characters, they can do a quick sketch while the image is still fresh in their mind right after waking up.

Mr. Biedrzycki likes to think of himself as a "green artist".  He stopped using paper when creating his illustrations.  Now, he uses a drawing tablet that connects to his laptop.  He used the free website www.sumopaint.com to show the children how to draw a beetle.  The students enjoyed having input into what the Kindergarten beetle would look like.  They loved that the beetle could easily be copied, multiplied, and the colors modified to create a beetle family!

He told us the story Breaking News: Bear Alert and we were ecstatic to find our very own Mrs. Carreiro made a surprise appearance in the restaurant scene!

Kindergarteners learned about the writing process.  Teachers and students found it interesting that all the pages of a book are actually printed on one huge page!  After it is printed and bound, the pages are cut along the edges to make one page turn into 32!

When we returned to our room, the children were eager to try out their new knowledge of how to draw a beetle!

To learn more about Mr. Biedrzycki's work, check out his website www.davidbiedrzycki.com.

Thank you for visiting Fuller Meadow, Mr. Biedrzycki!

St. Patrick's Day

Believe it or not, the Leprechaun came to Room 117 last week!  He was the one who wrote the morning message.  He was the trickster who mixed up the numbers on the hundred chart. And he was the one who inspired us to be Trap Engineers!

Well, actually, it was our friendly and creative neighbor, Mrs. Murphy, who came up with this exciting STEM activity.  Students had to work with a partner to come up with a plan, sketch a design, and use teamwork, creativity, and engineering skills to catch the little Irish man.

We talked about what our traps would need:

*some type of entrance

*a clever way to lure him in

*a way to trap him

Our Gordon College intern, Miss Zoe, helped us get our trap plans started!

The children hoped he would visit while they were away at music.  They crept down the hall back to the room in hopes of not scaring the leprechaun away.  But, alas, he was too quick.  As children inspected their traps, they saw closed boxes, nibbled paper apples, and fallen glue sticks that once dangled from the tables.  Their eyes widened with surprise that the little leprechaun had left golden nuggets, green footprints, dark green beaded necklaces, and glitter everywhere!

After cleaning up the mess Leppy had left us, the children settled down and wrote about why they felt their traps were still a success despite the mischievous leprechaun's grand escape.

In the afternoon, we completed a science experiment that I found here.  We tried making Rainbow Rain.  We gathered the materials, took turns adding the fluffy shaving cream and colorful food coloring.  We learned that using the pipette did not work very well so we decided to pour the water from a cup, which created more of a whirlwind of colorful water than drops of colorful rain.  We did learn, however, that when clouds get heavy with water, we get precipitation.

There was some skepticism of who the leprechaun really was, but I neither confirmed nor denied the accusations that I was behind the mischief.  I think we can all agree though that fun was had by all, including me.  I enjoyed seeing the students' creativity and teamwork!

George Washington and Abraham Lincoln

To begin our unit on two famous presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, I first wanted children to think about who a president is and what their job is as president of the United States of America.  

The children had some thoughtful responses to these questions that started off our Presidents unit.

What is the job of the president?

"They keep our country safe." - Oliver
"They keep our country clean." - Ryan
"They say true words." - Aiden
"They make sure there are no more wars." - Vivi
"They make sure people are nice to other people." - Kip
"They make sure people do not fight with each other." - Lilla
"They make sure no one is hurt or mean." - Jordyn 

By the end of the unit, children were able to answer this essential question:

What characteristics make a strong leader?

Children enjoyed listening to biographies of when Washington and Lincoln were young and about their jobs and adventures before they each were president.  They were surprised that they could make text-to-self connections with these famous leaders such as loving to read and learn and having moved as a child.  I was impressed that as I read the books about Lincoln, the children were independently making wonderful text-to-text connections with what they learned about Washington.

We practiced finding the main idea and details of a nonfiction text as evidenced below in our Washington thinking map.

Chatterpix made our Washington directed drawings come to life so we could share our new knowledge with you!

After we learned about each president, we compared them in a Venn Diagram.  Each student had a chance to pick a fact and determine where in the Venn Diagram it should be placed.

Lastly, we used information from this Venn Diagram, along with the many other intriguing facts we learned, to write opinion pieces about which leader was our favorite president.

Did your child teach you anything interesting about one of these presidents?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.1
With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.2
With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.3
With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.9
With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).

Flat and Solid Shapes

Mathematicians in Room 117 have been hard at work learning about 3 dimensional (solid) shapes.  We been describing them, composing them, and comparing them to 2 dimensional (flat) shapes.

During math workshop, students rotated through four stations to strengthen their skills of sorting 3D shapes, composing shapes and pictures with 2D shapes, and identifying 3D shapes in pictures.

I think the favorite activity was the building station!  Students had to use their imagination and construct with our 3 dimensional foam shapes and then record the shapes they used.

My smart students even surprised me by finding 3D shapes during snack time!

To culminate our shape unit, students had a choice.  They could go on a shape hunt with our Gordon College intern, Zoe, or create a Chatterpix sharing information they learned about a shape of their choice.

On their shape hunt, they found many solid shapes around the school...

and even some flat shapes too!

Mrs. Nichols and I worked with the students who wanted to use Chatterpix to share what they learned about shapes.

    3D Shapes from Amanda Libby on Vimeo.

We are becoming quite the shape experts!

What shapes can you spot in your house or while you are outside for a walk on a beautiful, sunny day?

CCSS.Math.Content.K.G.A.2
Correctly name shapes regardless of their orientations or overall size.
CCSS.Math.Content.K.G.A.3
Identify shapes as two-dimensional (lying in a plane, "flat") or three-dimensional ("solid").
CCSS.Math.Content.K.G.B.4
Analyze and compare two- and three-dimensional shapes, in different sizes and orientations, using informal language to describe their similarities, differences, parts (e.g., number of sides and vertices/"corners") and other attributes (e.g., having sides of equal length).
CCSS.Math.Content.K.G.B.5
Model shapes in the world by building shapes from components (e.g., sticks and clay balls) and drawing shapes.