Week 20

Storyteller visitor from Arizona

Storyteller visitor from Arizona

This was another great week for our class!

Special Guests: A storyteller from ASU in Arizona came to visit our school this week.  We were very lucky to have him come.  He told some great fiction and nonfiction stories, and the kids absolutely loved it.   

Funny Stuff From Kids: After seeing that the egg in our science experiment was dyed red, one student said that we should read the Dr. Seuss book and say “red eggs and ham” instead of “green eggs and ham.”

“I can’t study spelling at home because I’m grounded!”

I said this to a student: “You better not toss the ball inside because it might hit the ceiling.”  She said, “Yeah, you’re right.  We gotta be careful ‘cuz it’s not your classroom; it’s the principal’s and my mom’s!” (Her mom works at the school.)


The first student to arrive in the morning was playing by herself, and she started telling me about the imaginary friends she plays with when she doesn't have any real friends around.  One of the friends she listed as an imaginary friend was pop-singer Justin Bieber!

Homework: Thank you for helping students keep up on their homework better!

Social Studies: We had fun learning a little bit about how people dress and do their hair in  other cultures, and how we should treat them how we would want to be treated no matter how they look. 

Math: This week we’ve been focusing on telling time.  In first grade, we only tell time to the hour and half hour.  The students have done well with it, but they probably need a few more days.   

Project Read/Spelling: This week we focused again on two syllable words.  It’s been tricky for the kids, but I think for the most part they’re ready to move on.   

Speedy Words and Rocket Math: Students are still doing great, and parent volunteers have been a huge resource in helping students who struggle with this to be successful.  Thanks!

AR: Students have started over on their goal of 20 books because this was the first week of quarter 3.  Everyone reached their goal for quarter 1 and quarter 2, and four students have reached 80 books this year to receive their Samurai award.   

Writing: This week for writing, a guest from Texas came to teach.  She has been working with the district for several years to improve the school’s reading and writing program.  She taught the students how to use “where words” in sentences.  (She taught them not to just write  “The dog ran.”  Instead tell more—tell where the dog ran.  “The dog ran to the beach.” etc.)  We’ll be practicing this for a few weeks.

We also did a fun writing project to go along with our science experiment.  We covered up the egg that was soaked in vinegar with a dish towel, and then we had the school secretary come down to visit our class.  Students wrote clues to describe to her what was under the towel and help her figure it out. 

Science: This week for science we finished our egg experiment from last week.  The students were amazed at what happened to the egg soaking in vinegar.  The vinegar ate the shell, and then the egg soaked in the vinegar.  The egg ended up being too big to get out of the jar, and it turned rubbery like a bouncy ball.  They were also impressed by the other eggs.  The egg soaking in hand sanitizer didn’t do much, but the hand sanitizer itself did turn a little bit more white and foamy.  However, the egg soaking in red pop was dyed red like an easter egg, and the students loved it! 

After seeing the eggs,  the students were curious about whether or not the inside had changed, so I cracked the eggs open to allow them to see that not much was different inside.  The next day we watched a Magic School Bus episode about eggs.