Farewell Firsties!

As I write this final blog post of the year, it gives me a chance to reflect on all of the wonderful things that we have accomplished in first grade! I have absolutely loved teaching this talented, loving, and special group of kids this year. We have grown so much as a community of learners and friends. Over the past few months (sorry for the shortage of posts during April and May), we have completed several end of year assessments, but most importantly, each first grader created their own fictional story complete with illustrations. I was so PROUD of how the books turned out. I can't wait for the kids to bring them home this week to share with you!

On Friday, as my end of year gift, I surprised the kids with a package labeled "Special Delivery"! When we opened it up, they were thrilled to see that our class pet, Sparky, had puppies! Each student got to "adopt" a puppy and give it a name. I also sent home "dog bones" as treats for when their puppy learns a new trick! ;) The first graders pledged to take great care of their puppy!

As we finish up our final three days of school, I sincerely want to thank you all for allowing me to teach your children each day. I love my job as every day is a new adventure and there is never a dull moment! :) That being said, as many of you may know, my husband, daughter, and I will be moving to Waukee, Iowa this summer where I will teach first grade at in the fall. While I am sad to leave a wonderful school and city, I am super excited for my daughter to be closer to her cousins in the Des Moines area. I will be sending home a letter with each child with my new address. Some time in July or August, please help your child write me a letter letting me know about their summer! I hope writing letters will be one way to stay in touch! I wish you all the best and know each one of my firsties will SHINE in second grade next year! Have a wonderful summer! -Mrs. Bradford

March Updates

Happy Monday! The month of March sure has come and gone in a hurry! After spring break, we started an author study on Kevin Henkes. He is such a wonderful children's author and the first graders have enjoyed reading several of his stories. We are focusing on the Common Core standards of story elements and character traits while engaging in these stories. Next week I will post an update with our completed bulletin boards to show our students' hard work!

These students did a great job writing the sequence of events!

Students will be filling the board with character traits describing the different characters.

Additionally, we have been working on opinion writing during Language Arts time. Students wrote papers on their favorite season, favorite Dr. Seuss book, and why Grant Wood is the best school. I am SO impressed by the growth every child has made in their ability to compose a complete essay. This time of year is always such a good reflection on how far we have come as readers and writers! The two papers below are very impressive writing samples!

Finally, we just wrapped up our social studies unit on maps. Students learned about cardinal directions, map keys, created a classroom map, and finished by learning about the map of our world. Ask your child to tell you their continent, country, state, city, and school! :)

A reminder that the month of April will be filled with different types of end-of-year assessments. Continue to practice sight words, reading fluency, and math facts with your child!

Brylee and Tiffany ROCKED twin day on Friday! 

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Last week we celebrated Read Across America Week in honor of Dr. Seuss. Each day had a fun theme that went along with one of Dr. Seuss' books. On Wednesday, each class paired with another grade to do a teacher-switch or a buddy activity. Our class was paired with Ms. Kerr's 3rd graders! We read the book There's a Wocket in my Pocket and then the third graders helped the first graders create their very own silly creatures. The third graders were great leaders and the first graders LOVED working with them!

The students were SO engaged by the activities and books last week, that we decided to continue Dr. Seuss books and writing this week as well. Monday we read the book Oh, the Places You'll Go! and then students wrote about what they want to be when they grow up. We talked about how the "central message" of that story is that even though sometimes life can be hard and we might make mistakes, we have to keep trying and should never give up on our dreams!

"When I grow up I want to be a teacher and help children."

"When I grow up I want to be a doctor like my mom and take care of people."

"When I grow up I want to be a vet and help animals."

Oh...the places our first graders will GO!

We will end this Seusstastic unit on Friday with the creation of oobleck after reading the book Bartholomew and the Oobleck. Students will experiment with this interesting substance and make predictions if objects will sink or float in it!

I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week and a safe and fun Spring Break! :)

February: Dental Health, Black History, AND President's Day!

We wrapped up our unit on Dental Health with a visit from my aunt, Carol, who is a dental hygienist. She brought a large model of teeth and a large toothbrush to demonstrate proper brushing, read the kids a story, answered questions from the first graders, and surprised them with a toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss for each child! A big thank you to Carol for coming to first grade!

In honor of Black History Month, I ordered several biographies about famous African-Americas for the first graders to research. They loved reading these biographies and learned lots of interesting and important facts. Every student was assigned a partner and together they read the story and conducted "research" on their notable person. Their finished products turned out GREAT! 

This was Brylee's finished work...great job!

Ruby Bridges, Jackie Robinson, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Mae Jemison

Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, and Thurgood Marshall

The books I used are from the series called "Rookie Biographies".

Finally, to wrap-up the month of February, I read students two books on Presidents Washington and Lincoln and the first graders wrote down facts they learned about them and then compared and contrasted the two presidents. We learned some important historical knowledge as well as some interesting trivia...such as Washington's favorite food was pancakes and Lincoln kept important papers in his hat! :) 

Next week is National Read Across America Week honoring Dr. Seuss (his birthday is March 2). Each day has a special "dress code" so if your child wishes to participate please refer to the schedule sent home! Have a great weekend!

Dental Health Month

February is National Children's Dental Health Month. The first graders have spent the past week learning about how to properly care for your teeth as well as general facts about your teeth. We kicked the unit off by taking an egg (to serve as the tooth) and letting it soak in three different drinks: coffee, grape juice, and orange pop. Two days later we took the eggs out and found them very different than the white that they started out days before. We tried to brush the eggs just like we do with our teeth to try to get them white again. Students were shocked to find out that it was very difficult, or in some cases, impossible to get the eggs back to their original state. This was a good lesson on the importance of brushing your teeth and how sugar can cause cavities. This week we will continue to learn about dental hygiene in addition to starting a writing unit on famous African-Americans for Black History Month, which is also in February.

Above shows what the eggs looked like after soaking them for 2 days. The grape juice was the most interesting...those stripes were not expected! :)

Below shows what they looked like after brushing them.

Students discussed what makes their teeth happy and sad.

Posters and dental health vocabulary

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day...below are a few writing pieces from students about what makes their hearts full. They worked very hard on these and they turned out adorable!

Also...sending hugs from my very own mini Valentine! <3