Schema and Pasta

I feel so neglectful!  I haven't touched this blog in over a week! It is amazing to me how time flies when you're having fun!  :o)

These past two weeks we have been discussing what readers and thinkers do when they are reading.  Activating our schema and using our tools from our Reader's Toolbox have been large parts of our discussions.  "Schema?" you ask.  What a large word for such small children!  Come on in and hear what they have to say about 'schema':

• "It's when your brain tells you what you know."
• "It's what you have done."
• "It's what your brain knows."
• "It's how you think."
• "Schema is the filing cabinet in your head."

What brilliant first graders we have!  They are all right.  Schema is what you know and when we activate our schema as readers, it helps us to understand what we are reading with more depth.  For instance, this week we used a big book called The World of Ants.  Before we read this book, we talked about our schema for ants.  We know quite a lot, it turns out!  Our first graders know that there are many kids of ants; that fire ants bite; that ants live underground; and that ants are insects. We added to our schema when we read the text and found out that ants can live in nests in trees; ants can hatch from cocoons; and that ants can also form ant-shaped pupa :::shudder::: Adding to our schema helps us as readers because it will help us understand the text we read. Three cheers for schema!

We also spend some time sorting pasta!  We have been talking about properties of matter and last week we explored veggies and came up with words like heavy, light, bumpy, squishy, soft, smooth, red, green, etc.  This week we spent some time sorting pasta and then graphing our favorites.  Apparently there are a lot of us that really like 'twisty' pasta!

Have a wonderful, wonderful weekend!  Read, read, read!!!

Love, Mrs. Edson

Class promise, staircases, and more ...

This week we talked a lot about what it means to be a first grader in our room.  We are a family and we needed to have a discussion about how we will relate to each other within the confines of our group.  After our discussion, we made self-portraits and we signed our promise to each other.  Here is the finished product.  At the end we included a little inside-family joke.  Ask your child what it means! :o)

During math we used snap cubes to build staircases.  This is an activity where children build and order a set of cube towers from 1-12 and possibly higher.  They focus on counting and ordering quantities and linking them to written and spoken numbers.  It was a lot of fun!

Last but not least, I wanted to let you know about the Caldecott Kid reading promotion that FCE is starting.  Here is the link:  http://www.humbleisd.net/Page/30206.  I think this class would just soar with this type of challenge!  Have a great long weekend and don't forget to read!