Angry Verbs

We are going to play a game called, Simon Says. Has anyone ever played a game of Simon Says before? Here are the rules:

1.     When Simon Says to do an action you do it but if Simon does not say to do an action do not do it.

2.     If you do something when Simon did not say to do it then you must sit back down in your chair. Are you ready?

Okay, Simon says rub your belly. Simon says raise your hand. Jump up and down. Oh, Simon did not say to jump up and down. If you did it then you need to sit down in your chair. For those of you who are still standing up let’s try that again. Simon says nod your head up and down. Simon says to yawn. Clap your hands. Oh, Simon did not say to clap your hands. If you did then you need to sit down in your chair. Okay, one more time. Simon says shake your hair back and forth. Run in place. Oh no, Simon did not say to run in place. If you did then you need to sit down in your chair. 1^st graders, you did a great job! Give a classmate a high five on your way down to the floor.  

Did you know you just acted out a bunch of verbs? Jumping, rubbing, raising, nodding, yawning, shaking, and running are all verbs. A verb is an action word. Repeat after me, a verb is an action word. A verb is anything you do such as kicking, jumping, and walking. Raise your hand if you can think of another example of verbs?

We are going to read a book about verbs. It is a silly book and it is okay to giggle but you must be able to control your body. If you get too silly or cannot stop giggling, I am going to ask you to take a break. We are going to read, “To Root, to Toot, to Parachute- What is a Verb?” As I am reading pay special attention to the words in color because those are verbs. 

So, what is a verb? Yes, verbs are action words. I would like us to create a list of verbs. A verb is anything you do such as kick, jump and walk. Raise your hand if you can think of another example of verbs? This is a great list! I have something else I want us to do, but first, I need everyone to slide over to the smart board.

I want to see if we can find the verb within a sentence. A verb is what again? On the board you see ten sentences. I want you to take turns coming up and circling the verb or action word in each sentence below. We found all ten verbs! Give yourselves a pat on the back. 

We are going to do a super fun activity. Instead of making Angry Birds, we are going to make Angry Verbs. (Thank you Step Into Second Grade for the great idea!) Each of you is going to get a piece of paper that reads, “My angry bird _______.” There are five prompts like this on your piece of paper are you are going to fill in the blanks with a verb. Brady, give me a verb. So my sentence would read, “My angry bird run.” The sentence does not make sense unless so I need to add an –s to it. Now the sentence reads, “My angry bird runs.” You will need to add an –s to the end of the verb you write. Let’s try another one. P, “My angry bird ___. Can you give me a verb that will complete my sentence?” Good! Does anyone have any questions about the writing part?

Once you are done completing all five sentence prompts I want you to raise your hand. Mrs. R or myself will come and double check. Once one of us has looked at your paper you can come up to the front and get what you need to create your angry bird.

I have red, blue, and yellow birds. Each bird has feathers or hair, eyes, and a beak. I will have a spot for the blue bird and his facial parts, a spot for the yellow bird and his facial parts and another spot for the red bird and his facial parts. I will also have completed examples on the floor too so you can see what your bird might look like when it is done. Does anyone have questions about our angry birds? Okay, so- five sentences, check with a teacher, create your bird. E, what are the three steps? Good. 

This right here is why I get 3 hours of sleep a night. I know, I need to let go of my control issues. :-)

We hung our Angry Verbs in the hallway and received numerous compliments from students, teachers, and parents.

First one, "My angry bird surfs!" Love it!!

Not all verbs but we'll work on it!

 

This has been my favorite lesson so far and I cannot wait to teach it again in the next year or two.

Teacher Appreciation Week

Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week. Growing up I always respected my teachers and was thankful for all that they did but ever since I entered the education program I have a new respect for teachers. I have never worked so hard at something in my life. I want to make a difference. I want to inspire students. I want to help students find a love of learning for a subject they never thought they would like. I want to show students love and model respect. I strive to do my best and I always feel like there is more to do or things I could have done better. I am never caught up and always have a long to do list but yet the day goes on. I am stressed, tired, and completely overwhelmed but then the bell rings and I see hundreds of smiling faces which makes me smile. I am so lucky to a teacher and although I miss getting more than 3 hours of sleep a night I would not trade any of it for the world. 

Last week was an incredibly interesting week. Below I'll share a few highlights:
- At morning meeting, it was J’s turn to share with the class his favorite part of the school day. He said his favorite part of the school day is Daily 5/ Writer’s Workshop. When another student asked why, he said, “Because the teacher’s are proud of me.” Both Mrs. R and myself spoke up and shared about his improvements and how proud of him we are. He was beaming. 
- Saw a mouse in the hallway. About 30 minutes later, Mrs. R goes to look for the mouse and all of the sudden I hear 30+ kids screaming and running down the hallway. I mumbled to myself, “Looks like they found the mouse!” Some of my kids ran into the hallway but I lured them back in, closed the door, quieted everyone down and started reading from our book, “Wayside School.” As Mrs. R, two other teachers, and the principal tried shooing the mouse outside our classroom was quiet. Mrs. R came back and commended me for how I handled the situation. 
- Teacher Appreciation Week comes with perks. There are not many perks to the job ie. money, but I thoroughly enjoyed the Parent Association's efforts to make us feel special. There was breakfast (I ate Yogurt for the first time), Biaggi's was catered for lunch, and there was Dessert Thursday. It also put a smile on my face to see all the chalk drawings in front of the school. 
- And last but not least, on Thursday, my mentor teacher was out which gave our class the opportunity to do something special for Mrs. R and I think it turned out great!

Sound of the Week! (ai/ay)

**I did not follow my script exactly- never do but, you get the idea!

Ai in the middle

Ay at the end

Both make the sound of long a, our friend.

Ai in the middle

Ay at the end

A a a

Today, we are learning about long a. Long says a. Everyone say a. Ai is in the middle like in the word, snail. Ay is at the end like in the word hay. Both make the sound of long of long a, our friend.

We are going to look at two poems today. The first poem is, Daisy the Snail. Daisy and Snail are two words with ai in the middle. (Read the poem) I need a couple of volunteers to come to the board and circle a word with ai in the middle. Great!

Let’s take a look at another poem. This poem is called, “The Birthday Day.” Birthday and day are two words that end in ay. (Read the poem) Raise your hand if you would like to but haven’t had a chance come to the board and circle a word with ay in the middle. Nice job!

We have one last thing to do. (Turn on PP) We need to complete six sentences. Some of these sentences are missing words that end in ay and others are missing words that have ai in the middle. It is up to us to find the missing word.

First one, The opposite of night is ___.  Good! Let’s try another. If she talks, she has something to ___. Right on! When the wind fills the ____, the boat moves. You are correct! How about this one?  She put sand in her ____. Terrific! One more… He will ___ with a one dollar bill. Good! He likes to ____ cards with his friend. Yes! First graders, you did a great job, give yourself a pat on the back.

Cause and Effect with Frog and Toad

On Monday, Mrs. R read a story from Frog and Toad All Year Round. Today, we are going to read from Days With Frog and Toad and we will practice cause and effect. The story we are going to read is called, The Kite. Before we read the story though I want to look our chart. 

Good readers identify cause and effect.

Cause is often signaled by the word so. For example, “It was raining SO I used an umbrella.”

Effect is often signaled by the word because. I used my umbrella (C) BECAUSE it was raining (E).”

As I am reading I want you to think about what is happening and why it is happening. When you see a part of the sentence up here I want you to put your hand out like a stop sign and we will complete the sentence by adding the missing cause or effect.

The Robins told Toad to give up SO Toad gave up.

The robins said the kite was junk BECAUSE the kite crashed in the grass.

Frog told Toad to try flying his kite one more time SO he jumped up and down and shouted, “UP KITE UP!”

The kite climbed higher and higher BECAUSE Toad did not give up.

Toad and Frog are happy BECAUSE they finally got the kite to fly.

Great job first graders! I have a cause and effect worksheet I would like us to complete. Each of you is going to get two pieces of paper. You are going to cut out all five sentences on this piece of paper. You are going to glue the missing cause or effect on this worksheet. On the bottom, you’ll see both boxes are empty. You need to decide which sentences go there and which one is the cause and which on is the effect. Let’s do the first one together. The effect is, “The Popsicle melted.” Why did the Popsicle melt? Because (read sentences)