This week we have had so much fun learning about St. Patrick’s Day! My students have LOVED all of our activities to fit in with our newest theme. As many of you know, I love to choose a theme that my students are interested in and incorporate a variety of hands-on activities to go with the theme. This not only helps engagement but also keeps things fresh and new.
In math this week we have really been working on our teen numbers. Using a play dough mat that included two ten frames, my students carefully filled in the correct number of squares to make their teen numbers. I made some lemon eucalyptus scented play dough that has been a huge hit with this group of kids. They think it smells so delicious!
For our guided math rotation we really focused on making ten towers and ones and understanding what makes a teen number.
One of the beauties of small guided math groups is that I can work with my students right where they are. This little girl was working on “how many more” spaces to fill in with her play dough. She would count the extra squares she needed to create her teen number. I used this to discuss the different ways that we can compose numbers.
Also in math this week we were working on addition problems. Since our letters for the week were w and y, we created a watermelon math craft. For this craft we cut paper plates in half and filled in them in with square pieces of red and green construction paper. Then, we rolled two dice and added up the numbers. My students added that many seeds (black beans) to their watermelons! They LOVED this!
After their craft had dried, I stapled them to black construction paper and added the number sentence they rolled!
The next day we worked on number recognition and extended the activity to coming up with different addition equations that could be used to make each number.
For our read alouds this week we read a non-fiction story about Saint Patrick and then created shamrocks for our windows.
We also read a fiction story about a leprechaun that my students ADORED. We created beautiful rainbows to go with this story.
Last we read Jamie O’Rourke and used potatoes to paint shamrocks.
To culminate the week of Saint Patrick’s Day fun, we tried a new rainbow science experiment! For this, all you need are bowls, water and 3-4 skittles for each kid! (So easy, right?!)
Add enough water into each bowl to cover the skittles. Drop them so that they are in the shape of a triangle or a square. Try to have your students place the skittles in the bowl so they are close to the edge of their bowl. Finally DO NOT MOVE THE BOWL!!! What happens next is awesome! We did the experiment whole group so that my students would know what to do and then I let them try it on their own.
They carefully added their skittles and then watched in anticipation!
After their water changed colors, they drew what happened!
It was such a fabulous week!
Skittles Experiment2015-03-13 10:52:35A quick and easy science experiment that kids LOVE!Write a reviewSave RecipePrintPrep Time2 minTotal Time15 minPrep Time2 minTotal Time15 minIngredients
- bowls, skittles, water
Instructions
- In your bowl, pour enough water to cover skittles. Have you students place 3-4 skittles in the bowl close to the edge. Have them observe what happens!
Notes
- Make sure that your students do not move the bowls once they drop in the skittles! I have found that it is best to do this on the floor to eliminate the worry of someone shaking the table!
By unknownAdapted from Kristen Smith, A Day In First GradeAdapted from Kristen Smith, A Day In First GradeA Day in First Grade http://www.adayinfirstgrade.com/
