Winter Activities for First Grade!

BRRRRR... it's cold in here...

(there must be some Torros in the atmosphere - tell me I'm not the only one that thought of that right away!)

We are back at it in room 102. It sure is cold out and we are just having fun, working away! It was hard to go back, don't get me wrong, but I just love seeing their little, smiling faces after such a long break.

In math, we have been learning all about fact families. We used these two excellent freebies from two of my blogging friends:

Ummm.... yeah that is Frankenstein... and I know it's January, but Katie King's freebie is too dang good not to use. So, we called it "monster math" and went about our day!

Grab it HERE!

Then, sticking with the season, we used this cute freebie from Michelle Oakes! My students loved the little penguins.

Grab it HERE!

In writing, we went right back into writing how-to stories. I picked up these two books over break and I was so excited to put them to good use:

How to Babysit a Grandpa by Jean Reagan

How To by Julie Morstad

After we read both books, I had my students practice their how-to writing using the prompt, "This is how I stay warm in the cold!" We have plenty of winter prompts that we are using from my Writing through the Seasons {Winter} unit.

First, get a blanket and snuggle in it. Next, stand next to the heater. Watch out! Not that close. Last, put on mittens, a coat, and a scarf. I feel warm.

First, you make a fire out of sticks. Next, get some winter clothes like a hat and coat and mittens. Last, you drink hot cocoa and you get a blanket.

In reading, we have been practicing close reading in small groups - is your district all about it too?! Thankfully, I had some training on close reading in Vegas before I left so I was pretty familiar with the process before I moved back to MA. We are using both fiction and non-fiction passages from my Close Reading Winter pack - which will be done SOON!

Here is a sneak peek:

Hope everyone is back in the swing of things!