Dear PTO... Thank You!!!

Dear McDole PTO,

This amazing year is coming to a close and Room 222 wanted to make sure we thanked you for all you did for us this year. Thank you for the fun lunches, dances, flings, special teacher lunches and support. 

We also want to say a huge, "THANK YOU" for your generosity towards our classroom. With your donation towards books, Room 222 was able to have a 2013-2014 First Reads Club.  

A First Reads Club is an exclusive club in which the members get to be the first kids to read a new book. The new books are all lined up for all to see and I do a quick book talk about each book. Then each student gets come up one at a time to pick their first read. Once they have read their book, they get to place a permanent label in the book so that all future Room 222 kiddos will know which former students previewed that book for them. We have many books in our current classroom library that were first reads for siblings of several of our current students. 

Here is a glimpse at our 2013-2014 First Reads Club sponsored by the McDole PTO:

Again, thank you for all you do for McDole. 

My Movie from LBright on Vimeo.

Guess our Insect Jobs!!!

Welcome to our new game called...

Here is how it goes...

1. Watch the video

2. Decide which group matches each job

*Population Control

*Decomposers

*Soil Tillers

*Pollinators

*Producers

3. Leave us a comment or tweet us (@mrsbrightmcdole) with your answers. 

4. We will get back to you to let you know how you did. 

Insect Jobs from LBright on Vimeo.

Can't wait to hear from you!

An Exciting, Nature-Filled Day!

Each day in Room 222 is an adventure!

Check out what was crawling around McDole's playground today!

So, what is a 1st grade teacher to do when something this cool in in our school?????

Wonder about it, of course!

We took a museum walk through the office to meet our visitor then immediately returned to the room to begin gathering our thoughts. 

We compared it to other turtles we know. 

We studied it's picture. 

We jotted our thoughts.

Here is a Padlet wall that shares all of our learning: 
http://padlet.com/10068/mcdoleturtle


We also said "Farewell" to our Room 222 butterflies today. GF raised them well and now they are ready for the world. 

GF felt them flutter on her finger...

She found safe places for all of them to live...

She also took charge during our "butterfly emergency"!

Great job GF! Thank you for sharing your Genius Hour project with all of us!

Lastly,

Here is a little project that we have been working on. We reviewed a new product this week (our intro to opinion writing). Check out our thoughts on the Gripcase:

Gripcase from LBright on Vimeo.

A Glimpse at What's to Come

I can't believe we are in the last stretch of 1st Grade!

Are we slowing down?

Goodness no!

We are just getting started!

Here is a glimpse at what's to come...

Published Informational Books: (password in email)

The two gentlemen in this video are showcasing their research books that are a product of their inquiry group progress. These are works in progress but you can see excellence in the making from two of our most passionate writers. 

Published Books from LBright on Vimeo.

First Grade Fairy Tales Plays:

At the end of May, these amazing kiddos will get the opportunity to showcase their knowledge of retelling a story and true understanding of character, plot and main ideas, through the act of performance. 

Much more information will come home in just a few days. Until then, please enjoy the video that kicked it all off on Friday:

My Movie 2 from LBright on Vimeo.

Have a Great Week!