Bugs

Happy Monday!  This week we are getting "buggy" in my first grade classroom....

And... I'm tired.  Mondays are hard.  I feel like I don't stop talking all day.  I feel like that EVERY Monday.  I look forward to the rest of the week when my students are involved in more independent practice and group work. 

I was really excited on Friday to find these plans when I downloaded my insect unit from TpT.  I know that I will make adjustments to the plans each year to fit the needs of my students, but it was SO helpful to see my past plans and book suggestions.  I will definitely be including lesson plans in all of my new TpT thematic units!

We glanced through a lot of bug books today as I introduced insects.  We learned about ants at the beginning of the year... so this was a bit of a review!

Since we are all about BUGS.  My students completed this ladybug math sheet.  I love math problems that require my students to THINK and then explain their thinking.  My kiddos had a little trouble at first because the word "pair" threw them off....

This week in reading we are focusing on informational text features.  I am also reinforcing the fact that we must change our reading strategies when reading nonfiction. So.... We applied the SQ3R {survey, question, read, retell, review) reading strategy when reading an informational story about bees.  This strategy could be use with any nonfiction book... It went perfect with our Harcourt Trophies reading story of the week... Busy Buzzy Bee.

First, we surveyed the book.  We looked at the cover, the pictures, words in bold, diagrams, etc.

Then, my students formed some questions to guide their reading.

After reading the story, my students determined the main idea and listed three details to support the main idea. They then paired up with a partner to retell the story. Last, they went back to the story to review and determine if they left out anything important in their retelling.  

Today in science we learned all about a bug's eye view!! We had fun experimenting and comparing our eyes to insects eyes. I had my students look their partners eyes.  I then turned the lights off for a minute and then back on again.  My students were amazed at what they saw!!!

I have many more "buggy" activities that we will be completing throughout the week!  Tomorrow we are going to learn more about bees, write an informational paragraph, and complete a cute bee craft!

If you are interested in any of these activities you can find them HERE!