Jazzin' up January

Happy MLK Jr. Day!!!
I had the opportunity to go home this long weekend, which was so nice and relaxing! I love telling my family members all the funny stories and things my firsties do/say.. They get a kick out of it! I am now back at my apartment and wanted to share all the things we did last week!
First up is our place value project... I found this on pinterest and LOVED it! Next year, I want to use colorful paper... I picked a boring beige which was pretty blahhh but the kids loved this! My students are really picking up place value quickly so this served as a wonderful extension activity that had them apply the place value concept in another setting beyond workbook pages. The kids made the first letter of their name using base ten blocks. They then wrote how many tens and ones it took to build that letter.

We also started doing a readers theatre for fun Friday in reading. I found one that was a little on the simple side (Brown bear brown bear) so they could start to understand play formatting and work on following along with group members. We started by doing the play whole group... We then moved into groups of about 5-6 and were allowed 15 min of practice time. After that, the show was on! Students got to use my fake microphones and perform for their peers.... Such a fun way to build fluency! 


We also did some awesome MLK jr. Writing about our hopes and dreams for the future.. I love seeing how much more creative we are than at the start of the school year. 

Lastly, we tried an awesome vowel pair musical chairs game. I had an ea, ai, au, or ee flashcard on each seat. Students moved around tables until the music was stopped. They then had to read this word to a partner. No one got "out" but the fun was seeing what new word you landed on and we love any game where we can be up an moving in our classroom!!!

I'm off to finish up my day at a Zumba class! Trying to work towards a healthy and happy 2013!

Ps: found this photo at home this weekend.. I look just as strict as the teacher in the photo right?! ;)