Yee-haw!!

Saddle up partners!! 

This weeks reading stories were all about the west.

Unfortunately I missed out on a good deal of the fun in our room as I was transitioning into my new position but the fun still went on...

Our stories this week included an armadillo as a character in the story.

NEPA when have you ever really seen an armadillo?! 

My kiddos were ecstatic to be introduced and engaged in the exploring and learning of the armadillo.

We of course did a factual unit of the armadillo. 

I used pebblego to introduce the factual side of the armadillo. 

Their minds were seriously like a sponge. 

We traveled to the library and recorded all we could remember about the animal. 

Then each student wrote three facts they found most interesting about the animal.

I used this activity as a handwriting grade and was super impressed with how engaged they were in the final product. 

Later in the week we created this adorable armadillos to display with our writing. 

So proud of the information they gathered and shared with one another. 

Printable worksheet here

Have you ever read the story Armadilly Chili?! 

In addition to th factual stuff we read this story and OMG we fell in love! 

Super cute story about an armadillo who makes her very special chili and asks her friends to help her. Of course her friends can not help but try to come back to enjoy the chili once the work is complete. Sounds a lot like The Little Red Hen right!? This story however ends with the armadillo feeling like something is missing. All of his friends come back with a contribution to the meal and the friends enjoy the chili together. A good meal is always better with friends. 

Super cute and my kids just loved this story. To make it even better it was an AR book that they could then take a test on in th computer lab. SCORE!

Armadillo Rodeo was another classroom favorite!

We read the story and created this another chart discussing events in the story. We used firstgradeparade BME worksheet to write down our thoughts. I was super proud of their ability to consolidate the events of the story and create a concise written summary. So cute!

The story from the unit Slim Luke and the Mules was a great was to tie in our conversations of Author's Purpose. Such a silly story of these two brothers who ride their 5 mules into town. They count the mules half way through to make sure they didn't loose any, BUT they forget to count the mule they are sitting on. So naturally they think they have lost of mule and search through the desert to find him. Upon their return they discover the mule has made his way back to the group. My kids got a kick out of this story!!

This week we also touched a bit on synonyms. 

I used this anchor chart to explain and brainstorm synonyms with them. 

We then made cinnamon buns swirled with synonyms. A difficult exercise for some as I wanted them to come up with more than one word but they loved the activity and enjoyed sharing their findings with the class. 

What a whirl wind of a week!

Between my transitions, packing and embarking on my own little vaca out west, and celebrating these special days in class I was exhausted from the week. 

Well worth it ....