Sharing With Next Years 1st Graders

I cannot believe that in just 2 more school days our school year wraps up. This school year has been a fantastic one. 

Just 11 months ago I decided to start a class blog not knowing how it would go this year. I wondered if I would be able to keep up with it, if the students would like it, if the parents would look at it and so much more. This blog has been a wonderful experience for all involved. I have had fun showing off my students and their creativity and hard work. The students have learned a lot and have enjoyed sharing it. I love when they say, "Take pictures so we can put this on the blog!" Parents have enjoyed seeing snapshots of what happens in our class each week and have enjoyed sharing it with family and friends near and far. I will definitely continue the blog next year with my next group of students. 

I asked the students to think about what they would like to share with next years group of 1st graders. They had some wonderful ideas, some of which they chose to share and others which were only shared verbally. They created the video below, which I will share with next years group of students. As a teacher of course I wish they would share things like, "math is fun!" "I love reading groups!" "You will learn a lot." Etc. 

However, this is their work and their video. These were the things they wanted to share about and will probably be loved and cherished by next years students more than what I could've said. Enjoy this precious video!

Insects!

This week we had the privilege of working together with all of our first grade friends! To meet our new CCSS writing and technology standards we had students create a video presentation about insects. This project has been one of my top favorite integrated projects we've done this year. This included science, reading, speaking, listening, writing, teamwork and technology all into one fun project! Students created a written plan, took photos, chose speakers and recorded this presentation. We used a free, easy to use app called 30 Hands.  We hope you enjoy our presentation titled, Things About Insects.

Elements Of Art

2 weeks ago I attended a tech conference in Portland. I told the students I would be learning new ways to use my iPad in the classroom. One app I learned about is called 30 Hands. It's a great, easy to use app that allows you to make video presentations with photos, drawings and your voice. I created a tutorial for how to use the 30 Hands app, with the 30 Hands app. Here is that tutorial:

It's a free app and you may want to download it for your child to use at home! 

They created a video presentation using 30 Hands to share about the first part of our unit on the Elements of Art. Here is their video: 

Didn't they do a wonderful job?!

Part 2 of our art unit coming next week!