Monday, January 20, 2014

Writing...The Power of Persuasion

In writers workshop, first graders have been learning about the power of letter-writing. We have talked about the different kinds of letters and why we write them. We have read lots of stories about how characters have used letters to communicate with others and even to change their worlds! Then we started to look at our surroundings and see how we could make small but meaningful improvements in our surroundings. Students identified and chose problems to address, from seeing wasted paper water cups at the water cooler to not flushing toilets in our bathrooms. In groups we have brainstormed solutions and have now begun drafting letters to our fellow students in an effort to persuade them! Stay tuned for a look at these letters soon.

Collaborative Art with Buddies

Recently we got together with our 4th Grade Buddies to do some creating. We took turns dividing up space on small pieces of paper, using different kinds of lines and shapes. Then pairs chose a color and filled in the spaces they had created with different shades of that color. Next time we will all work together to put the pieces into one big piece of art. Isn't collaboration fun?!

Living Things Posters

First graders worked in groups to gather research about a chosen animal found in Oman. See what they learned about their animals...from classification to habitat, diet and more!

Thursday, January 9, 2014

December Pics

At last, here are some pictures from before the holidays. Here you will see students looking fabulous and performing in their holiday concert.You will also see the fun we had at our grade one holiday party...thank you, volunteer moms!!! you will also see some of the math we worked on (it looks like art...it's that, too!) before the holiday. Students created and identified many types of shapes and lines and practiced using their math vocabulary by describing location with position words. We collaboratively created a gorgeous, Kandinsky-inspired mural with our shapes. 

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Aedan's post on Tuesday, January 7, 2014

My story is about getting a haitcut.


Shruti's post on Wednesday, January 8, 2014

At my Divali story,I used my detail. I even used feelings. I hope you enjoy it!


Amin's post on Wednesday, 8 January 2014

This is Amin's story about seeing and hearing things in the dark!


Finn's post on Wednesday, 8 January 2014

This is Finn's story about being scared and wondering what was in the dark!


Tommy's post on Tuesday, January 7, 2014

This is the time I got scared of a snake.


Termeh's post on Wednesday, 8 January 2014

I worked really hard on details and adding words.


Maryam's post on Wednesday, January 8, 2014

This is Maryam's story about a time she was scared while mom and dad were out!


Ruqaya's post on Tuesday, January 7, 2014

This is my story . I worked really hard. I added details. This is when I went to happy land.


Kloden's post on Wednesday, January 8, 2014

This is mi story about a rany day.


Kaylin's post on Wednesday, 8 January 2014

This is my story about the time I went to Rayan's house and there was a big storm.


Rayyan's post on Tuesday, January 7, 2014

This is a story about a storm.


Pappin's post on Wednesday, 8 January 2014

This is the time that I went to my friends house.


Jannah's post on Wednesday, 8 January 2014

This is the store about the time I went to the beach.


Maria's post on Tuesday, January 7, 2014

My story is about the time I was scared of a noise.


Mark's post on Wednesday, January 8, 2014

This is my story it's about when I got scared of a dog in a cave.


Deren's post on Wednesday, 8 January 2014

When i got my new toy.


Idriss's post on Wednesday, January 8, 2014

This is the story that I was scared.


Faris's post on Wednesday, January 8, 2014

This is the story that I play with a dog.


Eli's post on Tuesday, January 7, 2014

When I got my bird.


Digital Publishing Launch...please look for stories and then comment!


  • 1SM writers are very excited to share with you our first ever Digital Publishing Launch. Before the holiday students worked hard to publish their second personal narrative story of the school year. We learned all about techniques and tools that help us prepare our writing for readers…that’s you! By publishing our stories digitally, we hope to share our stories with friends and family members all over the world. 
  •  Would you please help be a part of this digital celebration by doing two things? First, please take some time to view and comment on your child’s story starting today, January 8th after 10:15am! Please feel free to comment on other children’s stories too. Second, please send our class blog address to friends and family members and encourage them to comment as well. If your child's story is not there when you first check, try again a little later. We will be reading your comments in class Thursday morning, so make sure to keep checking back and post a comment as soon as you can! 
  •  Students will be commenting on peer work on the blog as well. The students are excited to see the responses they will get to their hard work. We will practice commenting etiquette such as: Be positive, Be specific (rather than saying “Nice story” or “Good job”, please say “I notice…” or “I like how…” or “It was interesting when…”, Ask questions, Make connections, and Sign your name e.g. Samantha, Sofia’s mom. 
  •  We learned from many authors as we wrote these stories. Many students chose to publish a story about a feeling, like a time they were scared or happy. Some of the techniques we have worked on are using dialogue, sounds, adding details, showing feelings and using action words. Feel free to comment on these aspects of the stories or whatever stands out to you. Thanks for taking the time to celebrate your child’s writing in this way and being part of our first ever Digital Publishing launch.


Alejandro's post on Tuesday, January 7, 2014

This is Alejandro's story about the time his sister hid from him and scared him!