Childhood Is A Journey, Not A Race
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Mr. O's First Grade Class
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child's drawing of Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight"
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These machines were made with Duplo blocks by Lego®. When we build with Duplo we learn about gears, pulleys, belts and interactive systems. This is one way in which the first grade integrates our science work into our classroom activities. With the financial help of our school PTO, Mr. O has purchased additional Duplo blocks so that we can explore more relationships using different kinds of gears. The picture on the right shows how a worm gear can connect with a regular flat gear to make this machine raise and lower. |
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This is GeoSafari. It is an electronic game with many different question cards. GeoSafari is one of our choice time activities. |
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This vehicle was made with K'Nex. There are many different kinds of K'Nex pieces that fit together to make shapes and structures. You can learn a lot about spatial relationships with K'Nex. |
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From 50-75% of all words used in school books, library books, newspapers, and magazines are in the Dolch Basic Sight Vocabulary of 220 words. They are "service words" (pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and verbs) which cannot be learned through the use of pictures. Because they are used to hold thoughts together, these words must be recognized at a glance before a child can read with confidence.
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This is a picture of Mr. O's model train layout at his house. We get to visit the layout and run the trains. By pushing buttons we can operate the electromagnetic crane, the coal loader, the log loader, the barrel loader. We can make the trains smoke and go "choo-choo." We can even launch a rocket!
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Haunted houses are just one project that we make in our art classes. When you open the windows of the houses you will see spooky creatures. |
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POETRY
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by Langston Hughes
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Some of the poems that the children learn in first grade include "little tree" and "hist whist" by e.e. cummings, various poems by Langston Hughes, "Fog" by Carl Sandburg, "The Sandman" by Paul Laurence Dunbar, "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost, "Good Hotdogs" by Sandra Cisneros, and The Hunkering by Donald Hall"Elegy On The Death Of A Mad Dog" by Oliver Goldsmith.
We've even written a poem of our own
based on the Antonio Carlos Jobim poem "Agua de Marco" following a
nature walk. Click
Here.
A Tree Hugger: Internatiionally acclaimed
Brazilian Bossa Nova musician and writer Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim pictured
here hugging a tree.
Every fall we take a short trip on an Amtrak train between Wallingford and New Haven. The children learn more about safety and experience the joys of riding on a train.Click here for more photos.
JOKES
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Q: What do you say when you meet a two headed monster? A: Hello, Hello.
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Q: When is a baseball player like a thief? |
| Q: What did the elephant do when he hurt his toe? A: He called a toe truck. |
Q: Why does a cow wear a bell? |
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This says "CRAIG" in Chinese.
Kid's Action Rainforest Page
Teaching
Tolerance
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