We read an assortment of fictional books about Halloween as well as some non-fictional information about pumpkins. Did you know the longer a pumpkin grows, the darker orange color it will become? Or, for every line on the outside of a pumpkin there is a row of seeds on the inside?
The students also spent some time enhancing their printing skills by writing and illustrating two Halloween jokes in their Creative Journals. Attention to the formation and use of uppercase versus lowercase letters was emphasized. An introduction to the use of a question mark when writing was also something new for many of the Grade 1 students.
We listened to the story entitled, "Creepy Carrots." Then we practiced our listening skills as we proceeded to fold a piece of 8 1/2" x 14" orange paper into sixteenths (a mini fraction lesson). After doing that, the students had to print one uppercase letter in each square to spell out CREEPY CARROTS. The letters were then cut out, sorted into piles and used to create repeating patterns. Students worked with a partner and were quick to observe there were more Rs and Es in their piles. I personally feel this encouraged them to create complex patterns. They worked together to practice extending the pattern and identifying the core of their partner's pattern. It was a successful learning task as they remained focused on it for a good hour and observed how many patterns you can create by mixing/matching just a few elements.
Numeracy/Art
The students enjoyed drawing haunted houses where we added math based on the concept of What Makes 10? Each student chose a number and had to generate basic addition and/or subtraction questions which were equal to that number. The photo below shows Celia's (Gr. 1) drawing of, "The House of 14." The children have really enjoyed opening each other's windows and this was intentional on my behalf. My goal was that this tactile interaction will help promote further mental recall of the basic facts.
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