Thanksgiving Preview

Next week my Brentwood School first graders will study a bit of American history...the journey of The Pilgrims to America. We will spend the week learning about the Pilgrims' experiences, their ship~ The Mayflower, and the first Thanksgiving feast.


To prepare my lessons about the first Thanksgiving I looked up some interesting information about the Pilgrims' brave adventure which began in 1620 when The Mayflower left Plymouth, England with 102 passengers and about 30 crew members on board. During the 66-day voyage, the Pilgrims faced many storms, two deaths and one birth of a baby boy appropriately named 'Oceanus'.


The captain probably had his quarters, or living space, at the back of the ship, called the stern. This was the driest and most comfortable area on the ship.The common sailors, or regular workers, had their quarters at the front of the ship, or bow.


Most ships at that time were merchant ships. This means that they were made for carrying cargo, like barrels of food or clothing. The cargo was probably stored in the lower decks of the ship, in one big open storage area. There were no windows on the lower deck because windows might let in seawater, and then all the cargo would get wet.


So, where did the Pilgrims stay on The Mayflower? That's right, they all had to live in the dark, damp, cold cargo decks down below the crew's quarters. The passengers were 'the cargo'!


I hope my first graders enjoy our study of the first Thanksgiving and the voyage of The Mayflower! For detailed information in a kid-friendly format, check out this excellent website on the subject:
http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/voyage/

~Welcome to Brentwood School~

Brentwood Grammar School was established in 1879 and was located across the street from the Methodist Church on Second Street in historic downtown Brentwood. A photo of the original school can be viewed on the city's website @

http://www.ci.brentwood.ca.us/service/history/history2.cfm

The school moved down the street from it's original location to 929 Second Street in 1939. Many former students have vivid memories of that charming building with it's indoor corridors and old radiators that clanked down the halls each morning. The comforting warmth in those hallways reflected the calming tone heard in each classroom.

When I first started teaching at Brentwood School, in 1987, the community was still small with just over 5,000 residents. There were four public schools in town: Brentwood School housed the primary grades from kindergarten to third, Garin School had the fourth through sixth graders, Edna Hill was the only 'junior high', and Liberty was the only high school at the time.

In 1997 population growth demanded relocation once again. The school moved to a brand new building about a mile away at 200 Griffith Lane. To this day, many fine Brentwood School traditions continue such as a stellar Parents' Club and caring teachers who foster a love for high-interest instruction accompanied by solid academic standards. What a privilege to teach at this community gem called 'Brentwood School'.

Cooperative Story Sequels

Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad stories offer a prime opportunity for a first grade writing and art lesson. The following brilliant idea comes from fellow first grade teacher, Carmen Wood. The steps took about 4 to 5 days to complete.

STORYTIME
To start, I read the Frog and Toad stories all week during storytime. Although we've read and studied these stories throughout the year, my first graders never tire of these delightful tales. We noticed that the main characters of each story were always Frog and Toad. Any additional characters were animals i.e. 'Bird', 'Mouse', 'Snake'. Toad was usually the one with the problem and Frog always seemed to have a solution to resolve the problem.

BRAINSTORM

Next, the kids and I brainstormed other interesting plots for Frog and Toad stories. I wrote their ideas on the board and then I gave them time to talk about their favorite ideas with a partner.

STORY PLANNERS
After a generous time of sharing our ideas, I handed out a story planner.The children began filling out the individual sections which included~Characters, Setting, Problem, Solution, Beginning, Middle, and End.

QUOTATION MARKS LESSON
The next day I read another Arnold Lobel Frog and Toad story to the class and pointed out the use of quotation marks. Then I shuffled through their story planners and chose one to use as a model for a 'quotation marks lesson'. My class worked together to come up with fun dialogue that would fit in the story as I wrote their ideas on the board. I passed out their story planners and asked them to try using quotation marks in their story. (They came up with the beginnings of some amazing dialogue!)

QWT
Each child was given blank writing paper and a 2x2 stick-note next to their story planners. Then I set the timer for 5 minutes and gave the students "Quiet Writing Time". I wrote words and phrases on the stick notes if spelling help was needed or a little help to jumpstart an idea. When the 5 minute timer rang, all of the kids begged for more time to write! So I set it again for 5 more minutes. This happened 4 times!

TEACHER EDIT
That night I went home and read over their story planners and their quick-writes and began typing out their ideas. I took the liberty to insert correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, and descriptive vocabulary to enhance their original story ideas before printing them in 24 font landscape mode. The next day I made 2 copies of each story~ one to read aloud to the class and one placed in front of each student author. Their reactions were priceless!

WATERCOLOR ILLUSTRATION
I passed out copies of the original Frog and Toad paperback books for drawing ideas and placed a trimmed 8 1/2 x 11 white construction paper in front of each child. Then they began drawing pencil pictures to illustrate their stories. When finished, the kids used a fine tip black marker to trace over their illustrations. Finally, the children carefully painted their detailed pen and ink drawings with watercolors. By the end of the week I had framed all of the stories and matching illustrations on 11 x 18 black construction paper and hung them up for all to read and admire!

Presenting the 2011, Room 24 Frog and Toad COOPERATIVE STORY SEQUELS :

One day Frog and Toad found Jaguar crying by a stream in the jungle.
“Why are you so sad Jaguar?”, said Frog.
“I’m lost and I don’t know my way home!” whispered Jaguar.
Frog got out his map and Toad held his hand and led him down the jungle path.
Then Frog said,“We will help you. Don’t worry.”

By Dillon


One day Frog and Toad decided to visit Lego-land with their friends Dog, Cheetah, Lion, Bear and Snake.They ran and played tag through winding pathways of tall Lego towers. It was fun! Then Toad decided to sit down and rest.
“Toad, Toad! Where are you?” cried Frog. Toad did not answer. “Are you OK?” said Frog. Toad did not answer.
“Hey Dog, Cheetah, Lion, Bear, and Snake please help me find Toad! yelled Frog. Then the friends searched for Toad. They found him resting.
“Come on Toad! Come play with us!”
“Oh..OK”, said Toad. And he did.

By Nick



Frog and Toad went to Las Vegas to visit Bear.
“Bear, I think you bite way too much”, said Toad.
Bear started to cry.
“Bear, I will train you not to bite”, said Frog.
“I would like that!” said Bear.
“I would like that too!” said Toad.

By Derek



One day the four friends: Frog, Toad, Hamster, and Guinea Pig went to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Here they saw a lake. But Hamster had a problem. He thought the water in the lake was hot lava.
“Oh no! What am I to do? I can’t get cross!” he said.
“Don’t worry, Frog and Toad and I will save you” said Guinea Pig. “Just put on this magic blindfold, and step into our magic boat. We will take you to the other side.” Hamster did what Guinea Pig said and he safely went to the other side.

By Julia

Frog and Toad went to Hollywood to visit Cheetah.
“Want to go to Lego-land?” said Cheetah. They ran very fast around Lego-land. Toad felt bad because he couldn’t run fast.
“Help me. I’m feeling sick”, said Toad.
“We will go back to your house Toad”, said Cheetah.
“We’re your friends and we want you to feel better”,said Frog.
“Thank you!” said Toad.
When they were going back to Toad’s house, Frog tripped.
“Let me help you Frog. I want you to feel better”, said Cheetah.
“Thank you!” said Frog.

By Ben



One day Frog, Toad, and Dolphin went to a forest. After they got there, Wolf snuck up on them.
“I will breathe fire on you!” said Wolf.
Just in time, Dolphin jumped in the water.
“I will rescue you guys!” said Dolphin. He started shooting water at the fire-breathing wolf. Afterwards Dolphin,Frog,and Toad had a picnic. They had P,B, and J with a pitcher full of lemonade. Frog, Toad and Dolphin lived happily ever after. The next day they promised to never, ever go to the forest again.

By Jessica


This is the story of Frog, Toad, and Pony. Where it took place was at Disneyland.
“Where’s Toad?” said Pony.
“He must be in Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. He sleeps way too much!” said Frog.
Frog thought and thought and then he came up with a plan.
“I will give Toad an alarm clock to help him wake up early. And I will sing him a lullaby to help him go to bed on time.”
So every night at 8:00 p.m. Frog sang Toad a lullaby and read him a story so he wouldn’t be grumpy in the morning. Every night Frog set Toad’s alarm for 6:00 a.m. the next day. It worked! Toad was never, ever, ever tired in the morning ever, ever, ever so tired again.

By Devyn


One day Frog,Toad and Duck were out riding in a boat on the river. Duck was the captain of the boat.
“This is so much fun Captain Duck!” said Toad. “Oops!” Toad said, as he fell right into the water.
“No problem.I will help you Toad!” said Frog. Captain Duck steered the boat close to Toad and they both pulled him out of the water.
“That was a close call.” said Toad. “Thank you!”

By Abby





One day three friends, Toad, Frog, and Guinea Pig went to Jed’s house to play.
Toad said, “I bet I can go faster than you!”
So they started running as fast as they could. But Toad started to complain, “You are running too fast! I’m jealous!” Frog and Guinea Pig kept running until they reached Jed’s house.
“Even though you aren’t first, you still did well. Keep practicing and you will get better”,said Frog.
“Good idea!” said Toad.

By Jed




Once upon a time Frog and Toad flew in a jet to Africa. Their friend Fox came too.
“Let’s go see if Leopard and Dog are home”,said Frog.
“But what if they aren’t home?” said Toad.
“If they aren’t home, then we won’t see them”, said Frog.
“You are right!”, said Toad.

By Melanie


Frog and Toad went to visit Lion in the far away jungle. It was scary walking on the jungle path.
“Hey, I think we are lost! Help!!”,said Toad.
Frog said, “OK, I will help you by giving you this map Toad.”
Frog and Toad figured out the map together and they found their way to Lion’s hut in the village.

By Blake



One day two friends named Frog and Toad went to Lego-land. They had fun climbing all over the legos.
He heard, “Help! Help!” Toad was screaming because he was sinking in the Legos.
“I will rescue you Toad”,said Frog. He searched for the arm of his jacket and pulled and pulled.
“I’m rescued!’,said Toad happily.

By Griffin



Once upon a time there were two friends named Frog and Toad. They were very good friends.
They like to swim together. When Mother’s Day came Toad forgot where his mother lived in Hollywood.
“Frog, I don’t know where my mother lives.”
“Do you need help? I will help you”,said Frog.
“Yes, thank you!”, said Toad.
So Frog helped him wake up early and they found her house together. That’s how Toad got to his Mother’s house.

By Aariah




Once upon a time Toad decided to move to Six Flags. His friends Frog,Rat, Dog, and Fox decided to visit him.
“How do you like it here Toad?”, said Frog.
“It’s too noisy living at Six Flags!”,said Toad.
Frog, Rat, Dog, and Fox had a solution.
“Here are some earplugs to help you Toad” they said.
“Thank you!”,said Toad.


By Michael





This is about Frog and Toad. One day Frog was sleeping and Toad went to the house of Frog. Toad shouted, “Wake up!”
Frog didn’t wake up.
“Toad, looked at the calendar of Frog and ripped off lots of pages until it said December.
“It’s December Frog! Time to wake up and open your presents”,said Toad.
“I will do it!”, said Frog.

By Yuliana





One day Wolf met Fox. “Fox, you would be a good snack, wouldn’t you...Yes, YOU would be a good snack!”, he shouted.
“No no!”,said Fox. “Help!”
Frog and Toad heard Fox crying for help and they ran as fast as they could run. As soon as they got there they saw that the wolf was trying to eat Fox.
They shouted the rule,“Treat others the way you want to be treated.” The Wolf said, “OK.”

By Tucker




Frog and Toad visited Six Flags one day. They had so much fun! The problem was Toad.
“I think I’m lost!”, said Toad.
“No, you aren’t lost”,said Frog. I’m right here!”

By Viernes



One upon a time Frog went to meet his old pal Leopard. Toad and Cheetah came too but they were really getting on each other’s nerves.
“You are a Furry-head”,said Toad to Cheetah.
“Well, you are a Wet-head”, said Cheetah to Toad.
Frog said, “I will teach you the ‘I message’ so you will learn to forgive each other.”
Then they became friends and lived happily ever after.”
The end.

By Vince



One day Frog and Toad were looking for Toad’s jacket.
“I can never find my jacket!” said Toad. Frog looked up in a tree. He found Toad’s jacket!
He yelled, “Toad, I think I found your jacket!”
Toad came to Frog. He saw his jacket. He said, “Thank you Frog!” He was proud of Frog. He was so happy. They had a great time together. It was the best day ever for them.
“Today was the best day ever!” said Frog.
“It was the best day ever for me too I think”,said Toad.
(And this is a very good story ever.)

By Jill



One day Frog, Toad, and Hamster wanted to visit Bird. Bird lived far away in Disneyland. Hamster said, “I could never exactly remember what nest she lives in.” Then they called Bird to find out.
“Bird, what nest do you live in?” asked Toad.
“Wait there...I’ll be right down!” said Bird.”
After that they went on the California Screamin.
“That’s fun, isn’t it?!” said Bird.

By: Taya




Once upon a time Dog and Fox decided to meet Frog and Toad. So they bought two train tickets to Reno. Dog brought cotton candy and Fox brought prizes for their new friends.
“I hope Frog and Toad like the prizes I brought for them”,said Fox.
“Do you think they will like the cotton candy?” asked Dog.
“I sure hope so!” said Dog.
“Of course they will!” said Fox.
“You’re right, they will!” said Dog.

By Taylor

Plant Lessons

It's been a joy to watch your children as we revisit the study of plants once again this first grade year. I was amazed by the kids' excitement as we planted the lima beans and sunflower seeds last week. After we planted the seeds we watered them and placed them in the sunlight. Within just a day or two we watched them sprout!

Seeds have an outer layer called a seed coat, which provides protection and nourishment for the baby plant , or embryo, inside. Water loosens the coating and when a seed germinates, a small root begins to grow downward and a shoot grows upward. When the shoot breaks the surface, the plant is called a sprout. The sprout uses water and nutrients from the soil along with sunlight and air to grow and change into a seedling.

Each day this week we have observed the emerging plants up close and watched the transformation. Even though we had already studied this subject at the start of the school year, this botany lesson really came to life when we added a hands-on component! The next step will be an art lesson that shows what they are observing by making a quilt square that displays the four necessary elements of plant growth: water, sun, air and soil. How wonderful to find joy in the simple yet profound gifts of nature. May we always be amazed!

Ringing in the New Year~First Grade Style!

Children everywhere recently heard the important adults in their lives proclaim new year beginnings for 2011~The new year provides us with an opportunity to reflect upon what's really important to us. It's a time to fine-tune our relationships, including our interactions with the little ones we influence. As we all have experienced, we know that a positive self-concept develops from feeling capable. In fact, many psychologists say our behavior is a reflection of our self-concept. With that in mind, what can adults do to encourage the children in their lives to start this year off right?

As a teacher, my passion is to encourage, motivate, nurture and support the children in my sphere of influence as well as provide tools for their loved ones. One of my favorite resources is The Institute of Love and Logic, founded by Jim Fay and Foster W. Cline M.D. I re-read their books often and actually keep their material and website close at hand as a daily reference. My 'new year read' is 'The Pearls of Love and Logic for Parents and Teachers'. Every time I pick it up, I can't help but apply the techniques...it's SO practical!

Each mini-chapter explains a pearl, such as: 'Self-Concept', 'Schoolwork', 'Grades', 'Fighting and Bickering', 'Whining and Complaining', 'Sibling Rivalry', 'TV and Mush-Brain', 'Avoiding Control Battles'...all very practical and concise lessons for parents, teachers, and other adults who influence our children.

I've learned effective behavioral techniques such as stating negative assertion, using the broken record, giving viable choices, showing empathy instead of anger, as well as developing a grab bag of catch phrase power messages to use as needed...Sound interesting? Then I encourage you to check out their website at http://www.loveandlogic.com

I'm confident that you will want to apply what you learn as 2011 takes shape! Happy New Year!