When I grow up...

Having a "WHALEY" good time!

We learned on Wednesday that there are two types of whales; toothed whales and baleen whales.  We understand what it is like to have teeth, but what would it be like to have baleen?  How would we eat our food? Today, we learned just that!

When a Baleen Whale eats, it will open it's mouth, swims forward, and scoops up water and krill.  Then, it will use it's tongue to push out the water.  The water will slip through the baleen, but the krill will not slip through.  Baleen is like hair, but much thicker like our finger nails.

To start off our experiment, we filled a small container with water.  Then, we sprinkled in dried Basil flakes.  We each took a turn moving a comb forward through the water.  The water passed through the comb, but the basil was caught. This is just like what happens to the krill when a baleen whale eats. 

Some Baleen Whales are:

Blue Whale

Gray Whale

Humpback Whale 

We are BUGGING out in 1st grade!

Yesterday we said goodbye to our Katydid friend.

We spent a few days with this cool insect in our room.  We learned that Katydid's prefer to walk and not fly.  We also learned that they eat flowers, stems, leaves, and sometimes other insects. 

We had to say goodbye so we could welcome this cool guy!

We will report back soon what type of moth he is and what we learn about him!  Stay tuned!

After lots of hard work in class, we decided to spend some much needed time outside in the fresh air!

Life is good in first grade!

Reader's Toolbox

Today Mrs. Wanke put on her reading detective hat!  She told us readers are like detectives...they are always looking for clues to help them be better readers.

Reading detectives us strategies to help them read.  They have strategies to help them Comprehend, to read Accurately and Fluently, and to Expand their vocabulary.  In our room we have the C.A.F.E board to help organize all our strategies or tools!

We added our very first accuracy strategy....Get your lips ready.  We have a little friend to remind us to get our lips ready.  Her name is Lips the Fish.

Lips the Fish reminds us to get our mouth ready to say the first sound(s) of the word.   We practiced this strategy reading the story Shark in the Park.

We did a great job getting our mouth read for each word. We LOVED yelling, "THERE'S A SHARK IN THE PARK!"

We are Wonderful Whales!!!

The first day was so exciting...we became WONDERFUL WHALES!  We are so excited to see what first grade has in store for us. Check back often to see what we are doing!