Five for Friday: Measurement & Spring

Today I am linking up with Doodle Bugs for a slightly belated Five For Friday post. What can I say? Yesterday was my first afternoon of a much needed Spring Break :)

Our math focus for the week was on measurement. We started the unit by asking "Who cares about measurement?" We made a list of every job we could think of where measurement was important. Talk about making real world connections- my first graders did great with this!

We then practiced measuring objects around the room, carefully checking for no gaps or overlaps. 

Finally we listened to How Big Is A Foot read aloud on YouTube. If you haven't read this book yet it is simply adorable. We discussed how the King's footprint was a different size than other people's and the importance of being clear in which unit of measurement we are using. I showed them an example of Shaq's 22.5 inch foot (YIKES!). My kiddos then traced their own feet to compare to Shaq and each other. They truly are loving this measurement unit!

 This was also the week before Easter so I tried to incorporate some fun Easter themed activities into our lessons. I set out my books for the week for Read to Self time, and used Easter eggs in many ways. One of the favorite math centers for the week was this one where students matched place value amounts. I also had 2 digit equations on a different colored set and answers for them to match them to. So simple! And of course we had to throw in some jellybean fun. We sorted, graphed, and ate. My fast finishers wrote quick opinion sentences on which flavor was their favorite and why.

Last month I saw First Grade Blue Skies' Leprechaun directed drawing and loved it! This week we decided to try a few more directed drawings. To go along with our opinion writing unit I had the class divide themselves into two teams: Team Bunny and Team Chick. Each team brainstormed reasons why their spring animal was the best. I then used the Bunny and Bird (modified to make it a chick) drawings to show each team how to illustrate their piece. They came out so cute!

 Ok. Time for an admission. I clearly have been living under a rock lately and had only heard of Instagram. I  was afraid to get bogged down with one more form of social media but decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. O M G. I love it!! I am having so much fun learning about other teachers and sharing photos/funny pictures. I would love to find new people to follow so don't be afraid to find me @ksclassroomkreations. It's also a great way to get a sneak peak into my day to day classroom adventures.

Lastly, I am so excited to be on Spring Break. After not feeling well for what seems like forever and hurting my hand...product creation has sadly taken a back seat. Well, I am back at it and excited to pump out some new products this week. I am just finishing up my next Highlight and Record pack for Blends and Digraphs. This has to be my favorite set yet- so many pages!

The pictures below are from my freebie. Check it out to see if Highlight & Record packs could work in your classroom.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great week!