Labeling and All About Me

Last week our theme was All About Me - which lent itself perfectly to our writing concept, labeling.

Students created q-tip skeletons and labeled four major bones using a white colored pencil. 

They also colored, cut out and glued 4 major organs onto a body and labeled the organs. The right side of the lung is not glued down, so you can lift up and reveal the heart! Each organ has a kid-friendly description of its function. 

In centers, students practiced labeling (and, of course, inventive spelling) independently with laminated illustrations and wet erase markers. This was the favorite center last week. The kids loved writing on the pages with the markers and loved using the spray bottle of water for cleaning them off even more! I also loved how they were so fearless in using inventive spelling in this setting compared to writing with pencil and paper at the tables. 

Meeting the TEKS:

110.11 English Language Arts and Reading

• K.15 Students write expository and procedural or work-related texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes.
• K.18.A Use phonological knowledge to match sounds to letters

Pumpkin Parts

I just love these adorable pumpkins we made to celebrate the coming of fall! After learning about the life cycle of a pumpkin and discussing the pumpkin parts (stem, shell, seeds and pulp), students created these cross-section pumpkins! First, we painted two sheets of paper - one orange, one yellow. The next day, the students cut out a large orange pumpkin shape for the shell and a smaller yellow pumpkin shape for the inside. They used bits of orange string for the pulp and real pumpkin seeds. Brown construction paper stems completed the project!

Meeting the TEKS:

112.11 Science 

• K.10.B identify parts of plants such as roots, stem, and leaves...
• K.10.D observe changes that are part of a simple life cycle of a plant: seed, seedling, plant, flower, and fruit.