Friendship Fair

Charlotte's Web was our final novel of the year. The theme of the book is friendship, and every year 3rd grade has a Friendship Fair after reading the book. 

Before the big day, we dyed t-shirts to look like a web. Then, the students drew a spider in the web.

The first half of the day was spent rotating through indoor activities. Each teacher completed an activity with the students related to Charlotte's Web.

During "Fern's Friends," the students sequenced events from the story with their partner. Then, we played a "Who Said It" game as a class. I would read a quote and students would identify who said it.

In another classroom, students played "Templeton's Teasers" (Jeopardy).

Students enjoying "Barnyard Bingo."

"How Big Is It?"

The afternoon consisted of Charlotte's Web activities outdoors.

Students are weaving themselves through Charlotte's web in these pictures.

"Dud Egg Race"

"Lurvy's Tractor Pull"

"Don't Fall in The Trough"

After an exciting day, we relaxed with popsicles.

A HUGE THANK YOU to my team! This was my first year teaching 3rd grade and they made the transition smooth. I throughly enjoyed working with each one of you!!

The Kids Are Back!

Yes, today was the first day with the students. I got to work early and put the finishing touches on my room.

Each desk contained a water, a guitar-shaped bag {filled with 2 erasers, 2 pencils, a bookmark, and a bag of Cheese Its}, and a word search. 

The students busily worked on their word search as I gathered supplies. Then it was time for PE. After PE, we worked non-stop until dismissal.

First on the agenda was going over class routines and procedures. The students and my co-teacher discussed and created classroom rules. In pairs, the students were given a tree map and various events. The events were cut out and categorized as one of three rules: Be Safe, Be Respectful, or Be Responsible.

Ms. Gros, my co-teacher, read the story Today I Feel Silly: and Other Moods That Make My Day. This is a great story and the kids enjoyed listening to the main character's moods. After the story, they illustrated their moods about the first day of school on a circle.

I introduced centers and discussed expectations. To get the students familiar with daily rotations and what each center will entail, they completed activities in each center.

At the teacher center, the students listened to Ms. Gros' instructions and designed an About Me necklace. Sorry, I didn't take a picture. I don't know why I didn't??? Then, they used a flow map to sequence the steps.

At the IWB center, students played a back to school game.
The game was a mixture of math review questions and misc. questions {principal's name, name of school, school mascot, etc}


















The students listened to I Feel Silly again at the listening center. Then, they wrote about a time when they felt silly and a time when they felt sad. Details had to include who was present during that time, where did it occur, and what caused the mood.






The final center they visited was the computer. At this center, the students completed a Reading Interest Survey on Google and wrote their first post on Kid Blog. The post was about their summer vacation.

Oh! Did I mention that they electricity went out? A severe thunderstorm came through and knocked the power out. Right in the middle of centers!!! Even though the internet was nonfunctional, the laptops were charged and the students continued writing their posts. :)

Time to plan out day 2. Hope you enjoyed reading about our first day!

**Update**
Found out after I posted that Julie at Math is Elementary is hosting a "First Day Stories" linky.
Swing by her blog and read other first day stories :)