Learning in the Library

Mrs. Taylor’s first graders also participated in a Breakout game last week.  The scenario for their session was that the mean substitute teacher, Miss Viola Swamp (from the picture book Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard and James Marshall), was holding them captive.  To breakout, they had to unlock three locks: a padlock, a word lock, and a number lock.  The students had to identify the nouns printed on signs (and ignore the verbs), count and order colored plastic cups, and scour the room for pictures of Viola Swamp to find the key.  Luckily, the students completed the tasks in the nick of time!

Mrs. Abell and Mrs. Bemis’ first graders learned about a third type of bee this week:  the carpenter bee.  This type of bee does not live in groups and it makes its nest in wood.  Like bumblebees and honeybees, only the female bees have stingers.  Carpenter bees are gentle and, like all bees, help with pollination.

Mrs. Bemis and Mrs. Abell’s first graders continued their research on bees this week.  First we reviewed the questions they had listed about bees and what they learned about bumblebees last week.  Next we read to the information book The Life Cycle of the Honeybee by Paula Z. Hogan.  Then we visited the PebbleGo Animal database to read more about honeybees.  The entry included a brief video showing activity in a hive, and a sound clip of buzzing bees.  We ended the lesson by recording information we learned about honeybees that answer our questions.