Miss Rollins' Class Blog

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Back To School 2015-2016

I am very excited about the first day of the 2015-2016 school year on Monday, August 24th!

Since the beginning of August, I have been preparing for the arrival of this year's first grade class. A few weeks ago, Mrs. Becerra (3rd grade teacher) and I went on our annual school supply shopping trip. Our carts were filled with markers, crayons, supply boxes, pencils, erasers, folders, binders and notebooks. Many people were curious about why we were buying 20+ of each item!

I have been working in our classroom for the past few weeks organizing, decorating, and planning for the school year! I have also found even more ways to add polka dots (my favorite pattern) to the classroom decor. This year, I've added a polka dot word wall, a polka dot happy birthday display, and polka dot numbers. I also have a new polka dot calendar and weather set. I am working on adding a few more polka dot things before my new students come!

Next week, I will be putting the finishing touches on the classroom so that it is ready for August 24th. I can't wait until my new first graders see their new classroom!

Friday, April 24, 2015

Sharing The Planet - Habitat Inquiry Project

This week, we completed our fifth IB Unit Of Inquiry - "Sharing The Planet". The central idea of this unit was, "Living things survive only in environments that meet their needs."

We completed our unit with a focus on five of Earth's major habitats - desert, polar, rainforest, ocean, and grassland.

In small groups, the students worked cooperatively to create paper murals to represent a habitat of their choice. Together, they created the background (landforms, plants, scenery, etc.) of each environment.
The students generated wonder questions about their chosen habitats. Each child selected one of these wonder questions and wrote it on a cloud shape. This was added to their habitat mural.
Each student selected an animal from their chosen habitat that they would like to learn more about. Individually, the students researched these animals to find out the basics, interesting facts, and (hopefully) the answers to their wonder questions.
The students took their research and compiled it into an animal reports as a way of presenting the information.
Each child chose one fact from their research and wrote it in a speech bubble to accompany their animal on the mural.

Just in case you can't get up to school to see them in person, the habitat murals are pictured below:


The Rainforest Habitat by Quinn, Marie, Paul, & Adrian Poison Dart Frog by Quinn Capuchin Monkey by Marie Jaguar by Paul Gorilla by Adrian

The Desert Habitat by Connor, Farrah, Cami, and Camron
Meerkat by Connor
Fennec Fox by Farrah
Roadrunner by Cami
Rattlesnake by Camron

The Polar Habitat by Abhi, Evelyn, Dominic, and Hanna
Narwahl by Abhi
Penguin by Evelyn
Polar Bear by Dominic
Snow Leopard by Hanna


The Grassland Habitat by Asher, Venkat, and Sammy Ostrich by Asher Tiger by Venkat Wildebeest by Sammy

The Ocean Habitat by Jack, Charlotte, Antonio, and Elaf
Seahorse by Jack
Whale by Charlotte
Shark by Antonio
Dolphin by Elaf

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Fancy Friday

Hooray! We filled our fuzz ball bucket because of the good choices we have been making! We decided to celebrate by having a "Fancy Friday". The students looked SO adorable in their fancy clothes! Mrs. Longo, Mrs. Coyne, and Mrs. Frantz said that we were definitely the best dressed class in the school!

SURPRISE Field Trip To The Rainforest

Last week, we began our fifth IB Unit Of Inquiry, “Sharing The Planet”.

The central idea of this unit is, "Living things survive only in environments that meet their needs.”

On Tuesday, we kicked off our new unit with a surprise field trip to The Rainforest at The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. As we explored this “habitat”, we were able to learn about the various plants and animals that are able to survive there. The rainforest is one of the five habitats (in addition to desert, ocean, grasslands, and polar) that we will inquire into throughout this unit.

Thank you to Courtney Ottrix, Katie Malone, Angela Bailey-Sundahl, and Carrie Shelfer for chaperoning this field trip!

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Topographical Map Project (Salt Dough Maps)

Throughout our IB Unit of Inquiry - "Where We Are In Place And Time", we have been learning about various different geographic and chronological tools. The culminating project of this unit was the creation of individual salt dough maps by the students. These maps depict the landforms and structures built by people on the students' imaginary islands.

The students also created travel brochures to provide information about their imaginary island countries. The six sections of the travel brochure are:

Front Cover - The students "advertised" their islands with eye-catching pictures and the name of their islands.
History of the Island - Using their creativity, the students detailed the history of their islands - who discovered them, when, and how.
Landforms/Structures Built By People - The students described the landforms and structures built by people that can be found on their island countries.
What To Pack - The students helped travelers prepare for a future trip to their island by suggesting what they should bring in their suitcases.
Activity - The students suggested an activity or two that could be enjoyed on their islands.
Location - The students plotted the location of their island countries on a world map and described the location using directional words and landmarks.

The final component to this project was an opinion writing piece. In their writing, the students stated their opinions (i.e. my island is the best or you should come visit my island), provided supporting reasons for their opinions, and provided a conclusion.

Check out the students' salt dough maps (currently on display outside of our classroom):