Ms. Steffens' Class

Our Theatrical Debut

2012-02-06T18:39:00.000-08:00

We have been working on reading with greater fluency when we read. We worked on reading in small phrases with the goal of reading in longer phrases. Another goal was to change our voices when we see specific punctuation marks. Take a look at our Readers' Theatre Folk Tale plays.

Holiday Celebrations

2012-01-05T19:32:00.000-08:00

Although I am a bit late, I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! We had a busy December. We worked on a Cinderella Around the World unit and there are a good number of stories that span the globe. The class found similarities in these stories and were able to figure out the characteristics of fairy tales based on this work. We are now working on the latest episode of 1-S Tiger News: Fairy tale edition.

The students shared their family traditions for the holiday season. Some brought in things to share, especially dreidels and stories of the Elf on the Shelf. Thank you to one student for bringing in and reading a book about Hanukkah. Here is a video of her reading.

Also for your listening pleasure... excerpts from the holiday concert.

Thanksgiving Feast

2011-11-22T14:42:00.000-08:00

It was time to meet together just like the Pilgrims and the Native Americans did to show thanks for all that we have. The day started with a math lesson involving measuring as we measured out our ingredients. After mixing everything together we poured our muffin batter into the muffin tins. It was exciting to be able to eat them and our fresh popped popcorn (from an airpopper) with the rest of the first grade. Before we ate we shared all of things that make us thankful. Below are some pictures.

Halloween Fun

2011-11-03T17:47:00.001-07:00

Where do I begin?
Well we started with a first-rate laser light show sponsored by the PTA on Friday. Even though Halloween day was cancelled at school we still carried on a few days later. Better late then never. Our spooky houses were on display for the kindergarten and 2nd grade to view on Thursday and later in the day we had our annual Halloween parade.

Character Ed Awards

2011-10-24T17:57:00.001-07:00

Throughout the year Cherry Lane gives out awards for students that show they show TRRFCC qualities (trustworthy, respectful, responsibilty, fairness, citizenship, caring). Wednesday, October 19 we honored three of our class' students for the caring and citizenship they have shown in the classroom.

Congratulations!

Mark Kistler Came to School

2011-10-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

3D Artist, Mark Kistler came to Cherry Lane today to teach our school how to draw. It was a great assembly sponsored by the PTA. The kids brought clipboards and pencils and were drawing alongside this professional artist. I even tried using one of my drawing apps on my iPad (see below).

Here are some of the pieces created at the assembly.

Check out more on Mark Kistler's website.

We are Authors

2011-10-07T10:48:00.000-07:00

The class has written several booklets of writing since the beginning of school. Today marked the first author celebration where their published books are now bound in a book and illustrated. All of the children now have a book in our classroom library for all to read and enjoy!

Hip Pickle Assembly

2011-09-15T18:55:00.001-07:00

Today we participated in an assembly presented by the PTA. The Hip Pickles started our school year on the right beat. We learned about sharing and respect, along with an anti-bullying message. Some of the class got to come and perform with rhythm instruments or dancing. Check out our talents.

The Beginning of a New School Year is Here!

2011-09-08T18:58:00.001-07:00

The first days of school have been very busy. There is so much to do and learn! The sun finally showed up today and allowed for the first outdoor recess. Here are some pictures of what we have been up to so far this year.

We observed the math manipulatives

We wrote stories from our imagination.

And we even have visited the computer lab already.

Skyping with Montebello

2011-06-15T10:27:00.001-07:00

We had an exciting day today. We finished our packages in time to talk with the first graders at Montebello via Skype. We showed our packages that would safely hold a plant and talked about what materials we used. Then we told what functions of a package it had. Last, we explained how our package was designed to meet the needs of plants.

Olympic Day 2011

2011-06-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful, sunny (not to mention, hot) day at Cherry Lane for our Olympic Day. Check out all of our athletic prowess in these highlights.

Channel 1-S Tiger News Episode 2

2011-05-31T16:31:00.000-07:00

Our reporters worked hard in the field to bring coverage of the woodland animals on Bear Mountain Zoo.

Episode of Channel 1-S Tiger News

2011-05-16T18:48:00.000-07:00

Our team of "growing" reporters and botanists are firmly "rooted" in the research process. [insert your groan here].

The class was divided into research teams to find out information on roots, leaves, flowers, and seeds. After reading books and taking notes, each group created a script and props for a newscast. And thus, Channel 1-S Tiger News took seed. Now we present the World Premier of our newscast about the parts of plants.

We are Learning About Engineers

2011-05-09T05:21:00.000-07:00

We are learning how to be package engineers with a program developed by the Museum of Science. Our learning begins with the story of Fadil and Bashira who live in Jordan. Their older sister is getting married and is moving to a far away city. They want her to remember them so they decide to give her an Amaryllis from their garden. Fadil and Bashira learn that one cannot simply put a plant in a box and hope it will survive.

Our class will be asked to design a package so that we may send a plant to Montebello school, while keeping in mind the needs of a plant.

We read Pierre the Penguin and made connections to the engineering process. Then we watched the Live Web Cam. You can watch Pierre and his friends now too.

Fun With Poetry

2011-04-11T10:48:00.001-07:00

We are currently reading and writing poetry. The new ideas presented in poetry have been very exciting. We noticed that poetry has rhythm. The class was inspired to turn Myra Cohn Livingston's poem Street Song into an actual song with a tune they came up with themselves. Below is a video of our song.

Making Inferences About Animal Teeth

2011-03-20T18:06:00.000-07:00

When we were studying dental health, we started learning interesting facts about animal teeth by looking up information in books and on the Internet. I printed some pictures of various animals and asked the class to observe and sort the teeth. After we developed categories, I asked the class to think about why these animals have similar or different teeth. They inferred that carnivores had sharp teeth and herbivores had flat teeth.
I videotaped what happened.

We are Researchers!

2011-03-08T17:41:00.000-08:00

Our nonfiction unit is in full-swing and we are learning how to answer our "I wonder" questions by looking up the answers in books and on the computer. We started by learning about dental health and then an "I wonder" question prompted us to look at animal teeth. We read books and sorted pictures of animal teeth. The class noticed that the type of teeth animals have is related to what they eat. Carnvivores have sharp teeth, herbivores have flat teeth, and omnivores have both. We made a tree map to show our findings.

We looked up information about animal diets using World Book Kids and organized it in a chart.

Meanwhile, other students chose topics they were interested in and were writing down what they learned and what they wonder.

Rockland Read-In

2011-02-21T06:39:00.000-08:00

On Friday we not only celebrated our work writing and reading Mo Willems' books, but we also had Rockland Read-In. First we read Elephant & Piggie books to Mrs. Chertok's class. We worked hard to read with expression. Mrs. Chertok's class then read picture books to us.

Next, Mrs. Rubin-Richards read her favorite book, Bread and Jam for Frances.

Then, Mrs. Hoberman came to read Miss Nelson is Missing.

We also had chances to relax and read on our own some great books from home and from the classroom.

Pigeon! Pigeon! Pigeon!

2011-02-19T09:58:00.000-08:00

Well it was that time of the year again! The annual Pigeon Party to celebrate the end of our Mo Willems Author Study unit in reading and writing was a rousing success. We got to read our innovations of Pigeon and Elephant & Piggie books and play games like Pin the Eyeball on Pigeon.

Just in case you did not get to hear some of our original works...Here are two for you to listen to that the original authors read.

We love Elephant and Piggie Books!

2011-02-16T15:02:00.000-08:00

There is no denying that we LOVE Mo Willem's books. We have been practicing reading with expression the Elephant and Piggie series. On Rockland Read-In Day (Friday), we will be reading and putting on mini puppet shows for Mrs. Chertok's class. Later in the day we will be having the annual Pigeon Party. We performed one of the books a little early.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T10:53:00.001-08:00

This is a day to let others know you care. Mrs. Greenhut and Mrs. Fahmi came Friday to provide a Valentine breakfast. The children had strawberries, bagels with pink cream cheese, and pink lemonade. Thank you so much for the excellent breakfast.
Today we exchanged Valentine cards and made more Valentine's Day cards.

Budding Scientists

2011-02-03T17:56:00.000-08:00

Our current science unit explores the characteristics of solids and liquids. We are learning from hands-on experience the different properties of these states of matter. The movie in this posting was our first experience with some solids. Later on, we separated cornmeal, rice, mung beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans with different sized screens.

Last week (before all of the snow days) we mixed water with other liquids like corn syrup, hand soap, oil, and clothing detergent. We saw how oil and water separate into layers but other liquids did not. We cannot separate liquids from other liquids when they are mixed like we can with solids.

A Visit with Some Writing Friends from 4-Chertok

2011-01-25T10:56:00.000-08:00

Fourth graders finished a unit on writing folktales and First graders in my class finished writing fairy tales. So, we decided to get the two classes together to share our stories today. My kids learned what a moral was and I think the fourth graders were entertained by our stories of magic and royalty set "Once Upon a Time" or "Long, long ago..."

Check out our Digital Books

2011-01-23T19:03:00.000-08:00

It is official... we have published our list/pattern books on our class web page. The kids typed their stories, imported clip art to their iPhoto libraries, and then imported the pictures into their Keynote presentations. I exported them as PowerPoints and loaded them up to our Google site.

Now we are working on creating print and digital innovations of Mo Willems' Pigeon and Elephant & Piggie books. What would you have Pigeon say?

Holiday Concert Time!

2010-12-23T08:55:00.000-08:00

We are stars! Thank you Mrs. Cardillo for all of your hard work in preparing for the concert.

We wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year!

Check out our Fairy Tale and Winter Reader's Theatre

2010-12-22T09:48:00.000-08:00

Ms. Ball has been working hard with the class preparing to perform plays. We practiced reading with expression and got to use puppets too! Watch our movies below.

Fun with Reading

2010-11-29T07:26:00.000-08:00

We have great readers in our class and we can prove it! Listen to four of the fantastic readers read Hey Diddle Diddle. They practiced reading with expression and even threw in a funny voice too!

To hear them click here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T08:35:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

To put you in the holiday spirit we have recorded a song for you.

Click here to hear the Turkey Song.

Watch the movie below. We made corn muffins and then had a feast just like the Pilgrims.

November's Character Education Awards

2010-11-19T09:33:00.000-08:00

It is my pleasure to announce that two children in our class won the Cherry Lane Character Education Award for the month of November.

Congratulations!

The class is working on being TRRFC (terrific). That means we are trustworthy, responsible, respectful, fair, and we show citizenship.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

The Halloween festivities began on Thursday afternoon when we displayed our Spooky Houses for the kindergartners and second graders.

We had a spooktacular day on Friday with all of our Halloween celebrations.

The day began with a laser light show by Prismatic Magic sponsored by the PTA. The kids loved it!

Next we carved a pumpkin after designing the face with shapes we are using in math.

The excitement did not stop there. Mrs. Greenhut and Mrs. Fahmi (the class parents) brought in two great Halloween craft activities. Then we finally got to dress up in our costumes for the parade!

Parent Information about First Grade Literacy

2010-10-31T11:14:00.000-07:00

One of the most exciting things about teaching first grade is the metamorphosis that each child undergoes as a reader. There is such a wide range of readers at this age and parents may not know what is expected of a first grade reader. In my cyber travels I have found fantastic resources for parents on the Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS) web site. In particular I saw a publication entitled Shining Stars: First Graders Learn to Read. I hope you take the time to look it over because I think it is very informative and not too long to read :).

Also, I found a quote that I liked so much, I put it on the home page of the class web site.
It is...

Reading without understanding. It's like...

Spring without flowers

Chocolate chip cookies without chips

Facebook without friends...

It's not really reading at all.

-International Reading Association Inspire newsletter (November 2010)

We are authors!

2010-10-18T17:59:00.000-07:00

The class has published their first books of the year. We celebrated by sharing our books with a partner and then putting it in the "Class Books" basket in our classroom library.

Here are some pictures.

A New School Year Begins

2010-09-27T18:38:00.000-07:00

Already September is almost over. We have spent the last couple of weeks getting to know each other and learning routines. We are now learning to make predictions and connections (text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections) when we read. Good readers are good thinkers. In math we are developing our sense of numbers and now we are beginning to explain our answers to addition problems.

Here is a video showing what we have been up to lately.

Olympic Day 2010

2010-06-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

We had gorgeous weather on the raindate of Cherry Lane Olympic Day 2010. Thank you to all of our fans that supported us through each of the events, provided sustenance, and kept us hydrated. In the end, the Red Team won but we all showed great sportsmanship.

Dinosaur Rocks Assembly

2010-05-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

We had a great assembly yesterday (Thank you PTA!) about dinosaur bones and fossils. We got to see how large and small some dinosaurs were and even got to touch a meteorite!

Later on, we got to do an archeological dig for minerals, gems, fossils, and shark teeth.

Watch the video clips of our experience.

Our Trip to Bear Mountain

2010-05-18T08:07:00.001-07:00

We had a great time and weather at the Bear Mountain Zoo. It was a great finish to the research we have been doing on woodland animals. We took notes, synthesized the information, and wrote a report that we typed in Keynote. Watch the video to see the woodland animals.

Our Trip to Bear Mountain

2010-05-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

We had a great time and weather at the Bear Mountain Zoo. We saw a statue of Walt Whitman.

We also saw the twin bears Pal and Sade (Palisades) who are cinnamon bears. Reaba was there too (bear spelled backwards).

Then we went to the reptile house.

The class had an amazing time at the zoo. Thank you to all the parents that chaperoned and joined us on our trip.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-14T10:28:00.001-07:00

We honored our mothers in the first grade annual Mother's Day play. Thank you Mrs. Tamburro for filming it (I was backstage). The video file is so big I am going to have to break into smaller segments to load on the web.

Earth Day 2010

2010-04-23T05:37:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful Earth Day and hope you did too.

We learned about how to reduce, reuse, recycle. Watch the movie to see us rocking out.

We also had a chance to do an Earth Day Reader's Theater play.

Celebrating LitWorld's World Read Aloud Day

2010-03-03T17:22:00.000-08:00

We participated in LitWorld's World Read Aloud Day. Check out our video that tells the world, "I am a reader..."

Folktale Reader Theatre Play

2010-02-25T18:17:00.000-08:00

As part of our work on developing fluency when reading we have been practicing with reader's theatre. The class performed The Three Little Pigs, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Little Red Ridinghood, and Little Red Hen (in this case, rooster). When asked, the kids will say that they are reading with expression. Thank you kindergarten classes for being our audience.

Here are videos of the plays.

LitWorld's First World Read Aloud Day March 3, 2010

2010-02-23T17:16:00.000-08:00

Click below to find out more information about World Read Aloud Day!

LitWorld's First World Read Aloud Day March 3, 2010

We will be participating by creating movies about what it means to be a reader.

Rockland Read In 2010

2010-02-14T06:15:00.000-08:00

It was a fabulous and festive occassion on Friday for a Valentine's edition of Rockland Read-In. We had Dr. Leach, Mrs. Hoberman, Mrs. Rubin-Richards, Mrs. Tamburro, and Marcus (a former student) read to us.
A special thanks goes to Mr. Gonzalez from the Ramapo Central School Board for performing an animated and fun reading of Juan BoBo. Judging by the pictures the students were captivated.
The fun did not stop there. We had time to read to our special "friends" (aka stuffed animals) and each other.
Later on it was Pigeon Party time! We celebrated our work with Mo Willems' books involving his characters Pigeon, Gerald, and Piggie. I will have to get my hands on his latest books featuring the character Cat the Cat! Thank you to all the parents and grandparents that came in to support the children in their writing and reading endeavors. I hope you love Mo Willems' books as much as we do.
Check out a slideshow of pictures from the day.

We read to each other and our special stuffed friends.

Parents don't forget to sign your child up for Raise a Reader!

Stay tuned for more information on this great program!

Dear Parents,

Please help us spread the word:

Cherry Lane has entered the Raise a Reader program, sponsored by Parents, Parents.com, and the International Reading Association.
Please check out our school page with your child or children: www.parents.com/reading/cherrylaneelementaryschoolsufny Parents can register their children to read with our school beginning March 8. About Raise a Reader:Motivate your children to read by rewarding their reading milestones! The Raise a Reader program allows your children to log their reading minutes as they devour books throughout the spring. Raise a Reader will track which schools have the most logged minutes per student, one winning school will receive a $5,000 library grant!
The free program includes a personalized school page where our students, staff and parents can watch our school's progress. Online spelling games and worksheets keep it fun, and there are recommended books for every age level. Plus, children who log at least 60 minutes of reading each week will be entered for individual prizes.
Fondly,
Ms. Rubin-Richards

Top 5 FREE and great websites for kids when reading

2010-02-02T12:27:00.000-08:00

Well some great websites have come my way over the years and if you are looking for websites as resources or for games here is a small list of all the great sites out there.

In no particular order:

1. Readkiddoread is a website to find books for kids at certain ages. There is a description of the books and links to buy the books from stores such as Barnes and Noble and Walmart.

2. Starfall.com not only has phonetic books but if you dig deeper into the site, you will find folktales and other types of electronic books.

3. Professor Garfield has all sorts of games and activities to do beyond reading.

4. iknowthat.com is a website that has games for all subjects. You do not have to pay for it either. When the registration page comes up you just click on "maybe later."

5. PBSkids Between the Lions is great as well because if you click on "stories" it will read stories aloud while highlighting the words said.

Learning about Solids and Liquids

2010-01-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

This week we explored the properties of solids by building towers with different materials such as a paper cup, screw, wooden cylinder, rubber band, aluminum foil, straw, piece of cloth, plastic triangle, wire, and plastic tube. Watch to see how we constructed our towers and then our discussion about what worked.

Today we looked at liquids and their characteristics. We noticed that liquids can be bubbly, different colors, "see through," "sticky," and slow. Next we get to play games to learn vocabulary associated with these characteristics such as bubbly, foamy, transparent, translucent, viscous, and colored.

Cherry Lane First Graders Hit a High Note

2009-12-22T08:38:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to all of the first and second graders that sang beautifully in today's concert. Mrs. Cardillo also worked hard to provide the parents with lyrical entertainment before everyone leaves for the holiday vacation. If you missed the concert watch clips of it below.

Candy Houses

2009-12-18T11:49:00.000-08:00

We have completed our annual candy house project. Thank you to all the parents who came in to help. Thank you to all who would have loved to join us and our sticky icing for some building fun but were unable to make it.

Watch the movie and you will feel like you were there too!

Happy Holidays!

The Premier of Our First Digital Books

2009-12-15T08:25:00.000-08:00

Instead of publishing our books with paper and colored pencils we decided to go digital. We typed our stories in Keynote and then imported pictures from clipart.com. The books were converted to a Quicktime file.
Enjoy reading our list/pattern stories by clicking here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-24T10:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! For the holiday we wrote down what we thought the turkey would say not to get eaten for dinner. Check out our digital book by going to the class media website.

We also have the digital book book of Leaf Man posted as well.

Watch the video of when we baked corn muffins from scratch (no mix!) and then we had a feast in the cafeteria.

What's the Matter?

2009-11-22T15:13:00.000-08:00

Thank you Cherry Lane PTA for sponsoring the High Touch hands-on assembly. We learned all about solids, liquids, and gases which is the next unit we will be doing in Science.
Watch the movie of how we made Silly Putty. We turned a liquid into a solid!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T12:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween to everyone. Those who attended the parade know it was a smashing success. Just in case you missed it, here is a video of all our Halloween festivities from Spooky Houses to the costume parade.

Squirtle and Sally Visit Cherry Lane

2009-10-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

Thanks Maddie for sharing your pet turtles with us at school! Thanks to her mom too for bringing them in.

Leaf Man Project a Success

2009-10-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

(Thanks Mrs. Tamburro for taking this great picture!)

Lois Ehlert's book Leaf Man was the inspiration for this digital art project. The class brought in leaves and made their own leaf creations. Check them out by going to our other webpage.

Parents Supporting Literacy

2009-10-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

Throughout the year I will try to pass on some great resources for you to use to support your child's literacy growth. I am embedding a link to a publication from the International Reading Association of the best books recommended for children to read.

Click here to get the Children's Choice Books for 2009.

Also, if you are looking for something great to do on a rainy Saturday go to the Haverstraw King's Daughters Library in Garnerville at 1:30-4:30 PM for day 2 of the Storytelling Festival! It promises to be an entertaining time for everyone and it is FREE!

If you would like to plan ahead, there is another great event at the same place on November 14th.

Infusing Technology

2009-10-07T17:54:00.000-07:00

So far this year we have used the laptops, desktop computers, and digital cameras to enhance our learning. Watch our movie to see how...

Read-at-homes Going Home

2009-10-05T05:24:00.000-07:00

Today is the start of our read-at-home program. Children will take home one book that is at their independent reading level. That means that your child will read accurately almost every word AND be able to retell the story with details such as setting, plot, and characters in sequence. Many times we say to "sound out the word" but that is not a very efficient strategy for beginning readers. As adults we know the rules for letter/sound chunks but our first graders are developing this skill. Instead of sounding out the words such as "have", "said", and "what" your child should try to think what makes sense with the beginning/ending sounds and the context of the sentence. Skipping the word and coming back to it when the sentence is finished is also a valid strategy. Pictures are valuable resources too. Watch the video I made for more strategies beyond "sounding out."

http://media.ramapocentral.org/CES/csteffens/Site_2/Movie.html

Books should return every day with the title and your initials on the record sheet provided.

Again I cannot emphasize enough that these books are not at your child's instructional level and will not be difficult to read, nor should they be for this piece of your child's intructional program.

Check out the resources provided on the website for more information about strategies and how to choose good books.

http://media.ramapocentral.org/CES/csteffens/Site_2/parentspage.html

PS: check out Cherry Lane's Homepage... we are featured doing science with digital cameras.

Also on our homepage I have posted the rotating schedule and revised specials schedule. We will be doing book exchange at the library on D days and not B days.

An Introduction to Internet Communication Technologies

2009-09-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

This is a movie about a teacher that uses some great technology that we are using this year. Watch to find out a little about avatars on Voki.com, Twitter, and wikis.

We are learning about apples for Johhny Appleseed's birthday

2009-09-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

Look at the apples we brought to school.

Click on the apple for great apple recipes

Chris Sare Official Website : Exercise, It's Child's Play : Family Nutrition, Health and Fitness : Certified Nutritionist and Fitness Model

2009-09-21T16:24:00.001-07:00

I came across this great website for kids to promote healthy lifestyles.

http://www.chrissare4kids.com/index.php

Here is a great article on excercise

Chris Sare Official Website : Exercise, It's Child's Play : Family Nutrition, Health and Fitness : Certified Nutritionist and Fitness Model

Shared via AddThis

A New Year has Started!

2009-09-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

Watch the movie to find out what we have done so far this new school year.

Calling all Volcano Enthusiasts

2009-07-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

Do we have a video for you! One of our College of New Rochelle reading scholars have created a "How to" video for making a model volcano that really explodes! Check it out!

Happy Fourth of July

2009-06-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

I saw many Cherry Lane families at the RCC fireworks. Here is a movie in case you wanted to remember the great show or missed it.

Interviews with Important Cherry Lane Faculty

2009-06-22T05:02:00.000-07:00

Eunice, Sean, Kevin, Grace, and Melissa asked the questions that inquiring first graders want to know! Check out their interviews with our new Flipcam!

Thank you Mr.Wulfson

2009-06-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

Thank you Mr. Wulfson for your generosity. As the recipient of the WISE Award I now have a Flip Cam to use with my students to enhance our learning and projects. So here is a day in the life of our class as we end the school year.

Blue Team wins Olympic Day

2009-06-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

Even though the White Team had an amazing dominance over the 1st grade events, the Blue Team ultimately took the first place spot. Good teamwork and sportsmanship for all participants! Here is a movie with all of the highlights of the day (you can watch it from the comfort of your air conditioned home (without the fear of sunburn).

REACH Foundation Run a Success

2009-06-07T17:57:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to all the Runners and Walkers that completed the Can you 26.2 Challenge.

Everyone got a medal and some were lucky enough to win raffle prizes.

Guess who I saw?

The Simons Family

The D'Antonio-Krebs Family

And they are off!

Mrs. Cherniss and Gabe were there too!

The Today Show

2009-05-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

We finally made it on the Today Show... here is the link to watch our 4 seconds (unfortunately not 15 seconds) of fame.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/30929265#30929265

Mr. Cherniss Comes for Kids Inc.

2009-05-22T12:13:00.000-07:00

We had the absolute pleasure of having Mr. Cherniss talk to the class about his job as a financial advisor. He taught us about the concept of scarcity.

Thank you for reading us the book, The Doorbell Rang.

We also got to see the product we are selling in the school store. Thank you Cherry Lane PTA for making it possible (especially the screenprinting!!!!).

Get your Cherry Lane Bandanas at the school store while supplies last!

Our Soggy Trip to Bear Mountain

2009-05-14T18:27:00.000-07:00

It was a rainy day but nothing could stop us from seeing the sights at Bear Mountain Zoo. Watch some of the highlights from the trip. Some of us got to see the animals we are researching and we impressed others with our knowledge.

Outrageous Pets Assembly

2009-05-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

We learned how tarantulas got their name.

This is a lizard from the Grand Canyon... we know his name is Chuck.

This is Eve the Burmese Python

We got to pet her too.

This is a tortoise.

We got to pet it too.

Earth Day Every Day

2009-04-23T04:23:00.000-07:00

We have been studying the Amazon rainforest and its importance for the whole world. We created a mural/collage to show the information we have gained from our rainforest animal research.

Mrs. Roberts gave us a great puzzle of the rainforest and we worked as a team to put all the pieces together. It was a lot of fun!

On Earth Day we read books, read a Scholastic News, and watched a BrainpopJr. movie. Then we created posters to let the school know about what we learned. We have a whole group of ecologists now in the class.

Soon we will begin researching woodland animals and go on our annual trip to the Bear Mountain Zoo.

Pictures of Our Community

2009-04-20T04:29:00.000-07:00

As you know we have e-pals in North Carolina. They wanted to know what our community was like so we took some pictures to share with them.

Gabe C. was our roving photographer and took some great shots for us. See the pictures at

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/album.sfly?sid=0AcNnLNyzcsWLlI&startIndex=0&fid=90778c754fa9d92f

Jill Rappaport from the Today Show Comes to Cherry Lane

2009-04-20T04:26:00.000-07:00

Jill Rappaport came to Cherry Lane to read her brand new book called Jack and Jill. All of the money from the book sales go to the Tails of Hope charity. Gabe C. is the Junior Ambassador for this charity and has raised a lot of money for sick animals. Here is a flip video taken by Mrs. Elberg.

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/bc789b34729fc15b894442e5d529a988/video/3828698

Ms. Rappaport was given a special award and flowers for her generosity.

Mr. Leach also recognized her good work.

Can You 26.2?

2009-04-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

Today we launched the 26.2 Challenge. Can you run a marathon like Ms. Esposito has done before (2 x!) over the course of 2 months? We are all ready to go with our snazzy backpacks.

This was the first day and we logged in 1/4 mile. After some warm-ups we did a lap around the school (April showers bring May flowers).

Don't forget to log in your miles on the website!

April Fools!

2009-04-02T04:12:00.001-07:00

Ok. I recant my statement about becoming principal. It seems that somebody at school decided to switch around the name plates and I ended up at the principal's office. I will let Dr. Leach move back into his office now and I will be content to stay with my first grade class. As it turns out, being principal is tough work!

Ms. Steffens Becomes Principal

2009-04-01T09:59:00.001-07:00

Yes... the writing is on the wall. Ms. Steffens has moved into the Principal's office at Cherry Lane Elementary

It is official, sorry Dr. Leach.

We Are E-Mailing!

2009-03-23T08:41:00.000-07:00

We have e-pals from North Carolina! We are so excited to have our own e-mail addresses and we have been to the computer lab a few times to correspond with our e-pal from Ms. Pittman's class.

Check out their webpage at: http://www.johnston.k12.nc.us/education/staff/staff.php?sectionid=6596&

The kids can log in to E-Pals and send messages from home too. I monitor all of the accounts and approve messages going in and out so no need to worry about security and safety. If you need the email log in, just let me know.

The kids have been watching a movie on Internet safety at Brainpopjr. too.

OOBLECK!

2009-03-09T14:49:00.000-07:00

Bartholomew Cubbins had a major problem when the king got bored with regular weather and ordered something new to fall from the sky. What resulted was Oobleck and investigating it was the perfect way to end our study of solids and liquids.

Is it a solid? Or is it a liquid?

Well, the jury is still out on that one. We had fun trying to figure it out though.

Flying Paper Airplanes in School?!?

2009-03-02T10:40:00.000-08:00

Have I gone crazy? The class make paper airplanes as a class assignment?

Well I assure you I have not gone crazy. We are learning how to write "How-to" books and making paper airplanes by following step-by-step directions was part of our research as to what makes a good "How-to" book. Ask us about how to do the "Rabbit Magic Trick."

The Flats Came Back!

2009-03-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

It has been very exciting to check the mailbox everyday to see if our "Flatselves" have come back. Inspired by the book Flat Stanley, our students traveled near and far to relatives and friends. Now they are coming back from their journies to share their amazing adventures.

Flat Gina, Flat Josey, Flat Michael, and Flat Gabe came back!

To see a Powerpoint of Gabe's visit to California click on the link below.

https://rcpt.yousendit.com/658743088/4cb81a0ee62ec3d9a59b70152a1e9e6d
This link should work temporarily.

Rockland Read In Day and Pigeon Party a Great Success

2009-02-13T10:24:00.001-08:00

Our day began with reading, and then we read, and then we read some more, and then we... well you get the idea.

Then Mrs. Hoberman read a book to us... The Bully from the Black Lagoon.

Dylan, a second-grader, came to read to us too. He is paricularly fond of Pigeon and Mo Willems books so he read Pigeon Wants a Hot Dog.

Then Mrs. Rubin-Richards read us her favorite book, Bread and Jam for Francis.

Mrs. May sang us a book about "My Darlin' Valentine." We don't think you were out of tune at all Mrs. May!

Mr. Leach stopped by and read to us a book about a "Big Fat Lie" that one little boy told and how his lie kept growing bigger and bigger until he told the truth. Thankfully the Lie disappeared once he confessed.

Then it was time for the Pigeon Party!

Pin the eyeball on Pigeon anyone?

Parents got to spend time reading too!

Some of us went on www.pigeonpresents.com.

We also read Elephant and Piggie books- Pigeon was a little jealous.

We spent time teaching our parents how to draw Pigeon.

We even had special guests! Mrs. Roberts (Kristopher's neighbor) my very own teacher came by for a visit and to celebrate with the class. Thank you Mrs. Roberts for the Elephant and Piggie book!!!!

Reader's Theatre

2009-01-16T11:36:00.000-08:00

We are in the middle of a reading unit focused on reading with fluency. If you ask us what we did as great readers we will tell you, "We are reading with expression" (in an interesting way and talking like the characters). Here are some pictures that will be featured in our Reader's Theatre Podcasts!

A scene from The Gingerbread Man

Anansi the Spider and the Sky King

Scenes from The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Happy New Year!

2008-12-22T12:25:00.001-08:00

We celebrated the coming of 2009 with salsa and chips. Champagne (ginger ale and juice) was toasted as well.

The Show Goes On

2008-12-22T12:15:00.000-08:00

Even though we had a snow day on Friday, the concert still went on. Our singing talent was showcased today. Thank you to Mrs. Cardillo for all her hard work. Here are some pictures highlighting our star moments.

We waited patiently in the hall to go on stage.

Then it was time to sing for the parents.

Mrs. Cardillo even got flowers from the PTA.

Crazy Candy House Creations!

2008-12-12T08:56:00.001-08:00

December 11th there was a flurry of activity and the crumbs of chocolate graham crackers in the air. It was time to construct the candy houses!
Thank you to all of the parents that were able to come in and volunteer their time and skills.

We had such a great time.

The next day we got to decorate our houses with lots of candy. We were very good and did not eat any of the candy!

We used candy canes, mints, Skittles, gumdrops, marshmallows, and Teddy Grahams.

Of course we used lots and lots of icing!

Everyone can pick the houses up after the Holiday Concert next Friday, December 19th.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T08:44:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Here is a song to cheer you as you sit around the table thinking of what you are most thankful for...

http://media.ramapocentral.org/CES/1st/turkey.html

Baking for the Thanksgiving Feast

2008-11-25T07:09:00.000-08:00

We baked corn muffins in prepartion for our Thanksgiving Feast. To see the recipe click on the link.

Vegan Agave Cornbread Muffins.

Step 1: Put the paper in the muffin tins. (We had the cafeteria preheat the oven already.)

Step 2- Pour in the cornmeal.

Step 3- Pour in the flour.

Step 4- Put in some baking powder.

Step 5- Add the salt.

Step 6- Combine all the ingredients.

Step 7- Add the applesauce.

Step 8- Pour in the rice milk.

Step 9- Pour in the oil.

Step 10- Pour the batter into the muffin tins.

Step 11- Put it in the oven at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Step 12- Take them out of the oven and let them cool.

Then we get to eat them!

Halloween- A Little Late

2008-11-12T06:20:00.000-08:00

We have a spooktacular time on Halloween. We got to show the school our spooky houses. Those classes were very brave!

So many creative designs!

Later on we got to carve a virtual pumpkin.

We even got to do the Halloween Bash in the gym! Thank you parent volunteers!
The day ended with a Halloween parade!

How Many Pumpkin Seeds are There?

2008-10-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

We had to dig deep to get out all of the seeds in our class pumpkin. Matthew volunteered for the job.

Then each table had to put the seeds in groups of 10. That was not as easy as we thought. We predicted that the pumpkins would not have as many seeds as it actually did.

After all of that hard work we then had to count all of the seeds!

We had 560 seeds in our pumpkin. That was a lot of grouping and counting! Can you count by 10's to 560?

To carve a virtual pumpkin click on the link below.

www.theoworlds.com/halloween/

The Tallman Fire Department Come for a Visit

2008-10-21T17:11:00.000-07:00

Gina's dad, grandfather, and godfather were at school today with other volunteers from the Tallman Fire Department to give us a tour of the firetrucks. Last year they had heard the firemen speak about fire safety.

Working the hose is tough business and we were willing to lend a hand.

Thankfully Gina's dad was able to give us some advice. Then we got to sit in the firetruck. Look out I think you have some future volunteers.

Hmm.. perhaps that is a little too high up.

Thank you brave firemen for taking the time to give us a tour. We appreciate all you do for our community!

We LOVE to use technology!

2008-10-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

We have been so lucky to have a Promethean Board in the classroom. This is an interactive white board that allows students to interact with websites and software in novel ways. We can even create our own "flipcharts" that reflect and test our knowledge of content and literacy skills. I received training in how to use the Activ Studio software over the course of two weeks and it is amazing to see how much the class intuits what to do without any formal instruction! Here is a picture of the some students using the board during literacy centers.

We Published!

2008-10-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

We have finished illustrating our book and now they are part of the classroom library.

We then met with a partner to read our first books!

Congratulations to everyone!!!

We are authors!

2008-09-26T08:10:00.000-07:00

There is excitment in the air as the class creates our very first published book in first grade.

We get to use our colored pencils to draw the pages that are typed.

Once we are done we will have a big author celebration.

We cannot wait to read everyone's books.

The School Year has Begun!

2008-09-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

We are off to a great start. Lately we have been talking about the Olympics and China.

Our student teacher Ms. Weinberger read a book to us called Cleversticks. We learned that everyone is good at something. Sometimes things are tough the first time we try something but can all do well. We learned to use chopsticks like the main character Ling Sung.

It definitely was not easy at first!

We practiced...

The best part was that we got to eat popcorn with chopsticks!

Olympic Day is a Success

2008-06-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

We all competed in the 2008 Cherry Lane Olympics on June 13, 2008. The red, white, and blue teams tried their hardest to earn points for their teams in the hippity hop race, relay race, team long jump, moonball, tug of war and hula race events.

It was hot but still a beautiful day.

Look how hard we worked to win the tug of war!

Even the teachers worked hard... the fifth graders didn't stand a chance.

Maybe the fifth graders should have eaten their Wheaties.

Dylan is Famous

2008-06-05T10:26:00.000-07:00

Dylan was in the newspaper on June 4. He is with his grandparents.

Read the article below! (Sorry it if it is a little small- see the Journal News for the original)

Our Trip to Bear Mountain Zoo

2008-05-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time at the zoo! We got to see most of the animals that we are researching for our Woodland Animal unit. The sun didn't always shine but we still managed to have an excellent time. Here are some things we enjoyed seeing and doing.

My favorite part of the trip was when I saw three bears, Two were grizzly and one was a black bear. On of the grizzly bears was cleaning out his napping area. It sounded like he was in a battle. Then they were trying to show off their home and look fortunate and proud. Our trip to Bear Mountain was awesome.
-Kathryn

My favorite part of the trip was when the coyote growled at me at the end. He jumped on the cage, it made me gasp. I didn't know he was going to do that.
-William
I liked the part of the trip when we saw the swans. It was exciting. I liked it a lot. It was at the Bear Mountain Zoo. There were bears, my favorite! And a pretty, brown deer with turkeys together in a cage. We had lunch at the zoo. It was so fun and my lunch was scrumptious.
-Anya

My favorite part is when the otter did tricks and the coyotes passed each other. One coyote made an angry face at the other coyote.
-Amanda

My favorite part of the trip was seeing the otter because it did tricks. And seeing the swan because it was pretty. I liked seeing the coyote because it jumped on the glass because a kid made funny faces.
-Alexandra

My favorite part of the trip was seeing a fox sleeping.
-Noelle

We the first graders, went on the playground. I like the slide. I also liked the coyotes when they made a sound. I like the bears when they tried to get in the cage and when the bear did that I saw its tail. I liked the pond.
-Dylan

I liked the bears because one of them was playing a ball and climbing the fence. And they were all black bears and one of them was real fat and the other one got its foot stuck in the fence. Then he got it out, but it kept on doing it but we were already going away.
-Jacob S.

My favorite thing was when the beaver made a back flip in the water. It was cool because it made a splash.
-Marcus

My favorite part of the trip was when the otter was twirling all around, It was cool, really, really cool. The baby coyote was sleeping in a little hole. It was really cute. I wanted a stuffed animal of him.
-Kimberly

My favorite part was when I saw the coyote jump on the cage and when saw the fox sleeping in the cage. And I saw a bear it was a big, black bear. Bears start out black but their fur changes color. Coyotes are really, really dangerous.
-Jacob K.

My favorite part was the coyote because... "I have never seen a real coyote before, It was so, so, so cool! It was all white. It had very pointy ears. And what I don't know is if that's a special kind of coyote. I really love the zoo. The otter was cool too because... he was being really wild! It's true, I really love Bear Mountain."
-Natalie

My favorite part of the trip was seeing the otter because it did tricks.
-Andrew

My favorite part was when I saw the bald eagle. She was there because she hurt her wing. Her name was Samantha. She is a symbol of America. I love Bear Mountain.
-Kristen

My favorite part of the trip was when the otter did tricks in the water. It was cool! That was my favorite part at Bear Mountain Zoo.
-Jacqueline

I liked going to the museum and seeing the mini-figures. The mini-figures were battling. It was a war for America's Freedom.
-Stephan

I liked when the otter did tricks like back flips. I found out he has been doing it for at least 5 years! I was shocked!
-Christa

My favorite part of the trip was when we saw the otter and the bears. When the otter was in the water he did a trick. And we saw a coyote jumping toward us but it jumped to the rocks.
-Anna
My favorite part was when the coyotes were fighting and a coyote growled at the other.
-Marc

Stay tuned for our illustrations and real photographs.
Feel free to post your own pictures and comments.

Celebrate Earth Day!

2008-04-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Earth Day early since we will be on vacation.

We started the day by rocking out to Jack Johnson's 3 R's song. The song is about reducing, reusing, and recycling.

We had a lot of fun.

Then some of us decided to make posters about Earth Day.

Have a Happy Earth Day (April 22nd)!

Spring has Sprung!

2008-04-17T07:02:00.000-07:00

The class enjoyed the beautiful weather on Tuesday and observed the plants and trees around the school.

Some plants had flowers and flower buds...

Some had leaf buds and seeds.

We took lots of notes in the children's garden as well. We noticed that some of the plants had been eaten by deer.

Rainforest Researchers Visit 5th Grades

2008-04-09T05:37:00.001-07:00

Three of our students went to the 5th grade classes to share their research and knowledge about the tropical rainforests in South America.

They did a fantastic job and everyone was impressed.