Camp-Out in First Grade

Well, we made it!  Or should I say my class made it!  They earned 5,000 ClassDojo points and the reward was a Classroom Camp-Out!  We were all excited and eager to participate.  It’s amazing how well classroom behavior will improve when there is a class goal set in place.  This was truly an example of cooperation.  Friends would remind each other about how many points we had and not to lose any.  Everyone worked hard to earn extra points throughout the day.  It was a miracle, especially since we were in the month of May.  Any teacher knows what happens to the class in May.

We started off the day making our fishing hats using a glyph my co-worker found.  

We made our binoculars a few days before the Camp-Out.  We used two toilet paper rolls and wrapped them in tape.  We tried green duct tape first and that was a fail.  The washi and masking tape were much easier for the students to manipulate. 

I incorporated fun activities that also assessed different learning targets.  The kids just thought everything was a game!  

They played Math Jenga using wooden towers I purchased from The Dollar Tree. 

I even had the students paint the ends of the blocks.  They had to answer questions before moving the block.  If they wanted to move a red block, they had to answer a red question.  I copied the problem sheets front to back to give them different choices.  

You could really use any subject for this.  Have your class play Math Jenga and let me know if they like it.  I’m hoping to make a large Jenga this summer to use in the classroom!

I set up an area where my students had to go fishing.  I printed a reading passage and questions on the fish.  The passages came straight from Readworks.org.  

I put magnets on the fish in the ‘pond’ and made rods out of paint sticks.  I stapled fishing line to the paint stick and tied a washer around the other end. 

Thanks to Chelsea’s Creations for the creative pond!

They really enjoyed this activity.  

Their recording sheet was located in their Camp-Out packet. 

Crack the Egg was an activity that covered correct capitalization and end punctuation marks.  I don’t have the electronic copy of this activity and can’t remember who it is from.  Students had to clip on the correct capital letter and/or ending punctuation mark before writing the sentence correctly in their Camp-Out Journal.                                          

                                                                          

The computers were placed around the campfire.  Yes, we had computers during our Camp Out! 

I also put an interactive math game on the Promethean board courtesy of OCD in Elementary Shanon Juneau. The games were on money and ten more/ten less. If they picked the wrong answer, the PPT would direct them to try again.  The kids loved working as a team to figure out the answers.  I must admit that I was a little surprised that they worked so well together! 

Toothy also made an appearance at the Camp-Out thanks to Lucky Little Learners.  If you’re not familiar with Toothy, check out Angie Olsen’s blog to learn more.   

There was a craft area setup for students to make their own butterfly using watercolor paint.  I didn't paint that much this year with my class so this was extra special!

My favorite game was HeadBandz!  It was fun to listen to the students try to explain the concept that was on the card.  I was pleasantly surprised to hear the vocabulary that they used.  I used concept words from every subject we talked about during the school year.  Some students asked why we had not played the game before.  I will definitely bring it out earlier in the year!

Headbandz FREEBIE

 It could be used as an Exit Ticket/Ticket Out The Door resource. I bought the handbands to use for the game but the students didn't really use them.  They just held the card up to their heads!  You have to play if you have never played before.  Check it out and let me know if your students like it.  

The tent area was set up solely for reading.  It’s a three person tent but I was able to have four students fit comfortably.  I also placed two stadium chairs outside the tent for kids who wanted to read. 

We had a few sweet treats for the day as well!  

Labels from Lucky Little Learners Camp-Out TPT product 

Smores Cake!

All in all it was a good day!  

Well, actually we extended the Camp-Out another day.  Every student did not get a chance to rotate throughout because of other activities that were scheduled outside the classroom.  

We ALL had a great time!