First Grade Frogs: November 2013

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Monday, November 25, 2013

Non-fiction Text Features

Non-fiction is one of the two main divisions in writing, the other form being fiction. Non-fiction is a story based on real facts and true information.

Non-fiction texts usually include the following Text Features…

Title Page

Shows the title, the author, the publisher and a title illustration or photo.

Table of Contents

Identifies the main ideas and tells us the pages they are on.

Headings

Tells the reader what the upcoming section is going to be about.

Photographs

Are pictures taken with a camera. They show what something actually looks like.

Captions

Are words by a photograph that describe the photo.

Keywords

Are colored or bold print words. These words are important.

Diagrams

Show or explain how or what something looks like.

Labels

Are word tags that point to different parts of something. We see labels on a diagram.

Maps
Are picture tools that help us know the location of things in the world.

Glossary

Helps a reader understand important vocabulary words in a book.

Index
Is an alphabetical listing of vocabulary and the page number where those words are found in the book.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Monday, November 18, 2013

Charlotte's Web is a children's novel by American author E. B White and illustrated by Garth Williams; it was published in 1952 by Harper & Brothers. The novel tells the story of a pig named Wilbur and his friendship with a barn spider named Charlotte. When Wilbur is in danger of being slaughtered by the farmer, Charlotte writes messages praising Wilbur (such as "Some Pig") in her web in order to persuade the farmer to let him live.

Written in White's dry, low-key manner, Charlotte's Web is considered a classic of children's literature, enjoyable to adults as well as children. The description of the experience of swinging on a rope swing at the farm is an often cited example of rhythm in writing, as the pace of the sentences reflects the motion of the swing. Publishers Weekly listed the book as the best-selling children's paperback of all time as of 2000.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

France

For the past several years, it has been a tradition at Hough Street School to hold a Cultural Event at the end of the school year. In past years, students have studied the counties of Central and South America and Asia. This year, each classroom will study and learn about countries in Europe. This year, our class has decided to study France. We will present our learning at the Cultural Event at the end of May. To help us prepare for this event and become experts in both the French language and culture, we've enlisted the help of Madame Rowley. Madame is the grandmother of a student in our class and an expert in everything French. Madame was a French teacher for over 28 years and is excited to share her knowledge with our first graders!