We are SO LUCKY!

We are so LUCKY to spend our days with amazing first grade leprechauns!

And just because we can't resist these little leprechauns...

Writing: How-To-Books

In writing, our students have begun a unit on nonfiction, how-to-books.  In this unit, students will be able to identify nonfiction how-to books, discuss the ways how-to books are used, apply their knowledge and create a how-to book of their own.  The writing of how-to-books will encourage our students to be both teachers and writers.

Our class began by creating a whole class how-to-book called, How To Be Safe on a Bus.  The topic of safety connects directly to our new District 220 Health Curriculum.  Our first graders will be writing a variety of how-to-books relating to safety.

Dr. Seuss

Read, Read, Read A Book

Read, read, read a book.

We read all the time.

We all love books by Dr. Seuss.

We love the way they rhyme.

Read, read, read a book.

Read about the cat.

The naughty cat makes such a mess!

What do you think of that?

Read, read, read a book.

We know just the one:

Green Eggs and Ham with Sam-I-Am.

Reading is such fun!

A Celebration of Literature

Today we finished our close reading of Little House in the Big Woods. We celebrated the end of the book with a class discussion. We connected the seasons in the book to our science over-arching theme of change over time. We discussed how the seasons changed throughout the book. We connected the seasonal changes to the changes we noticed in the characters. Our students feel quite accomplished and can't wait to share their readers response journals with you. Ask your child about "living in the present" and how Laura felt at the end of the book:

 

"Laura thought to herself, 'This is now.' She was glad that the cozy house, and Pa and Ma and the fire-light and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago."

 

 

 

Marilyn Roselli Young Authors

Our First Graders have been working hard to complete their own original piece to be entered into the Marilyn Roselli Young Author's Program. These pieces have been written independently and without adult intervention. The students were in charge of their own revision and editing without the aid of one-on-one conferring. The students participated in whole group mini-lessons, which centered around the criteria of meaning, imagination, language, development, and voice. These will be posted for all to enjoy during parent-teacher conferences in March. We are so proud of our young authors on their published works! Here are a few samples of our outstanding first grade writers:

WE ARE WRITERS!