The First Week

Look at these 20 new 1st graders!!!

I love them already!

We learned so many things the first week!  My own brain hurts still so I can imagine they were just as pooped out as I was on Friday afternoon.  We learned how to use our smart board for math calendar, were introduced to our math journals, explored math tools (linking cubes, pattern blocks, geo cubes), created many graphs (name, right hand/left hand, transportation), created our names with lines and curves, and even worked on illustrating our own number book.  That was just math!!!!

We read so many books that helped create a warm welcoming classroom community.  We learned rules and many classroom routines that they are doing so well with this week.  We learned our syllable chant…”A syllable is a word, or part of a word with a vowel that you can hear”.  Make them do the chant for you and start clapping out syllables with them!  We jumped and spelled sight words, learned how to use our new writing grid with our special lines (sky line, plane line, grass line, and worm line), we reviewed and practiced writing letters (b,t,f,m,n,c,a), and even met our owl Echo! 

During reading centers, they used letter tiles to make the alphabet, journaled about their summer, illustrated characters from stories, used wikki sticks to create words, and began exploring the different book bins in the library. 

In the afternoon we also began introducing the DAILY 5.  We talked about 3 ways we can read a book.  1. Read the pictures. 2. Read the words. 3. Retell the story. 

Here the kiddos are reading stories 3 different ways.  Now that they know how to read the stories 3 different ways we introduced the first of the 5….READ TO SELF! 

We made a I- chart (I is for independence) of what the students will do and what the teacher can do if the students are independently reading. If they look at their book and read, whisper the words or picture story/retelling, sit, stay, and read the whole time, sit away from people they might talk to….I can read one-on-one with them or pull a small group.  Each day since Friday we have modeled it correctly and incorrectly, practiced it, and reviewed what it looks like.  Today was the first day they got over 2 minutes staying on task!  They filled in a bar graph so each day they hope to see the bar grow and grow as they build their stamina for reading to self.

I am sure there were a million other things we did that I can’t possibly remember but I can say without a doubt…I am loving my class and excited for what this year will bring!