Too Many Tamales

We read Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto. After reading, we discussed the story elements of the book and charted them on the Promethean Board. The students then completed a story map on their own to put the story elements in their own words. They also wrote at least one connection they had to the story and illustrated it.

 

 

Our Class Christmas Tree

Here is our class Christmas tree that the kids decorated. I made the ornaments a few years ago by printing pictures of book covers. I laminated them and hot glued a hook on. The kids loved finding places to hang them on the tree.

Puzzle Wreath Ornaments

The students made these cute puzzle wreath ornaments as a gift for their parents.

Skip Counting Reindeer

As a part of our lessons on coins, we needed to review skip counting by 5s and 10s. So, the kids made these skip counting reindeer. We first counted them by 5s and related this to counting Nickels. They then counted them by 10s and related this to counting Dimes.

Stocking Descriptive Writing

Over the Thanksgiving break the students were given a stocking template to decorate however they chose. When they returned to school, the wrote to describe their stockings. They turned out fantastic!

Auntie Claus

We read one of my favorite Christmas books, Auntie Claus, to analyze character traits. As a class we created a Flow Map to retell the story with an emphasis on how the main character, Sophie Kringle, changed throughout the book. After reading, the students made a connection to the message of the story - that it is better to give than to receive. Each student made a "gift" to write at least three things they can give that do not have to be bought (hugs, affirmations, etc.)

The Snowman

The students read and watched the video of The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. They then created their own snowman art. The students were very creative and they turned out so great! Using our writing program, Write From the Beginning, the students used a Circle Map and Tree Map to help them write sentences to describe their snowman (or woman)!

David: Character Traits

Before Christmas break we read David's Christmas and discussed David's behavior. It was a good way to remind the students that although the break was coming up soon, they still needed to behave. The students then used a character trait template to answer questions about David such as what he looks like, how he behaved, what they would do if they were David, etc. They then colored the template to loo like David.

Christmas Party 2012

The first graders made Christmas trees out of ice cream cones, sugar cookies, icing, and candy for their holiday party.They also enjoyed "Santa Sprite" - sprite that magically changes color when you drop in a peppermint or candy cane. Thank you to all of the parents who supplied the sweet treats for the kids.

 

 

 

How The Grinch Stole Christmas Story Maps

After reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the students worked independently to chart the characters, setting, problem, and solution from the story. Parents, as a comprehension extension at home, you can have your child identify these story elements from their daily homework books.

 

It's Christmas, David!

We read It's Christmas, David! so the students could practice identifying the story elements: character, setting, problem, and solution. After making a chart together on the Promethean, the students completed a story map on their own.

Reindeer Job Applications

The students completed a reindeer job application to write about why they would make a great reindeer for Santa. They then traced their handprints to place as antlers on a black and white photo of themselves.