We read the How The Grinch Stole Christmas to work on several reading skills. The students first retold the story to a partner and then individually completed a story map to identify the story elements. Then we discussed how the Grinch changed throughout the story. As we discussed the character traits, we talked about better vocabulary to use when discussing emotions. We charted the vocabulary and the students took notes about the Grinch's character traits at the beginning of the story and the end on Deanna Jump's handout from her Grinch unit. The students then created their own Grinch and wrote at least one way they could make the Grinch smile. We have been working on making connections to text as well.
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Sunday, December 22, 2013
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.
Labels:
2013/2014,
Christmas,
Connections,
Holidays,
Reading,
Story Elements,
Story Maps
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.
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.)
Labels:
2013/2014,
Character Traits,
Christmas,
Connections,
Holidays,
Reading
Monday, January 21, 2013
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)!
Labels:
2012/2013,
Art,
Christmas,
Reading,
Snow,
Snowman,
The Snowman,
Winter,
Write From the Beginning,
Writing
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.
Labels:
2012/2013,
Character Traits,
Christmas,
Comprehension,
Graphic Organizer,
Reading
Friday, December 21, 2012
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.
Labels:
2012/2013,
Christmas,
Comprehension,
Holidays,
Promethean,
Reading,
Story Elements,
Story Map,
Technology
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)