Dual Language Mural

The Very Hungry Caterpillar's 45th Anniversary

To celebrate the 45th anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and the first day of spring, all of first grade headed out to our school garden. We started our lesson by reading the book in English and Spanish. The students then worked in small groups to paint concrete stepping stones to look like The Very Hungry Caterpillar. After they dried, we added them to our garden as a pathway.

Ch-Ch-Chocolate Chip Cookies!

To help the students learn about the purpose of informational versus entertainment texts and to make a real world connection to the digraph /ch/, all of the first grade teachers and classes joined together to make chocolate chip cookies. We read the recipe, in both English and Spanish to the students. As we read, the students took turns following the steps. As we made the cookies we discussed that recipes are meant to inform or teach you something. Then while the cookies baked, we read The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins and Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar by Viviana Garofoli. As we read these books we discussed their purpose: entertainment. And, of course, the students then enjoyed eating the cookies.