David Shannon Author Study

While reading David Shannon books, we also learned about him as an author and illustrator. We watched a short interview with him from Scholastic and then created a Circle Map about facts learned. The students used the Circle Map to write a shared writing piece about him.

Beluga Whale Research

We used various book and internet sources to research facts about the Beluga Whale. The facts were added to a Thinking Map. The students then used the Thinking Map to write a class research paper about their findings. They used Interactive Writing so that every student had a chance to contribute. They helped each other with the wording, spelling, and punctuation of the research paper.

Fred and Pete at the Beach

We read Fred and Pete at the Beach by Cynthia Nugent to practicing retelling stories in order. As a class, the students retold the events on a Flow Map using Interactive Writing. With Interactive Writing, each student gets a chance to write while the rest of the class helps them with word order, spelling, and punctuation.

Sunflowers: Writing to Inform

Using PebbleGo, we learned about a specific type of flower: the sunflower. The students then used what they learned to answer various questions on a Tree Map. Using the Tree Map, they wrote a shared writing to tell what they learned about the flower. Shared writing, or interactive writing, is when the students take turns writing and give each other verbal help as they write. After writing, we had a mini art lesson on how to draw a simple sunflower.

The Little Red Hen Sequencing and Planting a Garden

On Tuesdays and Thursdays our class is fortunate to have an intern, Mrs. Sanford, from Dallas Baptist University assist in our class for a few hours as a part of her coursework. Today she taught a fantastic integrated Language Arts and Science lesson to the students. Mrs. Sanford started her lesson by greeting the students at the door and having them choose an animal card. The animal cards correlated to the book she was going to read during her lesson. She red The Little Red Hen by Byron Barton and as she read, the students sequenced the events in the story using picture cards and the Follow the Yellow Brick Road Retelling cards from The First Grade Parade.

Mrs. Sanford then had the students transition to the Promethean Board where they reviewed, wrote, and repeated the defition of sequencing. At the board, they reviewed various transition words that can be used to make writing more interesting. They then decided which transition words to use on the class Flow Map. After deciding this, students built their own garden in a large container. Mrs. Sanford explained how to plant seeds and the needs of plants. As she explained the steps, the students followed the multi-step directions. With each step, the students used interactive writing to record the steps they took on a Flow Map on the Promethan Board.

After planting the miniature garden and sequencing the events on a Flow Map, the students wrote the events using complete sentences on a flower template. On the petals of the flower, the students wrote transition words. The students were engaged the entire lesson. Mrs. Sanford and the students did an excellent job!

Beluga Whale Research: Final Product

When I originally posted about our Beluga Whale Research, I failed to take a picture of their final product. Below is their final draft:

Beluga Whale Research

Did you know Beluga Whales are often called the "canaries of the sea?" As a part of our oceans unit, each first grade class chose a different whale to research. Our class chose the Beluga Whale. We used a variety of sources to find interesting facts about the whale but our favorite was PebbleGo because the online source includes actual videos and sound clips of the Beluga Whale. The students used interactive writing to chart their research findings on a Circle Map using our Promethean Board. They then used their finished Circle Map to help them write a shared research paper. Before writing, we discussed that good writing should include a "hook" to get the reader interested followed by the important facts including what the whale looks like, where it lives, what it eats, special adaptations it may have, and any other interesting facts that want to share. Each student took a turn writing a phrase or sentence while the other students provided spelling and grammar support.

The Main Idea: Transportation

As a part of our lessons on how to identify the main idea of texts, we read several books from We Give Books and Reading A-Z about various forms of transportation. Each day we read a new expository text and the students had to verbally identify the main idea of the text. We used Multi-Flow Maps to help chart the details that lead up to the main idea. (Sorry... I did not take a picture of these charts.) After reading about the various types of transporation, the students created a Circle Map of as many examples as they could think of. We then discussed how those examples could be divided into conceptual categories. So, we then created a spider web graphic organizer to sort the examples into the categories of land, air, and water. The students then created a three part foldable to illusrtate one example of transportation from each category. They then wrote at least one fact they learned about that mode of transportation under the flap.

Christmas Lights

As a part of our writing program, Write From the Beginning, the students created their own strand of Christmaas lights which they then wrote about. They described what they look like, how they feel, and what they can do using a Circle Map followed by a Tree Map. They then used the Tree Map to help them write sentences. I try to use at least one of our days to do guided writing with the students rather than guided reading. They seem to love editing their work and getting a chance to make corrections. We hang up their final products in the hallway along with their art. Their writing tends to be better when they realize they have a purpose for writing - an audience!

Digraph Show and Tell

Over the last several weeks our word work has been based on the digraphs /sh/, /ch/, /th/, and /wh/. We have sorted words beginning with these sounds, found them in word searches, wrote them in dictation sentences, put together word puzzles with them, and wrote sentences independently with them. To bring it all together, we held Digraph Show and Tell. Students could bring in one item that begin with one of the sounds.

The National Zoo

This week we have been reading and writing about various animals. Yesterday we read "Zoo Baby Boom" about ways The National Zoo helps protect animals from endangerment. After reading, the students wrote and illustrated ways zookeepers and conservationalists help the animals. As a way to elevate the interest in the lesson, the students viewed the live webcams from The National Zoo. This is a great opportunity for students to see all types of species, including those that are endangered.

Beluga Whales: Shared Writing

As a part of our Social Studies lessons, the students researched the Beluga Whale. Each first grade class researched a different type of whale. By doing this, each class becomes an "expert" on one type of whale and can share with the other classes what they learned. We began our Beluga Whale research by reading several non-fiction books about them. As I read the paragraphs to the students, we would stop to think about the main idea of the paragraph. We then wrote the main idea of each paragraph on a Circle Map. The students then used the information we collected on the Circle Map to do a shared writing research paper. In shared writing, sometimes called Interactive Writing, the students work together to come up with the sentences and then take turns writing them down on the chart paper. Each student has the opportunity to write and receives assistance from their classmates on what words come next and how to spell the words correctly. The students modeled their shared writing after their individual research papers by writing what the Beluga looks like, eats, and where it lives. They also wrote in other facts that they found interesting.

One Giant Leap: A Story of Neil Armstrong

As a part of our study of day and night and space, we read "One Giant Leap: A Story of Neil Armstrong." After reading the biography, we watched the video of his actual landing on the moon through TeacherTube. The students were amazed to see this part of our country's history. The students then made connections to what they read and watched by writing if they would or would not want to go to the moon.

Mama's Coming Home

The students used interactive writing to complete a Flow Map about the events in the story Mama's Coming Home. Retelling stories with specific detail is very important to their reading comprehension. You can help at home by having your child draw a Flow Map and fill in the beginning, middle, and ending events of stories that they read.

Up, Up, Up! It's Apple-Picking Time!

Last week we read Up, Up, Up! It's Apple Picking Time! by Jody Fickes Shapiro. The students then worked together to retell in writing what happened at the beginning, middle, and end of the story. The students wrote together using a method called Interactive writing in which the students and teacher take turns sharing the pen and help one another spell. The students then summarized the story in their own words using the shared chart as help. At the end of their comprehension lesson, they created an apple tree. Below are a few examples of the students' work: