Book Character Parade

On Halloween the students were invited to dress as their favorite book character. For students who did not have a costume, we invited them to wear all black. We read Bats on Parade and Stellaluna in class and created masks to wear. The students who dressed up paraded around the school while others cheered them on.

Noun Neighborhood

As a part of our grammar study of common and proper nouns, the students created a "Noun Neighborhood" during Daily 5. Each day they drew a picture of their favorite store, restaurant, vehicle, and then themselves. After they were completed, they created roads and grass and put them together on blue bulletin board paper. They then added their pictures. I typed labels of all the things they drew. They sorted the labels into common and proper nouns and then added them to the collage.

Baking Cookies: Fiction or Non-Fiction?

We made cookies to assess the students' understanding of fiction and non-fiction with all of the first grade teachers team teaching. We chose to make chocolate chip cookies because we were also learning the /ch/ sound in word work. First we read and followed the recipe for making the cookies in both English and Spanish. The students identified that the author's purpose for writing the recipe was for information. The recipe was non-fiction. While waiting for the cookies to bake, we read The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins. The students identified that this book is for entertainment. Then, the cookies were enjoyed by all.

Spinning Spiders

As a part of our fluency and phonics practice focusing in s-blends, the students learned the poem "Spinning Spiders" which we recorded today. I use the iPad app Hokusai to record the students. You can hear them reading their poem here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/e9r4hgdrefx7ail/Spinning%20Spider.m4a. 

I'm a Little Teapot

In reading we have been working on s-blends. We practiced identifying them in text by reading and singing "I'm a Little Teapot." You can listen to a recording of the students singing here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/h5i6jbdwdk7j19i/I%27m%20A%20Little%20Teapot.m4a. I typically record the students on our class iPad each week so they can hear themselves. Recording gives them a sense of purpose knowing they will have an audience and helps them identify ways they can read more fluently.

Poetry: My Dog, Tag

The students recorded their weekly poem "My Dog, Tag" on the class IPad. We learned this poem to practice the sounds for short /a/ and short /o/. Each week in addition to reading the poems for fluency, we highlight the phonics features we are working on. Recording the poems lets the students hear themselves and lets them know what areas to work on for oral fluency. You can listen to their recording here.

Poetry: My Cat

Click here to listen to the students read one of their weekly poems "My Cat." The students learned this poem as we studied the sound for short /a/. Our weekly poems are typically tied to our weekly phonics focus.

Poetry: I Like Jam

To listen to the students reading one of their weekly poems, "I Like Jam", click here. They love recording their poems each week and listening to themselves. They often rerecord because they want to get better. This helps them understand that fluency, or reading like we talk, is important.

Poetry: Friends

Each week the students learn one or two new poems. The poems are typically based on our phonics focus of the week. At the end of the week, the students record themselves reading. Knowing that they have an audience sets a purpose for their reading and encourages them to be more fluent. To listen to them read "Friends" click here.

Lisa's Daddy and Daughter Day

We read Lisa's Daddy and Daughter Day to practice making predictions and retelling a story. Before reading, we took a picture walk and charted the students' predictions. After reading, we checked off the predictions that were true and wrote down the text evidence that supported the prediction. We then retold the story on a Flow Map. The students individually created a foldable to retell the beginning, middle, and end in their own words.

Fiction vs. Non-Fiction

In reading we have been learning about author's purpose. We have been sorting books into fiction and non-fiction categories, or entertainment and informational categories. After sorting real books for several days, the students worked in small groups to sort pictures of books from a Scholastic Book Fair brochure. They cut out the pictures and glued them onto a construction paper t-chart. This was a quick and engaging way to assess their understanding of the concept.

 

 

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

To practice retelling a story in order, our class and Mrs. Francis' class went on a "bear hunt." We went outside to the garden and read "We're Going on a Bear Hunt." After reading, we learned motions to go along with the story and acted out retelling the story.

Asking and Answering Questions

Before reading The Kissing Hand, the students asked questions they had based on a picture walk. We typically take a picture walk before reading a book to get the students thinking about what may happen in the book and to allow them to make predictions. Taking a picture walk and asking questions helps greatly in their comprehension of the story. As the students asked questions, I charted them on the Promethean Board. After we read, we went back through the story to answer the questions using text evidence. The students then wrote down one question and its answer. Note taking is another high yield way for students to remember what they read and aids in comprehension.

The Kissing Hand Connections

We read The Kissing Hand a while back to practice making connections. We talked about how Chester felt in the story. After reading, the students shared with a partner one thing the story reminded them of from their personal life. They then wrote a sentence about it and illustrated it.

Daily 5: Work on Words

We use the Daily 5 process in our class to help the students learn to read in fun, engaging ways. While I work with small groups on reading, the rest of the students rotate through five student chosen lessons. One of those is Work on Words. The students practice reading, spelling, and writing a word wall and phonics words. They also work on alphabetizing and matching rhyming words. Fellow teachers, you can download my Word Family Buildings and Word Family Train Sort from my store on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Name Alliterations

During our study of alliterations, the students wrote their own name alliterations. As a class they brainstormed words that start with every letter of the alphabet. We charted these on the Promethean Board. Then, in their journals, they used the chart to help them write their own silly sentence. Once  they were finished, they peer checked them and then  I checked them. After making any needed corrections, they rewrote their sentences on construction paper and illustrated it.

Library Orientation

Our class visits the library each Friday morning. The students may select up to three books to take home. Before being allowed to take books home, they had a presentation on how to select books and how to take care of them.