Space Research

The students used their questions they had about space from a previous lesson and then worked in small groups to find answers using a variety of sources. They recorded their answers on a Circle Map. They then used the Circle Map to  help them write about the facts they found on a non-fiction text feature template. They wrote details and drew pictures including captions.

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.

Autograph Session

The students completed First Grade Memory booklets to share some of their favorite things about the year. Included in the booklet were two autograph pages. All of first grade joined together in our common area to have an autograph session. As they autographed one another's pages, we emphasized asking questions when you need something rather than just staring or telling someone to do something.

 

Father's Day Gifts

The students created a Father's Day gift before we released for the summer. They completed a questionnaire and then drew a picture of their dad to go along with it. Several teachers have asked me recently how I get my students to draw detailed and proportionate pictures. So, here is my basic answer: model, model, model. I am not an artist myself but I model everything for my students. For this particular lesson, I had them fold the paper in half, top to bottom. I instructed them to draw a dot about three fingers down from the top. I then had them draw a dot in the middle of the fold. They then drew the curves of the face from each dot, top to bottom. Then for the shoulders, they drew a curve from the dot on the fold to each corner of the paper. This gave them a foundation for their portrait and the rest was completely up to them.

Dory Story

During our ocean unit, we read Dory Story by Jerry Pallota. Before reading, we took a "picture walk" to ask questions about what we saw and to make predictions. As the students asked questions, I charted them on the board. Then, as we read, we charted the answers to those questions. If we did not find an answer in the text, we left it blank to reinterate using text evidence to support answers.

 

The next day we read the story again but this time the focus was on sequencing the ocean food chain from the book. As I read the students verbally retold the order of the food chain. They then wrote the food chain on a Flow Map and illustrated their favorite scene from the book.

 

 

Apples!

As a part of our writing program, the students wrote to describe an apple. They first thought of questions they had about apples such as: "What do they look like? What do they taste like? What parts do they have? How can they be used?" They then wrote Tree Maps to answer those questions. They used the Tree Map to help them write sentences. After writing their first draft, the students met with me to edit and revise their writing. While I worked with students one-on-one, the other students created construction paper apples to add to our class apple tree along with their final drafts.

Research: Broad to Narrow Topic

This week we began a new research project. The students are learning more about how to use a variety of sources to find factual answers to questions. To begin, the students brainstormed a variety of research topics which we added to a Circle Map on our Promethean Board. We then talked about how some of the research topics could go in the same categories. The students then worked in small groups to write down at least 12 of the topics on notecards which they then sorted into conceptual categories. They then went on a gallery walk to see how each group sorted their cards. Back on the class Circle Map, we highlighted the topics that we thought went together. To go along with our science unit over plants and since it is Spring, we decided to research the garden habitat. Using the topics that we grouped together under the conceptual category of gardens, we discussed how you could have a broad topic about the garden or choose one specific part of the garden habitat to research.

The next day, we reviewed the various question words. In small groups, the students brainstormed questions they had about the garden habitat. We added them to a flipchart on our Promethean Board. If more than one group had the same or a similar question, we placed a check mark next to the question. This let us know which questions our class found the most important. After finding the questions our class found the most important, the students then voted on which was their favorite question that they would like to ask our garden expert. We will be having a garden expert visit our school next week and we will be emailing questions to another local plant expert.

On the third day, the students chose six questions that they felt were related and wrote them on a their research plan handout. Noticing that most of the questions they had brainstormed were about either the plants in a garden or the insects in a garden, they were then able to narrow down their broad topic of garden habitat to one of two more narrow topics: Plants in the Garden and Insects in the Garden. Of course this could be narrowed down more but for first grade, this is sufficient. Next week the students will be using a variety of sources to find answers to their research questions and then they will create a visual display based on their findings.

Intro to Research: Skateboarding

Last week in reading we worked on an introduction to research: asking relevant questions and finding answers in text to those questions. With this lesson, we read Skateboarding from WeGiveBooks. If you have not visited WeGiveBooks, you should! There are so many current and classic books online for FREE! Before reading, the students shared what they already know about skateboarding which we recorded on a KWL chart under the K for what we "know." The students then divided into groups and wrote down questions they had or things they "wondered" on post-it notes. We added these to the KWL chart. We then read the book, including taking a close look at the parts of the book such as the table of contents, glossary, etc., to find answer to the questions. We then added the information under the L for what we "learned." The students then created their own skateboard out of construction paper and wrote at least one answer they learned from the book.