Welcome to First Grade.
Check this web page for what's happenin' in room 101.
Remember -- I can always be reached by email or phone:
[email protected]
203.857.0306 ext. 112
In the first two weeks of school we explored the meaning of some of the words in our school acronym, RISE (Respect, Independence, Social Justice, Empathy). We use group discussion, role-plays, art, drawing and read-alouds to better understand these important words.
Learning to care about each other, ourselves and our classroom are key aspects of respect. We ask questions like, "What do respectful listeners look and sound like?" "What does respect look like when you are walking down the hall?" "How would a person who respects the crayons use these materials?"
Last week, in exploring the word, "independence" the first graders drew pictures and wrote about some of the things they can do all by themselves. We talked about how being independent doesn't mean you have to solve a problem on your own, but that you know where to go to get help figuring it out. We also thought about independence as ways in which you think on your own (or, think for yourself). We asked the children, "What would an independent thinker do if classmates were excluding another child?" We did a role-play (acted it out) with our very own first grade actors.
This week we will tackle "social justice." We will think of it as fairness, standing up for ourselves and each other. Some of the guiding questions will be, "Did you ever stand up for yourself when someone teased you? Tell what happened." "How do you stand up for someone who is being excluded by the others?"
One of the stories we read last week was Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock. It's a story about a very lazy spider, Anansi who tricked all the animals in the forest (not at all respectful!). This week we will use our story telling tool, Braidy to explore the characters, setting and action plan.
We'll be listening for rhyming words in poems and clapping out syllables in words as a strategy to help with spelling. We will also talk about finding books that are "just-right" for independent reading and how good readers use their "schema" (what they already know about a subject) to help them understand what they are reading and to puzzle out tricky words.
I hope to see everyone at Back To School Night this Thursday at 6:00! We'll talk more about RISE and Braidy, the story-telling tool.
Homework will begin after Back To School Night.