Getting Acquainted and Learning to Work Together

For the first few days of school we played some "interview" type games to get acquainted with each other. This got us up and moving around the room, helped us learn each other's names, what we did over the summer, and our favorite foods, colors, sports, etc. These activities helped to create a feeling of community in our room from day one.

 

We graphed our names to compare how many letters were in each.  This helped us learn how to recognize and spell each other's names.

We practice spelling words with a variety of partners to help get better aquainted and to feel more comfortable working with each other.

 

During journal time the boys and girls confer with partners.  They read their writing to a partner who then asks questions and offers suggestions for improvement.  The two also edit each others journal writing for the conventions of capitalization and punctuation.

As shown in an earlier post, students read with each other at times, sharing favorite books and coaching each other to become better readers.

 

During math students play games with partners and work with each other to solve problems.

 

Our little classroom is really beginning to feel like a team in which everyone is working well together and our year is off to a great beginning!

Establishing Routines and Exploring Our Schoolyard Habitat

We have been busy establishing routines in our classroom these first couple of weeks of school.  Even though it has been extremely hot we did manage to accomplish quite a bit! We even practiced bus safety!

Our morning begins with "Wake Up" work.  Students settle in first thing and work on practicing their word wall words, math problems, handwriting, etc.

"Wake Up" Work

The majority of our morning is spent with the "Daily 5" where students are working on reading, spelling, and writing.  We are working on building stamina as we establish and practice the expectations for each routine.

"Read to Self" 

 

"Read to Someone"

Another important part of the Daily 5 is "Work on Writing."  Students choose any topic to write about in their monthly journals.  Right now we are working on developing an idea or topic.

"Work on Writing" - August Journals

 One of our word wall words was the word "as" which can be kind of tricky for 1st graders.  After we read the book "Easy as Pie", students wrote one of the sayings from the book and illustrated it.

 

We explored our schoolyard habitat using our five senses.  We discussed how scientists always record or document their findings and how they use special tools to explore nature.  Then, students used a special habitat booklet to draw what they experienced.  They even got to use magnifying glasses and binoculars!  Later on, back in the classroom the boys and girls wrote sentences about their pictures. 

Another part of our beginning of the year ritual is the school bus safety review.  The kiddos did a great job!  Here they are practicing exiting the bus safely.

As you can see we have been very busy!!

School is Coming Soon!

School supplies are rolling into stores and July is marching along. Shiny floors smelling of fresh wax and boxes yet to be unpacked awaited me when I visited my classroom last week. Before we know it, moms and dads will be arriving with armloads of supplies and children eager to check out their new classroom. Will you be ready? There is so much yet to done, but the excitement mounts as August looms closer!