In first grade students practice reading and writing all of the time, in one way or another. To bring a little change in routine and motivation I asked the students to bring a stuffed animal from home to read to. I underestimated how much the students would enjoyed this. They were so excited to bring a stuffed animal from home to class and teach it news skills all week by reading to it. This will be happening again after the holidays!

During one of our reviews days in math the class practiced the doubles math facts. I didn’t give all of the instructions at first. Instead I told them we would be reviewing our doubles math facts and we went through a couple of drills. Then I handed each of them a dry erase marker and they had so many questions. I explained that they were going to write them on their desk - they thought I had lost it! The students asked me several times if I was sure they could write on their desk. I reassured them that Mrs. Thane had told me 2nd grade does it often and it cleans us easily. After that they were ready and listened so well! The class solved math facts independently and then with a partner. This is another activity that will have to be repeated!

Lower School holds a Thanksgiving program every year. To help decorate the door, the class made thankful turkeys. I love having conversations about gratitude with young children. They are so sweet and innocent. To an adult it looks simple, but for students this is a multiple step activity that takes concentration and a lot of hand muscle control. I sure am thankful for all of these precious children!

Every October two St. James Day school first grade traditions roll around. The first one is the temple building projects. Students and their parents combine forces to build a realistic ancient Mayan or Aztec temple. This aligns with what we study in social studies, a very basic and developmentally appropriate history of early American civilizations. Thankfully this project has fallen on days where the weather is beautiful and it a fun time for students to work with their parents to complete an academic project.

The second tradition is Book Character Day, always on Halloween or the closet day to it. Students come to school dressed as their favorite book character. They have to bring the book with them. All of lower school gathers in the commons. Each student stands in front of the audience full parents, introduces their self, and tells us who they are in the book. It’s a fun way to allow the students to dress up on Halloween and encourage literacy!

The weather has been absolutely beautiful lately. One afternoon, to take advantage of the cooler temperatures, the class read their fluency booklets outside. It is a simple way to help children get fresh air, meet sensory needs, and, of course, practice fluency. Becoming a fluent reader takes practice, a lot of it. Fluency is not just reading accurately, it’s about reading with expression (not sounding like a robot), the correct pace, and following the punctuation marks. Reading is teamwork, it takes everyone - the student, their parents, and me to ensure that the children are practicing their reading skills and working on fluency.

Research has proven again and again that students retain information better when multiple modes of learning are used. A child will remember something they built with more detail than something they had to write 10 times. So, to help them study this week’s spelling words, I had them build them out of playdough. This activity not only helps them study their spelling words, but it strengthens their fine motor skills. First the children had to roll out skinny “snakes” and then build their spelling words. Such a simple and fun way to study and exercise those tiny hand muscles.

Up next are temple projects! Fall is full of exciting activities!!

Mrs. Gordon

In math the children have been learning about expressions and that although the addends may look different or be in a different order, they can equal the same number. For example, 2+2 and 1+3 are two different expressions, but they both equal 4. These lessons also taught the children that 5+2 is the same as 2+5. Doing this makes the children have to think about the numbers and what they symbolize. To reinforce the lessons the students played a matching game with many expressions that were totals of 10 or less. It was an interactive way for the students to practice their addition and equaling expressions.

Another activity the class participated in was a compliment circle. At St. James we put an intentional effort in teaching, demonstrating, and recognizing kindness. At chapel each week multiple students are caught being kind. In a compliment circle student take turns giving genuine compliments. We start with our legs straight and I begin it by calling on a student, once they are called on they cross their legs and receive their compliment. Then that student calls on another student, they then cross their legs and receive their compliment. This continues until every student has received a compliment. Before beginning the activity the class and I discuss how to compliment someone authentically. The class did such a great job and everyone had a little more pep in their step after starting the day with kindness and a personal compliment.

The first grade class has been busy mixing learning with fun! Sand boxes have been added into reading groups. Students use a wand to write heart and spelling words in the sand. The students were very engaged and in the zone while in the sand box station. This is a great way to have students holding a tool and practice forming letters and words. The wands are similarly shaped to a pencil and gives them add support in handwriting. Such a win win — fun and beneficial! 

Rhyming is a difficult skill to master. Listening for the same ending sound can be hard to differentiate. To practice rhyming we played Rhyming Bingo and it was hard! The student had a board with pictures. They had to listen to the words I said to see if one of their pictures rhymed with my word. That’s a lot of steps and close listening! We didn’t have very many winners but we got a lot of great practice at repeating and creating rhyming words.

Science is one of first grade’s favorite subjects. Who can blame them? We’ve been discussing matter as solids, liquids, and gases since school started. A perfect science experiment that encompasses all three forms of matter is making root beer floats. It’s a great visual, hands-on, experience. They see the liquid root beer being poured on the solid ice cream and the creation of the gassy bubbles. It definitely wasn’t their favorite snack, however, seeing what we had been discussing come to life was fun, even if you’re not a fan of root beer floats. 

Is math more fun when you can work with a pal and create your own stories? Sure!! Not only is working with a partner fun, it’s excellent for building communication skills and learning the give-and-take that you have to do in a partnership. It’s hard to take turns. It’s hard when somebody doesn’t want do something the way you want to. Giving the students the opportunity to practice working through those problems in a safe environment is more beneficial than I can explain. I was blown away but how well each group work together. There were zero meltdowns and all of them worked through any difference that arose. 

We are off to a great start. First grade is a huge jump from kindergarten. These students are handling it with grit and positive attitudes!