Off to India
To enrich our study of India, students in Room 123 recently had the opportunity to explore some of the culture of that country. Take a look!
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To enrich our study of India, students in Room 123 recently had the opportunity to explore some of the culture of that country. Take a look!
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Readers in Room 123 recently read and analyzed Stone Soup. During discussion, they identified several important lessons to be found in this folk tale.
Then readers extended their thinking by considering how to apply these lessons to their own lives. During discussion, students identified topics for which they have a great deal of schema. Whenever it is called for, they will contribute their expertise on these topics to our classroom learning!
Students are building a community of learners in Room 123! An important step in that process is writing our Class Promise.
Developing this important document took several days. Students first shared what they most want to learn about in first grade. Then we discussed how we all will need to act in order to achieve these learning goals. Using ideas from this discussion, we wrote our Class Promise. We all signed this document to demonstrate our commitment to learning and to each other. Take a look!
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First graders at Richards Elementary connected with the world through their performance of Somali rap artist K’naan’s Wavin’ Flag. This song was the 2010 FIFA World Cup anthem; many bilingual versions of this song became popular hits. Special thanks to Mr. Loebl, first grade music teacher!
We are confident that April showers will bring May flowers. But in the meantime, this long stretch of rainy weather is a bit wearing.
To counteract the gloom, first graders gathered together to create some fabulous flowers.
With help from the first grade teachers, these bright blooms are now hung throughout Richards School. First graders hope they will bring everyone a little cheer!
While the action in the photo above may not appear very exciting, the thinking behind the action was impressive!
As part of our study of American heroes, students first summarized important information from a biography of George Washington. Next, they worked in pairs to analyze that information, looking for evidence for and against this statement: “George Washington is a hero.”
Finally, they came together as a class to discuss their findings. One student suggested that the fact that George Washington’s father had died when he was young was evidence that he was a hero. At first, many students respectfully disagreed with that claim.
Then, another student agreed with the first student and shared the discussion she and her partner had around that information. She elaborated by adding additional evidence from the text that Washington helped his mother take care of his siblings and their farm after his father died.
That additional evidence persuaded many other students to change their thinking. As you can see in the photo above, they got their gluesticks and revised their findings!
This type of discussion is essential to the Common Core State Standards for Speaking and Listening as well as to the College and Career Readiness Skills of Communication and Collaboration. Even more, discussions like this help prepare students to become active, thoughtful citizens.
They’re not quite there yet, but students in Mrs. Bond’s Senior Kindergarten class want to become the best first graders they can! So students in Room 123 are going to help them learn how to do just that.
First graders began by surveying their SK friends about what they want to learn.
They collected a lot of data, but it was hard to analyze.
So they used earlier learning to create a graph to help them interpret the survey results.
Room 123 will be using this information to decide on topics for how-tos they will write and present to Mrs. Bond’s class. Watch for updates!
Room 123 celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Day by learning more about the life of this civil rights leader. Students also learned what life was like when Dr. King was alive by listening to excerpts from If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King.
Use of media helped bring the times to life for first graders. First, they were able to see and hear a portion of Dr. King’s 1963 “I have a dream” speech. Listening to and singing along with music from the civil rights era added to their understanding. This was especially true of songs from Pete Seeger’s 1963 Live at Carnegie Hall album—-Seeger’s comments to the audience created a sense of immediacy for students.
After reading, students summarized their learning. Then we discussed the fact that prejudice still exists, that people may treat others unfairly because of the color of their skin, the religion they believe in, or other characteristics. Students were challenged to consider how they would respond if they encountered someone who was treating others unfairly. Here is their thinking:
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First graders created an anti-bullying public service announcement as part of Richards School’s Stomp Out Bullying Campaign.
First, students depicted ways to act out our theme of “treat others the way you want to be treated” on post-its. (Special thanks to Art teachers Mrs. Miller and Ms. Danforth for this idea!) The post-its were then arranged to create a large poster and photos were taken of it. Finally, students all gathered together to record their message.
Take a look at the final version, which was shared at School Meeting!