Reading
Sharing our favorites
What do readers naturally do when they have finished a good book? They tell someone about it, of course!
Readers in Room 123 are doing just that with their favorite buddy reading books. Using what they have learned about persuasive writing, they are working in small groups to write book reviews. They will be sharing these reviews with Mrs. Bond’s Senior Kindergarten class at a special Popcorn and Publishing event as well as with readers of our class blog. Watch for updates!
Learning for life
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.
Blasts from the past
Dry as dust? History is anything but as readers in Room 123 build and use background knowledge during our study of American heroes!
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Sifting the evidence
Readers started with this statement: Clara Barton is a hero. After reading a biography about Barton, students worked in pairs to summarize and analyze key information, looking for evidence for or against this claim. Take a look at the process and the results:
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Wondrous words
Most weeks, first graders learn about one or two wondrous words that relate to our reading comprehension unit. These are not words that students are expected to be able to read or spell independently. Instead, these are words chosen to help enrich students’ listening and speaking vocabularies.
After reading about Sacajawea, we discussed many words that described the heroic actions she took.
Students voted to add “knowledgeable” to our list of wondrous words and recorded the word in special notebooks. There they used words and pictures to describe both how Sacajawea was knowledgeable and how they are.
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What is a hero?
What makes a person a hero? Over the next few weeks, first grade students will listen to nonfiction texts to find answers to that question. At the same time, they will practice strategies proficient readers use to comprehend what they read. This week, I first modeled how readers think about the text and then guided students as they practiced doing the same.
We summarized important information as we read, focusing on key facts and details. We also paused to create mental pictures of the information. Visualizing–making quick sketches–helps the reader understand and remember important facts and details.
Next, we analyzed the information by sorting it into three categories: evidence for the subject being a hero, evidence, against, or background information. We could then weigh the evidence and decide whether the person was a hero. Special thanks to Instructional Resource Coordinator Julia Beals for this lesson format!
Finally, we considered the actions taken by the subject and identified the character traits behind those actions. Identifying these traits will help us answer this unit’s big question.
Over the next few weeks, students will work in pairs or small groups to summarize and analyze additional biographies. Watch for updates!
What makes a family?
To find answers to this question, readers in Room 123 first read fiction texts on this theme and then took their thinking deeper.
In large and small group discussions, they analyzed the texts and used evidence from the text to support their thinking.
In the end, they identified important lessons and connected those lessons to their own lives.
Sharing a story
Fabulous stories from around the world are being shared on the Fairy Tale/Folktale Cyber-Dictionary. Students in Room 123 recently added to that collection with a folktale from India. Special thanks to web curator Janet Barnstable for all her effort and expertise!
This project provided students with opportunities to review earlier learning from many curricular areas, including Social Studies, reading, writing, and grammar. Take a look at the process:
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Digging deeper through discussion
There’s always lots of talking going on in Room 123! Students use discussion both to articulate and refine their own thinking and to learn from the thinking of others. After practicing listening and speaking skills as a class, students have begun holding small-group discussions.
This week, their discussions focused on the lessons found in Patricia Polacco’s Thunder Cake. In most groups, students identified lessons which centered on two aspects of the story. Finally, as a large group, they decided which lessons help answer our big question: What makes a family?
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