Language Arts
First Graders and Second Grade Language Arts –
It’s been a busy start to school! We began the year by getting to know one another through National and International holidays, writing, sharing, books, and art. Students created our class agreements and Rug room guidelines.
Share Bags - First graders sharing personal items that tell something special about themselves.
Share Bags - Second graders sharing personal items that tell something special about themselves
International Dot Day – September 15th
We read The Dot by author, Peter H. Reynolds. The Dot, is the story of a teacher who encourages a student to “make her mark.” First and Second graders making their mark with beautiful dots!
International Day of Peace - September 21st
We read Imagine, by John Lennon and did a short meditation on creating peace within.
Students drew pictures and described where they find peace.
October 6th - Harvest Day Celebration! Students prepared sweet potatoes for our feast… but first, we played with our yams, created scenes, and wrote captions inspired by the book PlayFood.
We will continue to play with our food and write about our experience throughout the year;-)
Indigenous Day – October 11th
We read Brother Eagle, Sister Sky – Chief Seattle’s message of interconnectedness and the importance of taking care of Mother Earth. First spoken in 1850, his message is especially relevant today and will be a recurring theme throughout the year. We discussed Indigenous People’s Day, now officially a National Holiday.
Modigliani’s - Student self portraits in the style of Amedeo Modigliani. Modigliani’s travels in Africa inspired the elongated and mask like features in his paintings and sculptures. Self portraits are a favorite because they capture the spirit and essence of the creator.
We hope you enjoyed guessing your child’s portrait at Back to school Night!
Back to School Night Take-Away – Read, Read, Read!
Take Home Books on Thursdays and return them on Monday! Students take home library books and mini-paper books to read and share with their family at home. Self made paper mini-books stay at home for practice.
Supporting Literacy at Home Ideas:
Read books to a sibling, a pet, or a favorite stuffed animal
Make lists - grocery lists and I reminder notes are quick and easy
Write out recipes
Draw and label anything - a pet, a garden, a room in your house, etc.
If computer time is allowed - try one of these sites for fun.
starfall.com
storylineonline.net
readinga-z.com
tumblebooks.com
oxfordowl.co.uk
The Loft is Open! - Students can use the loft during D.E.A.R.Drop Everything And Read and also during recesses.
Students explored rhyming this Halloween season. We read and listened to Room on the Broom and Bone Soup, we created joke-books, rhyming spells, and conjured up lots of Halloween fun! Students brought home many Halloween related mini-books, please have them read and re-read them to you :-)
