My Classroom
I currently teach in a first grade classroom. I am the only first grade teacher in our school, but I still work closely with the other two members of the primary team in order to ensure that our students receive a quality, engaging education. Collaboration is crucial to the success of any school and I wholeheartedly believe that collaboration and mutual partnership develop a strong school community. A strong school community, one in which parents, students, and faulty are fully involved, creates an educational experience for students that is revolutionary - an experience in which they want to be involved and of which they are proud. In turn, this creates eager, lifelong learners that become successful members of society.
My classroom is heavily centered around The Daily 5. The Daily 5 is an approach to teaching literacy that has worked perfectly in this year's class. The Daily 5 is a center-based rotation that includes Read to Self, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, Work on Writing, and Word Work. I have really enjoyed creating the engaging activities that are included in our Daily 5 rotation. I love the choice that Daily 5 provides students, as both the writing and the word work components allow students to choose from several activities, rather than providing a one-size-fits all activity. I believe that when students are more in control of how they learn, they are more likely to be involved and enjoy the process. The Daily 5 has been largely successful in my classroom because it is so flexible - it can truly be tailored for any classroom and any learning need.
My teaching experiences prior to this year were science-based. However, even through teaching science, I was still able to maintain an enthusiasm for reading, writing, and math. In addition to creating and teaching all of the science curriculum, I also assisted our math teacher with quizzes, small group intervention, and individualized assistance. Reading and writing were also incorporated into my classroom daily, with science-based activities that aligned with and supported the Common Core curriculum that my fellow reading and writing teachers followed within their respective classrooms.
I continuously look for opportunities to build and improve my practice, and that includes all subject areas. In addition to the Daily 5 component of our day, I have a plethora of ideas that have proven to be successful in my self-contained first grade classroom. I have created concrete plans for these ideas, purchased books and materials for them, and have spent this last school year implementing them! Below are just a few of these ideas.
My classroom is heavily centered around The Daily 5. The Daily 5 is an approach to teaching literacy that has worked perfectly in this year's class. The Daily 5 is a center-based rotation that includes Read to Self, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, Work on Writing, and Word Work. I have really enjoyed creating the engaging activities that are included in our Daily 5 rotation. I love the choice that Daily 5 provides students, as both the writing and the word work components allow students to choose from several activities, rather than providing a one-size-fits all activity. I believe that when students are more in control of how they learn, they are more likely to be involved and enjoy the process. The Daily 5 has been largely successful in my classroom because it is so flexible - it can truly be tailored for any classroom and any learning need.
My teaching experiences prior to this year were science-based. However, even through teaching science, I was still able to maintain an enthusiasm for reading, writing, and math. In addition to creating and teaching all of the science curriculum, I also assisted our math teacher with quizzes, small group intervention, and individualized assistance. Reading and writing were also incorporated into my classroom daily, with science-based activities that aligned with and supported the Common Core curriculum that my fellow reading and writing teachers followed within their respective classrooms.
I continuously look for opportunities to build and improve my practice, and that includes all subject areas. In addition to the Daily 5 component of our day, I have a plethora of ideas that have proven to be successful in my self-contained first grade classroom. I have created concrete plans for these ideas, purchased books and materials for them, and have spent this last school year implementing them! Below are just a few of these ideas.
Science and Social Studies
These two subjects are often forgotten about. Not so in my classroom! I love the challenge of incorporating reading, writing, and even math with science and social studies in creative and engaging ways. During a science lesson that focused on the life cycle of an apple tree, we incorporated math through several activities including measuring and weighing our apples and conducting an apple tasting in order to take a poll and comparing our data on the types of apples we liked best. One way that I incorporated science into writing is by introducing students to nonfiction text, discussing text features, and then having them create their very own nonfiction book about an animal of their choice.
In social studies, we completed a unit on economics with a culminating activity that had students creating and selling their very own products during our Market Day celebration. Talk about a lasting effect!
In social studies, we completed a unit on economics with a culminating activity that had students creating and selling their very own products during our Market Day celebration. Talk about a lasting effect!
My aim is to ensure that students are engaged in their learning, not just going through the motions. Through my creative and hands-on lessons, I believe that I create an experience for students that they enjoy being a part of and one that gets them excited about learning.