A Day in 1W

Social/Emotional Learning

In 1Wa large emphasis is placed on social/emotional learning due to it’s life-long importance. Students are taught how to be kind, hard-working community members and problem-solvers. Students receive both intrinsic and extrinsic reinforcement from adults and peers when they practice positive social and emotional skills.

Penguin Points

At Pierce we use a positive reinforcement system called Penguin Points. Any member of the Pierce staff can give a student or group of students a Penguin Point when they following our school’s core values of being safe, kind, and respectful. While students will not receive a Penguin Point every time they are safe, kind, and respectful, but the possibility of earning a Penguin Point at any time, helps everyone remember to keep our school’s core values in mind. Students add their Penguin Points to 1W’s jar, and when it is filled, the class celebrates with a reward such as extra choice time, or a movie. Working together to earn a reward helps positively reinforce the sense of community in our classroom and school.

1W’s Kindness Tree

To celebrate acts of kindness in our classroom, 1W has a Kindness Tree located in our library. When a student observes a peer doing something kind, he/she can momentarily stop working go to the Kindness Tree and make a leaf for their peer. On the leaf, the student writes their peer’s name, and either draws or writes a description of the kind act. At the end of the day we celebrate all the acts of kindness that students recognized their friends doing. Over time as the leaves get added to the tree it becomes a beautiful visual representation of the growing strength of kindness.

Accomplishments/Goals Bulletin Board

In 1W, we work to develop a collaborative classroom culture that highlights the importance of helping one another. This includes understanding that everyone has strengths, and areas that require growth and work (including the teachers, who also participate in this). Developing this mindset helps everyone feel comfortable asking for help when needed. In order to meet these goals, 1W creates a “living” bulletin board of strengths, goals, and accomplishments. On this interactive display every student has a strength that is of highlighted. Next, student writes a personal goal on a sticky note. Each student works with teachers to develop a plan to meet his/her goal. Once a student meets their goal, he/she moves the sticky note to accomplishments section of the bulletin board. We celebrate the accomplishment, and the student picks a new goal. This goal setting process is repeated to continue the cycle of learning and highlight the importance of learning as a life-long process.

Zones of Regulation

Students in 1W learn about Zones of Regulation, and have access to a “Cozy Corner” to use strategies and tools to manage uncomfortable feelings.

Peace Flower

Student in 1W are explicitly taught the skills needed to solve problems that they encounter with their peers. If a problem arises, students can go to the Peace Flower, and use the tools provided to discuss their feelings, the problems, and how to resolve the disagreement.

Second Step

Our K-2 guidance counselor, Tim Hintz, visits 1W every week to do a Second Step lesson. This is a widely used Social/Emotional published curriculum that is being taught in all kindergarten and first grade classes at Pierce.

Math

Brookline’s first-grade math curriculum primarily focuses on number composition and decomposition (adding and subtracting). We also do shorter units on place value, money, time, and fractions. In 1W, students use math centers and problem-solving journals to develop these foundational math skills, explain their mathematical thinking and explore flexible mathematic thinking (the ability to approach a problem in multiple ways, and understand that there can be more than one answer to a problem). A typical math block begins with a short mini-lesson on the rug that teaches a skill, a game, or introduces a problem-solving activity. Students then move to math centers that are designed to practice skills, and provide students choices in their learning. Instruction is differentiated at each center to provide students with targeted instruction to meet their individual learning needs. At the end of centers, students come back to the rug for a math share. During this portion of the math lesson, students are asked to explain how they problem-solved and challenged themselves, what they discovered, or what strategy they practiced. This discussion provides students with the opportunity to teach and learn from each other and take ownership of their learning. In addition to our daily math lessons, 1W is very lucky to have our K-2 math specialist, Tara Washburn, join us during math on a weekly basis.

Literacy

Writing Workshop

The first grade Writing curriculum focuses on three types of writing: narrative, non-fiction, and opinion writing. During our writing workshop time block, we begin with a short mini-lesson that includes the use of mentor texts, as well as direct and explicit instruction in writing tools and strategies that students should use when writing. Students then move to independent writing time, during which they are given the freedom to write about any topic, to develop ownership of their writing. Students are encouraged to make deliberate choice in their writing with their reader’s interest and understanding in mind. For example, students can decide if they will use, words or pictures or both to help the reader understand and enjoy the written piece. During independent writing time, students are also encouraged to work collaboratively with their peers. When students share with a writing partner, they receive feedback and ideas in a safe, encouraging environment and develop the ability to teach and learn from each other. At the end of writing workshop, students can share their work with the class. After sharing I, highlight the skills and strategies that the student writer used well, so the class can learn from them. The entire experience helps to create a learning environment where collaboration is depicted as a powerful learning tool, and students feel empowered, and proud of their work.

Reading Workshop

During Reading Workshop students complete a variety of weekly jobs that foster well rounded literacy development. This time also enables me on opportunity to individualize literacy instruction to meet the needs of each student. Specifically, while students are completing their weekly jobs, I will meet with individuals and small groups to provide differentiated reading instruction. Weekly Reading Workshop jobs include:

· Word Work – Students each have individual high frequency words that they are learning to read and write. During Word Work, student are required to read and write their words in several multi-sensory ways to increase automaticity when they encounter these words in text. Students can choose to make their words using two of the following materials: stamps, magnets, sand, whiteboard, or crayons. As students make the words, they are required to say each letter name and then to read the world as a whole. They will make each word a total of six times (three times using each material).

· Poetry – Each week in 1W, students will read a poem. Before reading the poem, students will be given specific tasks (related to the child’s current area of growth) to complete. For example, if the student is learning to read the work “the”, he/she will need to find and circle each “the” in the poem. This prepares the student, so that they are able to explicitly practice the targeted reading skills. Next the child will practice reading the poem several times (to build fluency and automaticity), and will finally read it to their “audience”, which is a special chosen Beanie Baby.

· Art – Each week, students will complete an art project related to a curriculum unit.

· Wonder Center – Each week students will have an object(s), video, or book related to the science or social studies unit, and will be given the opportunity to explore the material(s), talk to peers about the material(s), and make observations and ask questions about the material(s).

· Writing – Each week, students will complete a writing activity that is related to the science or social studies unit.

· Library – Students visit the Pierce Library and checkout books.

· Listening to Reading – Students listen to a read aloud on storylineonline.net.

· Read with Someone – Students read with a partner.

· Independent Reading – Students begin by reading their individual high frequency words (also used during Word Work), that are printed (very large) with glitter glue or puff paint on a piece of paper. Students trace each letter (so they can feel the texture that the glitter glue or puff paint creates), say the letter name and read the word. This process helps develop automaticity, and increases students’ ability to generalize their knowledge of the word to writing activities. After students have read each word using this process, they read their independent reading books.

Phonics

In Brookline we teach the Fundations phonics program, designed by Wilson Learning Systems. This phonics program provides explicit and systematic phonics instruction. Instruction in first grade includes, a review of letter names and letter sounds, consonant digraphs (sh, th, ch, wh, ck), word families “glued sounds” (an, am, ing, ong, ang, ung, etc.), and suffixes (s, ed, ing). Students practice using all phonics by reading and writing learned concepts in isolation and in context.

Science

In first grade we do four science units throughout the year: What is a Scientist?, Light and Shadows, Exploring Sound, and Insects. These units are designed to be inquiry based. To increase learning and create a positive learning environment, student are encouraged to both collaborate and to make their own discoveries. In 1W there are specific science blocks to complete whole group activities, such as science talks, where students learn to communication their discoveries in a group environment. In addition, science will be intentionally integrated into our literacy blocks as described above.

Social Studies

In first grade, we complete five social studies units throughout the year: Communities/Equity and Inclusion, Geography and Culture, Indigenous People’s Day, China, and Mexico. Social Studies units are designed to be collaborative, and inclusive. In 1W we will integrate Social Studies through classroom practices such as the Kindness Tree, accomplishments/goals bulletin board, Reading Workshop, and read alouds. I always love to have family volunteers in the classroom and Social Studies provides a particularly meaningful opportunity for families to share their cultures and traditions with the class. Please see the Birthdays and Volunteering webpage.