A typical day in first grade looks like this:

Morning Greeting: We start our day with a classroom greeting, song and calendar. Then, Mrs. Askins reads a book which gets us thinking about what we are learning. The students are very interactive during our class read aloud. We ask questions, partner talk and think about how the text connects with our own life. As a class, we love to write together. We will write messages, labels, stories, poems, lists, non-fiction pieces and anything that captives our learners. The students direct the writing as I coach them along.

Sight Words: We learn 100 sight words. We have fun figuring out how words work and finding them in our books we read.

Word Study: We learn beginning, middle and ending sounds, word families, rhyming, syllables, initial and final blends and digraphs, short and long vowels, and similes and antonyms.

Writing: The students are engage daily in Writer's Workshop. This is a time where students can use what they are learning in literacy to write personal narratives or non-fiction pieces of writing. The students are free to be creative and write about what is meaningful to them. The kids get very excited to sit in the author's chair and share their writing to their classmates.

Shared Reading: Mrs. Askins picks a "a just right book" for the class to learn about reading. We spend a week with the text, and learn the fundamentals of how to read. Students take turns to activate their reading powers and show off what they can do. We also love to partner read where we lift our friends in their reading skills.

Browsing Bags: The students get to read five books daily that are at their reading level. The daily practice builds fluency and comprehension.

Read/Write to Self: As I am working with students in guided reading groups, students are engaged in reading and writing activities at a spot in the room of their choosing.

Math time: We follow the NYS Math Modules. The students develop a strong number foundation through fluency activities, group and partner games and lots of time using math manipulatives. Our Math MODS are: MOD 1- Adding and Subtracting to Ten MOD 2- Place Value through Addition and Subtraction to 20, MOD 3- Ordering and Comparing Length Measurement as Numbers MOD 4- Place Value, Comparison , Addition and Subtraction to 40 Mod 5- Identifying , Composing and Partitioning Shapes MOD 6 - Place Value, Comparison, Addition and Subtraction to 100

Social Studies: Five Units: Friendship/Global Citizen Family/Family Stories Presidents Economics Maps & Geography

Science: Plant and Animals Light/Sound Sun, Moon and Stars

Recess: The students are outside weather permitting. Indoor recess consist of stem building toys, games and creative play.

Children are confident in spirit, infinite in resources and eager to learn. Everything is still possible.

Robert Fulghum