Our First Grade Journey

Cicada Crew Families, I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving Break full of rest, family, and thanks. We’ve had many discussions that have stemmed from our Gratitude Journal, about the things that we are most grateful for. From our families, to our school, to math, we are reflecting upon what makes our hearts feel grateful.  Below you will find glimpses into our learning as well as reminders for the Grandparent projects, which are due next week.  Grandparent Projects Thank you for your time and support as you’ve been investing in the Grandparent Projects. We’ve been learning so much about life long ago as we’ve looked at biographies, photographs, videos, and more, and we’re so excited to continue to learn from one another’s families and experiences. There is beauty and treasure in the stories we hear from our Grandparents, and I know we all will cherish the work that your child is doing to learn from and share about their loved one. Please let me know if you have any question...

 Story Maps  Here is a student example of our story map activity. Find more below!  This week for our teacher-to-teacher spotlight, we are focusing on story maps. Story maps are a great way that you can support your reader in rich conversations about the stories that they are reading, and to support their comprehension, meaning making, and understanding of story features.  We have started our Fairytale Literacy unit, and we have been living as fairytale readers, writers, and storytellers. We started our unit with the story, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, retold by Jan Brett.  Our story map reading activity allows for us to retell the story by recounting the characters, the setting, the problem, and the solution. In first grade, we focus heavily on retelling the key parts of stories and identifying features of stories, such as the beginning, middle, and end, as well as characters and setting. The children have been so thoughtful with their insights into the sto...

  Cicada Crew Families, We have enjoyed our continued inquiry into Life Long Ago, which has brought wonderings about inventions, ideas for innovation, and an excitement as we remember and celebrate those who have come before us. At CFI, one project that we get the opportunity to do is our Grandparent Expert Project, where we live as a historians to seek out information and stories of those close to our hearts. This is a special opportunity for intentional discussion, questioning, and reflecting with those who have more years, wisdom, and experience to share with us as we learn about life long ago. Throughout this project, I hope that you and your child will cherish the memories formed through this experience, and the ones that you reflect upon together. If you are new to CFI, you may be wondering... what is an Expert Project? Expert Projects are opportunities that students, in every grade each year at CFI, have to inquire into the world around them based on their interests, questio...