After my semester in Pre-K, I went to 1st grade. My placement was at SL Mason, a Title I, Valdosta City School.
One of the lessons I taught to my class was about money. For this lesson, we did a few different activities. The first thing we did was review the "money chant". This was a great way to help my students remember the different coins and their values. I also made charts to place in the classroom for reference.
Next, we played a little game. For this game, I glued a few plastic coins on a popsicle stick. The students sat in a circle and would pass the cup with the popsicle sticks around. As the cup was passed to the students, they would draw a popsicle stick. In order to keep the stick, they had to say how much change was on it. I gave each student a few seconds to respond; if they could not come up with the correct amount, they had to place the stick back in the cup. After a few rounds, the students with the most sticks received some sort of small reward. My students loved this game and it was a great way for them to practice counting change.
Once we finished the whole group activity, the students went back to their desks for independent practice. Using a worksheet I found from Shenanigans in Second, the students used the popsicle sticks to compare change.
One of our other assignments for the semester was to teach a lesson on one step of the writing process. Since my students were not currently working on a writing assignement, I chose pre-writing. I wanted to show the students that graphic organizers can come in many different shapes and sizes. When I found the idea on First Grade Parade, I knew it was something my students would enjoy and learn from. To start off the lesson, we read Stellaluna.
After we read and discussed the book, we talked about what we knew and had learned about bats. Using this information, we created an "All About Bats" graphic organizer. Students filled out their boxes, and then glued them onto their bat. Here is a picture of the example that I used.
Lastly, I love art projects, and since Easter was right around the corner, we made these cute little bunnies. The students really enjoyed this activity, plus they turned out to be very cute!
