Hello! I am excited to be a first grade teacher!! I am moving from Special Education Grades K -5th. Happy, Happy, Happy about the move!!!:haha: I love the age of a first grade child!! Does anyone have any pointers for me???:unsure::thanks:
I have been teaching first grade for the past 9 years and I will admit it is the must rewarding grades one can teach. There is no other grade that you will notice significant shifts in behavior, physique and especially academics. It will be around the mid year when you notices that your students are reading more and more difficult books. You will also notice their independence . You will love it.
Oh how I love my first graders! I always knew I wanted to teach first grade, and that's what I did for the past 3 years. The growth you see in first grade from beginning to end is tremendous! Just be patient, and have a notebook handy for all the things they say! They are very open and honest! You will absolutely LOVE it! I'm hoping I love Kindergarten as much as I have loved 1st grade.
I never saw myself teaching first grade - I wanted to do older kiddos and do literature circles; however, I have been teaching first grade for the past four years! I absolutely love most of it! The main problem area for me is that they are such babies when they come to us in the fall. Explicit instruction means exactly that - explicit! They need to be told, shown, and to practice every procedure many times before you can count on them to remember to do it correctly, and not always then. That being said, though, I LOVE the phenomenal amount of growth, physical, academic, and philosophical that the kiddos experience during the first grade year! Just a bit of advice: Keep it simple. If you make it complicated, your kids (and you) will be confused! Stay patient. Don't let them leave without your good-bye hug - it's great for you and for them! Make sure that you (and your things) are extremely organized - there's tons of paperwork, etc., with first grade, and the kiddos will keep you hopping! Get plenty of sleep! Relax and enjoy it! :wub:
Thanks I think it will be perfect for me. I love early childhood and love to see growth. Oh...I also LOVE getting my hugs Now, I need to make my schedule, work on center stations activities, rotation charts for Math & Literacy, behavior management system and try to get organized as much as possible. I will be busy this summer. Hopefully it will pay offhmy: Any suggestions out there for a daily schedule? Also, does anyone have a monthly or weekly book list that they use? We will not be doing themes but will have some thematic units (weather, apples, pumpkins, leaves/Fall, gingerbread man, etc...):thanks:
We receive our daily schedule from our administrators. Make sure to spend AT LEAST two weeks doing nothing but (read alouds) going over rules & procedures (and universal testing). If you don't explicitly teach, model, and practice (and repeat), it won't become second nature to the kiddos. If you plan to do "centers" I would introduce them one every week for a bit, except the classroom library, which should be open from day one (following instruction on proper use, of course).
I am wrapping up my first year in grade 1. I have taught older grades, and this was a huge shift. On the first day of school assume they know NOTHING. Explain every.single.thing you want them to do. Then practice. Then try it again. Plan to do this often. I didn't do this as well as I should have, and had to re-teach it all in the middle of the year. Set the expectations quickly and clearly. Your students will learn a lot in grade 1. The growth is unlike any other grade I have taught. It's so exciting to watch them develop as readers and writers. I am a little sad that I have to go back to the beginning of grade 1 in the fall. I'd love to keep going with my class because now they actually have a skill set!!! Oh well, I get to watch it all unfold again!
The beginning of grade 1 is tough because you forget how much they come in not really knowing. They do grow sooo much in knowledge, skill, and ability during the year. For me, the beginning of the year feels painful, seriously painful, as you have to model and practice every little thing, but the pain is well worth it! If you have not heard of The Daily Five, I suggest you look into it. Many of us use it in our classrooms, and they become so independent, and learn so much from all the literacy time. I absolutely love it.
Oh, and give them steps for everything. When I explain an assignment (especially if it's something a bit different from what they have done in the past), I write down every single step for them. This helps tremendously.
I need to do this more to minimize the "What do I do now??" questions! It's hard when they can't read, though! I second looking into Daily 5. It is a great structure for your literacy time and it definitely helps foster that independence. I'm looking into doing something similar with my math next year. That will be my summer project.
Congrats! I loved teaching 1st. I would venture into the world of teaching blogs. I have one which is linked in my signature, but there are tons of 1st grade teacher rockstars out there that blog about all the fabulous things they do. Plan on spending some time investigating them this summer. Enjoy! It's a magical year!
YEP! I am super excited! What a fun age!!! I am going to go with the Daily 5 for Literacy and do something similar in Math block. I am sure they will need lots of hand-holding the first few weeks. Thanks everyone!! Oh...yes, I am following a few first grade level blogs. Getting tons of ideas
