Welcome
to the
Wonderful World
of
FIRST GRADE!
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This is me.
I love my class.
Can't you see? |
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Yep! That's one happy teacher. THAT'S ME!
Sometimes I really look like that. Oh, don't worry. It's a good thing. I practically stand on my head for my kids. But then . . . they just about stand on their heads for me, too.
I think kids are just about the smartest people around. Don't let their size trick you. Sometimes they try to hide what they really know, but if you dust away the cobwebs, it's all there . . . just waiting to be discovered.
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| |  | | Meet my kids. |
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MEET MY KIDS
There are so many of them. There are David and Sara and Nick and Samantha and Thomas and Nichole and Kieth and Courtney. Well, the list could go on and on. I have taught more than 500 children since I began teaching a long, long time ago. I've taught kids with common names like Greg and John and some with not so common names like, Olivia and Demi. But, I've never taught a Mathilda or a Henry or a Stella or a Wendell or an Elvira or a Hubert . . . or even a Donna . . . but maybe I will . . . someday. |
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Well, another school year has ended. (2004-2005) This year I had a total of 27 children. That's a BIG class by any standards, but especially since our sister school across town, no more than a mile away, had ONLY 13 children per class. The way I look at it . . . I had double the fun...or maybe it was double the trouble. I'll let you decide. Here's what some of my KIDDLES said about their 1st grade experience.
When I started 1st Grade I was not good at math, but I got better. First grade is the best.
Lisa
I have been in 1st Grade for a year. Can you believe that???
Alan
1st Grade was all fun! We had to do a lot of work to get things done.
Zelda
For GROUP DAILY NEWS we wrote about animals, healthy snacks, snow, people, flowers, butterflies, rainbows, horses, our prize bucket, and hospitals.
Raul
When I first met Mrs. Figurski, I was shy, but then I got used to her. Mrs. Figurski has fun activities. People learn things in first grade.
Timmy
First grade is a lot of fun. I am going to miss first grade.
Jim
When I started school, I was very nervous.
Deborah
On the first day of first grade, I was shy and scared. When I sat down I met Ivan and Gale. They became my first friends in 1st grade. Now I love first grade. It is the best!
Devin
When I first started school, I cried because I wanted my dad. Then I met new friends and my teacher, Mrs. Figurski, did lots of stuff, like, Word Wall Quiz and Group Daily News.
Grace
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STUDENT TEACHERS: A New Generation
I already said that I love to teach, but I love to take it a step
further and teach students to be teachers. I’ve had student teachers
from William Paterson University, Felician College, St Thomas Aquinas
College, Montclair State University, Stockton College, and two students from St. Peter’s
College. I love to be able to share ideas and talk education with my student teachers.
It’s fun to discuss the children’s progress and their funny antics with them.
It’s exciting to know that some of my teaching philosophy and my
creative ideas may someday emerge into the classrooms of my students.
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Meet Saran Sinnette. 
Saran did her student teaching in my classroom from September 2007 until May 2008. She did both her Clinical 1 and her Clinical 2 coursework with me. So we have been hanging out with each other for a long time. It's fun to watch her grow into a "real" teacher. She was a Montclair University student.
Here we are being a little crazy on wacky hair day. It just gave us another excuse to have fun in the classroom.
This is Ellen Ptalis.
 Ellen is Saran's mentor teacher
from Montclair University.
She visited Saran in my classroom six times.
It's Ellen's job to observe Saran's teaching and offer suggestions.
She wants to make Saran the best teacher she can be.
Just as I do.
What a team!
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This is Denise Lynch. She's a student teacher in my classroom now. She started in January of 2007 and will be with us until May. It didn't take her long to fit right in.  Seems like she's been with us forever. It's really only a week!
I'm glad she is with us.
 It's funny! I didn't know Denise a few weeks ago -- but, yet, I did. Well . . . I didn't know her as an adult. BUT, I held Denise when she was a baby - more than 20 years ago. She doesn't remember, and I barely do.
Denise's father, Patrick, and my husband, David, played softball on the same team. Denise's brother, PJ, and her mother, Donna, were always at the field to cheer on Patrick. I was there, too, with my son, Jared, and my daughter, Kiersten. We urged David to catch those fly balls.
We got to know the Lynch's pretty well. So, when Denise was born, we were invited to her christening.
Now, Denise is all grown up. And, by some strange coincidence, she was assigned to my classroom to do her student teaching.
She is soon to graduate from my alma mater
William Paterson University in May.
Here, Denise is reading a book to the children,
called Don't Squeal, Unless It's a Big Deal.
It's a fun book reminding children to not tattletale. Then Denise tried her hand at Book Trivia. You can see some of the questions on the easel.
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Dana Buzzelli joined my class in September 2006. She is a student teacher from Felician College.
Dana comes once a week to work with the children.
She has taught lessons on writing
and on magnets.
The kids really have fun with the magnets.
It's almost -
like magic.
Here's Dana preparing to teach magnetic force
and
strength.
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Dana listens to the children read in reading groups and plays flash card games with them . . . like
Word-A-Day
and
Word Flash.
Who said First Grade wasn't fun?
Dana's
student teaching assignment, in January,
will be
in a Special Education
class
before she walks down the aisle
to
collect her diploma
and her
teaching credential
in June.
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Lauren DePreta was a student
at
Montclair State University.
She did her Clinical 1 requirements in my
First Grade class
from
February to May of 2006.
This is the semester
before 
Student Teaching
. . . the time
when
students get to
observe classroom routines
and methods of teaching,
and to start to take part
in the
teaching.
Lauren came
twice a week
and
was teaching small reading groups.
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Cindy Martinez was a student teacher in my class
from September to December of 2003.
She graduated from Montclair State University.
Cindy worked in all phases
of the classroom preparing
for the day that she would have her very own room.
She did lessons in Math on patterning
and in Social Studies
she addressed the Drug Awareness Unit.
Here's Cindy passing out
another sticker.
The kids just love to get
stickers
and
add
them
to their
sticker collection book. |
And so my classroom turns into a laboratory where student teachers can study and learn about early childhood behavior. They can practice their own teaching skills and develop their own methods; they can absorb new ideas, use new techniques, try out management skills, while still having the safety net of a mentor teacher to rely on.
I look forward to all new students who will pass through my classroom for the last phase of their teacher preparation. They are just one step away from having their own classrooms. And, then I wish them very well and hope they have as much fun in their classroom as I have in mine.
MAKE IT HAPPEN!
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RESOURCE LIBRARY
Educational trends come and go and terminology changes with each passing year. The "buzz" words of today are ancient history by tomorrow. For as we know, the pendulum in education is in constant motion. But what it boils down to is teaching and reaching kids. Do it! Do it anyway you know how . . . but make certain that you do it.
Early in my teaching career, I was very fortunate to become involved with the Writing Project at Teacher's College, Columbia University in New York City. The lessons I learned from those very dedicated teachers were invaluable and they continue to influence my teaching . . . every day.
The following list of books were written by my teachers.
Lessons From A Child by Lucy McCormick Calkins
The Art of Teaching Writing by Lucy McCormick Calkins
Living Between the Lines by Lucy McCormick Calkins with Shelley Harwayne
Raising Lifelong Learners by Lucy McCormick Calkins with Lydia Bellino
Lasting Impressions - Weaving Literature into the Writing Workshop by Shelley Harwayne
The next set of books was also written by my teachers, although a little more indirectly. Each of the following authors were guest speakers at Teacher's College, Columbia University on many occasions.
Children's Literature in the Reading Program by Bernice E. Cullinan
Report Card on the Basal Readers by Kenneth S. Goodman, Patrick Shannon, Yvonne S. Freeman, Sharon Murphy
Breaking Ground: Teachers Relate Reading and Writing in the Elementary School by Donald H. Graves
Writing: Teachers and Children at Work by Donald H. Graves
Build A Literate Classroom by Donald H. Graves
Write From the Start - Tapping your Child's Natural Writing Ability by Donald H. Graves
When Writers Read by Jane Hansen
Language Stories and Literacy Lessons by Jerome C. Harste, Virginia A. Woodward, Carolyn L. Burke
The Foundations of Literature by Don Holdaway
Expecting the Unexpected by Donald M. Murray
Life in a Crowded Place - Making a Learning Community by Ralph Peterson
Grand Conversations - Literature Groups in Action by Ralph Peterson, Maryann Eeds
Transitions by Regie Routman
Invitations - Changing as Teachers and Learners by Regie Routman
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