I must say after a very long few weeks of report writing, I am eager to go on to response to literature. It’s a whole new ball game and since I am excited to start it so are the children. My first lesson for the genre was simple and easy. I had previously written the standards for response to literature on chart paper. We went over those and then I began reading a simple story. I have first graders so I kept it simple. Nothing with a lot of detail or confusion. I chose Knuffle Bunny by Mo Williams. It has a simple story line and plot. The children won’t fret about what is the beginning, middle, or end. After reading the book, I had the students fill out a graphic organizer on what happened in the beginning, middle, and end. Of course I modeled how to do this with another story first. It’s a great introduction lesson to the new genre.
As an introduction to skills, I gave all my students a shot of shaving cream on their desks. They smeared it and I began shouting out their spelling and high frequency words. They started spelling them in the shaving cream. It was a blast and they loved it, not to mention the desks came out sparkling. What a great way to get the kids involved and excited to learn!
Each March I get the children pumped up about leprechauns and St. Patrick’s Day. I tell them about a very bad leprechaun who likes to destroy our classroom and he has yet to be caught by any students. My students this year are very determined on catching him.
The day before St. Patrick’s Day I read them a few books about the upcoming holiday. I tell them that we need to create a trap for this very destructive and naughty leprechaun. I have five groups of six students. Each group gets random items to create their traps. Items like milk jugs, cardboard boxes, straws, lids, etc.
From the books we have read they have gotten some background knowledge about what leprechauns like and what they are attracted to: gold, shiny objects, etc. With all this vital information, they are now ready to form their leprechaun traps. Each year it’s intriguing to see what they come up with. I am always impressed by their innovations and ideas. Once the traps are finished, we set them up all over the classroom in hopes to catch our sneaky friend.
The next day (St. Patrick’s Day) the students enter the classroom to find little leprechaun footprints all over the classroom (green paint), chocolate gold coins, and a very trashed and messy classroom. Again, our sneaky friend has gotten away. The children get such a kick out of it and enjoy creating the traps and learning about the holiday!
