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Monday, June 13, 2011

First Day Read Aloud

So every year, I read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. The activity I do has changed, but I've been reading the same book for the past 8-9 years.

This is the activity I did this past school year.


Click here for the templates. 


I am looking for something NEW to read. What do you read to your kids? What kinds of activities do you do as a follow up?

11 comments:

  1. I will read Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss and have the students write a goal setting letter (or just list 2-3 goals) that they want to accomplish over the year. I will keep the letters and the students will pull them out before Christmas break, Spring break, and Summer break to see if they have met their goals and set new ones.

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  2. I love to read First Day Jitters. Have you read it?
    Jenn
    http://finallyinfirst.blogspot.com/

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  3. I also read The First Grade Jitters. I also do a guided self portrait of what they look like on the first day. I take a picture of them too. After they have done their Hopes and Dreams later in the week, I attach them all together and hang them on their lockers for most of the year.

    http://firstgradefuntastic.blogspot.com/

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  4. I also read The Kissing Hand. Then I have the students make handprints, which I quickly cut up to create a puzzle, and then place in a 5" X 8" envelope to go home. There is a poem on the envelope (I prep this ahead of time) that is to the parents and asks them to sit with their favorite first grader and help them put the puzzle together.

    I also have the students create a second hand print (since their hand is already covered in ink, why not?) and that goes on a bulletin along with dictation I write down about how they feel on the first day of school. Camille

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  5. We read Chrysanthemum and do a variety of name activities. We do activities around their names for the first few days. I am looking for a new book too so thanks for the ideas!

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  6. Thank you all for the great ideas. I have not read First Day Jitters or First Grade Jitters. I guess I will have to visit Amazon. I used to read Chrysanthemum on the first week of school and stopped (don't know why). So maybe I can revisit that book. There are tons of stuff to do with their names. Thanks ladies!

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  7. In the past, I have read Leo the Late Bloomer. I just love the story and think it's too cute! I have some activities we have done, too. I don't know if I did it last year or not. The kids like it. I read some of the other books by Robert Kraus then, too, and we tie it together in the author study.

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  8. I love that story! I haven't read that in a few years. Could you share some activities you do with it. I used it toward the end of the year to model revising and editing.

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  9. I read Mouse Goes to School and Llama Llama Misses Mama. My class this past year was all non-verbal our activities varied greatly!

    Virginia

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  10. I LOOOOVE this book and I always recommend it at Meet the Teacher for those parents whose children have a hard time with the separation!

    Rowdy in First Grade

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  11. I always read First Day Jitters and Ms. Bindergarten Goes to Kindergarten. After reading the books I have the kids draw a picture of what they want to learn in Pre-K. We put the pictures together in a class book. The kids LOVE it!

    http://teachingmaketheworld.blogspot.com

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