We would like to introduce you to our first grade language arts program. There are four main components to our language arts program, which will be described in the following sections. We hope that this information will help to give you some insight into our busy day in first grade.

Guided reading enables the students to practice strategies with the teacher's support, and leads to independent silent reading. The purpose of guided reading is to enable children to use and develop strategies to figure out words they don't know. The ultimate goal in guided reading is to help children learn how to use independent reading strategies successfully to enable children to read for meaning at all times. The following components are important to the success of guided reading in the classroom:

• The teacher works with a small group of children.
• Children in the group are similar in their development of a reading process and are able to read about the same level of text.
• Teachers introduce the stories and assist children's reading in ways that help to develop independent reading strategies.
• Each child reads the whole text.
• The emphasis is on reading increasingly challenging books over time.
• Children are grouped and regrouped as a result of close observation and assessment by the teacher.

While the teacher is working with a small group of children, the rest of the students are involved in literacy centers. A literacy center is an area in the classroom where children can be actively involved in the learning process. These centers provide opportunities for children to be involved in reading, writing, listening, and speaking activities.

Working with Words

Each day the students are involved in several word activities. On the first day of the week, five new word wall words are introduced. All word wall words are then reviewed throughout the week. Another word activity is called Cast-a-Spell. During this time, students learn mental strategies to improve their spelling skills.

The following are pictures of our children "Working with Words".

The goal of this program is for students to:

• Learn to write sounds they hear in words
• Recognize chunks in words
• Improve students' memory for correct spelling of priority words
• To be successful, students need to hear the word, say the word, write the word, and look at the word. Ultimately, the students will move from temporary to conventional spelling of words.

Making Words is another approach, which combines phonics and spelling. The children are individually given some letters and use these letters to make words. It is a hands-on, manipulative activity in which children discover letter-sound relationships and learn how to look for patterns in words. They also learn that changing just one letter or even the sequence of letters changes the whole word.

During the self-selected reading time, students read books on a variety of topics at their independent reading level. At the independent reading level, the child is able to read without assistance. The purpose of having students read at the independent level is to build fluency in reading, to build confidence in reading ability, and develop an interest in reading. A child that is successful will develop a life-long love of reading.

Choosing appropriate books is a skill that is important for students to develop. While students are reading independently, the teacher conferences with students individually about their book selections. The teacher guides the students in selecting appropriate independent materials. It is our goal that students will be able to select books without teacher guidance.

These pictures are of students in "Self-Selected Reading"

 Writers' Workshop

During writers' workshop the teacher presents a mini-lesson in which she models real writing for the class. A writing skill or strategy will be emphasized during the mini-lesson. After the lesson, students return to their seats to write on a topic of their choice. The teacher circulates to monitor the students' writing and conferences with them throughout the writing process. The students are held accountable for correct spelling of word wall words. Periodically, the teacher and student select a piece of writing for publication.

These students are participating in "Writer's Workshop".

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