Teaching first grade??

Question

If you are a 1st grade teacher PLEASE tell me about your daily routine.

What do you have them do in the mornings when they are waiting for school to start? Can you write anything on the board for them cuz i know they can't read yet??

Then what are some of you rules like behavior plans, and homework policy.

I am looking into teaching first grade but Im not sure if it is right for me but i love the littler kids alot!

Answer 1

I'm not a first grade teacher, but I am a teacher and had the experience of student teaching in a first grade classroom. First graders are cute, but they are a handful. It is important to be consistent with them in order for them to learn the classroom procedures and routines. I used a lot of picture cards as well as words. You'd be surprised at what some of them know! One great thing about first grade is that the students get excited about almost anything. As long as you have a lot of energy and our sensitive, first grade might be a good choice for you.

Answer 2

Hi Sarah,

I've taught first grade and I have them practice thier handwriting for 5 to 10 minutes while I take roll and lunch count. The handwriting is in a binder or run off for 2 weeks or more at a time and put on their desks before school starts. It saves time if you can run off handwriting packets ahead of time so you don't have to put the individual sheets on their desks each morning.

As far as routine:

Handwriting/Roll/Announcements

Calendar

Phonics instruction/reading

Recess

Writing/Language Arts

Math (at least one hour)

-about 10 to 15 minutes instruction and 15 minutes seat work followed by a 30 minute workshop with either worksheets or math games.

Lunch

Character Education (this school has behavior issues)

Reading Workshop-(this is one hour at this school as I have 75% ELL's) and our reading scores are so low.

Anything else we need to cover: PE, social studies, science, etc.

Recap of day/wrap up: 15 minutes; including time to pack up.



Let me know if this helps.

Answer 3

In the morning, I used to start by writing a morning message to the students on the back easel. We would read it together as a class, then I'd have students come up and circle sight words, punctuation, or maybe sound/letter combinations. Then we would do a calendar routine.

Now that it's the end of the year, almost all my students can read fluently so I have them come to their desks and do their grammar warm-ups. We review punctuation, contractions, etc. Then the kids write in their journals based on the rubric I have in place for them. In the beginning, I would give them topics, but now most of them can generate their own ideas.

As for a behavior plan, different colored cards work nicely with the younger kids. I use 5 but some teachers just use 3. All students start the day on a green card. If a student is breaking a classroom rule, they get a warning (the card in their chart turns to yellow). Next, they have to take a time out in the back of the room (red card). Next, they miss recess (blue card). Finally, they are sent to the principal or I call their parent to come sit in the room and/or remove the child (purple card).

I motivate the kids by giving them "team points" for being on task (I keep their tally marks on the board where they can see them). Each team is a certain color (red team, yellow team, etc.). The team that wins each day is entered into the weekly contest. The team with the most wins by the end of the week gets a prize. I also give stickers for good participation during lessons (randomly). This age group loves stickers. I also pick special helpers, let well-behaved groups go to recess first, line up first, etc.

For homework I assign weekly homework packets. They get a sheet of math and spelling each day plus a reading log. All of it is due on Friday in their homework folder. I keep track of the homework by putting stickers on their chart. Most of the kids turn in their homework but some constantly don't. Next year I'm thinking of being more strict about it by calling their parents or giving prizes for students who turn in all their homework each month. I told the class that if everyone turned it in, we'd have a pizza party but that never happened.

Personally, I would love to teach 3rd grade. I am going to be looking for an older grade for next year!