Mrs. DeSantis

On Friday, first graders at Stark celebrated Creepy Crawly Day as a culminating event following a 7-week long unit on Non-Fiction.  Each year, I'm excited and a bit nervous to see the final products. I had great confidence that my students could handle the rigorous requirements of both the report and the project, as they have demonstrated a clear understanding of how non-fiction works. Each day in class, we started our morning meeting by checking in on our progress. Students were eager to share what parts of the project they finished, what access features they'd decided to include, and what they planned on adding before the due date. I was impressed by how easily they used the vocabulary to describe their progress. "I'm adding an index, even though I have a table of contents." "I was wondering if I could include scientific diagrams and photographs?" "I am still researching about the predators. I may have to check another non-fiction text." This was the language of research, the language of scholarship, the language of learning.  Sometimes, I have to remind myself that these students are six and seven years old! Needless to say on Friday morning, as students started to arrive with reports and projects, I  breathed a deep sigh of relief and felt a growing sense of pride.  The reports exceeded my expectations and the projects seem to get more inventive each year.  I couldn't help but be reminded of a phrase I use often and is, in many ways, the foundation of my teaching philosophy; "Children rise and lower themselves to our expectations."  When all students are held accountable for high quality, rigorous learning, they rise to meet, and often, exceed it. With encouragement, support, and opportunities to take accountability for their own learning choices, learners will choose to be high achievers. This lesson can never be taught too soon. It was a lesson exemplified on one Friday, in first grade, when creepy crawlies came to life!

       One of my favorite parts of first grade is teaming up with a fifth grade class for "5th Grade Buddies". For the last several years, my class has teamed with Ms. Lynam and Mrs. Porco's class. We get together once or twice a month for math or literacy activities. Simple enough. What happens when our students get together is anything but simple.  A multitude of skills, both academic and social, are instantly activated as first graders pair off with their "big buddies" and fifth graders become "teachers" and role models in front of our eyes. A nurturing instinct kicks in as they guide their "little buddies" to a comfy spot to share a good book. Encouraging words like, "Use your strategies" and "You are becoming a great reader!" fill the classroom with a busy hum. First graders jump for joy when they see "5th grade buddies" on our daily schedule. Gasps of excitement are heard in the halls if we happen to pass our buddies on the way to art. There is something so exotic and  so mysterious about fifth graders. So tall, so cool, so smart. I can't help but smile as first graders give their buddies a "hug or a handshake" as we bid them farewell. Samantha said it best when she said, "I can't wait to grow up to be a fifth grader!" I know all of my first graders will be great "big buddies" one day!