My first graders are some of the most resilient, hilarious, compassionate and hardworking kids around! They are curious about the world around them and they love learning new things.
Our classroom is a special place where we learn by trying our best, taking risks, and making mistakes we can learn from.
We have high expectations for ourselves and for others. We work hard to create a community where all learners feel safe and valued. Students have lots of choices in our classroom and many opportunities to be leaders.
My Project
In first grade, we start every day with a morning meeting. The goal of a morning meeting is to build community in the classroom and meet students' needs for belonging, significance, and fun. During morning meeting, we practice social skills and social, emotional, and academic learning. This ritual sets a tone for respectful and engaged learning in a climate of trust.
While I have beautiful hardwood floors in my classroom that I'm super geeked about, I need a rug to provide structure and comfort to students during morning meeting and other instructional times.
The rug I chose is versatile - large enough to accommodate 30 students sitting in a circle, or clustered in the middle for story time. The rug will also be used during independent reading and work time, as I use a flexible seating approach in my classroom where students have the freedom to work wherever they want in the classroom (and the floor is usually the most popular choice!).
I am also asking for a large easel where I can write a letter to my students each morning. As students come in, they respond to a question. During our meeting, we read the message together and honor each other's ideas. The easel also has large tubs in the bottom where I will store their independent reading book bags. I use the easel to post lyrics to songs, directions for activities, and during shared writing time.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. E. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.