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Welcome to School
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Books about the first day of school, families and communities, dealing with emotions/overcoming fears; large self-stick notes/labels; photographs or pictures of students and their families and friends |
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 | As part of your preparations for the beginning of the school year, gather a collection of your favorite books related to the following topics: the first day of school, families and communities, dealing with emotions/overcoming fears. Include several bilingual titles, if possible. Display the books together on a table or a special shelf in the classroom library. See the Resources section of this guide for additional ideas of books to include. |
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Moony Luna / Luna,
Lunita Lunera is a bilingual book with
the text of the story presented in both Spanish and
English. The school setting for the story is a bilingual
classroom. If possible, reflect this by including bilingual
labels for the things in your classroom, including table/mesa,
desk/escritorio, chair/silla, clock/reloj,
globe/globo, door/puerta, window/ventana,
pencil sharpener/sacapuntas, and so on. |
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Before the school year begins or as soon as possible afterwards, request that students and their families send in pictures or photographs of the students with those people who are most important to them. Use these images to create a bulletin board display entitled Our Families and Friends. Be sure to include images of your own family and friends in the display.
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Classes at most grade levels, but particularly kindergarten and first grade, often begin the school year with an introduction to classroom procedures and rules. You may want to consider including as part of the discussion a brainstorming session in which students talk about proper etiquette and behavior for participating in class, including a discussion of how to behave during circle time activities. List students' ideas on a sheet of butcher paper and post it in the classroom for future reference.
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Exploring the Book
Students learn basic book concepts as they go on a "guided tour" of the book and make predictions about its contents.
 15-25 min.
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 whole class
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CA Reading Standard 1.1: Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book. 1.2: Follow words from left to right and from top to bottom on the printed page. 2.1: Locate the title, table of contents, name of author, and name of illustrator. 2.2: Use pictures and context to make predictions about story content.
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One copy of Moony Luna / Luna, Lunita Lunera |
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- During an early circle time meeting with your class,
display a copy of Moony Luna / Luna, Lunita
Lunera and explain that you are going to
read aloud the story in this book about one girl's first
day at school. As you point out the various features of
the book—the cover, back cover, title page, author's
name, illustrator's name, and so on—gauge students'
prior knowledge by asking them to name each feature. Repeat
back to students the name of each feature they have identified,
filling in any they do not name and providing a simple
definition for each one.
- Conduct a "picture walk" in which you page
through the book and ask students to focus their attention
on the pictures. Ask them to name things they see in each
picture and to share their ideas about what is happening.
Before turning to the next page, have them predict what
they think will happen next.
- Read the story aloud, displaying the book to the class.
The focus of this first reading should be reading for
pleasure—encouraging students to enjoy the beauty
of the book and the story it tells. As you read, track
the print with your index finger. Take time to point out
the Spanish and English version of the story, explaining
that this book is a bilingual edition.
Feeling Words
Students listen for words that describe characters and
emotions and then sort the words based on what they describe.
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15-25 min. |
whole class |
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CA Reading Standard 1.15: Read simple one-syllable and high frequency words. 1.17: Identify and sort common words in basic categories.
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| Chalkboard and chalk, or butcher paper and markers
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- Read the story again. Guide students to listen for words that tell about feelings and words that tell about the way things look. If necessary, help them identify the words.
- Write the words students identify on the board or on butcher paper and read them aloud. Then have students read them again. You might ask volunteers to take turns pantomiming what someone looks like when they feel happy, afraid, strong, and so on.
- Ask students to help you sort the words into two groups: words that tell about ways people feel and words that tell about ways things look. Then have them suggest other words they know that fit into these two categories and add them to the chart.
Other Vocabulary Activities
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Picture the Words:
Read to students the following sentences from the story:
“My heart skips just like a little frog”
(p. 3); “I’m five years old and as big as
the full moon” (p. 9). Write the sentences on
the board. Have students copy them onto separate sheets
of paper and draw a picture to go with each one. |
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Sight Words:
Use words from the story to begin a list of sight words
that students can refer to and build on throughout the
year. Such words* could include: to, for, the, a,
be, my, about, how, I, go, and so on.
* Words taken from the first 100 "instant words" in
The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists by Edward
Bernard Fry, Ph. D., Jacqueline E. Kress, Ed. D., and
Dona Lee Fountoukidis, Ed. D. (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
2000) |
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Color Words: Read Luna's description of her clothing on page 15, drawing students' attention to the colors she mentions. Write the colors on the board. Then have students play a game of What's My Color? in which they take turns choosing a color and asking yes/no questions (without naming the color) to try to guess the color. For example, they might ask: Is it the color of the sky? Is it the color of a tomato?
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Picture the Story: What's It All About?
Students draw pictures to show their comprehension of the first, middle, and last parts of the story and then retell the story in their own words.
15-25 min.
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individuals, small groups or whole class
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CA Reading Standard 2.0: Students identify the basic facts and ideas in what they've read, heard, or viewed. 2.5: Ask and answer questions about essential elements of a text.
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- Provide students with copies of the Story
Worksheet. Read aloud the heading in each box on the
worksheet—First, Middle, Last—and explain
that the headings refer to different parts of the story.
- Have students work in either groups of 3 to 4 students, as a whole class,
or individually to draw a picture in each box to tell
what happened the first, middle, and last parts of the
story. Make available a copy or copies of the book for
them to refer to as they do their work.
- When students have finished their drawings, ask them
to display their work to the other members of their group.
Have volunteers use their pictures to help them retell
the story in their own words.
- Afterwards ask students to compare their work with
the work of the other members of their group. You might
also have them ask each other questions about how Luna
is feeling at the different parts of the story depicted
in their drawings.
Our Own First Days
Students describe their own feelings as they approached
and then experienced their first day at school.
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15-25 min. |
whole class |
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CA Reading Standard 2.3: Connect to life experiences the information and events in texts.
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- Reread the story with the class. As you read, pause
at moments in which Luna's feelings are described. Have
students look carefully at Luna's expression in the pictures
that go with these moments. Then ask them to tell how
Luna is feeling. Translate their responses into simple
drawings of a face that show the emotions described. For
example, a smiling face could be used to denote happy.
Create a timeline showing how Luna's emotions change as
the story unfolds.
- Have students think about their own first day at school.
Ask them to think about how they felt on that day. Then
provide students with paper plates or copies of the Feelings
Worksheet. Ask them to draw a picture or pictures
of a face to show their feelings before, during, and/or
after the first day of school. If students use the worksheet,
have them cut out each face that they draw. When students
have finished their drawings, collect their work.
- Display some of the pictures. Discuss with students
the feelings being depicted. Encourage students to use
some of the words they discussed in the vocabulary activity
about feeling words. (To be sensitive to students' feelings,
do not reveal the names of the students who created the
pictures.) Save the pictures for the Graphing Feelings
activity in the Math
section of this guide.
Other Literary Response Activities
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Pictures That Tell a Story:
Have students hunt through the story to find the pictures
of the monster that appear throughout. Ask them to share
their ideas about what story they think those pictures
are telling. |
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Overcoming Fears:
Discuss Luna's fears regarding going
to school as well as the things that happen that help
her deal with her fears. Then ask students to think
about a time they may have been afraid of something
new or a new experience. Have willing students dictate
a sentence or two about their fears and what helped
them feel better in those situations. Encourage students
to draw a picture to go with the sentences. |
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