Grade 1-2

This week in the library, First Grade cooled off with a visit to scenic Norway. We learned that citizens of this country love the great natural splendor of the coast, the mountains and fjords. We began by sharing selections from a non-fiction text, Norway by Elaine Landau which has beautiful pictures and is filled with fascinating facts about this land of the north. Our stories centered around the folkloric theme of trolls, some of the most varied and fascinating creatures of the Norwegian literary landscape and were taken from an amazing collection of retellings by Lise Lunge-Larsen, The Troll With No Heart In His Body and Other Tales Of Trolls From Norway. Our trip to Norway will continue next week with more troll adventures. Happy Reading!

In honor of Shakespeare’s recent birthday (4/23), first graders took an active approach to learning a little bit about the English language’s most celebrated writer. The first half of our Elizabethan exploration took place outside around campus where I introduced the students to three of Shakespeare’s most popular plays (Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Using props and costumes we role-played scenes, examined the difference between tragedy and comedy and learned a bit about Shakespeare’s life. The second half of our time was a scaffolding activity that worked with the theme of “differences” from Romeo and Juliet. In Michael’s Ulik’s book, Romeo the Rhino’s Rocky Romance, a rhino named Romeo falls in love with Astrid the ostrich. While Astrid reciprocates the feeling, her family is against the friendship because “ostriches and rhinos don’t mix”. While this story had a happy ending, it allowed us to consider what might happen if (as in the original version) if people were not allowed to be friends because of their differences. Lastly,
we took the famous quote, What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet (Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, scene 2) and learned what each of our names mean. We were excited to learn that first grade has many warriors, kings and visions of loveliness in it!

The first Earth day was celebrated in 1970, and continues to be marked on April 22 each year. This week in the library, First Grade kicked off an early Earth Day with a story and activity. We began by sharing The People Who Hugged The Trees. In this adaptation by Deborah Lee Rose of an original Indian legend that is over three hundred years old, a young girl Amrita mobilizes her fellow villagers to save the trees from deforestation by hugging them. With its message of non-violent activism, this story sparked our lively discussion of what we can do to help preserve our planet. As follow-up activities, First Grade went on an Earth Hunt in the library searching for puzzle pieces that spelled out a festive message. We concluded with book browsing and check out. Happy Reading!