First Grade: Listening to Learn

Last week I started my first grade lessons. For our first lesson, we started with a brain builder to give us strong brains. I reminded students that our brains control our thoughts and our bodies, so our brains have a lot of power. We played a round of "My Turn, Your Turn" where students must listen, wait, and remember while I give directions during My Turn. Once it becomes their turn, they must repeat the directions I gave.

Next, we moved onto the Listen Rules with Snail. Many of us had learned these rules last year, so Snail reminded us of the rules and then we repeated them back to him. The Listening Rules are as follows:

• Eyes Watching (point to eye)
• Ears Listening (cup your ears)
• Voices Quiet (Finger over your mouth)
• Body Still (Hug your body)

For the rest of our lesson, we looked at a photo of a first grade classroom where the teacher was reading and most students were listening. Unfortunately, one student named Will wasn't listening to the teacher. We looked at the picture and searched for clues that showed us he wasn't listening, and we found several. We also looked to see if the other students in the class were following the Listening Rules. 

We ended our lesson with a discussion about what happens when everyone besides the speaker follows the Listening Rules: all students are able to learn. So, by listening, we are allowing all students to learn!