Working on words

Nicholas Jennings already knows what he wants to get out of first grade: permission to enter second grade.

But until that comes, Jennings, 7, is content to learn some addition and subtraction and reading.

First grade can be a challenge for students because a lot is expected of them. The day is filled with worksheets, projects, art or music or a trip to the library -- and recess, of course.

The state's education department sets curriculum standards each school must follow, but the basic skills are the same every year, said first-grade teacher Winona Crampton. Students must leave first grade knowing basic addition and subtraction, letters, small words and how to write sentences and how to read.

Starts with spelling

A typical day in Crampton's classroom at Franklin Elementary School begins with lessons in spelling, language and reading. By afternoon, the students work again on math and some science and social studies skills.

Each Thursday morning, the class reads the Mini Page and then works on the puzzles and connect-the-dot drawings at their desk. As the 17 students take their seats -- some sits in groups of four while others are in rows lined up against the outer walls of the room -- Crampton begins to pass out a book, "Words I Know," the students will create.

As the students recite words they know and can easily spell, Crampton writes each one on a dry erase board that covers a green chalkboard. Holding a black marker, she writes words like go, fast, yes, no, school, pounced, seven and gooey.

The students get a refresher lesson in the parts of speech: nouns, verb and adjective. At one point, their list is lacking adjectives, so Crampton requests one. "Choose words you could use in a story," she explains.

One child says, "It's like we're making a dictionary."

As the children finish writing the words on the pages of their book, which they tuck away inside their desks, Crampton moves them to another lesson. This time it's spelling.

Most of their language, reading and spelling lessons occur in the morning when the children are their freshest, she said.

She ducks into a closet where much of her classroom supplies are stored and comes back with two plastic containers filled with magnetic letters. She gives each student a handful of the letters and asks them to work in groups to spell words -- each one adding letters from their pile to make the word.

Working together lets the children build social skills and learn to help one another. "That's part of it," Crampton said.

As a class, the children spell out run and up, though some have problems with up and want to reverse the letters. "Remember to have your mouths closed and ears open," she says as she gives the next word to be spelled: said.

The class repeats the word and then their hands scramble to find the s, a, i and d necessary to spell it out. They've accomplished their task and move to another lesson but first must put the letters back into the container.

Learning about bones

As the students are clearing off their desks, student teacher Stacy Skidmore passes out two sheets of paper the children can color and will use for a story later about the old woman who swallowed a fly.

The first question is whether they can use markers to color with. The students, beginning to pull out scissors and markers and crayons from the insides of their desks, are ready for the task. Cutting out shapes appears to be a favorite part of their day.

And Crampton knows that. She walks to the front of the classroom and tells the students to put away their latest project so another can begin. She hangs a skeleton on the peg at the chalkboard and starts talking to the class about skeletons and bones.

"Bones give us shape," she said. "Otherwise, you'd be a glob."

To illustrate her lesson on bones, she gets the students to form a circle around the room so they can dance the Hokey Pokey.

"That used about every bone in your body," she tells the students as they are seated and begin cutting out the pieces of a skeleton to paste it together on construction paper.

She walks around the room to answer questions and comment on their hard work.

Shortly before 10 a.m., the class begins to line up and head to music. Each day the class has some activity outside their classroom, whether it's time in the computer lab or art or physical education. During most of those times, Crampton and Skidmore head back to the classroom and prepare for the next part of their day.

Mostly hands-on

Most of the lessons in first grade are hands-on, Crampton said. Those activities help them remember the lessons, whether it is moving little plastic disks for lessons in addition or spelling words with plastic letters.

"If you don't have a messy floor at the end of the day, it isn't first grade," she said.

The children are an active group, Crampton said, adding that hands-on activity helps the students make progress quickly.

By Christmas break, most of the students can read "just about anything" although they entered school in August without much skill. The class is divided into reading groups based on skill, so that children can help each other, she said.

After recess at 11:10 and then lunch, the children head back to their classroom by noon. The afternoon is much quieter, with lessons in math, reading groups and some time at their desks to finish earlier projects.

During reading, the children sit in a circle at the back of the room and use colored strips of paper to mark their place as they take turns reading from a book. When one child doesn't know a word, others in the group help sound it out.

"Remember what I tell you: Read it once, read it again and read it one more time," Crampton said as she instructs the students to take their books home to practice.

Several students, almost half of them, head to another classroom for specialized lessons in language or math for part of the afternoon.

The day closes with students headed to their lockers for jackets and backpacks so they can take their projects home. By 3:10 p.m., students whose parents pick them up or who walk home are dismissed. Students who ride buses leave at 3:15 p.m.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126