themes (long)

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themes (long)
By sheila

I am also a first grade teacher...I will begin my year with Watermelons and Nursery Rhymes. I will use the theme to teach phonemic awareness. We will be reading Down by the Bay and The Enormous Watermelon plus lots of
nursery rhymes (The Enormous Watermelon is about several nursery rhyme characters helping to pull a watermelon).
We will go on a Watermelon Hunt so that I can introduce the class to various people in the school. We will use the watermelon for math and maybe some science exploration.
I use my themes mostly to teach Reading....but I don't let the theme interfere with teaching

other reading skills (we will also be learning names and using a word wall, etc. in the very beginning). We use the Saxon Math program...so my math is covered with that (but I can add other things for enrichment). We will do lots of art projects and have some fun cooking time, too! I like to make sure my children enjoy school, and using themes helps with that!
I like to use themes to tie the room environment together. Their name tags and lunch/attendance tags will be watermelon, etc. I will use watermelon and ideas from the watermelon books we are using to decorate the room. I will print some of the songs and poems...those will be displayed, too. I just think it helps keep some consistency in the classroom. It helps me when I am decorating....and I think making the classroom inviting is very important.
I hope this helps!