Setting a spooky tone, first grade students enjoyed sharing another Peter Brown book, Creepy Carrots. In addition to reviewing basic story elements (character, setting, plot) students were introduced to the literary device of mood. We discussed mood as the feeling or emotion an author and illustrator create in a book. We examined word choice and visual cues prompting a variety of emotions and feelings. Visiting the Peter Brown website, students viewed The Creepy Carrots Zone, a video in which Peter Brown details the inspiration for his illustrations in Creepy Carrots. The music and tone of the video served to explain and reinforce the creepy and spooky feelings evoked by the book. As a follow up, students will be writing about the mood of the story. Working through the writing process, students will brainstorm ideas and complete a prewriting activity in which they select the mood of the story and write or draw pictures of details supporting the selected mood. Later this week, students will complete the writing process by drafting, sharing, editing, and publishing their writing. Reading response activities this afternoon enabled students to practice reading comprehension strategies as they sequenced the story and made text-to-self connections. Linking math and literature, students are creating their own symmetrical creepy carrots.
Linear Measurement
This week in math, first graders have been working with both nonstandard and standard units as we are learning about linear measurements. Working with nonstandard