Aug 5 (edited) • General discussion
First Day of School curriculum
🎓 The First Day of School: Integrated Curriculum
Grade Level: 3rd (adaptable for 2nd–5th)
Timeframe: 1–3 days
Theme: The First Day of School (past, present, and future)
Focus: Community, routines, identity, and learning across disciplinesAligned to Oklahoma Academic Standards (OAS)
🔤 English Language Arts (ELA) / Reading
Objective:
Students will read and comprehend narrative and informational texts related to the first day of school, identify character traits, and make text-to-self connections.
Standards:
- OAS-ELA 3.3.R.3 – Describe character traits.
- OAS-ELA 3.3.R.1 – Read and comprehend grade-level texts.
- OAS-ELA 3.2.W.1 – Write narratives using sequence and key details.
Activities:
- Read-Aloud: First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg
- Discussion Prompt: "How do you feel on the first day of school? How is that similar or different from the character?"
- Text Connection Chart: Text-to-self activity with side-by-side comparisons.
- Character Trait Web: Identify and describe character traits from the text.
✍️ Writing
Objective:
Students will write a personal narrative about their own first day of school or imagine a futuristic school experience.
Standards:
- OAS-ELA 3.2.W.2 – Write narratives with a beginning, middle, and end.
- OAS-ELA 3.5.W.2 – Use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
Activities:
- Prompt 1: “Write about your first day of school this year.”
- Prompt 2 (Extension): “Imagine the first day of school 100 years from now.”
- Peer Review Checklist: Focus on story structure, grammar, and detail.
🧠 Math
Objective:
Students will collect, organize, and interpret data related to first day experiences.
Standards:
- OAS-MATH 3.D.1.1 – Represent and interpret data using bar graphs and pictographs.
- OAS-MATH 3.N.1.1 – Read and write numbers up to 10,000.
Activities:
- Survey: “How do you feel today?” (happy, nervous, excited, etc.)
- Graphing: Create a bar graph with the results.
- Math Prompt: "How many more students felt excited than nervous?"
- Extension: Write numbers from graph in standard and expanded form.
🧬 Science
Objective:
Explore how the brain and body respond to new experiences like the first day of school.
Standards:
- OAS-SCI 3.LS1.1 – Understand how living organisms grow and respond to their environment.
Activities:
- Mini-Lesson: “How does the brain help you with new experiences?”
- Emotional Response: Learn how your body responds to feelings (sweaty hands, fast heartbeats).
- Calm Experiment: Measure heart rate before and after a mindfulness or breathing exercise.
📚 History / Social Studies
Objective:
Explore what the first day of school looked like in the past and how school has changed over time.
Standards:
- OAS-SS 3.1.3 – Compare how communities (like schools) change over time.
- OAS-SS 3.3.1 – Understand the role of citizens in communities.
Activities:
- Compare and Contrast: Schools in 1925 vs. today (clothes, supplies, routines).
- Primary Source Analysis: View historical classroom photos or student journals.
- Writing Extension: “Would you like to go to school 100 years ago? Why or why not?”
🎨 Art
Objective:
Use visual art to express feelings and experiences related to the first day of school.
Standards:
- OAS-VA 3.PR.1.1 – Use art to communicate personal ideas and experiences.
- OAS-VA 3.CN.2.2 – Connect personal experiences with artwork.
Activities:
- Self-Portrait Project: “Me on the First Day of School” – facial expressions, outfits, classroom background.
- Emotion Color Wheel: Choose colors to represent different emotions.
- Class Mural: “Our First Day Together” – each student adds a square of their day.
🎭 Optional Enrichment: Drama / Speaking & Listening
Objective:
Build confidence through performance and storytelling.
Standards:
- OAS-ELA 3.1.S.1 – Participate in collaborative discussions.
Activities:
- Skits: Reenact a “first day” scenario (getting lost, meeting new friends, etc.)
- Circle Share: “What’s one word to describe your first day?”
- Storytelling Workshop: Share first day stories in groups.
🌐 Technology Integration (Optional)
- Record first day stories using Flip or Seesaw.
- Create a class slideshow: “Meet Our Class” with one slide per student.
- Make a welcome video for next year’s students.
✅ Assessment Ideas
- Writing Rubric: Narrative structure, grammar, punctuation.
- Math Worksheet: Graph reading and number questions.
- Science Journal Entry: Reflection on brain and emotion connection.
- Art Reflection: One sentence about what your artwork shows about your day.
📌 Materials Needed
- Chart paper and markers
- Graphing templates or graph paper
- Emotion cards or emojis
- Primary source images (printed or digital)
- Art supplies (crayons, markers, paper, glue)
- Books like First Day Jitters, School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex
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First Day of School curriculum
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