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The students work on a specific piece of writing during “Writer’s Workshop” every day. Before they write though, they practice yoga to get their bodies ready for a morning of learning. Miller said that Yoga helps first-graders focus and make good decisions about their behaviors. “Yoga allows us to move in a purposeful way before we have to sit still. That makes for fewer unexpected behaviors in our classroom and room for more meaningful learning,” said Miller.

Amy Reiss is the English as a Second Language teacher for the District, servicing grades 1-4. This is her 6th year teaching in Loveland and her 12th year of teaching. She services students who are bilingual, or who need support from exposure to another language. She sees students inside and outside of the classroom and provides them additional support in English Language Development. There are over 14 languages represented in the District. Reiss and Miller have co-taught for 5 years and work together teaching the Expanding Expressions Tool Writing sequence for the whole class. The languages represented in Miller’s first-grade class this year are Spanish, Uzbek, Tajik, Kyrgyz, and English.

After yoga, Miller dives into the writing lesson. She said, “Some days there is a mini-lesson from me, some days there is time to share, and there is always time to write, or what we call a work session”. Amy Reiss (English as a Second Language teacher for grades 1-4) and I work together.” The students just finished pieces titled “My Thanksgiving” where they retold the facts from their Thanksgiving Holidays with their families. “They turned out wonderful. The children worked hard on including adjectives to describe pie and mashed potatoes. So much work went into this three-week writing project. We completed our pieces of writing with a fancy cover, class photo, and a ribbon. They knew their piece of writing was even more important when I took the time to pull it all together for them this way.”

The languages represented in Miller’s first-grade class this year are Spanish, Uzbek, Tajik, Kyrgyz, and English. There are 26 students in the class and approximately twenty-five percent are “English Learners”.

Upon return from Winter Break, the class will turn their focus to “small moments.” These personal narratives are also fun to write, according to Miller. For example, instead of writing about their Winter Break, a huge topic, a student might focus just on the moments of making cookies with their grandma while on winter break. “We will then move into a personal narrative about a snowy day which also serves as an assessment piece. And then, my favorite – opinion pieces,” said Miller.

Miller’s first-grade classroom recently volunteered to pilot two new writing resources for the District so they will be working with those during January and February. Miller said, “We are excited to see what they have to offer to help us become even better writers. I will then share my thoughts and examples of my student’s writing with our writing team to help make a decision about which resource we will use in our District at the elementary level in the years to come. It’s going to be a lot of work, but worth it.”

While at Loveland Magazine each group practiced reading what they wrote and were filmed for broadcast.

Miller’s first-graders also work on writing in personal journals every day. This can be a challenge because they can sometimes see this as a job rather than a place they can express themselves. Miller says writing in the journals improves writing stamina. Miller said, “Each month the expectation increases to help them expand a topic that they have been writing about. They must stick to the prompt and really stretch their thinking during this time each day.” When they are done writing in their journal, they have to read it to a friend before turning it in. Reading what they wrote is an important skill for first graders, according to Miller. Their classmate then offers them some constructive criticism and usually, the student returns to their desk to improve their journal before turning it in. Miller said they also work on choosing a friend who will actually offer good advice and not just say, “It looks good.”

“So much learning!” said Miller. Each child has a goal for their journals hanging on their desk. The students write their goal. Some want to make their writing more interesting or work on their illustrations. And some who are learning English want to better use their new vocabulary. “Goal setting has become a very important part of writing in our classroom,” said Miller.

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