My First Grade Class

What a joy this school year is. Very different from my previous years, this year I have what is called the "inclusion class" which means I have 6 students with individual education plans or as we say "IEP's". Along with this classification, I get a full time aide who is meant to support my special 6 but she does so much more. Her name is Michelle and she loves to bake and cook and I am the recipient of her new or tried and true recipes. The other morning she brought me a delicious piece of pecan bread just because she knew I had to be at school early. It's like having a mother there to take care of me.

My school district is also known as a District In Need of Improvement - or DINI and with that comes funding to improve student performance. While that is an unfortunate standing for us, it set an agenda for reduced class sizes and my other joy this year is that I only have 16 students. This is a walk in the park and I am rocking as a teacher this year (I don't mind saying)! With the training I took over the summer at Lesley University's Literacy Institute as well as piloting a fabulous new reading series, my class is reaching levels I never would have anticipated for first graders.

They can tell you the difference between fiction and non-fiction genres, they can write stories with voice and logical sequence, they are what I tell them, "literary genius' and can have conversations with each other about stories I read aloud to them and make connections to themselves, other books and to the world.

They are very sweet and loving. I get an " I love you Mrs. Alviene" everyday and special pictures almost every morning starting our new day that they have drawn the night before at home. I feel I have come into my own as a teacher this year and it has been truly wonderful.