Welcome, Parents! Our 1st Grade Jungle Tales & Language Arts class is an exciting journey into the world of Rudyard Kipling's 'Just So Stories.'  These will be rewritten to 1st grade reading level. Through captivating narratives, your child will embark on a literary adventure, fostering essential reading, writing, and language skills. 

Join us as we create a dynamic and engaging learning environment, sparking the joy of storytelling and language exploration in our young learners.

Meeting Schedule: February 13 - May 16, 2024 (Tuesdays,Wednesdays & Thursdays),  with no classes over Spring Break 

Class Goals:
•	Explore the imaginative world of "Just So Stories" by Rudyard Kipling.
•	Develop foundational reading skills through engaging stories and activities.
•	Enhance writing skills through creative storytelling and language arts exercises.

🔖Week 1: Introduction to "Just So Stories"
February 13 (Tuesday): Read "How the Camel Got His Hump." Introduce new vocabulary related to the story, with emphasis on challenging words suitable for 2nd/3rd graders.
February 14 (Wednesday): Spelling, vocabulary, and grammar games using words from the story. Incorporate more complex spelling patterns and grammar rules.
February 15 (Thursday): Creative writing: Students write a short paragraph about a favorite animal and its special feature, focusing on descriptive language and complete sentences.

🔖Week 2: Exploring Animal Characters
February 20 (Tuesday): Read "The Elephant's Child." Introduce new vocabulary words from the story, including synonyms and antonyms for advanced learners.
February 21 (Wednesday): Spelling, vocabulary, and grammar games using words from the story. Include activities that reinforce sentence structure and punctuation.
February 22 (Thursday): Creative writing: Students create a short narrative about an adventure featuring an animal character, focusing on sequencing and story elements.

🔖Week 3: Storytelling and Comprehension
February 27 (Tuesday): Read "The Cat That Walked by Himself." Introduce new vocabulary related to cats and storytelling, including idioms and figurative language.
February 28 (Wednesday): Spelling, vocabulary, and grammar games using words from the story. Incorporate activities that enhance comprehension skills, such as sequencing events and making predictions.
February 29 (Thursday): Creative writing: Students craft their own version of the story, changing elements to create a new plot while maintaining the original theme.

🔖Week 4: Imaginative Writing and Grammar Fun
March 5 (Tuesday): Read "The Butterfly That Stamped." Introduce new vocabulary related to butterflies and imagination, including adjectives and adverbs.
March 6 (Wednesday): Spelling, vocabulary, and grammar games using words from the story. Focus on irregular verbs, comparative and superlative adjectives, and compound sentences.
March 7 (Thursday): Creative writing: Students write a descriptive paragraph about a magical creature they invent, emphasizing vivid imagery and varied sentence structure.

🔖Week 5: Jungle Adventures and Descriptive Writing
March 12 (Tuesday): Read "How the Leopard Got His Spots." Introduce new vocabulary to describe animals and their features, including similes and metaphors.
March 13 (Wednesday): Spelling, vocabulary, and grammar games using words from the story. Include activities that reinforce descriptive writing techniques, such as sensory details and strong verbs.
March 14 (Thursday): Creative writing: Students describe a jungle scene using descriptive language, focusing on creating a vivid mental image for the reader.

⭐Spring Break: March 19-21, 2024 - No Classes⭐


🔖Week 6: Interactive Language Arts Activities
March 26 (Tuesday): Read "The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo." Introduce new vocabulary related to animals and nature, including homophones and context clues.
March 27 (Wednesday): Spelling, vocabulary, and grammar games using words from the story. Incorporate activities that reinforce parts of speech and sentence types.
March 28 (Thursday): Creative writing: Students write a short narrative from the perspective of an animal character, focusing on voice and point of view.

🔖Week 7: Engaging Activities
April 2 (Tuesday): Read "The Armadillo's Dream." Introduce new vocabulary related to dreams and adventures, including idiomatic expressions and figurative language.
April 3 (Wednesday): Spelling, vocabulary, and grammar games using words from the story. Include activities that develop understanding of complex sentence structures and figurative language.
April 4 (Thursday): Creative writing: Students invent a new dream adventure for an animal character, emphasizing creativity and storytelling skills.

🔖Week 8: Imaginative Creation and Grammar Fun
April 9 (Tuesday): Read "How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin." Introduce new vocabulary related to skin and animals, focusing on synonyms and context clues.
April 10 (Wednesday): Spelling, vocabulary, and grammar games using words from the story. Incorporate activities that reinforce subject-verb agreement and sentence variety.
April 11 (Thursday): Creative writing: Students create their own "Just So" story featuring an animal character, emphasizing plot development and descriptive language.

🔖Week 9: Imaginative Creation and Grammar Fun
April 16 (Tuesday): Read "The Beginning of the Armadillos.” Introduce new vocabulary related to beginnings and armadillos, including word roots and prefixes/suffixes.
April 17 (Wednesday): Spelling, vocabulary, and grammar games using words from the story. Include activities that reinforce word meaning in context and sentence structure.
April 18 (Thursday): Creative writing: Students write a short story about the beginning of something new, focusing on organization and coherence.

🔖Week 10: Exploring Language Arts through Stories
April 23 (Tuesday): Read "The Crab That Played with the Sea." Introduce new vocabulary related to sea creatures and play, including multiple meaning words and figurative language.
April 24 (Wednesday): Spelling, vocabulary, and grammar games using words from the story. Incorporate activities that develop understanding of word relationships and sentence combining.
April 25 (Thursday): Creative writing: Students draw and write about a fun activity they would do with a sea creature, emphasizing imaginative expression and detail.

🔖Week 11: Creative Writing and Vocabulary Fun
April 30 (Tuesday): Read "How the Whale got his throat.” Introduce new vocabulary related to whales and throats, including word origins and analogies.
May 1 (Wednesday): Spelling, vocabulary, and grammar games using words from the story. Include activities that reinforce understanding of figurative language and word usage.
May 2 (Thursday): Creative writing: Students write a story about a whale's adventure to find its throat, focusing on plot development and narrative structure.

🔖Week 12: Exploring Jungle Adventures
May 7 (Tuesday): Read "How the Leopard Got His Spots." Introduce new vocabulary to describe animals and their features, including figurative language and literary devices.
May 8 (Wednesday): Spelling, vocabulary, and grammar games using words from the story. Incorporate activities that develop understanding of sentence fluency and paragraph structure.
May 9 (Thursday): Creative writing: Students describe a jungle scene using descriptive language, focusing on sensory details and imagery.

🔖Week 13: Interactive Language Arts Games
May 14 (Tuesday): Review vocabulary from all the stories read. Play spelling and vocabulary games inspired by the "Just So Stories," including word puzzles and vocabulary challenges.
May 15 (Wednesday): Grammar review session with interactive exercises, including sentence editing and grammar quizzes.
May 16 (Thursday): Farewell celebration with fun language arts games and activities, including storytelling and creative writing prompts.