New Year Resolutions

Here's a peek at our writing from a couple of weeks ago. We brainstormed things that we wanted to work harder on in 2012..things that we thought we could do better at..our resolutions..first grade style! ;)

After listing ideas, the kiddos wrote their own stories about what they wanted to work harder at in 2012. Then, we attempted our first round of peer conferences. The kids read their writing to a partner, who gave them "2 stars & a wish"...2 things that were great about their writing, & 1 thing they wish was different/better. This was too funny! We have always done this type of feedback after journal share time, but this was their first time 1-on-1 with a peer..and they wrote their brags & suggestions down on paper to give to their partner. Most of the wishes were things like "I wish you would put your name on your paper" or "I wish you would've colored the picture pink instead of red"...They didn't want to upset their partner by questioning their spelling/content/punctuation/capitalization. We need some practice at peer conferencing, but we will definitely get it in the next few months!

Here are some pictures of the kids peer conferencing with a buddy & samples of their stories. These stories were so cute! One of the most popular resolutions in our room was to do a better job of helping mom wash dishes...if they held to it for these 2 weeks, you all should have some shiny dishes!!