Thinking Deeply About Fiction Books in First Grade

First graders are grappling with big ideas as they listen to books read aloud and read their own books during reading workshop. As they listen to the first book in the Dino Rider's series by Will Dare, How to Tame a Triceratops, they are encountering sophisticated vocabulary and expressive language. During one of their discussions, after listening to a chapter read aloud, they needed to confer with a partner in order to think about the meaning of the word "exaggeration"and then to decide if the main character was exaggerating something that he said happened to his hero.

Students are learning that there is not always a clear right answer and they need to think about the clues in the story and then use their inferential thinking skills to deepen their understanding of the story. After listening to the story read aloud, first graders then have the opportunity to apply their thinking skills to their own books. The strategies of making text connections. thinking about setting, character, problem and solution and the main ideas of the beginning, middle and end of the story are becoming deeper ways for students to show their understanding of the story. Students develop resilience and stamina as they look for ways to give examples from the story to prove their ideas.