IN THE CLASSROOM -- Fantastic first-graders

Danette Goulet

Whoever it was that said “everything I need to know I learned in

kindergarten” must have forgotten about first grade.

As 20 first-graders knelt and sat cross-legged last week at Paularino

Elementary School, they were nearly oblivious to the huge amounts of

knowledge they were processing.

Their teacher, Lori Frohoff, led them in a game of Simon Says, then they

settled on the carpet for the morning message, which read “Good morning

swell students! Today is Wednesday, February 2, 2000. It’s Groundhog Day!

We’ll make a graph about the groundhog’s shadow. Do you remember what

happens if he sees his own shadow?”

Seems simple enough.

But as they read each sentence aloud -- a feat in itself for a 6- or

7-year-old first-grader, their voices were filled with inflection and

they paused at every comma.

They knew “it’s” is a contraction of “it is.” They knew the definition of

a contraction.

When asked, they were able to answer nearly any question about the

structure and grammar of a sentence.

On they went with the daily routine, changing magnetic signs to suit the

day. There were all kinds of colorful charts and calendars. Yesterday was

Tuesday, Today is Wednesday, Tomorrow is Thursday, one area now read.

“Yesterday, we had been in school 86 days,” Frohoff said. “Who can tell

me how many days we’ve been in school today?”

Never did I think they would know that. Sure enough, they knew it was 87.

They didn’t even need the visual aid their teacher had ready. Next, the

precocious youngsters determined if 87 was an odd or even number.

Because they were doing so well with numbers, Frohoff asked if they

wanted to skip count -- counting in intervals -- and by how many numbers?

“Three,” answered 7-year-old Whitney McAleer. “I can barely count by

three past 12 without using my fingers.”

Another classroom lesson had the students thinking about the outdoors as

they learned about the seasons and weather.

Teaching manners, Frohoff was using phrases like “crisscross applesauce,”

for sit nicely with your legs crossed, or “who’s being an aggressive

alligator when they should be an assertive me?”

The “aggressive alligator,” she explained, was being loud and yelling out

the answers, while “an assertive me” raised their hand.

Somehow, it was endearing instead of silly.

For Groundhog’s Day, she read them a story and then asked them to predict

whether the groundhog would see his shadow. They charted their answers,

then drew conclusions based on the chart. They were having a blast.

They made groundhogs on Popsicle sticks and the brought them outside to

see if their predictions were correct.

All the while, Frohoff worked math and language nuances, logic and

reasoning into every exercise. The kids soaked it all in, thinking they

were simply playing.