1st Grade Impact
Children bring pictures and words together in books, sentences and handwriting practice.
A glimpse of their work
In the classroom
In first grade, after students have completed our Foundation course, they begin to illustrate books, use rulers for accuracy, follow along to hour+ long lessons and truly begin to communicate in both pictures and words. The daily writing practice continues with the teacher guiding the children, line by line, in writing 2 different sight words each day, multiple times, then together they compose and write out sentences to include both daily words. Any number of language arts topics could be covered during this 15 minute daily practice including spacing, punctuation, capitalization, hitting midline and of course learning to spell their sight words...without spellcheck!
Watch their story
Watch on VimeoCHANGE: Perspectives From 187 First Graders
“If you were president, how would you change the world?” A DCIR book of drawings and writing by first graders at Willow School.
First Grade Drawings
First Graders With Their Drawings
First Grade Daily Writing Practice Samples
From the educators
“What I appreciate about DCIR is the attention to handgrip and proper letter formation from a young age, integrated with interesting drawing lessons. I teach first grade, and if the student has had their writing foundation laid by DCIR, their handwriting is excellent by the time they enter my classroom. This year, only four out of twenty students needed support with their letter formation, with two of those new to our school and the classroom. After working with Wendy and the DCIR program for 8-10 sessions, those four students now have some of the best penmanship in the class!”
Classroom observations originally shared on DCIR Impact. Individual experiences vary.
Original classroom account