When I was a first grader, I especially loved my first little Dick and Jane book. It was precious to me as it was the first book that I learned to read on my own. I was absolutely devastated when I found out that I had to turn it in. I thought that I would get to keep it. So it is that I began a tradition at our school: the first graders get to keep their Beginning Steps to Reading book.
For the past three years, I have also begun to write their names on the inside covers in fraktur. I make this on a sheet of cardstock and then glue it in. I use watercolor and make animals for the boys and flowers and/or birds for the girls. It's just a little something that I hope will make the students happy, help them enjoy school more, and to have something special with which to remember their very first reading experience.
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