Thank you so much for downloading this First Day Jitters for Big Kids pack.

This is
something that I personally use in my own classroom and have found very valuable in
getting to know my students and introducing them to the culture of our classroom as a
place where we read, discuss, write, and have fun.

What you will find in this resource is a lesson plan to be used when teaching the story First
Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg to your students. This is designed to be done on the first day
of school, and hits several standards. There is a narrative account of how the lesson runs
in my class, a step-by-step lesson plan for you to use, all of the materials you will need
(aside from the book itself), and a rubric with which to grade the final products, if you so
choose. By the end of the lesson, you will have completed work suitable for display on a
bulletin board!

If you love this resource, you may find others that you enjoy in my store
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Teaching-in-Room-6

If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please email me directly at

TeachinginRoom6@yahoo.com

Frame clip art courtesy of Scrappin Doodles http://www.scrappindoodles.com/

Fonts courtesy of Kimberly Geswein Fonts http://www.kimberlygeswein.com/
Emoji Clip Art courtesy of Teachers Resource Force
https://www.teachersresourceforce.com/

Thank you for your patronage.

Stephanie Moorman
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First Day Jitters
A Fun First Day Emoji Activity

On the first day of school, for the past few years, I have done this short, yet entertaining
activity to get my kids engaged in academics right off the bat, yet still throw in a little
fun along the way. This is something you can do with upper elementary students with
ease.

I read my students First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg. In the story, the main character
doesn't want to go to a new school on the first day because she is nervous. At the end
of the book, we realize that the girl is actually the teacher. Even teachers get nervous!

When the book was over, I shared how I was a little nervous about starting the day as
well. I mean, what if the kids were out of control? What if they didn't listen? What if
they hated me? But I also said that I was excited to meet them all. A new year means
new possibilities and there was SO much possibility with my new class. Then, I shared
that when I finally did meet them, and now that we were about 45 minutes into school, I
was happy to know that the kids were amazing and inquisitive and funny.

This lead into a discussion amongst the students about how they felt on this first day of
school. I asked them to turn to their neighbors and share two feelings that they were
having and why. After a few minutes of talk, I asked kids to share out. There were a
great deal of emotions going around the rooms, and lots of great reasons for those
emotions!

The kids then headed back to their seats as I projected a full list of emojis onto the
screen. I asked them to think about which emojis would represent their personal feelings
about the first day of school. Now, the emojis I projected were yellow face emojis. I
didn't let them choose anything in the emoji world, just the ones projected. I wasn't
really looking to see the poop emoji on their pages!

Once they picked the emoji, they drew it on a piece of paper, and wrote a paragraph
(or a few sentences if that is all they could write) detailing what that emoji stood for and
why it was a good representation of their feelings on the first day. Doing this enabled
me to get a first day writing sample in a relatively stress-free setting. The kids were
enjoying the emoji aspect so they weren't so worried about the fact that they were
writing.

Then, they cut out the emoji faces they drew, attached it to a picture of them that I
took earlier in the day (I asked them to create some sort of pose with their bodies so
that they weren't just standing there) and rewrote the paragraphs as a final draft. They
came out SO cute! I hung them on the wall to a nice bulletin board to start our year off
that is not only fun, but content based!

© S.Moorman, 2019 www.teachinginroom6.com

 First Day Jitters -- Lesson Plan
Objective: The students will Skills: Listening;
listen to a book being read and comprehension; writing
think about their own emotions sentence..
on the first day of school.

Resources Needed: First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg, chart paper, chart markers, Emoji Emotions (pg 6), First Day
Emojis (pg 7 or pg 8), pictures of students, crayons, pencil, Grading Rubric (pg 9)

Lesson:

1) Begin by telling student that you will be reading them a book about the first day of school. Let them know that in
the book, the main character has certain feelings about the first day and what it will be like. Then read First Day
Jitters by Julie Danneberg aloud.

2) Once you have finished reading the book, ask the students how the main character was feeling about the first day
of school. On a chart paper, list all of the emotions that the students notice from the story.

3) Next, share with the students how YOU are feeling about the first day. Maybe you are NERVOUS because you don’t
know how the kids will act or respond to your lessons. Maybe you are EXCITED to meet new kids and get to know
them as learners. Maybe you are SLEEPY because this is the first day you had to set an alarm all summer long.
Whatever emotions you can think of, tell the students, explain why, and then write that emotion on the chart.

4) Ask the students to think about the emotions that they personally are feeling. After a minute of think time, have
them turn to their neighbor and share their emotions. They should describe at least one emotion with their neighbor.

5) After they turn and talk, the kids can share out with the entire class. Be sure to chart those emotions as the
students are sharing. Some emotions they may share are: content, overjoyed, scared, nervous, emotional, giddy,
happy, sad, tired, confused, worried, sick, upset, hysterical, elated, shy, outgoing, or funny.

6) After all of the emotions have been shared, have the students go back to their seats and think about 1-3 emotions
that really capture how they are feeling at this moment. Project the Emoji Emotions page (pg 6) on the doc cam.

7) Students should pick the emoji from the list that best describes their emotional state. Using the First Day Emojis
page (pg 7 for older/more advanced writers and page 8 for younger students or if you simply want to assign one
emotion), student should draw that emoji in the box. They then should write one to three sentences describing the
emotion and why they are feeling it. (NOTE: the amount of sentences your students write will be dictated by their
grade level and writing ability. Please use your judgement.)

*** This may be the end of your project if you wish. You can use this as your final draft and display on the board
OR you may continue on using the above as a rough draft. ***

© S.Moorman, 2017, 2019 www.teachinginroom6.com

 If you choose to continue on with the project, follow the steps below:

9) While the students are writing, pull each one aside and take a picture of them in a fun pose that would match the
emotion that is being written about. These pictures will be used later on.

10) After the pictures are printed, and the emojis have been drawn, have them cut the emojis out, as well as the body
of the person in the picture. On a blank piece of paper, have the students glue down the bodies with the emojis
placed over the head of the picture.

11) Next to the picture, write a final draft of the sentences. You may use the rubric provided to grade the writing.

Students draw the

emoji and then
write about it.

An example of a
completed display.

Students cut out the emojis and

place them on body pictures.

© S.Moorman, 2017, 2019 www.teachinginroom6.com

Emoji Emotions
Which Emoji Represents How YOU Are Feeling?

© S.Moorman, 2017 www.teachinginroom6.com

Name: ___________________________________________
© S.Moorman, 2017 www.teachinginroom6.com
Date: _______

First Day Emojis

Using Emojis To Represent My Emotions

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Name: ___________________________________________
© S.Moorman, 2017 www.teachinginroom6.com
Date: _______

First Day Emojis

Using Emojis To Represent My Emotions

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Name #: _________________________________________________ Date: ___________________

First Day Jitters Writing

Grading Rubric
© S.Moorman, 2017, 2019 www.teachinginroom6.com

Complete sentences, vivid and elaborated adjectives

4
describing emotions, all emotions represented are different
and varied, emoticon (emoji) emotion matches the written
words, varied sentence structure, correct punctuation
(indenting, proper spacing, periods, etc..), correct spelling,
legible font, on topic.

Complete sentences, vivid adjectives describing emotions,

3
most emotions represented are different and varied,
emoticon (emoji) emotion matches the written words, mostly
varied sentence structure, mostly correct punctuation
(indenting, proper spacing, periods, etc..), mostly correct
spelling, legible font, on topic.

Mostly complete sentences, mostly vivid adjectives describing

emotions, emotions represented may or may not be different

2
and varied, emoticon (emoji) emotion may or may not match
the written words, sentence structure may or may not be
varied, somewhat correct punctuation (indenting, proper
spacing, periods, etc..), somewhat correct spelling, somewhat
legible font, somewhat on topic.

May or may not be complete sentences, may or may not

contain vivid adjectives describing emotions, emotions

1
represented may or may not be different and varied,
emoticon (emoji) emotion may or may not match the written
words, sentence structure may or may not be varied, little or
no correct punctuation (indenting, proper spacing, periods,
etc..), little to no correct spelling, not legible font, off topic.