First Day Jitters Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources

Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with First Day Jitters in the drop down below.

The first page of Asking Questions with A Bad Case of Stripes

Making Connections with First Day Jitters

First Day Jitters is a great match for a lesson on making connections, because most readers will easily be able to connect with the nervousness the main character feels on her first day of school.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.2.2,RL.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6

TEKS Alignment

2.1A,2.1C,2.1D,2.6A,2.6E,2.6I,2.7A,2.7B,2.7C,2.7D,2.7E,2.7F,2.8C,2.13C,2.13E,2.13G

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Making Inferences with First Day Jitters

We can all relate to the jitters. That's what makes this the perfect book for a lesson on making inferences. Readers can draw on their own experiences from the first day of school to infer how the main character feels and what she might be thinking.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.2.6,RL.2.7,RL.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6

TEKS Alignment

2.7C,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.8C,2.8B,2.7F,2.7E,2.7D,2.1A,2.7B,2.6I,2.6F,2.6E,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C

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Making Predictions with First Day Jitters

If you're working on making predictions in your classroom, First Day Jitters is a must-read. Students will have the opportunity to anticipate what Sarah Jane's solution will be to her problem, how her peers will react to her decisions, and what the surprise twist at the end might be!

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.2.1,RL.2.3,RL.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6

TEKS Alignment

2.7B,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.8C,2.7F,2.7E,2.7D,2.7C,2.1A,2.7A,2.6I,2.6E,2.6C,2.6B,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C

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Retelling & Summarizing with First Day Jitters

First Day Jitters sets up really well for readers who are learning to enhance their comprehension through retelling and summarizing. The author uses a limited number of characters, and it's simple to identify the beginning, the problem in the middle and the solution at the end.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.2.2,RL.2.3,RL.2.5,RL.2.7,RL.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6

TEKS Alignment

2.7D,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.9C,2.8D,2.8C,2.8A,2.7F,2.7E,2.1A,2.7C,2.7B,2.7A,2.6I,2.6G,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C

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Suffixes with First Day Jitters

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg as a springboard for instruction focused on suffixes.

By anchoring word study to the text, students will benefit from seeing how suffix ed is used inside of the text before engaging in both guided and independent practice with suffixes.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RF.2.3,RF.2.4

TEKS Alignment

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Vocabulary Connections with First Day Jitters

This set of vocabulary development resources for First Day Jitter highlights the words that are most important for students to know and understand while reading the book. Through engaging in fun word games, matching words to definitions and pictures, and practicing how to categorize words, students will develop the vocabulary necessary to comprehend this story and many others.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

L.2.4a,L.2.5a,L.2.6

TEKS Alignment

2.7E,2.7F,2.3A,2.3B,2.3D

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Comprehension Assessment with First Day Jitters

Use this Common Core aligned comprehension assessment to evaluate students' comprehension of First Day Jitters.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

TEKS Alignment

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Running Record with First Day Jitters

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with First Day Jitter. Track meaning, structure, and visual accuracy using the first 100 words of the text to determine whether or not this book is a good fit for the readers in your classroom.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

TEKS Alignment

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Cause and Effect Matching with First Day Jitters

Read First Day Jitters then have some fun matching cause and effect sentences from the book. By using these cause and effect cards, students will demonstrate both their comprehension of the text and their understanding of cause and effect relationships in hands-on and interactive way.

This resource includes matching/sorting cards and a sorting mat for four cause and effect sentences in First Day Jitters. Each cause card is marked with a square and each effect card is marked with a circle, making it easy to support students who struggle with matching cause and effect relationships.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

TEKS Alignment

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Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with First Day Jitters

Understanding cause and effect is a key comprehension and language skill. The text structure of First Day Jitters includes several examples of cause and effect relationships, making it easy to use as a springboard for modeling or independent practice.

This simple resource includes four sentence stems. Each sentence stem presents an effect. Students will use what they know about the book to fill in the cause of the effect.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

TEKS Alignment

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Writing with First Day Jitters

The BookPagez extension activities are a great way to push student engagement beyond the pages of the text. Try using this activity with early finishers, with students who show a deeper connection with the text, or as a center activity.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

TEKS Alignment

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Making Connections with First Day Jitters (Spanish)

Student Practice Page and Answer Key
Reader's Notebook Prompt
Graphic Organizer

Making Inferences with First Day Jitters (Spanish)

Student Practice Page and Answer Key
Reader's Notebook Prompt
Graphic Organizer

Making Predictions with First Day Jitters (Spanish)

Student Practice Page and Answer Key
Reader's Notebook Prompt
Graphic Organizer

Retelling & Summarizing with First Day Jitters (Spanish)

Student Practice Page and Answer Key
Reader's Notebook Prompt
Graphic Organizer

Writing with First Day Jitters (Spanish)

Worksheet

Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for First Day Jitters