In Mrs. Davis’s first-grade classroom, students are busy building the foundational skills for a lifetime of learning. The young readers and writers have been focused on mastering phonics, specifically highlighting and sounding out words with the “-ck” sound. Working with partners, they practice reading aloud, building both confidence and fluency. The students are also channeling their creativity into a writing project about “Our Wonderful Town.” They began by brainstorming, drawing, and labeling their ideas, and are now transforming those concepts into written stories, taking their first exciting steps as authors.