Welcome to FIRST Grade!  This will be a very busy and exciting year for them.  We are looking forward to working with your child.  Here are a few things we’ll be working on throughout the school year.

READING

This year in first grade the children will be learning many strategies to help them read words.  These strategies include picture clues, phonics, context clues and many more.  As the year goes on, look for your child to develop an expanded sight vocabulary, better fluency, self-correcting skills, comprehension skills and decoding strategies.  Remember that understanding is the real reason for reading and we want to give your child the background for this.  READ, READ, READ AND READ AGAIN.  Reading daily at home will help your child become a better reader.  You can read to your child and your child can read to you.  Encourage your child to use the strategies that they are learning in school as they read to you at home.  Your child will develop a love for reading and an appreciation for books and authors through the support your child receives at school and at home.

SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES

Science and Social Studies topics are integrated into everything we do.  We read. write, listen, and speak during every unit of study.   Some of our topics include Living Things, Magnets, Weather & Seasons, and Our Earth.  In addition, we work on map skills, needs and wants, goods and services, fair play, and the concept of city, state, country, continent, ocean, and the equator.

MATHEMATICS

We use a math program called Investigations. It is much more hands-on and teaches understanding of the concepts and not skill and drill. It is taught through class activities, games, centers and hands-on experiences using manipulatives. These are many topics and skills that the first graders need to learn in math.

COUNTING TO 100

ADDITION & SUBTRACTION

PROBLEM SOLVING

GEOMETRY

TELLING TIME

MEASUREMENT

COUNTING MONEY

COLLECTING/RECORDING DATA

 WRITING

Writing is an important part of first grade.  The children are involved in writing activities throughout the day in a variety of subject areas.  We begin the year with Kid Writing.  This involves daily journal writing.  During this time your child will draw and write about something with which they are familiar.  The children will learn about grammar, sentence structure, grown-up spelling, main idea and details while they write and conference with their teacher.  This process involves a natural, developmental approach to writing which also supports their reading.

As the writing process progresses this year, children will be introduced to the 6 + 1 Trait Writing process.  This writing format is part of our reading program and will be a consistent writing program for your child through elementary school.  This is the time that all of the basics developed through Kid Writing will be applied to help your child develop a sense for what “good” writing looks like.  Lessons and activities will focus on developing ideas, organization, sentence fluency, word choice, voice, conventions and presentation.

Encouraging your child to write at home will improve their writing skills and love for writing.  Provide opportunities at home for your child to write stories, lists, letters, and directions on how to do something.