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Curriculum

 
"Mom, I didn't do anything today!"

Here is an explanation of the curriculum and additional materials used to assist each student in reaching the state standards...


Reading:
 
 
The Houghton Mifflin curriculum is a phonics based program.  The strategies and skills stressed are: blending sounds into words, consonant clusters (example: bl, cl, gr), consonant digraphs (example: sh, ch, th, wh), consonant sounds and spellings, vowel diphthongs (example: out, oi), long vowel sounds and spellings, including digraphs (example: ea, ee), vowels that are r-controlled(example: ir, er, ur, or) and short vowel sounds and spellings, including digraphs.  Students will work daily to practice these skills during our whole group learning time and through independent practice.

The Houghton Mifflin program teaches the following reading strategies:

  • Predict and Infer: Students make predictions about what will happen in a story. We infer by making guesses based on information from the text and illustrations.
  • Question: Asking questions before, during and after reading.
  • Making Connections:  Students will learn to understand the meaning of text by making connections from the story to their lives. 
  • Summarize: Think about the main idea and/or important events and to be able to tell in your own words the important parts of the text.
  • Evaluate: Think about how you feel after reading, form opinions, and to be sure that you have learned what you needed to know.
Our classroom reading program focuses on daily independence.  Everyday each students makes goals and works towards reaching their goal by picking from the list of Daily 5 activities: 
Work on Reading
Work on Writing
Read-to-Someone, Listen to Reading
Take an AR test
Word Work

Writing:
We will be focusing on small moment stories, poetry, non-fiction writing, animal reports and daily student choice writing.
We we learn to add convention (periods, question marks, exclamation marks) and of course capital letters at the beginning of sentences.  


Math:

In first grade students will: count to 120, count by 2's, 5's, 10's, understand putting together and taking apart numbers
to 10, order numbers, understand geometric shapes and their properties, create patterns, sort a varietyof math materials by shape, size, and color, measure, use graphs, question, solve problems, and most of alluse critical thinking skills.  
In addition, students will use a number journal to create representations of the daily number.  Starting in January we will begin timed addition and subtraction tests.  The students will have two minutes to solve as many problems as they can.


Science:
 

The Full Option Science System (F.O.S.S.):  Delta Education

        The best way for students to appreciate the scientific enterprise, learn important scientific concepts, and develop the ability to think well is to actively construct ideas through their own inquiries, investigations, and analyses.  In other words, kids learn science best by doing science.  The FOSS kits engage students in experiences that lead to a deeper understanding of the natural world.  In first grade the children will explore physical science through the Gasses Liquids and Solids kit, earth science through the Air, Wind, and Weather kit, and life science through the Plant kit.


Social Studies:

In 1st grade students will learn about Families in Our Community.

 
This year we will also study: music, physical education, art, and Mrs. Morris' favorite...
PENGUINS!