What We Learn In First Grade
Reading
Students will be learning to decode fluently using phonics patterns, high frequency words, and irregular sight words.
Students will be practicing retelling stories using characters, setting, and details from the beginning, middle, and end. We will also focus on being able to determine the main topic, main idea, and details of a text.
We also develop skills like asking questions, determining the author’s purpose, determining point of view, recognizing the theme of a text, and recognizing the structure of different types of text.
Writing
First graders will be following the writing process of planning, drafting, editing, and revising every week. Students will work in the genres of personal narrative, informative writing (how to and non-fiction writing), opinion writing, and imaginative narrative writing. We focus on forming letters correctly and editing our work to have correct capitalization, punctuation, and spelling of irregular heart words/phonetic spelling. Our writing makes sense with a topic sentence, three events, and a closing.
We also practice on demand writing using journals, prompts, and poems.
Math
In math we focus on adding and subtracting fluently within 10 to be able to use strategies and place value to add and subtract within 100. We are able to add and subtract in story problems for problems up to 20. We learn about numbers and counting to 120.
We also work on measuring with standard units, telling time to the hour and half hour, and defining shapes by their attributes or properties.
Science/Social Studies
In Science we have units around Space Systems: Patterns and Cycles, Waves: Light and Sound, and Plants and Animals: Structure and Function.
In Social Studies our units are around History: Family Traditions and US Traditions; Economics: Wants, Needs, Saving, and Spending; Geography; Civics: Notable People, Places, and Symbols.
Social Emotional
In first grade we focus on making a strong classroom community with regular routines and expectations. We focus on following our PRRS by being Positive, Respectful, Responsible, and Safe. Students learn how to problem solve and to be kind to others. We use lessons from Second Step to learn about staying focused on learning, recognizing feelings, being kind, and solving problems. We use Brainwise to help students understand ways to calm down, Lizard Brain v. Wizard Brain, and our emotion elevator.