Academics

Grading 

In First Grade the following grading system will be used for any formal assessments as well as for the report card:

4- Student exceeds expectations (student works independently and is 90%-100%)

3- Student consistently meets expectations (80%-89%)

2- Student is progressing with guided practice (some teacher assistance, 70%-79%)

1- Student has not yet met expectations (Student needs the assistance of the teacher and is 69% or below correct)

When grading formal assessments or projects, I will mark student work with the same grading system.  Daily practice that is sent home but not graded for the report card may have a check mark, star, note, or smiley face on it.  Incorrect answers will be circled, but they do not have to be corrected or returned unless otherwise noted.

Curriculum

At Trinity our goal is to support the growth of the whole child. This means we are looking to nurture the mind, body, spirit, and heart as we foster cognitive, emotional, social, physical, and spiritual growth. We use a variety of resources in order to meet the individual needs of each child and to reach this goal. The main resource used in first grade for your child’s education is Core Knowledge curriculum and topics. Core Knowledge curriculum encompasses language arts, literature, social studies, and science through its skills units and learning domains. Eureka Math Squared is used for our math curriculum, with daily whole group instruction and independent practice. For Bible Study we use the One in Christ curriculum, published by CPH. Fine arts, PE, and computer curriculum are gathered from a variety of resources. 

Homework 

We strongly believe in the power of play and the importance of letting children be children. We believe that when students give us all of their day, they deserve to have all of their night.  Therefore, you will have a limited (if any) amount of work to do at home.  Eat dinner as a family and ask them how their day was, enjoy your child’s extracurricular activities without worrying about homework, and know that your child is working hard at school each day and has earned their evening playtime!

To foster a home-school connection, various tasks will be sent home each week to complete as a family (this may be a math in the real world activity, an at home science investigation, a book sharing project, or a question to respond to.)  I also highly encourage you to read a book of choice with your child each evening (for about 10 minutes).  A reading log will be kept in their folders to record what books they have read at school or home.  Students are welcome to fill out the log as a personal motivation to see how much they are reading, but it is not required or graded.  Students will, however, receive a small book from the teacher each time a reading log is completed.  Please Note: If a student exhibits off-task behaviors during the school day and fails to complete an assignment, the assignment will be sent home for completion.

Spelling 

Beginning in the second quarter, Students will be given a spelling list each week and will be tested on Friday. Spelling words will be studied and practiced in class.  You are encouraged to review the spelling words at home and point them out when you find them in books. Spelling lists can be found on the class website. 

Sight Words 

After an initial sight word reading assessment, students may be given individualized sight words lists based on their reading level. Sight words (or tricky words) are the words that cannot always be sounded out, but you have to know them because we see them all the time. Students will be assessed orally on Wednesdays until they master their given list. Look for the list in your child’s take home folder. Please note: if a student has already mastered first grade sight words, he/she will not be given sight words lists but instead asked to spend time reading independently each night. 

Memory 

Students will be given a Bible verse to memorize each week. As a Christian school, we find value not only in knowing scripture, but also in understanding what it means for our personal lives. Students may say it any day during the week upon learning it, when the teacher is available. They will be given time Friday morning to recite it to the teacher.

IXL 

Thanks to PTT, the entire school has access to the IXL math and language arts website program! I encourage you to utilize this program as often as you can, and I will even share suggested activities that correlate with what we are learning in class. Suggested IXL activities can be found on the class website. We will also spend time in class and in the computer lab working on IXL. Your child’s login and password sheet will be sent home.