Welcome to First Grade

What to Expect?

First grade is a milestone year filled with social, emotional, and cognitive growth.  We take seriously our responsibility to safeguard and nurture your child as he or she takes a big step into the world of first grade.  First graders will gain independence as they learn to problem solve and view themselves as readers, writers, mathematicians, scientists, and thinkers. This year your first grader will learn to work collaboratively and build relationships with peers. A highlight of first grade is our annual end-of-the-year picnic to celebrate all the accomplishments gained throughout the year.  As first grade teachers, we will appreciate your child as an individual, a special person with unique talents, challenges, ideas, and ambitions. We know that you have trusted us with your heart.

Study Skills:

• Encourage free play and a physically-active lifestyle.
• Monitor and set limits for screen time.
• Adequate sleep and a healthy diet are critical to proper brain functioning. Ensure your child gets enough sleep and encourage a variety of healthy food choices.

Homework Expectations:

• Children are expected to read a minimum of 10 minutes each night.
• Math homework is sent home at the beginning of each unit, but it is optional to complete.
• We encourage children to use Dreambox at home each week to practice math skills.

How can you help support your child’s academic success at this grade level?

Read to your child everyday! It is important for kids in this age group to be read to each day to strengthen their fluency and comprehension skills. Be sure your child has a balanced reading diet of both fiction and nonfiction texts. Communication is so important. Talk to your child about what s/he is learning in school, what is tricky for your child, what s/he is really good at, and what s/he wants to work on next. Encourage your child to be a problem solver.

Academic Expectations:

By the end of 1st grade students will be to meet the following academic expectations:

Math:

• Uses addition and subtraction within 20 to solve equations and word problems
• Fluently adds and subtracts within 10
• Explains the relationship between addition and subtraction
• Explains the meaning of the “=” sign and can determine if a number sentence is true

• Counts to 120 starting at any smaller number; reads and writes numerals and depicts with drawings or objects
• Understands place value of two-digit numbers and compares using <, >, =
• Uses strategies to add within 100
• Given a two-digit number, expresses 10 more and 10 less without counting
• Subtracts multiples of 10 in the range of 10-90 from decades of 10 in the range of 10-90; explains reasoning

• Orders object by length
• Tells and writes time to the hour and half hour
• Sorts, represents and interprets data points with up to three categories; asks and answers questions about total number, how many in each category, and how many more or less in each category

• Uses defining attributes to identify or draw shapes
• Partitions shapes into equal parts

ELA:

• Independently composes meaningful text in a variety of genres including: personal narrative (Small Moment Stories), non-fiction (All-About Books), opinion, and realistic fiction writing
• Organizes ideas with a beginning, middle, and end in stories
• Engages in all steps of the writing process including: planning, writing, revising, and editing
• Exhibits stamina required to produce pieces of increasing length and complexity
• With support, uses digital tools to produce and publish
• Participates in shared research and writing projects
• Engages in productive collaboration with peers
• Prints upper and lower case letters correctly and uses correct forms in writing
• Uses appropriate grammar when writing
• Uses appropriate spacing, capitalization, and punctuation
• Applies spelling strategies independently
• Uses conventional spelling for words with common spelling patterns and for frequently occurring irregular words
• Spells untaught words phonetically, drawing on phonemic awareness and spelling conventions

• Speaks clearly, audibly, and appropriately
• Participates in conversations in meaningful and respectful ways

• Applies phonics and word analysis skills
• Monitors own reading and applies comprehension strategies
• Reads high frequency (word wall) words
• Reads with increased stamina
• Engages in productive collaboration with peers
• Reads with accuracy and fluency
• Asks and answers questions to demonstrate understanding
• Retells stories sequentially
• Demonstrates understanding of central message or lesson
• Describes characters, settings, and major events in a story
• With prompting and support, determines main idea and supporting details
• Uses text features
• Compares and contrasts texts

Science:

• Learn that air is all around us
• Learn that weather is the change in air
• Learn that sound comes from vibrations
• Learn that light  
• Learn to use light sources and materials to create and change shadows.
• Learn how light interacts with objects the are transparent, translucent, and opaque
• Learn to position mirrors to reflect images so they can see their own eyes and view objects behind them.
• Learn how to use one and two mirrors to direct light to different locations.
• Learn  what they can see when there is no light, and learn that objects can be seen only when light is available.
• Learn the size, shapes and location of eyes on different animals.
• Learn that plants and animals need things to survive

Social Studies:

• Learn how to get along at school and with others
• Learn about schools, their rules, and the people who work there
• Learn how to to be good helpers at school and how to learn from each other
• Learn what is a map
• Learn about what makes a family special and what families need
• Learn about family traditions and how family members care for each other
• Learn what good neighbors do