1st Grade

First Grade with Mrs. Kuhn

The primary years are a very exciting time in a child’s life. They are also a time for children to explore and learn many new concepts. The rate at which a child masters these concepts is individualized. Not all children master the same concepts at the same time. Therefore, differentiated instruction becomes an important part of the curriculum.

In the first grade classroom differentiated groupings occur throughout the day and throughout the curriculum to meet individual learning needs. The teacher is well-versed with the sequence in learning and plans instruction to support the continuous progress of all children. This means that children work on different activities within the classroom. For example, during math some children might be working on creating sets of 6 and noticing the various subsets that equal 6 (e.g. 2 red and 4 blue; 3 red and 3 blue), while other children group sets by tens and ones to find the solution to a two digit addition problem.

Tasks are also individualized when the whole class is working on the same thing at the same time. For example, during Writing Workshop all children write in their journals, however, how children record their stories varies based on the individual levels of achievement. That is, some children might draw a picture first and record a short phrase with assistance from others, while other children write their stories by listening to the sounds in the words they want to write down, while fluent writers think about how a good story sounds and writes words based on their knowledge of spelling patterns.

READING…

Our goal for your child: To develop a love for reading, and to help your child see him/herself as a reader.

Your child will learn to read using the best of children’s books! In order to become fluent readers, children need to practice every day, just like they would if they were learning to play a musical instrument. Your child’s experience in learning to read will be similar to that of going to piano lessons. The teacher listens to them read, coach them on strategies they can use to improve their reading, and provide daily opportunities for them to improve their performance.

Reading for meaning is emphasized (words must make sense). Although students will learn to “sound out” words, using other clues (looking at the pictures, thinking about what makes sense in the sentence, drawing on past experiences) will be emphasized. Fluent readers are able to make quick decisions about when and which strategy will be most helpful as they are reading. Children are taught to think about what they are reading, to ask themselves, “Does this make sense? Does that sound right? Does it look right?”

Daily reading events include “The Home Reading Program,” reading along with audiotapes, reading and illustrating poems, reading with a small group of children (Reading Workshop- homogeneously grouped), listening to stories and chapter books, and much more!

WRITING…

Our goals for your child: To develop a keen interest in writing, to help your child see that writing can serve a variety of purposes, and to help your child see him/herself as an effective writer.

Children learn so much about reading and strengthen their own thinking skills through writing. Therefore, children write for a variety of purposes and throughout the day. Children write to solve problems with other children; they write to reflect on what they have learned in math; they write to record information they are learning during science and social studies, and they write to communicate with others. In addition, a special time for writing in our journals and composing stories and poems is included in our schedule. This special time is called “Writing Workshop.”

Other ways that the teacher reinforces the mechanics of writing (spelling, punctuation, grammar, and handwriting) include daily spelling groups, studying word families (-ight, -ould,-ike), learning to use dictionaries, whole group grammar, handwriting practice, and talking about spelling and punctuation when we write short pieces together as a class.

Parents, we encourage you to celebrate your child’s achievements as a writer. That is, even though your child’s writing may not be perfect (after all, it takes a long time to learn all of those spelling and punctuation rules), your excitement about his/her efforts will encourage him/her to continue writing. Also, you might try to think of real reasons for communication with your child through writing (e.g. Thank you notes, invitations, reminders, lists).

MATH…

Our goals for your child: To give your child the tools to be successful in mathematics throughout their lives and to develop a strong basic understanding of number.

Young children learn best when they are actively involved with hands-on experiences with a variety of materials using real-life situations. Therefore, you may not always see a traditional worksheet coming home. Hopefully, your child will be so excited about the hands-on experiences that they will come home and teach you the games and activities!

We spend a significant amount of time in first grade building a concrete understanding of number and computational processes. Children are making sets with concrete objects and noting the combinations that can be used to create a particular set (these sets range in number from 6-20). In addition, many experiences are organized so that the children can utilize the processes of addition and subtraction to solve real problems.

The focus is on understanding and reasoning, rather than simply learning to quickly produce correct answers to endless equations. Students will learn problem solving strategies (using doubles, drawing pictures, making graphs, counting by 2’s and 3’s) to use as tools for tackling real life problems. Many of the math activities are designed as cooperative games. Not only is this fun for children, but working with others provides children opportunities to see and hear how others solve the same problem in different ways.

SCIENCE…

Our goals for your child: To develop a thirst for knowledge, and to have children begin thinking about how they can go about answering questions.

We use a wonderful science resource book that shows us that science is not only a way of thinking but also involves hands-on experiences. The key concepts that are introduced are life, earth, physical, and health science. Science is not simply an accumulation of scientific facts. It is also the process by which ideas are conceptualized, tested, and evaluated. In order for students to become scientifically literate, the must be able to use science process skills. Our science resource book provides excellent activities and projects that allow children to use these science process skills with hand-on experiences.

SOCIAL STUDIES…

Students learn basic concepts that include community, geography, history, economics, and government through E.D. Hirsch’s well-respected approach to curriculum titled “Core Knowledge.”  First graders become young experts in Mesopotamia, Egypt,  Mexico, and more. 

SPANISH

First grade students are instructed in Spanish daily by a qualified Spanish instructor in the Spanish classroom. The teachers directions are delivered in both spoken in Spanish, as well as in English. Activities performed in class require students to listen to vocabulary words, phrases and sentences.

Students learn to answer basic personal questions such as their name, age, birthday, origin, and feelings. They learn courtesy expressions and farewells, sing songs, and answer comprehension questions from the simple stories being read to them and that they read themselves. Students read easy words, phrases, and short sentences from the board and from their own daily activities.

Note: Please understand that each successive year has similar categories of instruction; however, the skill levels become progressively more challenging and complex. Culture and grammar concepts are introduced each year gradually as the students mature in age and understanding.

ART

Lessons on the visual arts illustrate important elements of making and appreciating art, and emphasize well-known artists, works of art, and artistic concepts. Topics in art are often linked to different disciplines. Students experiment with a variety of media and study works from various cultures. In the lower school, students study art of the cavemen, Egyptians, Greeks and Aborigines. Mediums include crayons, markers, clay, colored pencils, paper mache’, tempera, paints and inks. Artists including Matisse, Seurat, Miro’, Da vinci, Escher, Picasso and Van Gogh are introduced.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Receiving regular exercise is an integral component of growing up healthy. First grade students receive year-long instruction and practice opportunities in a variety of age appropriate sports including kickball, soccer, tee-ball, badminton, jump rope, jogging and other aerobic activities with Coach Johnson. Active participation, teamwork, and good sportsmanship are modeled and encouraged.

MUSIC

The purpose of the music education program at Hale Academy is to develop life-long musical understanding, skill, and sensitivity. As education develops the intellect, music education develops musical ability. As musical understanding, skill and sensitivity grow, aesthetic response increases.

Hale Academy music students learn that music has duration, pitch, form, timbre and expressive qualities. They feel the emotional content that music expresses. They possess adequate understanding of their own musical heritage and that of other cultures and continually grow in their ability to listen to, respond to, and create music with understanding, skill, and sensitivity.

LIBRARY

The media center at Hale Academy exists to stimulate our students’ love of reading and to foster their desire for life-long learning.

Lower School Competencies:

1. Understands and follows rules for appropriate use of the media center

2. Handles books and other media center materials with appropriate care

3. Gives a broad explanation of the Dewey decimal system, and locates books by category in the media center

4. Chooses age-appropriate books for personal enjoyment and to meet curriculum requirements