The first week of school was a great success! It's such a fun and magical time for first graders (and teachers). We've worked hard to establish routines and classroom rules, as well as make new friends.
Day 1 began with "wanted" poster looking for First Grade Experts.
We learned about The First Grade Expert Club through a sweet little book that highlights four characters - Responsible Ryan, Respectful Rachel, Ready to Learn Robert and Really Safe Rita. All week long, the kids have been completing activities to show they're experts at being respectful, responsible, ready to learn, and really safe. Their applications have been sent off to the experts for approval and the class will find out their status on Monday. :)
On Wednesday, a homework assignment was sent home in your child's folder. It's incredibly important for me to establish a classroom environment where the students feel comfortable with each other, so we spend a lot of time getting to know each other. I can't wait to learn more about them as they share their "All About Me" bags next week.
Next week, we are also diving into the curriculum. In reading, we will learn strategies to help with our comprehension and accuracy. We will also review the "popper" sounds from SMART Phonics (Kendore Learning) p, b, t, d, ch, j, k, g.
Our first math unit involves extending number sequences up to 120 and collecting and organizing data. Next week, we will begin representing and comparing numbers.
In writing, we will be starting the school year with an emphasis on personal narratives. The Common Core State Standards require that students develop some proficiency at writing three kinds of texts: informational writing, opinion writing, and narrative texts. Specifically, for narrative writing, the Common Core State Standards expect first grade students to become proficient at writing narratives in which they recount a sequence of events, include some details regarding what happened, as well as temporal words to signify event order, and provide some sense of closure. We have a lot of work to do! :)
Our science unit begins with an introduction to science and later branches into plants and animals. In Social Studies, we will focus on the concepts and enduring understandings of social studies before learning about our national heritage.
Well, this concludes my first blog post. It has been such a wonderful week, and I look forward to all the weeks we have ahead of us. Please sign up to follow this site by including your email address at the top right of the page so you can stay up-to-date with all the posts.
Thank you for setting up this thoughtful way to communicate with us parents!
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