Grade 1

Click here to see an overview of the curriculum of this grade.
Click here to view the School Handbook (general policies for grades K through 8)
Click here to see photos from 1st Grade
Click here to see the classroom news for first grade.

Grade 1 Policies

Assessment

Informal and formal assessment which may include teacher observation, writing samples, workbook pages, activities, and projects will be combined to assess each child. Children may be asked to correct a mistake in class to better understand their error. The children are told that mistakes are a part of learning and we always emphasize correct items. The ability of a child to apply the skills and knowledge they have learned is the goal. Correct answers and effort will be acknowledged. An I on a paper indicates "The child needs to check this paper, complete it and return it to us." Each child will have a portfolio which will include samplings of their work and formal assessments.

Homework

Homework will be assigned on Monday of each week beginning in October. All homework is to be handed in on Friday unless otherwise stated. Homework assignments will be handed out in written form each week. Homework will reinforce classroom lessons, prepare for upcoming lessons and develop independent study skills. Children should continue to read at home as often as possible.

Classroom Rules

The children discussed and decided which rules were necessary for our classroom. These rules are posted in the class and discussed when necessary. When a problem arises, children are helped to see that another way to behave is more appropriate. For the learning process to succeed, each person in the classroom must be respected. Through guidance and encouragement, students can understand and better manage their behavior.

Classroom Work

The class days will be filled with activities including whole class and small group instruction, learning centers, computer activities and group work. An integrated approach based on the themes developed from our reading book and the interests of the class will determine the direction of the activities. A comfortable climate filled with flexible and exciting learning experiences will help each child meet with success and foster a life-long love of learning.

Each class is comprised of children with many different learning styles and needs. Opportunities will be available which will help the children use their strengths and work through any difficulties they may encounter. Children are encouraged to learn to take more responsibility for their learning. Activities and projects will be offered to meet the needs of children who at times, may be at a different level than his or her classmates. We will encourage each child to do their work neatly and to the best of their ability. Students are expected to complete their work in the classroom. If a child has not finished an activity they will be dealt with on an individual basis.

Birthdays

Birthdays are always fun to celebrate with your classmates and teachers. The birthday child may wear play clothes on or near their birthday. If you would like to send in a small treat to share, we will enjoy these at lunch. If invitations are to be handed out at school, please be sure all the boys or all the girls are invited to avoid any hurt feelings. Summer birthdays may be celebrated in September or June.

Classroom News - May 2009

It is hard to believe that we are in our last few weeks of school. We have been delighted with the progress that we have seen this year in each of the first grade children! It has been exciting to see each child grow socially, intellectually and spiritually this year!

The last theme in our Language Arts program is New Places, New Faces. The stories and poems in this theme help the children to learn about the world around us by exploring new places, meeting new people and learning new things. Reading and writing activities will focus on skills and strategies involving:

• Story elements and details
• Summarizing
• Alphabetizing
• Graphic organizers
• Adding er, est es, ed and ing to words
• Contractions and verbs
• Reviewing all vowel sounds (blending, deletion, substitution and addition of sounds)
• Rereading to build fluency
• Using a story map to write a story
• Using descriptive words when writing
• Editing for punctuation and clarity

As we learn more sound patterns through reading instruction, please encourage your child to apply them in their everyday writing.

Our science and social studies units will investigate changes in our world and our history. Our young scientists will observe the process of metamorphosis as our caterpillars change into beautiful butterflies. They will observe how seeds change into plants as we monitor the growth of sunflowers and beans. In Social Studies a timeline activity will help the children reflect upon how life in America has changed. They will compare and contrast how people did things in the past to how they do things now. After reading and discussing biographies of famous Americans we will understand how important people and events affected our history.

The children will discover how fun measurement can be as they investigate length, weight, capacity, and temperature using measurement tools, hands-on activities, background experiences, and literature. Next, we will revisit addition and subtraction involving facts through 20. In June you will be amazed with your child's success in adding and subtracting 2-digit numbers without regrouping. The month will also be full of creative and fun activities that will review the key skills and concepts introduced throughout the year.

May is a wonderful time to honor Mary. We learn about the graces and gifts she brought to her role as the Mother of God. Just as Mary followed Jesus we learn that as Christians we are all followers and friends of Jesus. We learn that as a member of the family of Jesus we ask for and celebrate God’s forgiveness. Finally we learn that when we gather to worship God, we listen to His word and we grow closer to Jesus and one another. The world is God’s gift to us and we will discuss the importance of caring for and respecting the gifts of God’s creation.

The end of this year will be filled with exciting and fun learning experiences to prepare our first graders to become successful members of the second grade. We can’t believe this year is almost over. We are savoring each precious moment we have left with your children.

Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Dolan

Physical Education with Mrs. MacDonough

With just a few exceptions, the weather has continued to cooperate for outdoor physical education classes as we move into the heart of the spring. Many of the classes have caught spring fever and are always excited to be outside running around.

The lower grades continue to progress in both their skill and their knowledge of the games we play. The kindergarten and first grade began to play Blastball and are still learning the rules of the game. We have also been playing Keep the Trash out of my Yard and Sharks and Minnows and Ships and Sailors. They are hoping for good weather for the last few weeks and we are anticipating an exciting Field Day as well.

Classroom News - April 2009

During April we completed Where We Live, the fifth theme in our Language Arts program. The children enjoyed sharing stories and poems about different people and places. We completed our introduction of long vowels and continued to learn many letter combinations for long vowel sounds. While reading we predicted outcomes, discussed the problems and solutions and drew conclusions about the story by studying the events and characters more closely. Composing and editing continued to help our young authors in their writing. Each child in the class has shown much progress in both their reading and writing this year. We encourage them to read and write as often as possible at school and at home. It has been very exciting to see the growth in each child.

Math acitivities and games have involved addition and subtraction facts through 12, and we are very pleased with the progress the children have made. Then the fun begins as we once again get involved in hands–on, real–life math activities. In mid May the spotlight will be on measurement as the children are introduced to the concepts of length, volume, weight, and temperature. Reinforce these important skills at home whenever possible by allowing your child to estimate and then measure the length of items, measure out ingredients while cooking, compare amounts in different containers, and make decisions about clothing in relation to the temperature outdoors. Your child is making the realization that math doesn’t just happen in school. Math is all around us and the strategies they are learning now will be used throughout their lifetime.

Our study of weather concludes with Wacky Weather Day. Through experiments we will reproduce different forms of weather and we will have a better understanding of the effects of weather on our lives. Our young meteorologists did a wonderful job on their weather reports. The presentations added more to our knowledge of weather in different places and seasons. Next we will begin our study of the sun, stars and the moon.

In Social Studies we completed discussing the significance of jobs, volunteering and the tools people use to make work easier. Our last unit will focus on our history. We will learn about how life in America has changed and the significant contributions some Americans made to our country.

In Religion we learned the importance of belonging to the Church. We concentrated on the ways we join together in our Parish to celebrate God’s love through caring for others and celebrating the Sacraments. Jesus is the Light of the World and His words and actions help us to see God’s love in our Church. Our understanding of the Mass grew as we became active participants in the Mass celebrated during the Easter season.

Some evidence of an outbreak of “Spring Fever” has been observed in first grade. We wanted to bring this to your attention so that you can make sure your children get plenty of rest. We are still working very hard in Grade One and have all kinds of fun and challenging activities planned. So remind your child to keep focused and to follow the classroom rules. You can also inform them that Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Dolan are not ready to give them up to second grade just yet.

Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Dolan

Classroom News - March 2009

The month of March takes us through the next book, Where We Live in our reading program. There are many wonderful fiction and non-fiction stories available to introduce and reinforce the skills and concepts we are covering. Our focus this month are comprehension and critical thinking skills which include: cause and effect, problems and solutions, and drawing conclusions. Reading strategies that we will apply to help our comprehension will be recognizing story structure, using graphic organizers, summarizing, and asking and answering questions. Our phonics and spelling skills will grow with the introduction of long vowels. a, e, i and o and the spelling patterns for these sounds. The class will begin to decide which words best convey their ideas when writing and speaking when we use size, shape and color describing words and taste, smell, touch, and sound words.

Our study of weather begins this month. Using the internet we will check our weather and also observe the effects its changes have on our lives. The effect of weather on clothing, homes and activities will be discussed. As we learn more about the weather we will produce our own weather reports to share with each other. We are fortunate to live in an area that experiences many forms of weather. Our Earth Science unit will conclude with the study of the sky as we learn more about the sun, moon and stars.

Hands-on learning will be the focus of math class as we explore the concepts of time and money. Whenever possible encourage your child to tell time to the hour and half hour. Talk about the time of day certain events occur. Allow your child to handle money so they can recognize coins (front and back) and learn their values. Real-life skills will be practiced as the students purchase, sell and make change using pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Following our unit on time and money we will return to addition and subtraction involving facts through 20.

St. Patrick's Day will be celebrated through various centers and projects. We will integrate math, language arts, science, social studies and art activities to increase an understanding of concepts relating to this theme. Special thanks to our eighth grade friends for helping us design and build our Leprechaun traps! It was a wonderful time of sharing ideas and talents between the two classes.

Our fourth unit in Social Studies concentrates on the significance of jobs, volunteering and the tools people use to make work easier. We will discuss the question, *What is work?* and the benefits of working together and doing a good job.

During this season of Lent we will prepare for Holy Week and Easter. Lent is a time we can all try to become more like Jesus. We will observe the changes around us and understand how new life is given to us by Jesus through the glory of the Resurrection. Projects and activities will help the children understand the meaning and wonder of Lent and Easter. We will discuss the importance of being part of a parish and how we can participate with our parish family to share and celebrate God's love.

We hope that this season of Lent brings your family hope and renewal and the excitement of a wonderful springtime to come.

Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Dolan

Physical Education with Mrs. MacDonough

The first grade students are doing so well in Physical Education this term! We have been fortunate enough to be outside for a few classes when it isn’t too cold -- the fresh air really gets the kids’ spirits up! This term we have played some games that are old favorites and we have started to learn the rules for some new games as well. They have enjoyed doing a video workout, having scooter races, playing hot potato with the beanbags and playing Ships and Sailors. New games have been introduced to some of the younger students such as Keep the Trash out of my Yard, Kickball, and Stuck in the Mud. They are enjoying it all and are really beginning to understand good sportsmanship and teamwork. We hope for an early spring so we can be outside to enjoy the warmer weather!

Classroom News - February 2009

During the month of February we shared many experiences, ideas and feelings as we learned about our friends, community and the world around us. Non-fiction and fiction selections introduced and reinforced many comprehension skills and strategies including: main idea, summarizing, asking questions, using graphic organizers and sequence. Our Language Arts lessons and center activities included story writing, editing sentences, contractions, r-controlled vowels, inflections (-ed,-ing,-er, -est), and long vowel o. We learned how to use pronouns and possessives in different writing pieces. The children increased their vocabulary through activities involving the addition of more high frequency and robust vocabulary words and also continued to work on increased fluency through repeated reading of selections.

In Religion, we learned that the Holy Spirit was sent by God to help us follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit helped the first members of the Church too. Just like the early followers of Jesus we ask the Holy Spirit to help us to pray and share God’s love with others. We understand that the Church, which began on Pentecost, is all the people who believe in Jesus. Our activities and discussions of the roles of the leaders of our church, the importance of belonging to a parish and how we celebrate God’s love helped our understanding of the importance of being a member of our church. Each of the children participated in a Community Service Project by creating a snowman decoration and writing a cheery note to one of the Senior Friends in our community who benefit from the Meals on Wheels Program. This project helped the children connect what has been learned in Religion to a real world situation in our community.

February's math lessons and activities have certainly challenged the very core of your child's number sense! Counting to 100 is a skill that many have mastered at this point in time, but truly understanding our base-ten positional number system is something quite different. Research indicates that place value is one of the most challenging concepts your child will encounter in math. Although we will soon wrap up this unit, you can expect that classroom and homework assignments will continue to revisit this concept to further strengthen their understanding. Your child's success will increase with each and every opportunity they are provided to identify, regroup, and compare numbers through 100 and to practice the skills of estimating, skip counting, and identifying odd/even numbers.

February included some very special days. We celebrated Groundhog Day, the 100th Day Of School and Valentines’ Day. Through the sharing of literature, cooperative group work and learning centers we reinforced the skills and concepts that have been introduced throughout the year. We concluded our study of habitats and animals by presenting our hibernation projects. February is National Children’s Dental Health Month and Dr. Feldman, a pediatric dentist, visited our school. She presented pictures, models, and a movie to teach the children about dental health.

We began our study of Geography learning about the continents, different land formations and bodies of water. The children continued to use different types of maps to locate and identify significant places. Presidents’ Day offered us the opportunity to realize the importance of people in our government in the past and present. We learned that we all need to be good citizens and care for each other, our country and our natural resources.

As you can see, February was a month filled with many fun and important events for our first grade class.

Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Dolan

Classroom News - January 2009

During our Language Arts time we will use our imagination and creativity to look at things in new ways. The children will use questioning, sequencing, and graphic organizers to help them better understand what they have read. When we discuss the selections our focus will be on comparing and contrasting, plot, setting, main idea, details, the author’s purpose and point of view and sequence of the events. Blending and segmentation of sounds in words continues to be practiced each day. We will learn more letter combinations (ch, qu, wh, ar, ow, oa, ed, ing) and add to our list of high frequency words. The children are encouraged to review these words at home. You will see improvement in the fluency of your child’s oral reading with the increased mastery of high frequency words.

By the end of Unit 3 of our Math series the first graders will possess a wealth of information about Geometry and Fractions. Already they can identify, describe, compare, and sort plane and solid shapes. We are now exploring position words, grids, symmetry, patterning, probability, and fractional parts. Sounds exhausting, doesn't it? Assist your child in locating the many shapes and patterns in their environment so that they can connect and reinforce the vocabulary and concepts introduced in the classroom. You will be amazed at the new vocabulary words they will be using! Also, when you engage your children in activities such as puzzles, building toys, and tangrams you are promoting geometric play and experimentation.

Our Religion activities have helped us understand Jesus in a more personal way by appreciating the fact that he grew and learned right here on Earth. We will learn how our church began and the importance of the Holy Spirit in the growth of the church and in our own lives. Prayer can bring us closer to God and we will understand that we can pray anywhere and anytime about anything.

Our Social Studies unit will introduce us to the importance of Geography. We will learn that people live in communities, states, countries and continents. In Social Studies and Science we will explore different regions of the world and the fascinating world of animals and their habitats. We will continue to share literature, activities and projects about habitats and hibernation as we conclude our unit about animals.

Through the example of Martin Luther King, the children will use their imaginations to share their wishes and dreams for a better world. This concept will be extended as we discuss what makes a good citizen. The children will try to recognize the characteristics of good citizenship, such as belief in justice, truth, equality and responsibility.

In January we will have a very special day! Mitten Day will integrate language arts, math, science, social studies and art activities around this wintry theme. The month will conclude with Catholic Schools Week. We will discuss the value that each of us possesses within our school community and how we can all make a difference in our world.

Happy New Year! Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Dolan

Classroom News - November 2008

The month of November is filled with many exciting activities in the first grade. The first grade students will continue to reinforce the skills and strategies they have learned through many reading and writing activities. They are becoming wonderful writers and readers who love sharing their work. We will concentrate on:

• reviewing the short vowel sounds
• blends (s, l, r)
• r-Controlled Vowels
• learning more high frequency words
• writing sentences using (., !, ?)
• quotation marks
• Digraphs: /sh/, /th/
• Nouns
• One and more than one (one cat, two cats)
• Comprehension skills:
  • Compare and Contrast
  • Details
  • Plot
  • Setting

Our young mathematicians are wrapping up their study of addition and subtraction facts through ten. The second unit in Math has taught the children several strategies that will be beneficial in the learning of their basic math facts. We have explored the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction, and we will wrap up the unit with an introduction to fact families. It has been a joy watching the first graders approach math with both excitement and confidence.

Our days hold many interesting and fun learning experiences focusing on the study of animals. We will learn about the sounds, coverings, changes, homes and the habitats in which animals live through stories in our reading book, activities and through literature.

A very special holiday time begins with our study of the voyage of the Pilgrims, their settlement in the New World and what they shared with their new Native American friends. Stories, writing and art projects will focus on the importance of God in their lives. Thinking about how we can thank God for all he has given us will help us write our own prayers of thanksgiving. Our very own Thanksgiving Feast will conclude our celebration of this special holiday. All of this will tie into our Senior Luncheon which is a wonderful opportunity to thank our Senior friends for supporting our school. The first grade class entertained our friends with songs on this special day.

In religion we have been discussing the importance of praising God throughout the church year and why and how many people followed Jesus. We are learning the Lord’s Prayer and the meaning of the words.

We enjoyed meeting with all the parents and sharing the excitement of each child’s progress during the conferences. If there are ever any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call, email or write.

We wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Dolan

Classroom News - October 2008

During October the children continue to grow as readers, writers, speakers and listeners. Developing strategies to understand their reading. and improve their writing and listening is our goal. The children work in whole group, small groups, and with partners to strengthen their language skills . Through literature and our new reading program, the children make predictions, set a purpose before reading, recall details and recognize and discuss characters from stories. With each story consonant sounds are reviewed, and vowel sounds and more High Frequency Reading words are introduced. Recognizing the importance of different types of sentences and correct punctuation is noted when reading and writing. The children are very busy each day during their morning centers as they practice all their new skills and strategies.

God gave us many gifts but the most important one is Jesus. We learn that Jesus is our friend and through His example we better understand how to be a friend, love God, love others, and love ourselves. Role-playing and stories show us how to best deal with situations involving others and how we can care for and respect different people within the various groups which we belong. We discuss the special people that God gave us to help us each day.

The class continues to learn about different safety rules and the people who keep us safe. Our Social Studies program has focused on families. Classroom discussions and activities revolve around the feelings, rules and special times families share. Lessons compare and contrast different homes and forms of transportation. To conclude our first unit we will also compare how today’s families differ from those of long ago. In Science we continue to focus on the changes in the seasons and the weather, food, clothing and activities we associate with each season.

The first graders continue to enjoy math each day, mostly because they are under the impression that math is just “fun and games.” Little do they realize that every hands-on math activity has been turning them into regular mathematicians. Currently, the children are using items such as unifix cubes, dice, and dominoes to help them write addition and subtraction facts through 8, both horizontally and vertically. They are able to solve addition and subtraction word problems using an “Act It Out” and “Draw a Picture” strategy. Next, we will wrap up Unit I as we introduce how to read, make and use graphs to compare information.

During October we celebrate three exciting times in First Grade. In honor of Christopher Columbus we shared stories about his adventures and decided if we would have joined his crew. On Pumpkin Day this unusual orange vegetable will be the theme of all our fun center activities. The month concludes with a First Grade favorite...Halloween! Following our Halloween Parade and party, we will continue to enjoy the day by sharing our favorite Halloween books and working in our Halloween centers which will focus on math and language arts activities.

The First Graders continue to shine each day as they work together to share the excitement of learning!

Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Dolan

Classroom News - September 2008

The first graders are continuing to adjust to their new classroom. The days have been filled with activities focusing around the theme “Follow Me” from our Language Arts program. We have been reviewing our sounds, and we are beginning to develop a larger sight word vocabulary. Through songs, poems, and literature, sounds and words have been reviewed and introduced. Our reading program offers many opportunities, at all levels, to practice these skills and share and read good literature. Using the sounds correctly and putting our new words into our writing is becoming more a part of our day. Through journal writing, games, activities, computer programs and various writing opportunities the first graders are learning and improving their language skills.

Each day we share and get to know one another better, we are realizing how very special God has made each one of us. The first graders will appreciate the wonders of the parts of our bodies working together and the need for good nutrition, exercise and rest to keep our bodies healthy. They will discuss safety rules and the community members that help to keep us safe. Singing and creating projects about God’s love have increased our understanding of the miracle of His love and the beautiful people and world He has created. We will discuss the special people that God gave us to help us each day at school and at home.

During apple season our little scientists will explore the seasons of an apple tree, use their math skills to graph and count different types of apples, and use their problem solving skills to write number sentences about their findings.

The first unit of our math program starts with a review of number concepts through twenty using hands-on activities that allow for the recognition, counting, ordering, and comparing of numbers and sets. Each student is building a math vocabulary as they become familiar with number words and terms such as before, after, between, more, fewer, greater than, less than, and equal to. The unit will introduce the children to addition and subtraction concepts and properties and will also explore simple graphing and problem solving skills.

The emphasis in handwriting will be on practicing the formation of letters and the spacing of words. The children are learning the correct way to hold their pencil when we write in our handwriting book and throughout our daily writing activities.

We will wrap up the month with a Social Studies unit titled “All About Families”. Our activities and discussions will investigate how families care for and help one another, the rules families use to stay safe and get along and how families celebrate special times. The children will recognize how changes in transportation and technology have influenced how families live.

We look forward to seeing all of you at Curriculum Night and sharing some of the wonderful experiences your child will have in first grade. Our presentation will begin at 6:30. Feel free to stop by between 6:30 and 7:25. Hopefully any questions you have concerning how your child spends their day at St. Mary School will be answered. If you ever have any questions or concerns at any time, please do not hesitate to write, email or call.

Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Dolan