First grade is such an exciting place! The boys and girls spend lots of time in Language Arts activities in first grade. They are becoming great readers and learning about the writing process through our writer's workshop. The students also read many books with the whole class, in small groups, and individually to become better readers. Phonics and spelling are important parts of our first grade language arts program too. The children also have fun reading and re-reading their poetry notebooks, delighting in the patterns and rhymes.
In math, we begin the school year learning about geometry. This includes patterns, solid figures, and plane shapes. We then move on to understanding addition and subtraction. Other topics we explore in math are measurement, place value, money and time. We also continuously engage in problem solving activities, exercising our higher order thinking skills and practice math facts for quick recall. In learning about all of our math concepts, the students use many manipulatives, giving them a hands-on experience.
Social studies and science are integrated throughout the first grade curriculum. This allows us to use real literature and authentic experiences to enhance learning.