Writing
Reading
On this page, you will learn all about what we are working on in first grade. We encourage you to discuss these topics with your student. Come back soon to see what we will be working on after Spring Break.
What are we learning in first grade?
In reading, we are continuing to grow as readers by building our stamina to read, retelling stories using key details, making connections, making inferences, using evidence from the text to support our predictions, identifying the problem and solution, and identifying the central message or lesson in the story.
We are working to better comprehend each text that we read, and understand that fluent reading will help with our comprehension. Knowing that assessment season is just around the corner, we have been preparing ourselves for the BEAR, DRA2, and DIBELS during our guided reading and whole group instruction.
It is so exciting to see all of our first graders becoming such excellent readers. Keep practicing by using the books that are sent home nightly, and take advantage of our Raz-Kids accounts, that may be accessed from your home computer.
In writing, we recently finished our "How To" books and have moved on to personal narratives. Students are using time during Writer's Workshop to draw and write the stories of their lives, and get the opportunity to share them with their friends.
An outstanding personal narrative will include an engaging introduction, sequenced events, details to describe those events, words to show the passage of time, and a sense of closure.
As writers, we also know that conventions help our readers, so our writing should include appropriate capitalization and ending punctuation.
A lot of our writers are going above and beyond to include structures and crafts that were previously learned during our authors as mentors unit. This may include the use of words bubbles, big bold words, ellipses, dialogue, etc.
In social studies, we are learning about economics, the study of scarcity and choice. Students understand that due to scarcity, we cannot have everything we want or need, so we have to make educated choices.
Students our learning about different businesses and jobs, and the goods or services they provide. Based on their knowledge of different jobs, students will complete a project about what they would like to be when they grow up.
We are also learning the importance of holding a job where you receive an income. You must make money to provide for yourself and your family. Students understand that they can be making and saving money now for either short or long-term goals.
In math, we are learning how to measure. We are using non-standard units of measurement such as connecting cubes, paper clips, inch tiles, kid steps, baby steps, and basketball player steps to measure various lengths. We want our students to understand that our results will differ based on the unit of measurement we are working with.
Students understand that measurement is an important part of life. Without measurement, we may not know the amount of each ingredient to put in a recipe, if a piano will fit through a doorway, or if our shoes will fit.
In addition to measuring lengths, we are learning to measure time to the hour and half hour, and beginning to discuss halves and fourths.
Give your students opportunities to measure things around the house, tell time, and divide items into two or four equal parts.
Don't forget to keep working on those addition and subtraction math facts!
Social Studies
Math
Fantastic in First Grade