Curriculum Connections
Literacy - In first grade, we will continue using Letterland, the phonics program your child learned in Kindergarten. Letterland is a unique, phonics-based approach to teaching reading, writing, and spelling. The Letterland characters transform plain black letter shapes into child-friendly pictograms and they all live in an imaginary place called Letterland. Simple stories about the Letterland characters explain the full range of dry phonics facts so that children are motivated to listen, to think and to learn. These stories explain letter sounds & shapes, allowing children to improve their word building, reading and writing. Letterland supports reading development by teaching decoding strategies with a direct and systematic approach of increasing difficulty. Students will be given MANY opportunities to read as research reports that the more a child reads, the better they are able to apply what they have been learning. Letterland also supports writing development and your child will learn to write opinion pieces, informative/ explanatory texts, and narratives. Our main focus will be for children to write introductory and closing sentences with several supporting details on a single topic. Students will also learn to use correct capitalization and punctuation as well as appropriate spelling (basic sight words spelled correctly, words with common spelling patterns spelled correctly and untaught words spelled phonetically).
Math - In recent years, several WSES first grade teachers participated in a yearlong training on mathematics instruction through Project Aim at NC State. This training along with county resources will provide the majority of our math program. Lessons will not only meet the needs of our curriculum, but will also meet national standards. There is a very strong emphasis on number sense, problem solving and math talk (the ability to prove your thinking and to discuss the “how’s” and “why’s” of mathematical concepts).
Science - Just as in math, science will focus on using and strengthening your child’s problem solving skills. The science curriculum in first grade focuses on four areas of science including earth materials, balance and motion, living organisms, and objects in the sky (sun, moon, and stars). We will be using a scientific approach to studying these topics centering on questioning skills. Inquiry will be a big focus in our science activities. In looking for answers, students usually start with free exploration of materials, followed by a discussion of their discoveries. Usually new questions arise while students seek answers, leading to additional student-motivated inquiries with materials to reinforce and extend concepts.
Social Studies - Social Studies will surround the topics of rules, communities, diversity, mapping skills, natural resources, holidays, and basic economics. Also, we are working hard to try to teach our students how to be good citizens. Throughout the year we will emphasize the following character traits: Responsibility, Respect, Courage, Kindness, Self-Discipline, Integrity, Perseverance, and Good Judgment.
Literacy - In first grade, we will continue using Letterland, the phonics program your child learned in Kindergarten. Letterland is a unique, phonics-based approach to teaching reading, writing, and spelling. The Letterland characters transform plain black letter shapes into child-friendly pictograms and they all live in an imaginary place called Letterland. Simple stories about the Letterland characters explain the full range of dry phonics facts so that children are motivated to listen, to think and to learn. These stories explain letter sounds & shapes, allowing children to improve their word building, reading and writing. Letterland supports reading development by teaching decoding strategies with a direct and systematic approach of increasing difficulty. Students will be given MANY opportunities to read as research reports that the more a child reads, the better they are able to apply what they have been learning. Letterland also supports writing development and your child will learn to write opinion pieces, informative/ explanatory texts, and narratives. Our main focus will be for children to write introductory and closing sentences with several supporting details on a single topic. Students will also learn to use correct capitalization and punctuation as well as appropriate spelling (basic sight words spelled correctly, words with common spelling patterns spelled correctly and untaught words spelled phonetically).
Math - In recent years, several WSES first grade teachers participated in a yearlong training on mathematics instruction through Project Aim at NC State. This training along with county resources will provide the majority of our math program. Lessons will not only meet the needs of our curriculum, but will also meet national standards. There is a very strong emphasis on number sense, problem solving and math talk (the ability to prove your thinking and to discuss the “how’s” and “why’s” of mathematical concepts).
Science - Just as in math, science will focus on using and strengthening your child’s problem solving skills. The science curriculum in first grade focuses on four areas of science including earth materials, balance and motion, living organisms, and objects in the sky (sun, moon, and stars). We will be using a scientific approach to studying these topics centering on questioning skills. Inquiry will be a big focus in our science activities. In looking for answers, students usually start with free exploration of materials, followed by a discussion of their discoveries. Usually new questions arise while students seek answers, leading to additional student-motivated inquiries with materials to reinforce and extend concepts.
Social Studies - Social Studies will surround the topics of rules, communities, diversity, mapping skills, natural resources, holidays, and basic economics. Also, we are working hard to try to teach our students how to be good citizens. Throughout the year we will emphasize the following character traits: Responsibility, Respect, Courage, Kindness, Self-Discipline, Integrity, Perseverance, and Good Judgment.