About First Grade

What is my child learning in first grade? 

When your child is engaging in Morning Work, he/she is: 

v  Independently practicing and reviewing fundamental math and literacy skills that spiral throughout the year to gain understanding and mastery of grade level skills.

When your child is engaged in Calendar Time, she/he is: 

v  Practicing fundamental math skills such as rote counting, one-to-one correspondence, place value, telling time, counting coins, patterns, number sense and recognition, addition and subtraction, and greater than/less than concepts. 

v  Identifying and correctly writing the days of the week, months of the year, and the digital date. 

When your child visits Math Stations, he/she is:

v  Working cooperatively and independently.

v  Developing and honing fundamental skills in addition and subtraction, patterning, problem-solving, estimating and predicting, telling time, graphing, counting coins, measuring, numeral recognition, one-to-one correspondence, number sense, sorting, and sequencing.

When your child is engaged in Writing Workshop, she/he is:

v  Writing to communicate to an audience.

v  Building writing endurance and stamina.

v  Developing and refining grade appropriate writing skills such as basic capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

v  Working on the writing process (plan, draft, write, revise, edit, publish).

v  Improving his/her fine motor skills and handwriting.

When your child is in Reading Workshop, he/she is: 

v  Rotating through various literacy-based activities that provide him/her opportunities to explore and practice writing, manipulating sounds and spelling patterns, reading to self and partners, practicing phonemic and print awareness, developing vocabulary, retelling and summarizing stories, and building fluency and comprehension, and learning various strategies to become an independent and fluent reader.

When your child is learning about Science and Social Studies, she/he is:  

v  Participating in science inquiry skills such as classifying, communicating, comparing and contrasting, gathering and organizing data, measuring, predicting, and observing.

v  Learning about social, self-help, and independence skills, and how their selves relate to other people and spaces around them.

v  Making connections through knowledge, strategies, skills, and vocabulary to other learning areas such as reading, writing, and math.

When your child is at Specials, he/she is:

v  Involved in physical activities and learning about healthy habits, participating in music and movement, learning library and computer skills, and developing an awareness of and appreciation for the arts.

When your child is at recess or choice time, she/he is:  

v  Developing in areas such as oral language, fine and large motor skills, problem-solving skills, creativity and imagination, spatial reasoning, interpersonal skills, self-confidence, sharing, and taking turns.

When you ask me what I’ve done at school today, and I say that “I just played”, please don’t misunderstand me. For, you see, I’m learning as I play. I’m learning to enjoy & be successful in my work. I’m preparing for tomorrow. Today, I am a child and my work is my play.”

Adapted from The First Grade Parade