First Grade at
Rolesville Elementary
Reading
A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Reading is a lifelong skill and your child has been gathering the needed tools for several years. Recognizing familiar signs along the roadside, pretending to read storybooks, learning the alphabet, and knowing letter sounds are the reading activities that all children enjoy.
Reading is one of the most important parts of our first grade program. In first grade, we are constantly looking at words and reading in a variety of ways. Your child will read as part of the whole class, individually, and in small groups. You are a big part of your child's success. Please read nightly with your child for at least 15 minutes.
First grade reading levels consist of: Early Emergent/Emergent (levels 1-4) and Developing (levels 5-16). According to first grade benchmarks, students should meet the following reading goals:
Entry into first grade: reading on level 3-4 or
higher
End of 1st quarter: level 5-6 or higher
End of 2nd quarter: level 9-10 or higher
End of 3rd quarter: level 11-12 or higher
End of year: level 15-16 or higher
Writing
In
first grade, one of our
main goals is to lead students to an enjoyment of writing and growth
as young writers. This process takes daily opportunities,
a lot of time, and many chances to succeed. The willingness to take
risks as a writer is key and children must believe that
their attempts will be accepted.
Invented Spelling is a pivotal step in beginning writing. Invented spelling is a term used to describe the combination of consonants, consonant clusters, and vowels that can generally be read by others. This type of spelling is phonetic and allows a child to begin to write independently to express himself.
We provide our first graders with daily writing experiences, chances to select topics, and many opportunities to share. They have writing portfolios to save writing to share with their families and others.
We also incorporate the Writing Process into our curriculum. The writing process consists of :
prewriting
drafting
revision
editing
and publishing
although young children may
not always use all five elements of the
process.
Please refer to
your first grade "Connections" for more information on
specific
writing stages.
An
old Chinese proverb says:
I hear and I forget
I see and I remember
I do and I
understand.
Math Trailblazers
is a comprehensive
curriculum that maintains a balance between the development of math
concepts and basic skills. Students apply basic math skills while working
on meaningful and challenging tasks. The math content of the traditional
math curriculum is studied; but other topics-estimation, geometry,
measurement, patterns and relationships, algebra concepts, and statistics
and probability-are investigated at an appropriate level in each grade.
The curriculum includes different types
of lessons:
Activities-explorations of math concepts and skills that use a variety
of tools and methods.
Labs-extended investigations that use a simplified version of
the method scientists use.
Daily Practice and
Problems-items that provide practice in
math skills and concepts.
Games-math games that build familiarity with math skills and
concepts.
Adventure
Books-illustrated stories that deal with math and science
ideas.
Assessments-activities that allow the teacher and
student
Report
Cards, Interim Reports, Conferences, Assessments
Report cards are issued three times a year in first grade. There is no report card for the first nine week grading period. Interim reports will be issued three times a year to keep you updated on your child's progress.
Teachers conference with parents at least twice a year to keep parents informed of their child's progress. We feel communication between the teacher and parent is essential.
In monitoring students' progress, ongoing assessments in reading, writing, and math are used. The assessments help develop consistent performance expectations and serve as a guide toward student achievement and goals.
Ms. Kenney
Ms. Chasteen
Ms. Greene
Ms. Swan
Ms. Womble
