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CISFirst Grade Curriculum
NightWelcome Families!
Welcome to First Grade!Alyssa Nicholas, Kimberly Canham, Rene Mills, Kim Reese, and
Tammi RemsburgWe will introduce you to first grade curriculum and our goals for the year.If you have any questions please jot them down and hold them to the end so we can stay on schedule.
Our Goals To give your child the academic and
social skills needed to progress to second grade.
To foster independent work habits. To provide a supportive and fun
classroom environment. To help your child make new friends,
discover new interests, and develop their excitement for learning.
Class Subjects The subjects we cover during first grade are:
Reading and writing Math Science Social studies/International Monthly Character Building Specials- Music, Art, Hindi, P.E.
Common Core Standards in First
Grade Here is a brief introduction of Common
Core: Shifting our mind set to deeper instruction
levels and more complex tasks- we are going an inch wide and mile deep vs. going a mile wide and an inch deep
Video Link
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IGD9oLofks
Reading with in the Common Core
Major Shifts: Informational Texts, Text Complexity, Writing Purposes, Citing evidence in reading and writing, Mastery of Speaking and Listening
What Common Core will look like in reading
A 50 / 50 balance of fiction reading and informational text reading in grades K-5
Higher order thinking skills: analyzing, explaining, comparing and contrasting, demonstrating, applying
3 types of writing: to inform and/or explain, to persuade, to tell a story
Focus on expanding vocabulary through reading and using context clues, analyzing word parts, and using dictionaries as needed to figure out unknown word meanings
How we are getting there… Daily 5
A program designed to give students choices in their learning with appropriate boundaries during workshop time. Students choose from 5 centers: Read to Self, Read to Someone, Work on Writing, Listen to Reading, and Word Work.
While students are at centers, teachers pull small groups of students to work on specific skills.
90 minute literacy block: 3 10 minute whole group focus lessons and 3 20 minute Daily 5/small group sessions
Good Fit Books, building stamina, EEKK
How we are getting there… Journeys
Used during 20 minute whole group instruction mini lessons
Phonics mini lessons: Working with sounds, sound spellings, decodable books go along with sounds that have been introduced; quick rhyming, syllable games
Spelling mini lessons: go with spelling for the week; using spelling rules with words and emphasizes using sound spellings
Grammar mini lessons: focus on writing mechanics like sentence structure, types of sentences, and parts of speech
How we are getting there…
Writing - Work on Writing during Daily 5 to build stamina Creating weekly writing goals Writing Mini-Lessons during Daily 5 Types of writing we will expose them to: lists,
recipes, letters, narrative stories, facts, opinion papers, informative writing.
First Grade Benchmarks for Fluency / Sight Words
Students should be able to read first grade level texts smoothly, with minimal errors and with expression
By the end of 1st grade student’s Lexile level should be 450 or higher.
Fluency is tested at the end of each quarter. Sight words should be given with a 5 second wait time.
Sight Words Sight words make up over half of
written texts, students with a strong sight word base are more fluent readers
Mastery is considered reading a sight word with in 3-5 seconds
Dulch Sight Word Lists- mastery of 1st grade list is goal by
end of the year 2nd-3rd grade lists are given to
challenge students
Sight words are tested at the end of each quarter. Please practice your child’s list at home.
Spelling First Grade students will participate in set spelling lists
as well as dictation in class Journey Words and Sight Word Spelling
Continuation from Kindergarten Research based phonics, spelling, and language program Review of phonograms and introduction of common dipthongs,
diagraphs (ea, ng, er, sh, dge) Focus on rules of spelling and language
The five jobs of silent e Vowels will say their long sound if at the end of the syllable
(na vy, o pen, me)
• Overall Basic Goals of First Grade:Number Sense
• Develop a strong number sense by ordering, comparing and counting with numbers up to 120.
• Develop and build fact practice strategies in order to promote speed and accuracy (fluency of facts through 10).
*Doubles, doubles plus one, counting on, making ten, half of a double, commutative and associative property.
• Understand place value.• Identify fractions.
Geometry• Defining and non-defining attributes of shapes.• Arrange, classify, and sort figures.
Measurement• Tell time to the hour and half hour.• Locate days, dates, and months on the calendar.• Measure length and temperature.
Algebra and Functions• Write problem situations involving addition and subtraction.• Use of symbols for unknown numbers in equations
Problem Solving• Select and apply problem solving strategies (lists, charts, pictures,
number sentence, acting out. working backwards).• Check the validity of results. • Explain and justify reasoning and strategies.
Goal: thoroughly address each content area until fully mastered with opportunities for additional practice, extension, and review where needed.
Math with in the Common Core
Major Shifts: Strong focus on the standards to build strong mathematical
foundations, Incorporation of the 8 Standards for Mathematical Practice
Make sense of problems and persevere when solving them Reason abstractly and quantitatively Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others Model with mathematics Use appropriate tools strategically Attend to precision Look for and make use of structure with in problems Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning
Pursue with Equal Intensity: conceptual understanding, procedural skill fluency, application fact fluency
Saxon Provides daily fact practice of strategies used to solve addition and subtraction problems. Sequential- will focus on one skill at a time and slowly add in more strategies as the year progresses, builds on. Contains fun, hands-on wrap-ups.
This is a critical time for your student to master all strategies and have this necessary skill with them for the remainder of their years in school to build upon.
Try Some of these at home:http://www.funbrain.com/numbers.htmlwww.mathfactcafe.com www.coolmath.com
** New- Workshop Format Students rotate within small groups. Quick and engaging times that are broken into small, focused periods of specific skill practice which includes;o fact practiceo partnered game worko reasoning and problem solving with journal work problemso vocabulary focus, practice cardso small group instruction- skill review, extension, or practice opportunitieso one-on-one support as needed Daily mini-lesson that supports the concept being taught as well as a daily wrap-up
ScienceEssential Standards sets these unit of focus:
• Force and motion
• Plant and Animal life
• Rocks and Minerals
• Earth, Moon and Sun
• Ecosystems
Environmental Education
• Mrs. Remsburg will be coming in once a week to each classroom to teach an environmental lesson to the students.
• Some of the topics include: nature, adaptations, life cycles, water, animals, scientific tools and observation skills.
Social StudiesEssential Standards set these units of focus:
• Community Helpers and Citizenship
• Map Skills
• Change over time
• Holidays throughout the year
International Education
• Our sister country is India.
• We will do a monthly lesson on India with a specific focus.
• Each day we discuss weather in India during calendar time.
• Hindi for essentials
• We will create and present an India project at this year’s International Extravaganza.
Specials Art instructor: Matlock Music Instructors: Schultz and
Lamm P.E. Instructors: Brown and Lipp Hindi Instructor: Batra Technology Instructor: Lipp
Hindi Namaste !! CIS Families welcome
to Mrs. Batra’s Hindi Class!!
Why Learn a Foreign Language
“ A man who knows two languages is worth that of two men”
It is said speakers of more than one language enjoy wide ranging opportunities for travel , employment and relationships.
Learning a language increases intelligence and opens many doors.
How can parents support children to learning Foreign Language
1. Encourage your child to make friends with students who are studying the Language or who already speak the language.
2. Go to the library and look for foreign language magazines, newspapers and books.
3. Check out computer programs and foreign language videos.
4. If you are fluent in the language don’t be overly critical of your child's efforts. Focus on what she/he does right.
How can you communicate with me
Kindergarten and First grade parents can communicate with me on my website:
Batranamaste.com [email protected] School phone : 704-455-3847.Ext 5551 Powerschool ( will be announced later)
Essential Common Core Standards/Goals
Language proficiency Communities Connections Culture and Comparison between
countries Listening, speaking and writing Hindi
Shukriya (Thank you)
WEBSITES,EDMODO, STUDY ISLAND
Websites are updated weekly with goals, homework, important dates to know and tutoring hours.
Edmodo is used to post what the weekly homework is. You can post your homework questions on edmodo or through email.
Study Island is used for math and literacy homework. Your child’s username and password:
User name- Firstname/First last name initial@CIS
Password- cis (unless changed last year)
FIELD TRIPS Shopping Center- October 23rd
Children’s Theatre- February 20th
Dan Nicholas Park- March 26th
Reedy Creek Nature Center- May 22nd
EMAIL Please send in a note if you would like
us to add your email to the distribution list if it was not listed on other forms.
We will respond to emails within 24 hours unless it is Friday after 4:00pm we will respond by 8:15 am on Monday morning.
SERVICE PROJECT We will be doing a service project, as a
grade level, for the community.
Our Board of Directors presentation will be the 2nd Thursday in March.
Absences and Tardies Please send in a note or email if your child
is going to be absent or tardy. We need documentation to count it as excused. You have 3 days to turn in a note.
If your child is late, please send them to the office first for a pass before they walk down to the classroom.
Ipads K-2 will have 2 ipad carts to share as a
way to use more technology in the classroom.
We have not come up with a schedule yet for when each class will have the carts.
Class Dojo How to read Dojo: CLASS DOJO Points are recorded daily on their “How
was my day?” sheet. These are turned in , signed, monthly.
Their points from class dojo correspond to a color. Underneath each color is the consequence and meaning of each one.
E- portfolios www.wikispaces.com
Your child has their own wikispaces page that the teacher edits.
We will add artifacts showing their growth throughout the year based on the goals that they’ve set for themselves. The students will lead a conference at
the end of the semester.
Power School Use: grades, personal information,
attendance, report cards, progress reports.
Parent portal is accessible using your email address.
*More information to come*
Homework We will assign homework every night. This includes 20 minutes of
reading, a spelling contract, and Study Island. We will have special projects throughout the year as well. Our nightly homework is a review opportunity of objectives we are covering during our day in the classroom. We will never give homework that covers a skill or objective your student is unfamiliar with. It is our goal to meet the needs of our students by differentiating the homework.
Your homework schedule is placed on Edmodo and the class website at the end of the prior week.
Students independently pack up their own homework and are responsible for getting it home and back by using their HW/binder folder. Too often we hear excuses about missing homework and we would like to emphasis how important it is at this stage in school for your student to independently carry out this task!
Remedial Tutoring Tuesday- Mrs. Mills – Math tutoring from 3:30-4:00
Wednesday- Mrs. Canham- Reading tutoring from 3:30-4:00
Thursday- Ms. Nicholas- Handwriting tutoring from 3:30-4:00
* We are evaluating the need for remedial services centered around these three main topics and will contact those students we feel will benefit from the additional support each week.
* We MUST receive an email IF YOUR STUDENT IS NOT ATTENDING A REGULARLY SCHEDULED TUTORING SESSION!!!
* You are expected to pick up your student PROMPTLY from the upper lot at 4:00.
Scoring ScalesIn order to fully master a skill your student is expected to score a 3.0 out of a possible 3.0. 3.0= The student has demonstrated full mastery of the grade level objective. 2.5= The student demonstrates basic understanding of the objective and is progressing
towards grade level mastery. 2.0= The student demonstrates basic understanding of the objective. 1.5= The student has demonstrated some basic understanding of the objective, with some
assistance. 1.0= The student demonstrates basic understanding only with assistance. .5= There may be some basic understanding but only with assistance. .
Challenge Opportunities3.5= When presented with material that is beyond the expectations of the objective being
taught, the student has demonstrated knowledge that is advanced higher than the grade level mastery expectations.
4.0= This is a rare score given to those students that really, really take it a step further with their thinking. They take an objective and expand on it in a way that connects to other areas or extends far advanced beyond the level that is expected for mastery.
Assessments Seen in The Grade Book:
All assessments will be out of a 3.0 except assessments modified above grade level. Your child must master the above grade level assessment in order to earn a 4.0
Journeys Tests Spelling Tests Saxon Tests Fact Fluency Tests
AssessmentsBENCHMARK TESTING:
MCLASS(Teacher Directed) : Testing that will be done on the ipads which will assess sight words, phonemic skills, comprehension, and reading levels.
MAP: An assessment given at the beginning, middle, and end of the year to assess where students are academically in terms of reaching 1st grade standards.
Writing: A prompt given at the beginning, middle and end of year that is graded, using a rubric, and highlights where your child’s writing skills are.
AssessmentsWEEKLY:
- Journeys Assessment( story comprehension, grammar, phonics)
- Spelling Assessment ( red words are the regular words and blue words are challenge words)
- Saxon Pre and Post assessment
Let’s Have a Great Year!Thank you for taking the time to familiarize yourself with first grade expectations and goals. It is our goal that we can work
together as a team in order to help your student reach the highest level of success they possibly can.
