Religion:
Silver Burdett Ginn
This is Our Faith includes 5 units
Unit 1: We Believe
Unit 2: We Worship
Unit 3: We Live
Unit 4: We Pray
Unit 5: We Celebrate
The first grade attends Mass weekly. We pray in the morning, before lunch, and before dismissal. We also are in charge of 3 masses a year. The students learn all of the readings and responses for the mass. The first graders know the Haily Mary, Our Father, Glory Be and the Angel of God prayers before going on to the second grade.
Math:
Saxon Math incorporates the daily calendar or Math Meeting as it is called to reinforce the concepts that are being taught. The lessons are repetitive to ensure that the students have mastered the concepts before a new one is introduced. Side A of the Math worksheet is completed together in class, Side B is sent home for homework.
The Students are assessed every five lessons. There are also oral assessments to be completed every 10 lessons.
Students are also given flashcards to practice the Number Facts that they are learning. They are given 25 problems each day to complete with the Number Facts that they have learned. They are not timed.
VoWac:
VoWac is a phonetic supplement that provides instruction in word pronunciation and spelling strategies that are needed in language arts programs. It provides a secure send-off in word attack usage that carries through when the vocabulary becomes too complex to pronounce by memory. It provides a secure send-off in any written work that requires spelling of unfamiliar words. Students learn small phrases to help them remember some of the rules, for example Sam Likes Fried Zebra is the key sentence to help the students remember that in a one syllable, short vowel word the S, L, F, or Z is doubled at the end of the word.
VoWac has three unique words to this program. They are CLOVER, OPEN, and CLOSED.
CLOVER is an acronym for
six commonly used syllable patterns.
C = Closed syllables as in ‘cat’ (labeled ‘C’)
L = Consonant -le syllables as in ‘ta ⁄ ble’ (labeled
‘L’)
O = Open syllables as in ‘we’ (labeled ‘O’)
V = Vowel team syllables as in ‘read’ (labeled ‘V’)
E = Vowel-consonant-silent ‘e’ syllables as in
‘cake’ (labeled ‘V_E’)
R = R controlled syllables as in ‘barn, bird’ (labeled
‘R’)
Open ended syllables explain why we have some long vowel sounds.
Closed ended syllables explain why we have short vowel sounds.
Spelling:
Textbook: VoWac Spelling - studied with our VoWac lessons.
Monday - Introduce 10 spelling words that follow a certain spelling pattern and study
Tuesday - Introduce 2 sight words and the 2 sentences
Wednesday - Worksheet to reinforce the spelling words
Thursday - Spelling word review and test
Friday - Spelling sentence review and test - Send home next week's practice sheet The previous weeks Home Spelling Practice sSheet is due
Social Studies
Macmillan⁄McGraw-Hill: People and Places
Unit 1 All About Familes
Unit 2 Where We Live
Unit 3 Good Citizens
Unit 4 All Kinds of Jobs
Unit 5 Americans Long Ago
We also incorporate a Weekly Reader into our lessons each week.
Science
Scott Foresman
Unit A Life Science
Unit B Physical Science
Unit C Earth Science
Unit D Human Body
We also integrate a Health Curriculum into our Science Program.
Health: Know Your Body
This curriculum incorporates puppets that teach about Self-Esteem, Effective Communication, Decision Making, Goal Setting, and Stress Management
Module 1: Skill Builders
Module 2: Body Fuel
Module 3: A Changing You
Module 4: Safety Smart
Module 5: Fitness is Fun
Module 6: I Can Choose
Module 7: Conflict Resolution⁄Violence PRevention
Module 8: A Healthy Smile
Module 9: An Ounce of Prevention
Module 10: Consumer Wise
Module 11: The Environment and You
Reading
Scott Foresman
Unit 1 Good Times We Share
Unit 2 Take a Closer Look
Unit 3 Let’s Learn Together
Unit 4 Favorite Things Old and New
Unit 5 Take Me There
Unit 6 Surprise Me!
The Reading Series has easy to read stories to help the students build up their confidence when they are learning to read. Each week they are introduced to the main story and then a phonics story that incorporates the phonics lessons that they are working with. Each week they have a test on the selections and five important words that we study throughout the week. The series includes Grammar lessons and has the students write each day.
See the First Grade Web Page (opens in new window) for pictures and activities!