Welcome to the First Grade Team!  The first grade teachers at WBE realize that this is one of the most important years in your child’s academic career. It sets the foundation for many years to come. We have worked hard to plan our day so it gives children a strong balance in all subject areas.

Many years ago, our district and school implemented a leveled approach to reading called Guided Reading. This is so different from when most adults learned to read. One of the main premises is that children read at the reading level that matches their ability. In a single classroom, one child could be reading on a beginning first grade level and another child on a beginning third grade level. Small group instruction allows every child’s needs to be met. The books they read in class will go home in order for them to practice and become more fluent in their reading. As children become skilled in one level, they move on to the next.

Writer’s Workshop is another area where differentiated instruction is present. First grade students will write during this portion of the day, sometimes on self-selected topics and other times on specific types of writing. This again may sound quite different from when most of us were taught to write. Each day there will be a short writing lesson. Afterwards, the children are given time to write and practice what was taught. The teacher’s conference with the children to help them move forward in their writing skills.

First grade uses a guided math format in which students are engaged in math games, math journals, computers, and individual activities related to  learning. After a whole group mini-lesson, the teacher then meets with students in small groups to work more deeply on math concepts. This creates a fun learning environment for children. The emphasis is on building essential concepts and number sense, not just paper and pencil computation.  Each day, students use current data to get a new angle on mathematical relationships.

In spelling, students are taught a specific word pattern each week. Students also have a list of high-frequency words they are working on. The goal is to see the students use these spelling patterns and high-frequency words in their daily writing.

In science, first graders will learn about a wide variety of topics, such as seasons, states of matter, soils, objects in the sky, and life cycles. The students will be actively involved in observations, experiments, and investigations.

Social Studies has many themes throughout the year. They are: School and Community, Patriotism, Family and Cultures, Careers, Citizenship, Map Skills, and Famous Americans.

We look forward to seeing your child’s continued growth in all academic areas this year.