Language Arts
This month in reading we will be developing ideas about the characters in the stories that we read. We will describe how characters change throughout a story. We will learn to recognize different traits that characters have. The first graders will use evidence from their text to support their ideas about the characters. We will also compare and contrast characters within different books. We will continue to review short vowel sounds and practice initial and final consonant clusters as well as adding –s to make plural words.
In writing we will begin learning about writing friendly letters. We will learn about all parts of a friendly letter including the proper placement of the date, greeting, body, and closing. The first grade writers will include interesting details that help to answer questions that the reader may have. They will make sure to use complete sentences, vary sentence type, and use proper punctuation.
Math
The first grade mathematicians will be developing concepts for numbers to 100 by counting sets of 2s, 5s, and 10s. They will look at numbers and compare them to groups of ten with some left over. For instance, 16 is 10 and 6 more. They will search for patterns and identify ordinal numbers through twentieth. The first graders will also identify and show ½, 1/3 , and ¼.
Science
Science Rocks!! Our science unit this month will explore rocks and minerals. The first grade scientist will recognize that rocks and minerals are used every day by people. For example: in objects such as, metal kitchen appliances, chalk, concrete, and sidewalks. We wear rocks in our jewelry. Minerals are in most of our foods. Rocks form the basis of our earth! We will investigate the characteristics of the 3 rock families including igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.
Social Studies
“The Land Around Us” focuses on the Earth. The first graders will explore the concept of neighborhood and the people who live in a community, as well as the physical characteristics of Earth, such as land forms and bodies of water. They will practice how to use a map and globe to find places on Earth. In addition, the first graders will explore some of Earth’s resources, how people depend on them, and how we can help save them.