Posts in 1st Grade
1st grade - foreign language

First grade students use the ¡Qué chévere! and Realidades curriculum textbook which integrate development of language proficiency into cultural understanding using project-based learning activities, multimedia resources, songs, games, and stories.

  • Students will learn familiar topics and frequently used expressions.

  • Students will participate in short conversations in familiar contexts.

  • Students will learn to follow directions or instructions to complete a task when expressed in short conversations.

  • Students will engage in short social interactions using phrases and simple sentences.

  • Students will use basic language skills supported by body language and gestures to express agreement and disagreement.

  • Students will describe aspects of daily life using phrases and complete sentences.

  • Students will recognize basic practices and perspectives of cultures where the target language is spoken (such as greetings, holiday celebrations, etc.).

  • Students will demonstrate basic knowledge acquired in the target language in order to compare words that are similar to those in his/her own language.

  • Students will learn how to use information acquired through the study of the practices and perspectives of the target culture(s) to identify elements of their characteristics and compare them to own culture.

  • Students will demonstrate and understanding of key points on familiar topics presented through a variety of media.

  • Students will learn to recite the numbers from 1-30 in the target language.

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1st GradeSamantha PennForeign Language
1st grade - science

Science

Greene School students learn to research, compare and contrast, problem solve, and persevere throughout our thematic units of study. Students learn to work collaboratively with their peers and are encouraged to ask questions and research their answers. Field experiences to the Palm Beach Zoo and the South Florida Science Museum are provided and expert guest speakers support the class curriculum.

During our Human Body and Anatomy unit:

  • Students will learn about major organs, as well as the various systems that the organs are located in.

  • Students will learn the importance of each organ, nutrition, and how each system works together to help keep our body healthy.

  • Students will research, write, and present specific body parts to the class.

  • Students will complete a model of the human body.

In our Solar System unit:

  • Students will learn about the various planets, and their location in space, the moon, and how humans successfully visit space.

  • Students choose an area of interest to research further and present to the class.

In our Animal Classifications and Habitats unit:

  • Students will learn the six different animal groups, and the various characteristics that make up each animal classification.

  • Students will learn the habitats, and environmental needs of various animals.

  • Students will compare and contrast animals to humans.

The Dinosaur Era unit:

  • Students will research and learn about the dinosaurs that once roamed our Earth.

  • Students will learn about omnivores, herbivores, and carnivores, as well as why and how dinosaurs became extinct.

  • Students will create a powerpoint of their chosen dinosaur, as well as a diorama depicting a scene of their dinosaur in its environment.

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1st GradeSamantha PennScience
1st grade - social science

Social Science

The purpose of our social studies program is to build a strong classroom community and to expand the children’s interest in their world. Students will learn to take responsibility for their own actions and develop a respect for themselves, each other, and their environment. Topics taught in first grade include:

  • The Importance of Rules

  • All About Me

  • Continents and Oceans

  • The United States of America

  • The History of Thanksgiving

  • Holidays Around the World

  • Martin Luther King, Jr.

  • The United States Presidents and Famous Monuments

  • The Life of Dr. Seuss.

Activities include creating projects and presentations that illustrate students’ grasp of social studies concepts. Students will participate in Read Across America using Dr. Seuss classics. Students will learn to work collaboratively in cooperative groups. Our students learn how to work together and have their voices and opinions heard in a positive manner.

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1st GradeSamantha PennSocial Science
1st grade - mathematics

Mathematics

In first grade, we differentiate our math skills based on need and ability. Students work in small cooperative groups and learn to utilize different manipulatives and strategies to become confident and knowledgeable in their math skills. Students use hundred boards, number lines, white boards, base-ten blocks, and various counters and number cards to help them develop their math foundation.

We utilize the Pearson Envision math textbook for our math skills and we diversify our instructional strategies. Our strategies include (but are not limited to) problem-based learning, embedded visual learning, and personalization to empower every student.

  • Students will learn to add and subtract fluently to 100.

  • Students will learn to create their own bar graph, line graph, and pictograph, and analyze the data collected.

  • Students will learn place value to the thousands.

  • Students will learn to compare two, three, and four digit numbers.

  • Students use these skills to sequence numbers and compare numbers to determine if they are greater than, less than, or equal to.

  • Students will learn to solve word problems using the key vocabulary words that are regularly found in mathematical word problems.

  • Students will learn word problem strategies such as circling the key numbers in the problem, drawing a representational picture, writing a number sentence, and labeling the answer with the correct unit from a problem.

  • Students will learn to use models and strategies to add and subtract fluently within the ones place, tens place, and hundreds place.

  • Students will learn to measure and compare objects with non-standard and standard units.

  • Students will learn how to tell time on an analog and digital clock to the hour, half hour, and minute.

  • Students will learn the strategy of counting by 5’s on the clock.

  • Students will compare and contrast two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes, and identify fractions to the whole, half, third, and fourth.

  • Students will learn regrouping the tens place and the hundreds place.

  • Students will focus on their problem solving process and learn how to explain their thought process through “math talk” to their peers.

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1st GradeSamantha PennMathematics
1st grade - language arts

Language Arts

Reading

Teachers assess each child to determine their instructional reading level throughout the year, and meet with students one-on-one and in small groups to differentiate instruction and ensure the success of every student. Students are exposed to different genres of literature, fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

Students will learn decoding, making connections within the text, predicting, visualizing, activating their prior knowledge, re-telling, summarizing, evaluating, inferring, and reading comprehension.

  • Students will learn to identify the main idea, explain the problem and solution in their own words, sequence major details or key events in a story, and compare and contrast characters and story elements.

Writing

First grade students focus on three major genres of writing throughout the year – Narrative, Informational, and Opinion Writing.

  • Students will learn to write small-moment stories with a true beginning, middle, and end.

  • Students will be able to recount two or more appropriately sequenced events including details from the story using temporal words to signal event word order, such as first, next, then, and last.

  • In our Informational unit, students will research a topic and use their research to write about various topics.

  • In the Opinion unit, students will write about a topic they are interested in and supply details as to why they feel a certain way.

  • Throughout the year, the students work on sentence structure.

  • Students will learn capitalization and punctuation using nouns, adjectives, and verbs.

  • Students will learn correct usage of present, past, and future tense verbs and contractions.

  • Students will be introduced to commas, common, proper and possessive nouns, and appropriate punctuation.

Handwriting

  • Students will continue improving handwriting with our handwriting program, Zaner-Bloser.

  • Students will learn beginning typing skills.

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1st GradeSamantha PennLanguage Arts