Welcome to First Grade at Ellis School

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Welcome to First Gradeat Ellis School
What if our school was the best school in the
world? -Harry 1st grader
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In First Grade, we

• Learn to read
• Become mathematicians
• Explore science like scientists
• Travel back in time and study history
• Become authors and illustrators
• Sing like a rock star and move like a
  professional sports player!
• Take a look inside our day!

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Learning to read throughA Balanced Literacy
Block

• Reading Writing
• In a 1st Grade Classroom

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The Components of a Balanced Literacy Program

• Readers Workshop

• Writers Workshop

• Interactive Read Aloud

• Phonics/Word Study
• (Wilson Fundamentals)

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ReadersWorkshop
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Components of the Readers Workshop Model

• Focus Lesson
• Read Confer
• Group Share/ Wrap-up

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Focus Lesson

• Teachers students meet as a whole group on the
  rug.
• The teacher chooses a specific strategy or skill
  to introduce to the students.
• The teacher then models how to use this strategy
  through an interactive read-aloud.

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Examples of Focus Lessons

• What does a readers workshop look and sound
  like?
• How do you know if a book is just right for you?
• What do you do when you come to a word that you
  dont know?
• Can you imagine or predict what might happen
  next?

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Read and Confer

• After the focus lesson children go to their just
  right spots to read alone with their just
  right books.
• This 30-40 minutes of actual reading time is the
  most important part of the reading workshop.
• During independent reading, teachers confer with
  children individually. These conferences are
  tailored to meet the needs of the individual
  students.
• Through these conferences, teachers are able to
  learn about each student as a reader and assess
  his/her strengths and needs.

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Ms. Evans is conferencing with a student in a
Just Right Spot
This is his Just Right Spot
Pillow and 2 chairs- this is A Just Right Spot
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Group Share/ Wrap-up

• At the close of the independent reading and
  conferring, the students and teacher meet again
  as a whole group to share, reinforce the focus
  lesson, celebrate, and discuss literature.

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Wilson

• Wilsons Fundations is the program that we use to
  teach word study in the first grade at Ellis
  School.
• This program is a scientific research-based
  systematic approach to learning letter sounds and
  words.

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Word Study
The children begin by learning letter formations
and letter sounds.
Wilson Sound Cards Each letter has a
corresponding key word picture. The picture
begins with the sound of the letter featured on
the card. W, Wind /w/ V, Van, /v/
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Echo
By using the class owl as a prop, the class
enjoys echoing each letter and sound while we do
a daily sound flash.
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Letter Formation

• Tools we use to practice
• Wipe off Boards
• Composition books
• Ruled paper

We teach letter formation using the Wilson grid
which consists of the sky, plane, grass, and worm
lines.
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Home Support Packet

• Very Important
• At the beginning of each unit in Fundations,
  your childs teacher will be sending home a home
  support packet. Please read this letter to
  further understand Wilsons methods of teaching
  and use the materials that are included in with
  your child at home.
• IDEA Keep a folder at home so you can keep
  these pages for the entire school year!

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Everyday Mathematics
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Everyday Math

• Daily Routine
• Math Message
• Math Activities
• Math Boxes
• Home linksdaily math homework---parent support
  important
• Hands on activities/use of manipulatives
• Vocabulary
• Gameseasy to learn and use at school and
  home---great tool for skill practice
• Spiraling Curriculum

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Home Support Packet
Very Important Everyday Math also sends home
information that you will need to keep and refer
back to when your child is completing their
homework. This letter called, Home Links will
be your answer key to further understand Everyday
Math vocabulary. IDEA Keep a folder at home
so you can keep these pages for the entire school
year!
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Science

• Life Science
• Earth Space Science
• Physical Science
• Science Skill Connection Observe, predict,
  hypothesize, sort, classify and measure

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Life Science

• Human, Plant and Animal life Cycle

Habitat and Basic Needs
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Earth Science Physical Science

• Rock Cycle
• Earth material constant changing
• Weather

• Light, Air, Color and Sound
• Energy
• Forces- Magnets

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Social Studies

• Civics and Government
• Family
• Neighborhood
• Community

• Geography
• Purpose of maps
• Weather and how it shapes the surface of the
  earth
• Introduction to ecosystems
• Seasons

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NH and US History Economics

• Influences of famous Americans

• Goods and services
• Money

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Unified Arts at Ellis School
Unified Arts Team Sally Cocco Music Clair
Zarges Library Francine Torge Health Mike
Fernandes Art Diane Jackson Physical
Education
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A sampling of the 1st grade skills, content and
curricula taught by Ellis Specialists

• Reading musical notation
• Writing musical notation
• Singing musical scales and melody (do-re-mi)
• Singing (individually and in groups)
• Counting 4/4 time
• Recognizing hand signals for musical scales
• Dancing (improvisational and choreographed)
• Playing rhythm instruments
• Learning about string and percussion instruments

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Health Class Nutrition Safety Personal
Cleanliness Five Senses Community Wellness Team
(Doctors, nurses, dentists, firemen,
police) Dental Health Physical Fitness
Art Class Introduction to concepts, materials
and techniques Art History Famous
Artists Artistic diversity among
cultures/heritage Observation, imagination, self
expression
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School Library Demonstrating research and
inquiry skills Asking a research question Finding
library catalog stations Identifying a books
author and title Contributing to a class
information sheet Demonstrating a reaction to a
story with an illustration Completing a project
checklist
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School Library Choosing a book for personal
enjoyment Understanding the difference between
fiction and non-fiction Respectfully
communicating ideas Demonstrating basic
technology skills Reacting to a story using a
drawing software program Starting and stopping
audio equipment Using and caring for media
materials and equipment
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Physical Education

• Procedures (safety and classroom)
• Expectations (appropriate dress/sneakers) for
  participation 
• Spatial awareness, general space, personal space
  and boundaries for activities
• Basic movement skills- walking, running, hopping,
  skipping, dancing, leaping, sidesteps, and
  walking backwards
• Working with and manipulating all different kinds
  of balls (volleyballs, basketballs, tennis balls,
  Nerf balls)
• Using equipment (jump ropes, tennis rackets,
  stilts, pogo sticks, hockey sticks, juggling
  scarves, etc.)
• Throwing and catching
• Basic game activities

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Community Time

• If its Friday in 1st grade we are having
  Community Time.
• Community Time is a weekly meeting that brings
  together all of the first graders and 1st grade
  teachers. Throughout the year we explore various
  themes such as
• Following Directions and Audience Behavior
• Family Traditions and Holidays
• Famous Artists and Musicians
• Group Games and Working Together
• During Community Time we integrate the Arts, read
  great books, and even have guest speakers. It is
  a way to bring all of the specials into our
  classrooms each week.

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The Art of Teaching Reading

• The independent reading workshop provides the
  opportunity for mentoring children in the project
  of composing a literate life, for teaching
  children to choose just-right books and to
  monitor for comprehension, to carry books between
  home and school, to not have a lonely reading
  life, to read a second book by an author in a
  different way because theyve read the first, to
  have and develop ideas from books. The readers
  workshop is the closest we come to seeing how
  kids author their own reading lives.
• (Lucy Calkins, 2001)

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• In a readers workshop, children watch each
  other swapping books, gossiping about characters,
  reading favorite passages aloud to friends, or
  searching for information on a hobby. Learners
  are willing and able to work on the parts of
  becoming stronger readers because they see the
  big picture of a literate life, they value it,
  and they consider this life worth doing (Lucy
  Calkins, The Art of Teaching Reading, 2001).