1st Grade
St. Mary's First Grade class is taught by Allison Kroesch.
Please review how the following topics have been prepared for the First Grade school year.
RELIGION
The religion curriculum for the first grade is divided into three parts: doctrine, scripture and liturgical seasons.
The doctrine segment helps students recognize that what we believe, how we worship, how we live and how we pray make a difference in our lives.
The students also learn valuable scripture lessons while studying the Bible. The students tend to develop a better understanding of the meaning of the stories.
The liturgical seasons of the church are also taught. The students learn about and celebrate the seasons more fully when they better understand the seasons of the church.
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LANGUAGE ARTS/READING
Students are becoming more independent readers and writers. They are introduced to different strategies to help decode unknown words.These strategies help the students to become more confident as they learn to read.
They have regular handwriting practice to help refine letter size and legibility. They also practice the conventions and rules of writing as they learn about capitalization, punctuation and more conventional spelling.
They continue to develop their vocabulary, helping to strengthen their oral language skills as well.
The McGraw-Hill text series utilizes a guided reading program that enables students to succeed at their individual reading levels
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MATHEMATICS
The first grade math curriculum focuses on a wide variety of mathematical topics including numbers, patterns, geometry, measurement, probability, fractions, time and money.
Manipulatives are often used to help count, sort, make comparisons, make patterns and perform mathematical computations with addition and subtraction.
Students also learn how to make and use number lines, tally marks and graphs to help them solve problems. The students learn to solve problems with real world application.
The students’ mathematical vocabulary and ability increases as they learn to solve problems with a real world context and application.
The Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley is the text series used in math.
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SCIENCE
First graders participate in many hands-on science activities that allow students to gain knowledge about the world around them.
The first grade curriculum gives students firsthand experiences to observe and experiment.
Students develop skills in sorting, classifying and graphing. They often make comparisons, predictions and observations based on their activity at hand. The units taught help to expand their knowledge of our natural world. Some of these units include:
- Our five senses,
- Weather,
- Astronomy,
- Life cycles,
- Magnets,
- and Measurement
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SOCIAL STUDIES
Students in first grade strengthen their geography skills and historical understanding by studying the make up of different communities and community helpers.
They also learn about the 50 states and how our world is made up of different countries.
Two key elements of the social studies curriculum are holidays and celebrations and historical figures.
The students learn to read maps with the use of a map key and a compass rose. They make predictions using charts, graphs and Venn diagrams.
The students also look at the order of events using calendars and timelines to get a better understanding of our history.
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Art
St. Mary's art is taught by Carrie Jimenez.
Students will learn to identify different tools used for the visual arts.
Students will understand how to use these tools safely, and in various ways, to create their own works of art.
Materials and tools used will include paints, pencil, glue, and scissors. Students will develop eye-hand coordination and build imagination.
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MUSIC
St. Mary's music is taught by April Myers.
In kindergarten, students focus mainly on singing and keeping a steady beat.
They work on matching pitches that they hear, identifying fast and slow, and the difference between sounds and silences.
Students play musical games and instruments to reinforce special relationship, movement, creative expression, and music appreciation.
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PHYSICAL EDUCATION
St. Mary's physical education is taught by Susan Bassie.
The physical education curriculum has four focus areas: locomotor skills, nonlocomotor skills, manipulative skills, and physical fitness.
Students will learn and demonstrate control when bending, reaching, galloping, and skipping.
Tumbling, balancing, and tossing/catching are also taught in the first grade. In addition, they will begin to learn about the effects of physical activity on the body, as well as the importance of physical fitness through both verbal lessons and daily stretching routines.
Safety in the gym is taught and practiced.
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COMPUTERS/TECHNOLOGY
St. Mary's computers/technology is
taught by Sharon Swanke.
First grade computer/technology curriculum focuses on expanding and building upon computer/technology terminology along with age appropriate software.
In keyboarding, first graders are introduced to the home row and will demonstrate proper typing posture.
Students build upon their KidPix knowledge by learning to save, print, and create slideshows.
Students learn how to save, name files appropriately, open existing documents, print, and manipulate fonts in word processing.
The Internet will be used as a learning tool in which students will learn basic Internet concepts.
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