Grade 1 Readers – A Stormy Night

The full day kindergarten program explores the areas of the curriculum with age appropriate challenges that meet the needs of all learning styles and levels. Letters and letter sounds are important as the children transition to reading and writing activities. Kindergarteners are given the opportunity to use language for many different purposes, such as explaining, describing, predicting, and sequencing. Math is incorporated into everyday activities, including the monthly weather graph, calendar, and days in school. Other math topics include number concepts, patterns, shapes, and data. Science and social studies themes encourage and support a child’s natural curiosity. Science themes include apples and pumpkins, forest animals, the five senses, plant growth, and the changing seasons. Social studies topics focus on the child and include “all about me” activities, family, and community. The kindergarten experience is success-oriented. With special attention to individual readiness and development, the primary goal is to provide a safe, rich, and meaningful experience for all children.

First graders come to school wanting to learn and do well! The primary goals of first grade are:

• To have every child become a successful, life-long, independent reader. Children will learn about the conventions of print as they read, are read to, and write daily. Together we explore phonics, spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Children write about the ‘small moments’ of their lives.
• To have children manipulate numbers and ‘think like a mathematician’ in order to become confident math students. Our Growing With Mathematics program focuses on building number sense, pattern, geometry, measurement (including time & money), addition and subtraction.
• To be a member of a caring community: respect, trust, caring, family, and responsibility are emphasized. We also learn about famous people, holidays and traditions at home and around the world.
• Explore sound, the seasons, magnets, insects and spiders, and ocean animals through our science study.

Second grade is an exciting time of growth and change for children. In September we have discussions in Morning Meeting about what kind of class we will be. The children agree that the following 3 “rules” are necessary for us to be happy and learn:

1. BE KIND 2. BE SAFE 3. DO MY BEST

Most seven and eight year old second graders begin the year as emergent readers or are on their way to being independent, problem solving readers. My goal is to help children develop into confident, fluent readers and writers. Using a literature based approach the children read trade books and write daily. Emergent readers need many skills. I employ a systematic phonics and spelling program. I also rely on parents to encourage reading for 20 minutes a night. We are working in a new Math series at H.C.S. this year. The “In-Focus” program will be an exciting challenge. Science, Social and Health lessons are often integrated with Language Arts so the children will experience different writing and hands on projects.

Parental involvement and communication are keys to student success. Expect my weekly newsletter each Monday!

Second grade is a time that allows your child to develop socially, physically and cognitively. It is also a time that your child will spend solidifying skills introduced in kindergarten and first grade. By providing a safe and comfortable learning environment your child is encouraged to take risks and become a more responsible, independent learner.

Our reading program offers a variety of literature including informational text and allows each child to read at his/her own level. Second graders write daily and are learning to use six key elements that promote good writing: ideas, organization, voice, sentence fluency, word choice and conventions.

Our math program, Math in Focus, concentrates on four critical areas: extending understanding of the base-ten system, building fluency with addition and subtraction, using standard units of measure, and describing and analyzing shapes. Your child is also encouraged to make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

Language Arts: Students read independently, with a buddy, and in Guided Reading groups. We have silent reading time each day. I also read aloud to the class. Whole class reading lessons are taught using Literature Circles and Scholastic News.Third graders are expected to develop more sophisticated writing skills. We work hard on the “Writing Process” and write friendly letters, fiction, nonfiction, autobiographies, and poetry.Students use the Sitton Spell program. Daily spelling activities give students practice with spelling patterns, rules, and core words that are considered “No Excuse” words.

Math: Math is taught through the extensive use of manipulatives and the “Growing with Mathematics” program. We also use the “Fastmath” computer program.

Social Studies: Our curriculum topics include History, Geography, Government, and Economics all centered on the town of Holderness.

Science: The specific topics that are covered in science are: Trees, Water Ecosystems, Simple Machines, and Weather Changes.

Welcome to fourth grade!

Whole classroom reading lessons are taught using a variety of nonfiction books and news magazines including Scholastic News and Time for Kids. Small reading groups read novels throughout the year using Literature Circle activities. Every day students will read a book of their choice and each week students will meet and read individually with their teacher to develop specific reading goals. Students will use the 6-Trait Writing program to develop creative stories and nonfiction pieces of writing. The Sitton Spell program will give students daily practice with spelling patterns, rules, and core words that they need to know.

Math is taught through the extensive use of manipulatives and hands on activities. Growing with Mathematics is used in our fourth grade math program. There is an emphasis on math actvities that connect to every day real world situations. Daily math practice papers and computer activities are used to reinforce concepts taught throughout the year to develop critical thinking skills.

In social studies and science many of the units will connect to our state, New Hampshire. Students will learn about New Hampshire through projects, activities, and field trips that will explore New Hampshire geography, early settlers, Abenaki history, state government, rocks and minerals, and landscape formations.

Reading Recovery is a first grade program for children who need individual reading instruction, in addition to what they receive in their classrooms. Reading Recovery students have a thirty minute lesson every day, for an average of twelve to twenty weeks. Each lesson engages the child in a structured sequence of letters, sounds, words, sentence writing and text reading, at his/her own reading level. A book and a written story are sent home every night to read to an adult. Students gain skills and become more confident readers in the classroom. Children are chosen for Reading Recovery twice a year, in September and again in February.