Grade 1

Eureka:

Students will learn math via the Eureka Program.  This program is designed to promote higher-order thinking.  Students will not only be expected to solve and compute various problems but explain WHY.

In Grade 1, instructional time should focus on four critical areas: (1) developing understanding of addition, subtraction, and strategies for addition and subtraction within 20; (2) developing understanding of whole number relationships and place value, including grouping in tens and ones; (3) developing understanding of linear measurement and measuring lengths as iterating length units; and (4) reasoning about attributes of, and composing and decomposing geometric shapes.

1. Students develop strategies for adding and subtracting whole numbers based on their prior work with small numbers. They use a variety of models, including discrete objects and length-based models (e.g., cubes connected to form lengths), to model add-to, take-from, put-together, take-apart, and compare situations to develop meaning for the operations of addition and subtraction, and to develop strategies to solve arithmetic problems with these operations. Students understand connections between counting and addition and subtraction (e.g., adding two is the same as counting on two). They use properties of addition to add whole numbers and to create and use increasingly sophisticated strategies based on these properties (e.g., “making tens”) to solve addition and subtraction problems within 20. By comparing a variety of solution strategies, children build their understanding of the relationship between addition and subtraction.
2. Students develop, discuss, and use efficient, accurate, and generalizable methods to add within 100 and subtract multiples of 10. They compare whole numbers (at least to 100) to develop understanding of and solve problems involving their relative sizes. They think of whole numbers between 10 and 100 in terms of tens and ones (especially recognizing the numbers 11 to 19 as composed of a ten and some ones). Through activities that build number sense, they understand the order of the counting numbers and their relative magnitudes.
3. Students develop an understanding of the meaning and processes of measurement, including underlying concepts such as iterating (the mental activity of building up the length of an object with equal-sized units) and the transitivity principle for indirect measurement.1
4. Students compose and decompose plane or solid figures (e.g., put two triangles together to make a quadrilateral) and build understanding of part-whole relationships as well as the properties of the original and composite shapes. As they combine shapes, they recognize them from different perspectives and orientations, describe their geometric attributes, and determine how they are alike and different, to develop the background for measurement and for initial understandings of properties such as congruence and symmetry.

Cooperative Problem Solving:

Twice a month, students will work in groups to solve challenging math problems. Students will work on collaboration, questioning, and presentation skills in addition to developing critical thinking skills. 

Problem of the Day:

Students are given a daily word problem that is repeated practice of previously learned material. Problem of the day helps students build automaticity in math, through continuous practice. Students use a math rubric to self-assess their work and the work of their peers.

Fact Fluency:

Your child will practice and memorize grade appropriate math facts in addition. 

To build a foundation for college and career readiness, students must read widely and deeply from among a broad range of high-quality, increasingly challenging literary and informational texts. Through extensive reading of stories, dramas, poems, and myths from diverse cultures and different time periods, students gain literary and cultural knowledge as well as familiarity with various text structures and elements. By reading texts in history/social studies, science, and other disciplines, students build a foundation of knowledge in these fields that will also give them the background to be better readers in all content areas. 

Into Reading:

First graders will learn reading and writing skills through the Into Reading Program. They will be exposed to close readings of fiction and nonfiction, authentic texts with modeling, and teacher-directed activities. Students will practice skills related to theme, main idea, character development, sequence of events, and point of view. 

FUNdations:

First grade students will learn to identify blended letters and digraphs and their corresponding sound(s), letter formation, phonemic awareness, phonics, and reading skills (blending, segmenting, sight words, etc.), using various FUNdations lessons and activities in a whole group and small group instruction.

Guided Reading and Writing:

A small group of 4-6 first grade students meet with the teacher to practice reading, writing, and speaking. Students read an instructional level book in a group, focusing on one-to-one correspondence, decoding, and reading with fluency. Students participate in an academic discussion to show reading comprehension.

Fountas & Pinnell: 

The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Systems are accurate and reliable tools PS 86 teachers use to identify the instructional and independent reading levels of students. This assessment tool is also used to document student progress through one-on-one formative and summative assessments

Writing: 

Students will learn about the writing process as they publish writing pieces throughout the year to prepare them for Performance-Based Assessments (PBAs). First graders will be exposed to various writing genres, narrative fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and opinion writing.