First grade is a year of great growth and development! Students are becoming inquisitive readers, organized writers, skillful mathematicians, exploratory scientists, budding environmentalists, and kind friends. The positive, nurturing environment allows them to safely learn responsibility, explore new experiences, and thrive.
During first grade, students continue to build their addition and subtraction concepts, moving up to 2-digit problems. Children develop their comprehension and vocabulary skills both through group reading and by reading themselves. Spelling words become more challenging with the introduction of long and short vowels, initial blends, and compound words. They learn story structure, elements of poetry, fiction, and biographies so by the end of the year, they will start writing their own stories.
Young, global citizens are emerging! Lessons begin by identifying locations and places in Florida on a map. They learn about the weather and how the physical environment affects the way people live in our community. First graders continue to identify and celebrate all national holidays, embracing our different cultures, and religions. Their learning culminates with Multi-Cultural Day, a day when students celebrate and share their heritage with each other. All responsible citizens understand the importance of money, so the year concludes with an economics lesson on the importance of saving money for future purchases.
Last year, our first-grade class adopted a cow, Showtime, through Discovery Dairy (an engaging, interactive, cross-curricular educational series). Students were able to interact with Farmer Lindsey and Showtime, who enjoys spending time with her friends, Lola, Cupcake, and Tik Toc. Each week, students take turns bringing the stuffed animal, Showtime, home writing about their adventures, and sharing it with the class. This hands-on activity reinforced lessons learned about animals, the environment, writing, grammar, storytelling, and sharing.