Classroom Management

Rules

• Be respectful
• Be responsible
• Be ready
• Follow class procedures

These guidelines are followed by the entire school. The students and I have reviewed them and discussed how they fit into our classroom.

Consequences

Each child has a green, yellow, and red card with their name on it. The children start every day on a green card. When a child is not following the rules, they get a warning. If poor behavior continues, their green card is pulled. If the behavior still continues, the yellow card is pulled and they will serve 10 minutes in the hallway or in another classroom and parents will be notified.  If the behavior still continues, the child will pull their red card. They will then be taken down to the principal to explain their behavior. The parents will be informed.

Communication

You may contact me by sending in a note, calling before or after school, or leaving a message so that I can call you back. It is very important to keep up good communication from both sides. Parents will be notified of any important information and occurrences that may happen during the school day.

Homework Policies

Homework will be taken home if required work is not finished during the day.  There will be special days set aside for spelling, reading, and math homework. The first time homework is not returned, your child will receive a warning.  The second time your child fails to return their assignment they will miss recess. A note will be sent home notifying you of the missing assignment.

Special Activities

• Upland Hills Farm
• Morley Candy Makers
• Student of the Week
• Pig-out Picnic
• Detroit Zoo
• Hershey the Dog
• Surprise Box

Language Arts

Reading

• Use of leveled materials for: shared reading, guided reading, Read Alouds, and individual reading.
• Dolch sight words
• F.A.S.T. Spelling program

Writing

• Personal Narratives
• How-To’s
• Opinion/Position
• Research

Phonemic Awareness

• Working with Words activities

Handwriting

• Handwriting Without Tears/ Jan Olson

Math

Text: Everyday Mathematics, University of Chicago

The math program is set up so that students can explore many different concepts. Some we will just begin to discuss and some will be developed throughout the year. These are some of the concepts we’ll be covering in 1st grade-

To be updated…

Social Studies

Students will develop an expanding awareness of self, family, neighborhood, and country. The student will:

• Gain an understanding of the difference between needs and wants
• Gain an understanding of feelings in self and others
• Gain an understanding of special holidays and occasions
• Develop a sense of responsibility
• Know their own address including zip code, telephone number (including area code), and birth date
• Gain an understanding of beginning map skills
• Gain an understanding of likenesses and differences
• Gain an understanding of time, past and present

Science

Students will engage in hands-on learning experiences to build knowledge of scientific concepts. The three major themes are; weather, properties of matter and living things/life cycles.

Our approach ensures that students will have the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning experiences to build knowledge of scientific concepts. Students are encouraged to formulate hypotheses, test them through the scientific method, and draw conclusions based on their own findings. The objectives support interdisciplinary learning by emphasizing activities that connect science with reading writing, math, and social studies.

Art

• Value, texture, shape, line, color
• Space, pattern, emphasis, balance, rhythm, movement, contrast, unity, form
• Self, family, and friends

Mediums

• Drawing
• Painting
• Textiles
• Jewelry

Physical Education

Students are instructed in lessons relating to space and body awareness with emphasis given to locomotor/nonlocomotor and object control skills.

• Locomotor skills are walking, jumping, skipping, hopping, and galloping.
• Nonlocomotor skills include rolling, balancing, and weight transfer.
• Object control skills include dribbling, kicking, throwing and catching, volleying and striking (i.e. Batting).
• Students also participate in lead-up games and team sports adapted to their level.
• Daily exercises and aerobic activities are included at the beginning of each lesson.

HEART

Students will learn:

• What it means to be healthy
• What to do to stay healthy – exercise, eat nutritious foods, stop the spread of germs, keep his/her body clean, get enough sleep
• Rules for safety at home and school
• How to select and keep friends
• How to say “no” to drugs

Vocal Music

Concepts Learned:

• Steady beat/no beat
• Strong/weak beats
• Long/short sounds
• Repeated patterns
• Even/uneven rhythm patterns
• High/low tones
• Upward/downward movement
• Step, leap, or repeated tones
• Phrases
• Shape of a melody
• Harmony/no harmony
• Environmental sounds
• Vocal sounds
• Instrumental sounds
• Singing with and without accompaniment