Welcome to first grade!

This is a year of discovery and development! Your first grader will begin to blend sounds together as they learn to read and write! In this wonderful year, he/she will develop and strengthen their reading skills and be able to sustain reading independently.

You can foster the development of reading skills in your student by making reading at home with your child a main priority. When you read with your child, you show him/her that reading is important, it is a skill they will use in all subjects for the rest of his/her life. Sharing books with your child not only develops a love of reading it strengthens vocabulary and comprehension. When reading to your child you demonstrate fluency and expression. We want our children to love reading!

Students will learn to read and sustain independent reading for 15 minutes or more. Students will learn to write complete sentences about experiences in his/her life. They will become aware of the importance of showing personal voice, use appropriate capitalization and punctuation, and use descriptive language to gain the reader’s attention. Students will participate in a Word Study program to strengthen their ability to spell words phonetically and to transfer the use of these correct spelling patterns into other written applications.

In first grade mathematics, students build upon and broaden their mathematical understanding and appreciation. They will learn to count and write numbers through 100. They will be able to count by ones, twos, fives and tens. Students will learn to compare numbers with language such as greater than and less than. They will be able to count money through $1.00 and tell time to the half hour. First graders will measure in standard and non-standard units, and make number combinations of addition and subtraction facts through 18. First graders will also develop their patterning skills, using growing and repeating patterns. They will make and interpret information from graphs. By learning these skills they will begin to make real world connections and understand how math is used in our lives each and everyday.

Your student will discover the basic needs and characteristics of plants and animals. They will grow seeds and learn the importance and functions of the different parts of plants. They will detect motion and vibrations in objects and learn that the force of gravity is a pull and not a push! First graders will discover the properties of water and learn how liquids and solids interact with water. Students will discuss the reasons for day and night and how plants and animals are impacted by seasonal changes. First graders will think like a scientist by making predictions and following experiments with conclusions.

First graders will begin the year with a review of traits of good citizens both at school and in the greater world. They will understanding the importance of rules. Patriotic symbols will be reviewed. Students will begin to understand that events throughout our history and lives can be placed on a timeline for show order. Students will develop the concepts of direction (north, south, east and west) and map skills including parts of a map and how to make his/her own map. Your students will be able to identify their community (Chesterfield) and locate Virginia and the U.S. on a map. Several famous Americans will be explored and basic economic concepts will be discussed.