1st Grade Curriculum Information

Language Arts: STEAM @ Northside (along with AAPS) has adopted the Common Core State Standards. This is an updated set of standards and objectives for language arts and mathematics that is used nationally. This means that all students nationwide will be learning the same things at the same time, particularly helpful if your family needs to move or switch schools in the middle of the school year. Inorder to reach the goals of the Common Core, we will be using a variety of methods for Language Arts instruction: Guided Reading, Reading Workshop, phonics, word families, and The Daily 5. The Daily 5 is a structure to help students develop the daily habits of reading, writing, and working with classmates independently. To do this, we will work on the five components in our literacy block: Read to Self, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, Work on Writing and Word Work. We are very excited to be teaching using the Daily 5 and the Common Core State Standards this year, and I'm sure your son/daughter will be talking about it too!

Math: We will be using Everyday Math 4 in our classroom this year. This is a hands-on approach to learning mathematics that incorporates daily class routines (where we work on counting, calendar, weather, patterns, and problem-solving), math activities, number recognition and math facts practice, and lots of math games (either through centers or iPads). Your child will have homework daily with this program, but it is a spiraling curriculum to best meet the needs of all students. In addition to the Whole Class lessons, we will also meet with small groups of students (for differentiation & interventions), while others will be writing in math journals, playing cooperative learning games, practicing math skills, and utilizing technology applications.

Writing: We will be writing each day! We will be "conferencing" with each student throughout the week to work on their writing skills and habits during Writer's Workshop. The students will all become authors throughout the year by creating individual and class books! The students will primarily focus on narratives ("small moment" stories), informational ("how to"), and persuasive/opinion writing, but also have additional "free choice" writing during Daily 5.

Spelling: Using the Words Their Way program, we work on sorting words and learning more about word patterns.  Students practice phonics, phonemic awareness and practice writing word families. These lessons are reiterated during writing workshop when students are able to apply their knowledge of spelling.

Science and Social Studies: We will be integrating science and social studies through project-based learning! Utilizing Phenomenal Science and Project Lead The Way (PLTW) resources, we will help students meet the Next Generation Science Standards. We will use the Michigan/Common Core State Standards for Social Studies. We will begin the year with a science unit on sound and a social studies unit on our Families. As the year progresses, so will the depth of our projects, as our young students will need time to learn to work together, follow procedures, and think critically. Detailed information will be sent home as we begin working on new topics and projects in class. 

Here are some links for more information regarding the various aforementioned standards:

Next Generation Science Standards (Grade 1 see p. 10-14)
Science Michigan GLCEs (Grade 1 see p. 9-17)
Social Studies Michigan GLCEs (Grade 1 see p. 14-17)
Common Core State Standards - Language Arts & Mathematics

If you have any questions or concerns, as always, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you,

The 1st Grade STEAM Team

Beth Lafferty, Liz Pierce, Caroline Semrau