First Grade is an exciting year for our students! The children are eager to wear uniforms and give up naps . . . just like the big kids! Our highly differentiated first grade program encourages increasing independence and leadership as we teach routines to foster good study skills.
In addition to the rapid development of cognitive abilities, this year is one of tremendous physical, social, and emotional growth. First graders are maturing rapidly, and this is an excellent year for character-building lessons that will continue throughout the EDS experience. These are the building blocks for a successful academic career.
The Reading and Language Arts program continues the heavy emphasis on phonics-based lessons from PreK4 and Kindergarten and accelerates learning by including many opportunities for speaking, reading, and writing. Students have many opportunities to read daily including; reading individually to the teacher and teaching assistant, independent reading, reading aloud, and reading at home nightly. English grammar, mechanics, and the writing process are taught systematically as well. The curriculum being taught is Zaner-Bloser, Superkids Reading Program. This curriculum is also aligned and taught in kindergarten through second grade. The Accelerated Reader program encourages reading and increases reading ability by giving the young reader the confidence to read more challenging books. Reading levels are evaluated four times a year using the STAR Reader diagnostic tool. Because the strongest educational foundation for life-long learners is the ability to read, speak, and write clearly, these skills are heavily emphasized.
Manipulatives, games, practice, and mathematical reasoning are all part of the diverse approach to the Mathematics program. The emphasis on our program is on developing number sense and understanding mathematical concepts rather than just learning algorithms. Manipulatives are always available as the children develop number sense and learn about time, measurement, fractions and probability, geometry, graphing and data collection, and place value, as well as computation. Math Fact Fluency will become part of everyday conversation with your first grader as they master math facts. This is a special part of the first grade math program that makes learning fun while reinforcing basic skills.
Social Living units allow children to explore the world around them through hands-on activities, field trips, and cross-curricular projects. Units include Being a Scientist, Magnets, Matter, Apples, Bats, Pumpkins, Seasons, Animal Classes, Weather, Penguins, Life Cycles, and Living and Non-Living. Our biome, the special habitat first graders study, is Grasslands. First grade; along with sixth grade, work together to restore the grasslands along the Gulf Coast with LSU Coastal Roots.
The Religion program includes Chapel, Eucharist, and weekly classroom lessons, as well as the many opportunities that arise during a first grader’s day to discuss virtues, choices, and character development. There is a three-year rotating cycle in place in the school to study the Old Testament, New Testament, and church history and tradition. In conjunction with the Religion program, first grade students are encouraged to participate as a class in outreach projects. Our current outreach program is Operation Christmas Child.This allows the children to see what a difference even a first grader can make.
EDS offers wonderful enrichments in addition to the regular classroom program. Each week the children attend classes in music, art, physical education, library, computer, and Spanish. Field trips typically include a Houston Zoo, and special events such as the Grant Christmas Tree Farm. Our traditional celebrations include Donuts with Dad and Muffins with mom. Both events give the opportunity to invite our families in and be celebrated with hand-made gifts, personalized writings, and memorable experiences with their child. In addition to thorough curriculum, technology is frequently used in whole group, small group and individual instruction to elevate learning experiences. This includes Ricoh Boards, classroom desktop computers, and iPads, which are all used for daily learning and serves as a formative assessment tool.
Each activity in first grade is designed to develop a skill that will be used for life. The skills are presented to reach all learners-visual, auditory, and kinesthetic/tactile. They are reinforced in a manner that will generate interest and curiosity to seek more knowledge. This is the beginning of happy life-long learners!