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Mrs. Ward’s First Grade Class
First Grade Factsheet
Overview:
In First Grade, as in all other grades at Trinity, we strive to provide the highest quality education in a
Christ centered and child centered environment. Our goal is to meet all state standards for academic excellence
as well as surpass state standards in several areas. Some examples follow.
Language Arts:
- Trinity uses the Literacy Collaborative approach to teach language arts. The Literacy Collaborative is a program
developed by The Ohio State University that consists of a number of elements that provide many opportunities for
teaching reading and writing across the curriculum.
- In first grade we strive on a daily basis to incorporate interactive read-alouds, shared reading, guided reading,
and independent reading into our classroom schedule. Interactive read alouds and shared reading provide opportunities
for whole class reading instruction which enables the children to experience reading at levels different from their
own. Guided reading provides an opportunity for small group work and allows the teacher to work with the students
at their own level of ability. Independent reading is also encouraged and allows each child to read items at his/her
own desired level and area of interest.
- Four different types of writing instruction are also used in first grade: Interactive writing, shared writing,
writing workshop, and independent writing. Interactive writing and shared writing are done as a whole class with
the teacher picking the topic and facilitating the writing. Writing workshop is done in small groups or individually
enabling the teacher to focus on skills needed by each individual student. In independent writing each child writes
on his or her own about any topic of his or her choice. To meet state standards, first graders do a variety of
writing projects including: the teaching of writing for "simple stories with a beginning, middle and end that
include descriptive words and details"; writing "friendly letters or invitations" and producing
"informal writings (e.g., messages, journals, notes, and poems) for various purposes". First grade at
Trinity adds the writing of simple prayers to that list.
- During these various writing experiences is when the conventions of writing (English) are taught. State standards
expect us to "use end punctuation correctly, including question marks, exclamation points, and periods; to
use correct capitalization of the first word in a sentence, names, and the pronoun I; and to use nouns, verbs,
and adjectives" in our writing. At Trinity we go beyond the state standards by teaching capitalization rules
for days of the week, months of the year and names of cities and states and by adding other parts of speech to
our writing.
- Our spelling program at Trinity is unique. Many schools do not begin spelling until the second or third quarter
of first grade. At Trinity we start at the beginning of the year and expect each child to learn ten words a week.
We focus on spelling words correctly with regular short vowel patterns and most common long vowel words as well
as spelling high-frequency words correctly.
- Research is also required of first graders by the State of Ohio standards. First graders are to "discuss
ideas for investigation about a topic, utilize appropriate searching techniques to gather information from a variety
of locations (e.g., classroom, school library, public library or community resources)". At Trinity we utilize
the computer and computer lab time to also conduct simple research with teacher or parent assistance.
Math (Everyday Mathematics curriculum)
- State of Ohio standards expect first graders to "read and write the numerals for numbers to 100".
At Trinity we do "Math Scrolls" where students are expected to write the numerals for numbers up to one
thousand.
- The state standards for fluency in the addition facts is that by SECOND grade the student will be able to add
facts "with addends through 9". At Trinity our FIRST graders work on near mastery of fluency in addition
facts with addends through 10.
- The State on Ohio expects first graders to be able to "tell time to the hour and half hour" whereas
we at Trinity expect first graders to tell time to quarter hour and nearest five minutes.
- Trinity's standards for the counting of money are also higher than the state standards. The state says first
graders should be able to "determine the value of a small collection of coins (with a total value up to one
dollar) using 1 or 2 different types of coins, including pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters". In our math
series first graders count beyond one dollar and use all four types of coins at once. This is actually a SECOND
GRADE standard of the state.
In keeping with our goal to have a Christ centered environment, first grade at Trinity offers daily Christian
instruction with a religion class in the classroom four days a week and chapel service one day a week. Our lessons
cover the Old and New Testaments and are enhanced by children's Bibles, flannel-graph, videos, puppets, songs,
and plays. Prayer is an integral part of our classroom and Christian principles are integrated into all subject
areas, as well as into our discipline measures.
Other enhancements Trinity offers in first grade are:
- Spanish instruction taught once a week with some reinforcement done in the regular classroom.
- Art and Music taught once a week.
- Physical Education taught twice weekly.
- Community Service Projects to nursing homes, the Personal Needs Pantry, Marysville Food Pantry. We also do
collections for national and/or international organizations, such as for mission trips, homes for the disabled,
and victims of natural disasters or illnesses.
- Field trips: There are usually 2-4 field trips per year.
- Computerized SMART BOARDS are used by the teacher and student to enhance the curriculum through a hands-on
learning approach.
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