First Grade

The first grade classroom is a safe, open place for students to come. I feel creating a family environment is important for making school a place where children will want to be. I believe that learning is done with activity and talking. I believe that students need interaction with each other and I provide students with the opportunity to learn from each other

Service Projects
Our main class service project each year is organizing and assembling the Thanksgiving Food Baskets for needy families in our community. Other possible service projects include visiting local nursing homes.

Field trips are great opportunities to see our classroom curriculum in the real world. Trips planned for this year include: Rancho El Chorro, Cal Poly Dairy and the Children's Museum. Chaperones are needed for all field trips. Please watch for information in my weekly newsletters.

Curriculum Overview

Language Arts --grammar, spelling, basic writing skills, story elements and comprehension, phonemic awareness, oral language skills, study and library skills, handwriting.

Literature -- Literature based reading text

Social Studies -- Community, awareness of neighborhood and links with the greater world.

Science -- Human body, muscle, joints and health, plants, animal habitats, weather, soil and rocks, matter, pushing, pulling and machines.

Religion -- Basic Catholic belief, introduction to Sacraments especially Baptism, how we worship, how to live as a follower of Jesus and how to talk to God in prayer, community service, and the church liturgical seasons.

Mathematics -- Basic addition and subtraction facts through 18, number concepts and place value to 100, basic geometry, time and money, fractions, measuring, 2-digit addition and subtraction without re-grouping and problem-solving.

Music -- Classical composers, recorder usage, basic site reading, singing, and music appreciation

Art --Drawing, painting, and textural art projects and literature directed projects.

Computers -- Applications, introduction to keyboarding and the mouse, basic programs, basic Word Processing, basic skills games

Physical Education -- Basic body conditioning, and sport game strategy, and sportsmanship.