Use the links above for information the skills covered in the current unit for each curriculum area.
Read below for an overview of each curriculum area.
Read below for an overview of each curriculum area.
The Somersworth elementary schools use Readers' and Writers' Workshops for literacy instruction. Through the workshop model, students will be engaged in whole group and small group literacy instruction, as well as independent practice in reading and writing every day.
The readers' workshop units take the students through a variety of genres throughout the year, including several types of fiction and non-fiction, as well as poetry. Within each unit, children learn skills and strategies to read accurately and fluently in order to understand what they read. We will discuss many read-aloud books together as a class, and students will also choose their own books for independent reading practice based on their individual interests and level of reading development. Through daily independent practice, students build accuracy, fluency, and comprehension, and they move to increasingly higher levels of text as their skills develop. Reading independently or being read to for at least 20 minutes a day outside of school is an expectation for all students at Idlehurst. This practice is critical in developing strong reading skills. Thank you for supporting your child's efforts by ensuring that s/he is getting plenty of at-home practice. |
As writers, the students will develop their ability to communicate their thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively in writing. We will work on skills related to the craft of writing, such as organization, details, and word choice, as well as skills such as spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Throughout the course of the year, the children continuously learn and practice writing skills as they write narrative, informational, and persuasive pieces. By studying the writing of professional authors, students become informed and inspired to grow in their own craft. Students take several pieces of writing through the writing process, from planning to publishing, learning how to carefully revise and edit their work to prepare it for sharing with an audience. We celebrate our work with several Publishing Parties during the school year.
We will cover 6 units in math over the course of the year. Each unit includes practice in the four areas of the Common Core State Standards for math: Operations & Algebraic Thinking, Number & Operations in Base 10, Measurement & Data, and Geometry. In first grade, the students will begin to build fluency with math facts. We will focus on learning all of the addition facts within 20. This serves as the foundation for learning the subtraction, multiplication, and division facts in the subsequent grades. At-home practice is critical in developing addition fluency. Parents will receive information on how to help their children with this important skill. |