First Grade Specials
NFS Curriculum Update :: January, 2016
ART
First grade artists are learning more about the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in art class. After reading a book about his life and contributions, we discussed his "I have a Dream" speech and created illustrations of our own dreams for the world. Later in the month we will be learning about the artist Faith Ringgold and her use of quilts to tell stories. Each student will then create their own story quilt illustrating a part of Dr. King's speech. The story quilts will be displayed together as on large quilt, a tribute to the amazing man that changed our lives for the better.
LIBRARY
First Grade begins a read-aloud of My Father's Dragon. Reading a chapter book over time builds listening stamina. Each week, before we continue the story, students will recall and retell previous chapters.
MUSIC
The kindergarten and first grade students are beginning preparations for their show, “Wing It!” which will take place in early March. Please be on the lookout for a letter and script in an upcoming Friday folder. Our composer of the month is American composer John Williams.
P.E.
This month we will continue to develop our physical fitness and work on our muscular strength with a focus on core. The class will move forward with our basketball unit with an emphasis on shooting the basketball. We will be using size appropriate balls and baskets so students will be able to focus on the proper techniques of shooting a basketball. Each class will use the rock wall once this month. We will also play large group games like Pilo Polo and Flag Grab. We will also begin to learn the skills of jumping and jumping rope as we prepare for our fifth annual Jump Rope for Heart event in February.
SCIENCE
December is all about light. We explore what makes light and we get creative with shadows. We explore with flashlights objects that are transparent, translucent and opaque while learning these advanced science terms. Then we use mirrors to prove that light travels in straight lines and play with colors. Finally we explore that without light, we would be unable to see at all.
SPANISH
!Feliz año nuevo! (Happy New Year). In January first graders will finish their body parts unit and share their final projects via short videos. We will do a brief review of color and number words and then will begin learning the names of clothing items in Spanish. First graders will learn to respond to the questions: What are you wearing? What is he/she wearing? They will be able to give simple sentences such as: I’m wearing… and He/She is wearing. This unit will also culminate in a final project which incorporates technology using the student authoring tool Wixie. We have started adding questions about the weather to our classroom routine and we will continue practicing those phrases, along with other calendar vocabulary, each class. We will continue to recycle and review answering basic questions such as: What is your name? and How are you?