ISKL - ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - MELAWATI CAMPUS

Curriculum Newsletter
Grade: 1 Month: August/September 2013 LANGUAGE ARTS
Reading: During the first quarter, good reading habits will be the focus of the lessons in grade one. In addition to good reading habits, students will participate in read-alouds, shared reading, guided reading and independent reading during reading workshop. Decoding and comprehension strategies will also be introduced through mini lessons. Writing: Likewise in writing, the focus in the first quarter will be on good writing habits. As they participate in Writers Workshop, they will also engage in daily writing lessons and practice utilizing the writing traits. Students will learn about print concepts and writing conventions including: Differences between letters/words/sentences, leaving spaces between words, using uppercase letters to begin a sentence and a full stop at the end. Students will also learn the steps in the writing process as they engage in daily writing lessons and practice. Word Study: In grade one the students will be taught word study, or spelling, through a process of inquiry with an understanding that the English spelling system conveys meaning. Rather than learn to just memorize the spelling of words, students will begin to understand why words are spelled the way they are and how words are related to each other. Students will learn about phonology - what we hear, morphology - how words are built and etymology - what words mean and how words are related. Handwriting: Handwriting is taught and practiced in each class on a regular basis. Handwriting emphasizes proper posture and letter formation.

MATH
In our first unit, students will establish routines and use mathematical tools whilst revisiting and extending their number concepts. Students will practice writing numbers, solve one more and one less number stories, compare numbers, use tally marks and develop their problem solving strategies. In our August/September units, students will be skip counting by 2s, 5s and 10s, will start working on basic addition facts and will use a number line and number grid to solve problems. They will be introduced to telling the time and calculating the value of sets of coins. These are two practical everyday applications for the skill of skip counting in 5s and switching to 1s. Due to the nature of the Everyday Mathematics resource, concepts will be revisited throughout the year.

SOCIAL STUDIES
We begin the year with a unit called Welcome to Grade One. One of the essential questions for this unit is, Why do communities develop rules and agreements? This unit introduces the students to the new world of Grade One at ISKL, and the school code of conduct known as the Melawati Way. This code, (Take care of yourself, others and this place) looks a little different now the students are older and are rising to new levels of independence. Vocabulary like cooperation, responsibility and respect will be part of the focus. The students will also become familiar with ISKLs SLRs, which are: communicate effectively, collaborate constructively, reason critically, learn enthusiastically, live ethically and think creatively. Technology integration will also be used during this unit. Our first science unit is The Weather: an interesting topic as we sometimes experience haze and its impact on visibility, and heavy rain, and how it stops us playing in the playground at recess. Our essential questions include Why do people need to know about the weather? How do we know about the weather? How does the weather change over time? To understand weather, our students will learn to take temperature readings with a thermometer, and will observe rain, cloud cover and wind speed. They will record weather data regularly and will use it for discussion and comparison over time. They will also investigate how changes in the weather can impact their day.

PARENT INVOLVEMENT
All parents are encouraged to attend our Open House for Parents scheduled for Tuesday, September 3rd at 6:30pm. This is an adult only evening, and parents are asked to make arrangements to leave the children at home. After students become more settled into the rituals, rules and routines of grade one, homeroom teachers will notify parents of opportunities to participate as volunteers in the classroom.

Think CreativelyReason CriticallyCommunicate EffectivelyCollaborate ConstructivelyLearn EnthusiasticallyLive Ethically