HILLTOP ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

FIRST GRADE TEAM

WELCOME TO FIRST GRADE!

This is an exciting year filled with both academic and social growth.

We look forward to sharing this magical year with your child.

First grade is a year when students continue to develop their social-emotional skills. Activities are purposefully created to promote partnership collaboration which includes sharing ideas, listening, and compromising. Our team of first-grade teachers prides themselves on their accessibility and commitment to the partnership between parents and teachers.

We welcome your child into our first-grade family. Strap on your seat belt because it is going to be an amazing ride!

Morning Meeting: Our day begins with a morning meeting on our rug. We use this time to say good morning, to share on any number of topics from our favorite dessert to how we show compassion. This time allows students to practice greetings with eye contact. This time builds a sense of community and belonging.

EL Education for ELA

Module: There are four EL modules that allow students to build important content knowledge based on a compelling topic related to science, social studies, or literature. Each module uses rich, authentic texts throughout. It promotes oral language development, helps build a positive environment and character, and builds fluency and development and application of vocabulary.

The four module topics include:

Tools and Work; What’s Up in the Sky
A Study of the Sun, Moon, and the Stars
Growing as Researchers: Birds Amazing Bodies
Caring for Birds.

EL Skills Block:

The EL Skills Block is a one-hour block that uses a structured phonics approach that describes behavior related to the types of letter-sound connections students are able to make as they learn to read and write. It is designed to teach spelling-sound relationships, proactively teach the most common spelling patterns, and target text choice and instructional activities. Skills blocks help to ensure students become fluent readers who can comprehend various texts.

Math: Hilltop uses the Eureka Math program. This program equates mathematical concepts to stories, with the aim of developing conceptual understanding. It encourages students to use various mental strategies to solve problems, promotes critical thinking, and focuses on the “why” and not just the process of solving a problem.

First Grade math is about developing an understanding of:

addition, subtraction, and strategies for addition and subtraction within 20
whole number relationships, and place value, including grouping in tens and ones
linear measurement and measuring lengths as iterating length units
reasoning about attributes of, and composing and decomposing geometric shapes.

Students also practice fact fluency to 20 as well as writing and explaining their answers in sentences.

Social Studies: TCI Social Studies Alive is an engaging program that gets students moving, thinking, and asking big questions. Our units with essential questions include:

Civics - How do we help others? How do we get along with others? Why are rules important? What groups do we belong to?
Economics - Who works at your school? What do your families need and want? How do families care for each other? What do good neighbors do?
Geography - What is a map? How are families special? Where do families live? What are family traditions?
History - What were schools like long ago compared to today? How do families change over time?

Science: Students will explore light, sound, air, weather, and plants. Foss Science allows students to investigate these topics with hands-on activities that include designing and flying a kite, planting grass and observing its growth, making shadows using the sun and flashlights, and understanding how sound is made.

Health: Students in grades kindergarten through four will be participating in health education this year as prescribed in the 2020 New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Comprehensive Health and Education as adopted by the New Jersey Board of Education on June 3, 2020. Lessons will be taught by our health/physical education teacher, our school nurse, and/or our school counselor. (Some lessons will be co-taught.) A list of descriptions of each lesson can be FOUND HERE, while more detailed information can be found on our website under 2020 NJSLS Health Lessons. CLICK HERE to access our site.

Parent Participation: We host a parent participation day during the year. This is an exciting way for families to come into our school and classroom to learn about the growth their child has made in 1st grade!