Mrs. Hyder

 First grade is a busy and productive time filled with exciting learning activities in the areas of reading, writing, spelling, math, science and social science.

In first grade, we are very focused on both reading and writing.  Our goal is to set your child on the path to becoming proficient, lifelong readers and writers.  In my classroom, your child will have many avenues to accomplish this goal  through varied reading materials, methods, and activities.  This is an amazing journey for the children as they enter the world of books.

One of the most important ways you can help your child this year is to READ, READ, READ with them, to them, by them.  You will quickly see this is a re-occurring reminder with helpful hints in my weekly parent updates! 

We also do quite a bit of writing.  We begin with the basics of sentences and eventually become researchers in the library to write a report of our own! 

The children will also learn to work independently, with partners, and in small groups in all subject areas.

Although we are focusing on the basics in first grade, we definitely venture into the areas of science and social science. In science, when possible, a hands-on approach is used.  There is no better way to learn about how a plant grows and what its parts are than to grow one and look at each part closely.  If you want to learn about magnets why not put them in their hands and discover all of their properties.  In social science, we will have an in-depth study of Native Americans, habitats, and several significant historical figures and holidays.  For our Native American studies, the children will have an in-school field trip and visit with a Native American in his tepee.  It is always an exciting day!

An integral part to your child's education is your involvement this year.  Besides nightly reading, math, and spelling review, we will call upon all of our parents to assist their child in some at home projects which involve topics of heroes and habitats.  Look for information to be sent home on each as the topic comes up for study in the classroom. (Don't worry we give you plenty of notice and time for completion!)

As part of developing self-esteem, our school has a theme is  "Catch a Shining Star".  Students are recognized for leadership skills, appropriate behavior, and a caring attitude toward others.  I am confident that my first graders will catch many shining stars. 

To further this theme in my classroom, good character will be modeled to emphasize the importance of the following attributes:  honesty, respectfulness, caring, responsibility, fairness, and use of good manners.  When a behavior is modeled, the children quickly begin to use it themselves automatically!

One last area we spend quite a bit of time on is mathematics. Some of the topics we cover are the basic facts, place value, money, time, addition, subtraction, and problem solving. One way to help out at home is to practice the math facts through sums of 18.  The goal is that the children master these facts!

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