In the first grade, we are expecting our Chinese learners to take advantage of their precious period of second language learning for Chinese Mandarin, which is a tonal language. The first graders will be exposed to simple and short vocabulary that are more concrete and tangible for them in their prior knowledge of the world. They will be able to distinguish the four tones of the Mandarin Chinese, and pronounce basic characters and simple sentences with correct tones. They will be recognize and write 50 - 100 basic characters. Singing and acting out are two major elements in first grade Chinese. There are also holiday celebrations through food and folk tales to familiarize themselves with Chinese cultural practices. 

Writer's Workshop

Writer's workshop emphasizes the importance of student engagement and the interaction between readers and text. It provides differentiated instruction in writing. Writer's Workshop focuses on the teaching of writing strategies. The purpose of Writer's Workshop is to foster a love of writing. Students develop an ability to write confidently in many forms for a variety of audiences and purposes.  

In the classroom this looks like a mini lesson devoted to one aspect of writing, followed by guided practice where the teacher works with groups of kids, and time for students to practice the skills independently. 

Specific components of this grade level are described below.

A brief note about languages in first grade: "ROTATIONS"

Literacy Statement

An effective literacy program offers a balance of challenge and support while building children’s confidence in their emerging abilities as readers and writers.  Our goal is to develop fluent, capable readers who enjoy the process and learn from it, drawing from a diverse array of literature.  Helping students become writers who can express their ideas cogently, clearly, and creatively is another important goal.  We view reading and writing as a developmental process and understand that a child’s progress is seldom even or linear. It is common, for example, that a student’s leap ahead in learning is followed by a consolidating phase or an apparent plateau. We also find that students cannot be easily placed in a single category along the learning continuum. As such, our instruction is guided by regular formal and informal reading assessments.

While no two developmental journeys are identical, students often exhibit a range of skills and understandings. The following reading/writing continuum describes the basic path to literacy in the Beginning and Lower Schools.
 

Reader's Workshop

Reader's workshop emphasizes the importance of student engagement and the interaction between readers and text. It provides differentiated instruction in reading. Reader's Workshop focuses on the teaching of reading strategies. The purpose of Reader's Workshop is to foster independence among readers.  

In the classroom this looks like a mini lesson devoted to one aspect of reading, followed by guided practice where the teacher works with groups of kids, and time for students to practice the skills independently. 

Specific components of this grade level are described below.

Read Aloud

Here, the teacher reads picture books and chapter books to the children that may be above their instructional reading levels and their independent reading level. This provides a rich context in which children can experience more complex language and stories. Sometimes we will be reading great literature and other times we might introduce a series that eventually children will be able to read on their own. These books are often a stimulus for writing as well. Great literature influences first graders very positively; just like it does for you and me. 

The first grade music program is based on the Orff-Shulwerk model of music education. Experiences in speech, movement, dance, song, instrumental work, listening, improvisation, and critiquing lead to the development of increasingly sophisticated skills and concepts through the child’s experiences as performer, composer, critic, and listener. This structure for learning music has at its roots active participation by all. The literature for Schulwerk comes from Music for Children as the foundation for instructional sequence.