ISKL - ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - MELAWATI CAMPUS

Curriculum Newsletter
Grade: 1

Month: March/April 2015

LANGUAGE ARTS

Writing: Informational Texts are the heart of our writing program during this time. Students are learning how
informational texts differ from narrative. They are learning about the features of this genre such as headings,
captions, table of contents, index, glossary, and greater use of photographs. Students will be encouraged to write
for readers to teach them informational facts about their non-fiction topic as they become experts on different
topics.
Word Study: Students will work on the phonology of <c>, that vowel suffixes can change the end of a base word,
the doubling rule, the letter <y> as it needs to change to <i> within words and the relationship of the letters <u>
and <v>.
Reading: Guided reading groups continue to serve as the core of our reading program. Classroom teachers will
incorporate the use of non-fiction texts as much as possible as students continue to learn decoding and
comprehension skills. Students are learning about the use of summarizing and monitoring in their reading skills
to gain deeper meaning from text. Students continue to grow in fluency by paying attention to context and
punctuation cues.
Handwriting: Students should be using New South Wales Handwriting in all of their writing at this point. Practice
is provided in writing workshop as well as in word study at school. Students will continue to write in their
handwriting book and apply the concepts in their daily writing.

MATH
In March we continue working on addition and subtraction word problems, properties of operations, fluency with
addition and subtraction facts within 20, equations and data. Mathematical practices of: making sense of
problems and persevering in solving them; attending to precision; and constructing viable arguments and
critiquing the reasoning of others, are an important focus.
After spring break well begin a unit on understanding shapes and fractions. Students will: identify basic figures
within two- and three-dimensional figures; compare, contrast, and classify geometric shapes using position,
shape, size, number of sides, and number of angles; solve simple problems, including those involving spatial
relationships; investigate and predict the results of putting together and taking apart two- and three-dimensional
shapes; create mental images of geometric shapes using spatial memory and spatial visualization; relate, identify,
partition, and label fractions (halves, fourths/quarters) as equal parts of whole objects; apply terms such as half
of, quarter of, to describe equal shares.

SOCIAL STUDIES AND SCIENCE

In March the students are deepening their understanding of animal classification and comparison, and of the ways
animals body features and behaviour help them to survive in the habitats in which they live.
We move on in April to our Environmental Science unit, called Reduce Reuse Recycle. We focus on this popular
environmental motto, and on how and why we need to follow these guidelines in our everyday lives. Hopefully,
knowledge will lead to a desire to actively change our habits, and to spread the word to others as well. We hope
to see and hear our students brainstorm together and share their ideas about the changes they will make to their
current lifestyles that would lead to less wastage (e.g. buying less toys, eating homemade food in washable
reusable containers instead of factory-made pre-packaged foods.) We will explore the question: How do the
choices we make impact the environment?

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

Thanks for your great support of our Grade One Performance!

We are looking forward to talking with you about your childs progress during parent / teacher conferences on March
5th and 6th.

Think CreativelyReason CriticallyCommunicate EffectivelyCollaborate ConstructivelyLearn EnthusiasticallyLive Ethically