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I’ve noticed a real change in my daughter over the past year; she’s more self-aware, more responsible, and more involved.
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Grade One
Students in grade one practice recalling the beginning, middle, and end of their independent reading books. They are introduced to metacognitive thinking – understanding how they excel as readers and what strategies help them reach their goals. Students reflect daily on their reading behaviors and are encouraged to try several comprehension strategies with each book.
During read alouds and whole-class readings, teachers help students develop skills and strategies for comprehension, such as rereading, creating mental images, and making predictions. Discussion allows students to go beyond the pages of a book to analyze the text, make inferences, and ask questions. Students learn to use decoding and sight word vocabulary to sound out words while monitoring their own comprehension. Grade one books include Tacky the Penguin, Chrysanthemum, Rainbow Fish, and Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears. In smaller guided reading groups, teachers reinforce phonics skills and incorporate fluency skills, such as reading with expression and paying attention to punctuation. Each year, grade-one students compare and contrast several versions of a popular fairy tale and then write and perform their own versions.
We read many picture and chapter books as a whole group, including Amelia Bedelia; The Stories Julian Tells; Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type; Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Dinosaur Bones; Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; and Harold and the Purple Crayon. Students demonstrate their understanding through projects and plays and by answering comprehension questions. By the end of grade one, students should be able to read independently, comprehend stories, and discuss books with classmates and teachers.
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