First Grade at Rockwern

A Year of Firsts

First grade is a big step up from preschool and kindergarten. The small class sizes and close, nurturing community that make Rockwern special in the ECEC and kindergarten grows with the children. We love our students, and we value our small classes that allow us the time to focus on each child as an individual. We respect and understand their need for movement, frequent breaks, time to socialize, and opportunities for play, while still supporting them as they are challenged academically.

Responsive Classroom

In first grade, children are still very much learning how to “do school.” The habits they form and the attitudes that are developed in these early years are crucial to their success. We continue to use the Responsive Classroom framework to teach and strengthen necessary social skills as well as academic organizational skills. Part of this effort includes a daily “morning meeting,” which helps us build our classroom community and contributes to the creation of a safe and welcoming learning environment in which students feel comfortable taking academic risks.

Language Arts

Much of our first grade program is differentiated to accommodate each child’s specific needs. Our reading program, Fountas and Pinnell Classroom, utilizes a workshop approach. Children enter first grade with a wide span of ability, from still learning letters to fluently decoding multi-syllable words. Each child is assessed individually to determine his or her reading level, and both small group guided reading and individual independent reading are tailored to their instructional level, appropriately challenging but not overwhelming. Books shared with the whole group are used to teach essential grade-level skills; however, when children are asked to apply their skills individually, it happens while working on text that is appropriate to their ability level. Writing is also done in a workshop, with each child working at his or her own level on narrative, expository, and opinion writing. First graders write personal stories about their lives, non-fiction chapter books, opinion pieces on games, restaurants, and movies they love, and teaching books about a topic on which they feel like an expert. One child might begin the year primarily drawing pictures and telling a story orally, while another is fully capable of writing complete chapters and paragraphs; both receive generous individual attention and are able to progress forward through the workshop format. Our students love to write, and they will be excited to share their published work with you!

Math

Our math program in first through sixth grade is Pearson’s Envisions, which is common core based and used in many schools in Cincinnati and across the country. Common Core math emphasizes deep understanding of math concepts, and it often looks somewhat different from the math parents remember learning. Research studies of mathematics education in high-performing countries have concluded that mathematics education in the United States must become substantially more focused and coherent in order to improve mathematics achievement in this country. The Common Core math standards were designed to deliver on this promise. There is a lot of discussion of how one solved a problem, how else a problem could be solved, and why certain methods work or when they are best applied. It is language-heavy and appropriately challenging. In first grade, students are expected to master addition and subtraction and are introduced to place value, graphs, measurement and time, and two- and three-dimensional shapes. While students are not generally divided by ability, they receive substantial individual attention, and their work is differentiated as needed to provide enrichment or support. We often have more than one teacher or specialist present in a math class to allow for that necessary individual attention.

Hebrew & Judaic Studies

In first grade, students begin to formally learn Hebrew as a language, with one period of Hebrew language and one period of Judaic Studies every day. We begin to use the TalAm program, which in first grade includes Reading, Holidays, Parashat Hashavua (weekly Torah portion), and Shabbat and includes an online component, iTalAm. Part of using this program includes learning to navigate an online curriculum, so every student in first grade and up has a Chromebook for use in class. Children have multiple opportunities to speak Hebrew, as they often act out the TalAm stories in class. They also learn selected prayers from the morning service (Shaharit) and begin each day praying together with the entire grade. At the end of the year, they are able to lead the morning service and receive their own prayer books at a special ceremony, Yom HaSiddur.

Specials

Throughout our school, we seek opportunities to integrate the Judaic Studies curriculum with general studies. Art is a great example of this - first grade has art twice weekly, and the first grade curriculum includes making a ceramic mezuzah, which families will cherish. First grade students also enjoy Music and Physical Education twice weekly, as well as a weekly visit to Rockwern’s library. Our students develop comfort performing in front of others during our art and music show each year.

Social Studies & Science

Social Studies and Science are both incorporated into Language Arts in first grade. In the fall, our children watched, discussed, and recorded observations in their classrooms as caterpillars built their cocoons and hatched into monarch butterflies, which we then released into the wild. In the winter, first grade science includes a study of human bones, and each child creates a life-sized paper skeleton. In their spring research project, the first graders learn essential research and presentation skills as they study one bird of their choice. As part of this project, students will read online, take notes, write a report, create a model, and then teach the rest of their grade what they have learned. They also team up with 4th graders and share their projects.

Overall, first grade at Rockwern is a joyful, exciting, rich and supportive environment. Incredible learning takes place in a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere that allows for each individual child to grow and develop academically, emotionally, and socially.

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