Reading

Literacy is a large part of our day.  We will be using the Journeys reading series and following the South Dakota State English Language Standards.  Children will be learning whole group, small group instruction, and independent work centers.  

Handwriting

We will begin our formal handwriting curriculum, Zaner Bloser, in the second quarter of the year.  We will focus on writing our letters in both uppercase and lowercase, writing from the top down, and spacing them correctly within the lines.

Writer's Workshop

Daily, the children will be working on independent writing.  The year will begin with much direction, but quickly transitions into independent writing using our sight words, correct sentence structure and writing more than one sentence.

Math

Investigations is our math series and we will follow the South Dakota State Mathematics Standards.  In addition, I will supplement with other resources.  We will be working whole group as well as independent work groups.  The children will be learning to play different games such as Compare, Double Compare, Button Match-up, and Racing Bears.  

Science

Using the Next Generation Science Standards we will explore the following topics this year: pushes and pulls, animals and plants in their environments, weather, climate, and the effects of the sun.  We will be using the Pearson Elevate Science series.

Social Studies

We will follow the South Dakota State Social Studies Standards and will discuss the map and globe, the flag, rules, places in their immediate environment, needs/wants, and local/national celebrations.