What children will study this year:

This course is taught by an Art Specialist.  It is the goal of the elementary art program to develop an understanding of art that will lead to a lifetime of art appreciation. 

Students will continue to learn about and create visual artworks by:

• Exploring the elements of art: line, shape, color, texture, value, space and form. They will specifically learn more deeply about line, shape, form, and color in first grade.

• Making different types of artwork.

• Using a variety of art materials and tools.

• Learning about artists and how they create art.

• Looking at a variety of artwork from around the world, including Ojibwe and Dakota art.

• Discovering how different lines and shapes are used in order to create an artwork. 

• Using the color wheel to experiment with color mixing and explore different color relationships: primary, secondary, warm and cool colors.

• Determining the differences between shape (2-D) and form (3-D).
   

What families can do at home to help:  

• Together, read children's books about artists and art.  Point out how the illustrations help tell the story, and can be used to decode words they are trying to read.

• Take your child to a local art museum.  The Twin Cities and surrounding area has a wide variety of art to view in person.  Visit the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minnesota Museum of American Art, Museum of Russian Art

• Attend special art events at the North Suburban Center for the Arts, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Caponi Art Park, Franconia Sculpture Park, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Silverwood Park. 

Grade 1 Art Units

Unit 1: Line & Shape

What families can do at home to help:

• Go on a line hunt. Look for lines in the world around you: on streets, clothing, veins of leaves, etc.

• Create your own wrapping paper by drawing or painting as many different lines and shapes as you can think of.

• Provide space and materials for simple art projects. Markers, crayons, paper, old magazines, scissors and glue will give your child an opportunity to experiment in creating artwork.

Unit 2: Form

What families can do at home to help:

• Help your child create 3-Dimensional forms using different materials.

• Artists imagine and create. Talk about the things you have imagined or created.
  
  

Unit 3: Color

What families can do at home to help:

• Ask your child to identify primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) and secondary colors (orange, purple, and green) in the world around you.

• Using food coloring, create individual primary colored (red, blue and yellow) ice cubes. Put two different colored ice cubes in each cap. Let them melt, mixing into the secondary colors (orange, green and violet).

• Use food coloring with water, and experiment with eye-droppers.

• Experiment with mixing colors using a variety of materials. Mix red and yellow to make orange, blue and yellow to make green, red and blue to make purple.

• Create your own color wheel with unusual objects; clothing, shoes, beads, ripped paper, food, etc.

What children will study this year:

Technology skills are learned within the context of math, social studies, language, and science curriculum objectives. Students learn to use computers to help prepare them to live in the technology-rich society of the 21st century.

• iPad Skills- ie swiping, taping, closing apps
• Click and drag
• Open and close apps
• Make shapes using drawing tools
• Explore drawing tools
• Coding on ScratchJr
• Access teacher-approved websites

What children will study this year:

• bus safety
• playground safety
• bike safety
• fire safety and
• personal safety.
• How to make healthy food choices.

Grade 1 Health Units

Unit: Safety
What families can do at home to help:

• Talk to your child about an escape plan from your house/apartment in case of a fire. Visit a playground and talk about being safe.
• Wear safety equipment when biking, skateboarding or rollerblading.
  
  

Unit: Character Education
What families can do at home to help:

• When your child experiences problems with peers or siblings, discuss ways to resolve conflict in a healthy, peaceful way.
• Encourage discussion of feelings or emotions in different situations.
  
  

Unit: Nutrition
What families can do at home to help:

• Make a healthy snack together.
• Include your child in healthy meal planning.

Bridges in Mathematics is a comprehensive math curriculum that addresses the Minnesota Standards for Mathematics in a manner that is rigorous, coherent, engaging, and accessible to all learners.

The curriculum focuses on developing children’s’ deep understandings of mathematical concepts, proficiency with key skills, and ability to solve complex and new problems. Bridges taps into the intelligence and strengths of all students by presenting material that is as linguistically, visually, and kinesthetically rich as it is mathematically powerful.

This year in Grade 1 Math, your child will learn to:

• solve addition and subtraction story problems
• count by ones and tens to 120 read and write numbers to 120, and represent a number of objects up to 120 with a written numeral
• understand place value by describing what the digits mean in two-digit numbers; use this knowledge to add and subtract
• add two-digit numbers using at least two different strategies and explain how the strategies work
• find a number that is 10 more or 10 less than a number in the range of 10-120.
• subtract two-digit numbers that are multiples of 10 using at least two different strategies and explain how the strategies work
• compare and order numbers up to 120
• add and subtract numbers within 12, efficiently and accurately
• skip count by 2s, 5s, and 10s
• recognize, create, describe and use patterns and rules to solve problems
• find the missing number in an equation
• represent real-world situations using objects and number sentences
• read or construct a graph and answer questions about the data
• describe characteristics of basic 2-and 3-dimensional shapes.
• combine and take apart 2-and 3-dimensional shapes.
• measure length using non-standard units such as Popsicle sticks, linking cubes, and so on
• tell and write time to the hour and half-hour on analog and digital clock
• identify pennies, nickels and dimes.
• find the value of a group of coins up to one dollar, using pennies, nickels and dimes
  
  

Bridges in Mathematics Family Overview Letters:

Family Welcome Letter: An introduction to Bridges including an overview of the year.  Available in English  or  Spanish.

Unit 1: Numbers All Around Us:  English  or  Spanish

Unit 2: Developing Strategies with Dice & Dominoes:  English  or  Spanish

Unit 3: Adding, Subtracting, Counting & Comparing:  English  or  Spanish

Unit 4: Leapfrogs on the Number Line:  English  or  Spanish

Unit 5: Geometry:  English  or  Spanish

Unit 6: Figure the Facts with Penguins:  English  or  Spanish

Unit 7: One Hundred & Beyond:  English  or  Spanish

Unit 8: Changes, Changes:  English  or  Spanish 

Your best source to answer questions and get assistance is your student's teacher. The resources here provide additional guidance and suggestions for how you can participate in your child's learning.

Click on this link to see the free apps that provide visual models featured in Bridges in Mathematics.

Games and Activities to do at Home

Bridges Math at Home  Look for additional fun daily math activities, collections of practice pages, family games and online games from the Math Learning Center.

Bedtime Math  The charitable mission of Bedtime Math is to help kids love numbers so they can handle the math in real life. Bedtime Math makes math part of the family routine. Every day, they serve up a quick bite of wacky math just for fun. Whether it’s flamingos, ninjas or pillow forts, children can see the math in their favorite topics. 

Games for Young Minds  Kent Haines, the developer of this website, has done a lot of legwork pulling together games and resources for families that are fun and mathematically power.

Which One Doesn’t Belong  This website is dedicated to providing thought-provoking puzzles for adults and students alike. There are no answers provided as there are many different and correct ways of choosing which one doesn't belong. Enjoy!

Caregiver Resources

DREME Family Connections  DREME describes home-school connections to help young children see and understand that math is an important part of daily life. 

Four Boosting Messages Everyone can learn math at high levels, according to recent research.  This eight and a half minute video from Stanford University looks at evidence to support a growth mindset for all math learners.

Learning Progression Videos  The Making Sense Progression videos describe the phases of strategies children progress through as they develop number sense and construct understandings of critical mathematical ideas.

Math Learning Center Apps   Families can access these apps without a user name or password, and the apps can be used with iPads, Chrome or a computer's web browser. There’s a tutorial on the website for the apps, but most of the students will know what to do!

Supporting Your Child in Math   This website offers a variety of resources to support families in understanding why we teach math differently today.  These resources provide families with strategies for instilling positive beliefs about mathematics.

Talking Math With Kids  Talking Math with Your Kids is about supporting children’s early mathematical development.  Parents know that we need to read 20 minutes a day with our kids.But teaching math to your kids doesn’t have to be intimidating.  It can be fun. Just as children say goodnight to the moon, they can say hello to numbers, shapes and measurement.

Students visit the Library Media Center once in a digital day cycle for literature appreciation, information literacy instruction and book check-out.

As first graders, students learn to navigate and locate library materials, choose topics of personal interest, explore the styles and artistry of many authors and illustrators.

What children will study this year:

• The location of books he or she is interested in.
• The library has an organization scheme (fiction/non-fiction).
• The role of an author and an illustrator.
• Borrowing books requires responsible book care.
• Books are a shared resource and need to be returned when due.

Program and Grade Level Understandings articulate what students should understand and be able to do when they leave the K-12 program in Anoka-Hennepin. The grade level understandings demonstrate what students should understand and be able to do when they leave each grade level. The grade level understandings increase in complexity as students progress through the K-12 program.

What children will study this year:

• Pitch: Exploration of the singing voice is emphasized. Singing is a learned skill that everyone can achieve. Of utmost importance is the development of the skill of pitch matching. Understanding of high and low pitch (sol-mi) is also emphasized when playing instruments and when introducing reading of notation.  La (higher) is also added when hearing/singing/reading higher sounds.

• Steady Beat: Moving with and identifying the steady beat is emphasized.

• Rhythm: Simple rhythms using short and long sounds are emphasized and are practiced when students sing, play instruments, read music, and create rhythms. First grade students are to identify quarter notes, paired/separated eighth notes, and quarter rests.

• Elements of Music: Students continue to analyze how compositions are put together and demonstrate knowledge of expressive qualities in music.

• History and Culture: Students learn to recognize and describe various sounds of instruments, music from many cultures including Minnesota American Indian and various styles of music, both vocal and instrumental.

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 What families can do at home to help:

• Encourage family members to share music by singing, dancing, playing instruments, or listening to favorite recordings.

• Sing familiar childhood songs together. Have your child use a clear pleasant tone when speaking and singing to avoid harming the voice.

• Suggest to your child to sing a song silently in his/her head several times before singing it aloud.

• Have your child experiment with everyday objects such as pots, boxes, jars, bottles, and other things around the house to find high and low pitches. Allow your child to be creative while using everyday objects to create music.

• Explore creative sequences of body movement in order to communicate an idea, poem, or story. Dance while listening to a variety of music.

• When listening to music with your child, take turns describing, evaluating, and comparing music. Use the terms: pitch, rhythm, and steady beat. Attend concerts or listen to various recordings with your child to experience many styles and cultures of music.

GRADE 1 MUSIC UNITS

Rhythm - Walk/Jogging

This is a unit in which students will explore beginning rhythmic understandings. Students will use large and small motor movements to demonstrate walk and jogging motions in relation to a steady beat.

Rhythm - Quarter Note, Two Eighth Notes, and Quarter Rest

Students will learn to sing and play rhythms using quarter notes (du), two eighth notes (du-de), and quarter rests (silence). Students will develop an understanding of how composers and performers communicate mood. Students will create a 16 beat composition using known rhythms.

Pitch – Sol/Mi

This is a unit in which students will learn the concept of high/low pitches labeled Sol-Mi. Through singing, reading, notating, creating, improvising, playing, moving, and listening, students will become familiar with the pitches Sol and Mi (m3). This will be accomplished using the instructional format: prepare, present, practice, and assess.

Pitch – La/Sol/Mi

This is a unit in which students will learn a new pitch labeled La. Through singing, reading, notating, creating, improvising, playing, moving, and listening, students will become familiar with the pitch La. This will be accomplished using the instructional format prepare, present, practice, and assess. Students will also develop their ability to respond to music in a variety of ways. 

Critical Response

The overarching goal of this unit is that students will analyze, evaluate, respond and connect to music from many different cultures. Students will realize that music is a form of communication, and there are meaningful connections between music and other aspects of life.

What children will study this year:

• Locomotor Movement Skills: running, jumping, hopping, galloping and skipping.

• Manipulative Skills: Underhand throwing and rolling, overhand throwing and catching, dribbling with both hands and feet, volleying and striking.

• Students will begin to learn about their heart, muscles, bones and the functions they play in their body.

• The importance of the five food groups when eating.

• Understand and demonstrate rules and procedures to help them play fair.

In order to participate safely and successfully, students should have tennis shoes for physical education activities and recess.

Adaptations and modifications will be made for students on an as needed basis.

What families can do at home to help:

It is important that youth of today develop regular exercise habits and activities that will be continued throughout life. In order for our children to become truly fit, these fitness activities must extend beyond the school day. Family and friends can have a major impact on a child's level of physical activity in many different ways.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION UNITS

Unit: Cardiovascular Fitness, Locomotor, Soccer, Underhand Throw/Roll

Students will learn about the importance of cardiovascular fitness. While actively participating in class a student will experience what it feels like to change the speed of their heart rate through exercise. Discussions in class will include topics about sportsmanship, safety and teamwork.  Activities in this unit will focus on hand/eye and eye/foot coordination through various units which include: Soccer, Bowling and Tag Games.

Unit: Muscular Fitness, Non-locomotor, Overhand Throwing/Catching, Dribbling, Volleying and Striking

First graders will be introduced to the muscular fitness unit. Students will learn about the three functions of muscles and bones in the body. They will develop an understanding of how their muscles and bones work together to create specific movements common to specific activities. Activities in this unit will focus on hand/eye coordination through various units which include: Basketball,Volleyball, Tumbling and Floor Hockey.

Unit: Nutrition, Jump Rope, Striking, Track and Field

Students will continue learning about  the five food groups with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables. Students will be introduced to the idea of lifelong fitness. They will learn how lifelong activities promote personal health and physical fitness. They will develop an understanding of different activities that they can participate in at any age. Activities in this unit will focus on hand/eye and eye/foot coordination through various units which include: Jump Rope, Pickleball and Track and Field events.

Grade 1 Science Units:

• Students ask questions based on observations to compare and contrast plants and their parents.
• Students will create a model to describe the structure and function of plants and their parts and how they are used for survival.
• Students will use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.
• Students will conduct research to determine patterns in behavior of parents and offspring that help offspring survive, investigations will provide evidence on how animal communication impacts survival.
• Students make observations to construct an evidence-based argument that young animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents.

Unit: Physical Science 

• Students plan and conduct an investigation to determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light.
• Students will solve real world problems by using observations of light and reflection.

What children will study this year:

The first grade social studies program is hands-on and content-rich. Topics include:

• Citizenship in a community.
• How things change over time.

• People make economic decisions based on different needs.

• Where we live and how it compares to other places. 

Program and Grade Level Understandings articulate what students should understand and be able to do when they leave the K-12 program in Anoka-Hennepin. The grade level understandings demonstrate what students should understand and be able to do when they leave each grade level. The grade level understandings increase in complexity as students progress through the K-12 program. 

Grade 1 Social Studies Units

• On September 17, the United States celebrates Constitution and Citizenship Day. Ask your child what it means to be a good citizen at home, school, and in the community.
• What rules do you have a home?  Why do you have these rules?
• Volunteer to do something to help your community, i.e. pick up litter, donate toys/clothing/food, etc. How does this make our community a better place to be?

Unit Information for Families - Academic Standards, what students should know and be able to do, and vocabulary.

Unit: Geography: People and Places: In this unit, students will examine the world around them through the eyes of a geographer. They will learn to create sketch maps that illustrate spatial information of familiar places.  Students will use relative and absolute location words identify where things are, and will explain when and why it is important to use absolute location versus relative location. They will travel the world as they compare physical and human characteristics of different places.

What families can do at home to help:

• Help your child learn his/her full name and address – including city, state, zip code, and phone number. Where do we live and how is it different from where other people live? (locally, globally or historically)
• Look at maps together when you travel.
• Sketch maps of your home and neighborhood.
• Visit the Mississippi River, Coon Rapids Dam, or Springbrook Nature Center - what are the natural resources in these environments? How can we cooperate with others to protect these environments?

Unit Information for Families - Academic Standards, what students should know and be able to do, and vocabulary.

What families can do at home to help:

• Share stories of how things were for you as a child.  Talk with grandparents or other community members about how things have changed in their lifetime.
• Visit one of your local museums or historical society. How has your community changed over time? Note: Your county library has information on free passes available for various museum locations around the metro area. For more information on the Museum Adventure Pass visit a county library branch near you or visit http://www.melsa.org/MuseumAdventurePass.

Unit Information for Families - Academic Standards, what students should know and be able to do, and vocabulary.

Unit: Economics:  Choices, Scarcity & Trade: This is a unit that examines the costs and benefits of decisions that people make.  Students will also learn about scarcity and trading.

What families can do at home to help:
When you are shopping together, talk about the goods you are purchasing. Why do you choose to purchase what you do? 

Unit Information for Families - Academic Standards, what students should know and be able to do, and vocabulary.