Open
About the Teacher
Court Curriculum from
SRA/McGraw-Hill, is a research-based curriculum
grounded in systematic, explicit instruction of phonemic
awareness, phonics, word knowledge, comprehension,
inquiry, and writing.
As children read classic and
contemporary literature, they discover the importance of
clarity of thought and word. They enjoy an abundant
reading experience that moves them toward independent,
self-directed learning.
First Grade
Through various genres, children progressively deepen
their understanding of the thematic learning units
presented in each grade level.
Mrs. Perry
First Grade Teacher
Salem Lutheran School
Mrs. Perry began her career at Salem
Lutheran School in 1964 when she entered
first grade in the very classroom
she teaches in now.
She was born into the congregation and is a
lifetime member of
Salem Lutheran Church.
Mrs. Perry majored in Child Development
at Cal State Northridge. She has taught
Spanish, Remedial Reading, and directed
Day Care at Salem.
For the past 14 years Mrs. Perry has been
teaching first grade at Salem.
Part One – Preparing to Read
Sounds and letters; phonemic awareness; phonics and
fluency; and word knowledge
Part Two – Reading and Responding
Comprehension skills and strategies; and inquiry
Part Three – Language Arts
Spelling; vocabulary; writing process strategies; writer's
craft; English language conventions; grammar, usage and
mechanics; listening, speaking and viewing; penmanship;
and basic computer skills.
Curriculum
& Information
Saxon Math is unique because the entire program
is based on introducing a topic to a student and then
allowing them to build upon that concept as they learn
new ones. Topics are never dropped but are instead
increased in complexity and practiced every day,
providing the time required for concepts to become totally
familiar.
This incremental approach to math differs from most
traditional programs, which are "chapter-based." In these
traditional texts, students are expected to learn an entire
mathematical concept in one day. The homework consists
of twenty or thirty problems, all of which deal with that
concept. The topic is then only reviewed prior to a test, if
at all. Saxon textbooks, however, divide concepts into
smaller, more easily grasped pieces called increments. A
new increment is presented each day and students work
only a few problems involving the new material. Thus,
every assignment (and every test) is a cumulative review
of all material covered up to that point.
Salem Lutheran School 2013-2014
Salem Lutheran School
1211 North Brand Boulevard
Glendale, California 91202
818-243-8264
www.salemlutheranglendaleschool.org
Ghada Huleis
Principal
First Grade is a year of expanded
awareness.
Children will broaden their
listening, reading, writing, and mathematical
reasoning skills.
Subjects covered in first grade include, but are not
limited to:
Language Arts – Open Court
Children will decode the written word using
both phonetic and visual techniques for the
interpretation of the text. Students will progress
in both oral and silent reading for both
enjoyment and content.
Students will strengthen their comprehension
by visualizing, summarizing, predicting, asking
questions and answering questions, monitoring
and clarifying, and making connections. They
will also learn about cause and effect, reality
and fantasy, comparing and contrasting,
classifying and categorizing, making inferences
and drawing conclusions.
First graders learn to collaborate with their
peers, brainstorm, draft, proofread, and revise.
Spelling, sentence structure and punctuation are
introduced and expanded upon. The parts of
speech including nouns, verbs, and adjectives
round out the student’s grasp and knowledge of
grammar.
Science – Scott Foresman
In Life Science, students will learn about living
and non-living things, animal and plant needs,
habitats, life cycles and food chains. In Earth
Science, they will learn about the continents,
basic landforms, and weather. In Physical
Science, students will learn the 3 states of
matter and how they change. Our text is Scott
Foresman Science 1.
Spanish
Children are exposed to Spanish
twice a week through vocabulary, songs,
flashcards, worksheets and stories.
Math – Saxon Math
First graders will build on their knowledge of
numbers and gain confidence with addition and
subtraction. They will count by twos, fives, and
tens, compare and order, count money, identify
and draw polygons, tally, and identify
geometric solids. Students will also learn about
real graphs, pictographs and bar graphs.
Social Studies – McGraw Hill Time
Physical Education
First graders attend P.E. class in the gym three
times a week.
Fitness, health, and
sportsmanship are taught through games, sports,
and exercise.
Art
Salem art classes are relevant, fun and
challenging. Students will develop artistic
awareness and hands-on skills by using a
variety of tools and mediums.
Students in
grades first through sixth will study well-known
artists and works of art, as well as create age
appropriate art projects.
Links
Religion – Biblical Choices
Students will explore 5 areas of Social Studies.
Culture: we are part of a family, a school, and a
neighborhood. Geography: people live in cities,
suburbs, towns, or farms. Our cities are in
states, our states makeup our country and our
country is on our continent. History: long ago
life was different for people in our country.
Many people worked hard to create our country.
Economics: People have needs & wants. People
work at different kinds of jobs to provide for
people’s needs & wants. Citzenship: America
became a country in order to provide freedom
for people. Our plan for our country is called
government. Our government is based on our
constitution. Our government makes laws for
our country. We are citizens of our country.
Citizens vote for their leaders. The President is
the leader of our country, the Governor is the
leader of our state, the Mayor is the leader of
our city. Good citizens follow laws & work
together.
Classroom religious studies focus on the Bible
in accordance with God’s will for God’s people,
using the examples of biblical characters and
the teachings, miracles, and atoning sacrifice of
Jesus Christ.
All students (Junior Kindergarten through sixth
grade) attend chapel services each Wednesday
at 8:45 a.m. Parents are always welcome to
attend chapel.
Music Children in grades first through sixth
will develop skills in singing,
instruments and movement.
playing
Computers
First graders are introduced
to basic computer usage in Salem’s computer
lab once a week. They will use Windows,
Menus and the keyboard, and learn to Open and
Save files, use Copy and Paste commands,
produce graphics, and perform simple word
processing. They will also access the Internet
using specific websites.