Weston Public Schools

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GRADE 1

WPS Family Guide to

Progress Reports

What is the purpose of progress reports?

Progress reports provide families with detailed information regarding student progress in achieving specific grade-level standards for grades K-5. The progress report consists of a series of standards for work habits/social responsibilities and each aca-demic discipline. In addition, it includes narrative comments from the student’s classroom teacher.

What marks are given for the academic standards?

The progress report uses the letters E, M, P, and N for the academic standards. These marks, unlike the traditional A - F grading scale, show progress toward to a specific standard.

E = “Exceeding grade level expecta-tions” for a standard means the student has a deep understanding and application at this time.

M = “Meeting grade level expectations” is the goal for all students. A student achieving this level has met the expectation of the grade level at this time.

P = “Progressing toward grade level standard” indicates the student is moving toward mastery. Students learn at different rates throughout the year.

N = “Not meeting grade level expectation” indicates that the student may be in need of additional support.

Weston Public Schools

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Grade 1

WPS Family Guide to

Progress Reports

M = Meeting grade level expec-tations at this time

P = Progressing toward grade level expectations at this time

N= Not meeting grade level ex-pectations at this time

What marks are given for Social Responsibili-ties and Work habits?

Why are some stand-ards highlighted with an asterisk?

Progress reports are issued on a trimester schedule in November, March, and June.

What is the frequency of progress reports?

What does a grey box mean on the progress report?

Not all standards are taught or assessed during each trimester. In these instances, a grey box appears on the progress report to indicate that it was not for-mally assessed at that time.

Several standards are highlight-ed with an asterisk. These standards are aligned with the goals of Weston’s Academic Innovation & Measurement (AIM) initiative. AIM is a K-12 initiative focused on critical and creative thinking and other high-priority outcomes preparing stu-dents for a global society.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Twice a year, in the fall and spring, parents are strongly encouraged to meet with their child’s teacher to review progress. Conferences are an opportunity for two-way communication between the family and teacher.

The teacher will talk about your child’s strengths and how the student can improve.

The teacher may present examples of your child’s work when reviewing progress.

Be sure to ask questions about how you can sup-port your child at school and at home.

Conferences are approximately 20 minutes. If you have additional questions following the confer-ence, please feel free to email the teacher.

Weston Public Schools

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English Language Arts

Students will build on their foundational skills as they grow into an independent reader and writ-er. Students will continue to develop their under-standing and use of phonics and high frequency words. Reading and comprehending texts that contain a message or lesson for the reader will enable students to broaden their comprehension and critical thinking skills. Your child will experience a balance of narrative, informational, and opinion writing experi-ences throughout the school year. They will utilize published authors as mentors for their own writing. In reading, students will:

Build phonological awareness and proficiency in phonics to decode words

Automatically read high frequency words Read and comprehend fiction and informational

text Build stamina for reading In writing students will:

Create stories with a sequenced beginning, middle, and end (narrative)

Create a series of stories that contain the same char-acters that go on a multitude of adventures

Create their own fairytale, folktale, or fable

Create “All About” books on topics of their choosing (informational)

Create opinion piec-es that demonstrate what matters most to them and why

Apply their knowledge of letters, sounds, and high frequency words to their writing

Build stamina for writing Science Students are presented with an age-appropriate, real world problem. They collect evidence from multiple sources, including their own hands-on exploration, to build an explanation and then apply their learning to a new situation. In science, students will:

Take on the role of marine biologist studying sea turtles to learn about animal and plant defenses and how organisms and their offspring survive.

Act as light and sound engineers to create scenery and sound effects for a shadow puppet show.

Assume the role of astronomers to study the patterns they observe in the sky and why the sky

Math

Students learn how numbers are composed of other numbers using number bonds and continue to develop an understanding of place value. Students work togeth-er as they begin to practice problem-solving strategies. In math, students will:

Solve word problems in-volving situa-tions requiring addition and subtraction

Develop fluency of addition facts within 10

Use place value understanding to group and regroup ones and tens, applying this to addition and subtraction within 100

Measure and compare the lengths of objects Tell time to the hour and half hour Represent data using picture graphs and bar

graphs Describe and compare two and three dimensional

shapes, combining them to compose other shapes Use strategies to persevere when solving challeng-

ing problems and explain their math thinking

Social Studies

In first grade, your child will learn about the charac-teristics and responsibilities of a good citizen. They will learn about geography, maps and map skills as they explore their family origins and the countries their ancestors have come from. Learning about com-munity helpers and Martin Luther King’s importance in history will help your child broaden their under-standing of their world and our shared history. The importance of civic engagement will enable your child to begin to understand point of view and perspective while developing compassion for others and helping those in need.

Highlights: What Students Will Be Learning In Grade 1

Weston Public Schools

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Art

The visual art program enables students to express and develop creativity, originality, and problem solving skills essential to their educational experi-ence in a safe, supportive environment. Students learn how to utilize various art materials, mediums, genres, and tech-niques to challenge and encourage their expressive ide-as. First grade stu-dents learn about artists, genres, and cultures through exploration of ma-terials, concepts, and techniques.

Music

The music curriculum is directly aligned with the National Core Arts Standards for music education. Weston provides a comprehensive, standards-based music education designed to enhance each child’s musical aptitude and achievement in music. The artistic processes of creating, performing, respond-ing, and connecting are emphasized.

Health

The health curriculum in Weston Public Schools is designed for students to be able to explore core concepts that are the foundation of healthy, bal-anced living and apply that knowledge to their own lives. Students engage in conver-sations to analyze internal and ex-ternal influences, improve commu-nication, advoca-cy, and goal setting.

Progress Reports and Special Education

Students with Individualized Education Programs (IEP) may require additional services and supports in order to achieve certain grade-level standards. Students with accommodations may demonstrate mastery of a standard in alternative ways as determined by the IEP. If your child has an IEP,

please also refer to your IEP Progress Report for information regarding your child’s progress in his or her specialized educational program.

Physical Education

The physical education curriculum in Weston Public Schools is designed for students to be able to ex-plore core concepts (space, balance, movement, fitness, perceptual motor, and community building) that are the foundation of a physically active life-style. Such explora-tion and application requires a learning environment where students feel comfort-able to physically en-gage in activities that promote skill develop-ment, physical fitness, self-advocacy, and the ability to appropriately interact with others. Students are expected to be prepared, participate to the best of their ability, collaborate with others, and demonstrate knowledge of the subject matter.

Spanish

This next step in our early immersion program strives to build on a strong foundation in the Spanish language by means of a highly interactive content-based curriculum. Children will develop communicative and cultural competence while learning how to compare their own community with those in the Hispanic world. During the course of the year, students will learn about places in their town and activities they can do there, natural envi-ronments, outdoor activities, animals, the life cycle of a butterfly, as well as nutrition, body parts, and personal hygiene.

For more information:

The family guides to progress reports can be accessed from the Weston Public Schools website, under the Communication Links tab. If you have questions about specific standards or the curriculum for a particular subject area, please contact the appropriate curriculum instructional leader.

Highlights: What Students Will Be Learning In Grade 1