Social Studies: We begin the year by working on building community and character. Students learn and practice honesty, courage, responsibility, friendship, and respect. We will also be learning about location (home, classroom, school, state). Careers are explored and their impact discussed, as well as discussing the reasons people work.

Science: This year in science, students will be taking an active, inquiring role as they explore the world around them. Through different activities and experiments, students will be learning about plants, the weather, their senses, basic properties of objects, as well as tools.

Language: Vocabularies will certainly grow this year. Students will participate during group discussions and practice the appropriate listening and talking behaviors. Students will practice using spatial language through different activities.

Reading: The literature we will be working with this year will be rhymes, fairytales, fables, fiction, and non-fiction. Students will understand the different aspects of books and how to use books. Main events will be discussed, retold, and dramatized. Poems will be set to music and/or dance. Students will learn how to connect books that are read to themselves and to the world around them.

Writing: This year, students will begin to learn how to write their letters. We will look for common words that are found in print. We will explore periods and question marks. Also, students will create their own letter stories, skits, and poems.

Math: We will follow the Houghton Mifflin Math program for Kindergarteners. Students will work on sorting, patterns, numbers, shapes, money, length, time, and beginning algebra. Through this program, we will use song, games, and stories to learn about these concepts.

First and second grade are exciting years in a student’s academic career. This year, I hope to foster a love of learning and an inquiring mind with all my students.

First and Second Grade Curriculum in the Ruby Room:

This is a brief outline of the year’s curriculum. It covers the main topics of study and some of the skills which I will be addressing.

Reading–Phonetic skills will be taught using a program called “Project Read”. The class will also be reading a great variety of fiction and nonfiction books. Reading activities will take place individually, in small groups and as a whole class. Having students enjoy what they read is very important to me.

Language Arts–Second graders will participate in penmanship, spelling and beginning grammar lessons. We will write a great deal. My hope is to emphasize writing frequently across all content areas. In addition, a major emphasis of mine will be on creative writing. The children will write using a process which allows them to conference with each other and with me. During creative writing, the children will generally choose their own topics.

Math–Our school uses the Houghton Mifflin math program. The children will be involved in strategy games, critical thinking, and problem solving activities. Major skill areas for first and second graders are number sense, addition and subtraction facts, place value, time, measurement, and money.

The primary goal for mathematics is to have students develop strategies and to be able to communicate their mathematical thinking. Your children will be involved in mathematical investigations that encourage them to develop their mathematical ideas. Your children will be counting, sorting, ordering, measuring, and manipulating shapes as well as talking, drawing, and writing about their ideas.

Science–The hope is to get children excited about thinking and experimenting with elements in the world around them. First and second graders need to be good observers and data recorders. Major units in science during a two-year cycle will be space (sun, moon and earth), life cycles (butterflies, owls, chicks, and frogs), a yearlong study of the pond (luckily we have one right in our backyard) as we think about different habitats, and a unit on simple machines.  We will also conduct many different hands-on experiments.

Social Studies—First and second graders will study communities, geography, and current events. We will also develop a timeline so that we can begin to understand some important events in history. We also talk a great deal about caring for one another and accepting differences.

*Feel free to contact the school by telephone (413-738-5676) or send me an email at bcomeau@hancockschool.org

Phonics Games

Comic Strip

Between the Lions

National Geographic Kids

Crank it Up

Star Fall

Raz-Kids

Math Activities

Animal Design

This year our library focus is to expand the library’s science book selection across all grade levels.  There was a donation from a Hancock family to make this possible.  Joan’s selections include earth science to biography to a classic science dictionary for kids.

Joan lives in South Williamstown with her corgi Bingo.

Reading: Students will be exposed to great literature this year! Both fiction and non- fiction with be studied. Students will have the opportunity to be involved in read aloud and well as guided reading groups. Students will also be reading independently each night and will be asked to complete several “book projects” throughout the year.

Language Arts: Students will participate in spelling and grammar lessons as well as begin learning, or maybe even perfecting their cursive writing skills. We will write each day and in all content areas. Students will learn the major components of good writing. The frequent writing will allow them to put their newly learned talents in to practice. Students will take part in “Writing Workshop” several times a week. This exposes them to mini lessons that focus on a particular skill, allows them to confer with me, as well as with each other, and it allows them to learn to critique their own work.

Math: Students will explore topics such as money, place value to one million, multiplication and division. Students will develop their critical thinking skills and the thought processes needed as we begin to explore multi step word problems.

Science: My goal to get students excited about the world around us! Students will learn about the scientific method and data collection. Through hands-on experiments as well as gathering information, students will study units such as the human body, nutrition, the solar system, electricity, and the 3 phases of matter.

Social Studies: Students will study different topics dealing with Massachusetts state history, beginning with the arrival of the Pilgrims. We will also take a deep look at immigration, Ellis Island, and the family dynamics that resulted as the population grew and jobs were more readily available. Geography and map skills with also be covered.

As the special education teacher at the Hancock School, my goal is to provide each and every student with the opportunity to succeed. Both individual and small group instruction is utilized to ensure that every child meet his or her potential.

In the primary grades, we focus on large muscle development by using locomotor movement (walking, running, galloping, skipping), non locomotor movement (bending, stretching, pushing, pulling), and manipulative skills (throwing, catching, kicking, striking).

As students move through fourth, fifth, and sixth grades, they apply the basic skills in many different traditional games. Gymnastics, simple folk and line dance, rope jumping, and dyna bands are a few of the activities that add variety to the curriculum.

Alpine skiing and snowboarding, in addition to floor hockey are offered as after school programs, making the winter fun and exciting. Also, a mowed path circling the perimeter of our school property, provides ample opportunity to get children some addition aerobic activity. Our large school grounds are a wonderful asset for physical education.

In all that we do, we try to focus on good sportmanship and respect for ourselves and others.

Past and current educational research reinforces the knowledge that learning music does result in higher intelligence and does lessen stress in children and adults. It is my pleasure to share my love of music with our students and guide them on the road towards musical knowledge, appreciation, and enjoyment.