First Grade Math Lesson 1

Welcome to First Grade!  1st grade is one of the most exciting grades. It's the first time a child has HW, written tests and the curriculum and expectations really are increased. This blog post will be how I start 1st grade math on that very first day of school.

First:

Tell your students that math is our lives everyday. Explain to your students that numbers are all around us. Ask your students what places they see numbers. Record their answers. 

Then:

Tell your students that today we will practice counting by 1's. See how far your students can count to. Some may be able to only count to 50, some to 100 and some may be even to count higher. 

Next:

Tell your students that we will start by practicing to write our numbers correctly. It's best the first day to do an assessment to see where your students are up to. Having that data will help drive further instruction and give you starting point for your second, third, fourth etc. lessons.

Last:

Play a game with the kids. I always "I Have Who, Who Has". Just play counting by 1's. The first day shouldn't be too difficult. It should be fun. Remember you have 180+ days to drill skills.

Finally

Exit slip (formative assessment). While you probably won't really need an "exit slip" the first day of school. Getting your students in the routine of what you expect is important to start off right away. Your exit slip for that first day can be a sheet where they need to fill in the missing numbers from 1-50 or where they need write numbers 1-25. Something quick!

I Have Who Has

Exit Slip Numbers 1-30