Open Court Reading
Open Court
There are 9 units in Open Court for first grade. It's a fast paced program with 118 decodables, two first readers and two anthology books.
MacMillan Math
There are 3 assessments per chapter. There are 14 chapters per year. Midway through each chapter, there is a mid-chapter check. Although it's not a test, it's an assessment to "check" whether concepts are being understood. I use it to make sure students are on track with the concept being covered. I pull students with difficulties on this test. I also encourage you to look over these "checks" and go over the assessment with your child. Between you and me, we will be able to make sure your child doesn't miss any concepts.
Science/Social Studies
We are currently working in our Science workbooks in the animals section. They are enjoying learning about animals. I feel that children have a certain kindred relationship to animals; I know with my own children, they always had a special place in their hearts for them. Perhaps it's the helpless and dependent nature of animals and the feeling that they can help and take care of them.
Writing
Each day, when we read story in the big book, we discuss much discussion (for example, how are baby animals different from their parents, etc.), the students write a response journal page about the story. these corrected pages go home in the Friday Folder. They also write each day in their journal during independent journal writing time. This writing provides me with a snapshot of their writintg progress.