St. John School 1st Grade

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About The Teacher Label:


About The Teacher
My name is Lisa Harkin. I am a central Iowa native and a graduate of Iowa State University. I've taught first grade for the past twelve years at St. John, and previously taught fourth grade as well as seventh, eighth and ninth grade students. Mrs. Shoulberg, my first grade co-teacher, has taught school for more than 40 years. Between the two of us we have over 56 years of teaching experience! I have three great kids of my own. Two who graduated from St. John, and a son who is currently a third grader at St. John School. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work with your children. Thank you for sharing them with me!

Mission Label:


Mission
In our first grade classrooms we have a mix of active children who love school and are eager to learn about their world. I team teach ½ of the first grade subjects. My subject areas are: math, science, and social studies. I see each first grade class for about ½ the morning and again for about ½ the afternoon. Mrs. Shoulberg, my co-teacher, teaches the other academic areas of reading, language arts, and religion. One thing that is a very important part of our philosophy of teaching and instruction in first grade at St. John School is the recognition that children are each where they belong. We want to meet them in that place and gently move them forward. We ask parents to encourage any progress, however small it may be. Children put themselves down so easily when they start comparing themselves to other children. We ask our parents to assist us in teaching them that we all develop at different paces and that doing their very best is what is important. For the social studies curriculum, we study maps, geography, families, neighborhoods, communities, careers, needs and wants, American history, US symbols, holiday customs, and citizenship. The series is called "My World". I supplement the social studies series with lessons about famous Americans. In science we learn about plants, life cycles of living things, animal homes and habitats, weather, technology, health and personal care, safety, and the scientific method for exploration. Our math curriculum follows the Kansas state math standards using the Houghton Mifflin series. Each math lesson is identified, aligned and coordinated to teach the First Grade Kansas Mathematical Standards. I use FlashMaster as a supplement to teach addition and subtraction facts. The students use a variety of manipulatives to gain hands on experience in order to learn and practice concepts we are studying. We use blocks, centimeter cubes, penny counters, pattern blocks, multilinks, geofix forms, pentominoes, geoboards, and all sorts of materials for hands-on learning. We study geometry, patterns, place value, money, time, measurement, fractions, probability, estimation and graphs. Besides our regular math work, the children also take home optional homework pages. I feel blessed to be a part of such a nurturing and loving school environment with a dedication to spirituality and academic excellence. Please come and visit! -Ms.Harkin