GRADE 1

This page lists the skills and topics students will be studying in first grade. Please contact your child’s teacher if you would like to volunteer some of your expertise about a specific topic that is taught during the year. Talk to your child about the units of study to reinforce the concepts. If you have any questions about the curriculum or about your child’s learning please contact your child’s teacher.

Phonics/Reading Language Arts

• Learn and use phonic skills
• All consonants, consonant blends and diagraphs, short vowels, long vowels, vowel digraphs and diphthongs are taught and blended into words.
• Utilize the following strategies to make meaning of text:
  • Look at picture clues
  • Make predictions
  • Use letter-sound relationships to decode unknown words
  • Use knowledge of word families
  • Reread and self-correct errors
  • Retell stories
• Participate in Guided reading groups; reading both fiction and non-fiction materials Read and listen to a variety of literature
• Engage in self-initiated reading and writing
• Be required to read outside of the school day

Spelling

• Use transitional spelling when writing
• Spell Priority Words correctly in written work
• Use reference to check for accuracy

Writing

Students will learn how to use the following steps in the writing process to produce finalized pieces of writing, which also incorporates the use of the 6 Traits of Writing (Ideas, Organization, Conventions, Voice, Word Choice and Sentence Fluency)

• Planning (Plans using a web or other graphic organizer, Brainstorms)
• Rough Drafts (Develops ideas into topics, Writes sentences)
• Revising (Expands on ideas, Uses some details to expand the topic)
• Editing (Uses capital letters and punctuation appropriately, Spells words accurately)
• Publishing Activities (Shares projects in final form)

Mathematics

Mathematical Processes

• Communicates mathematical thinking, both orally and in writing, by using numbers, words or pictures
• Solves simple story problem

Number Operations and Relationships

• Reads, writes and compares numbers to 100 (1-20, 1-50, 1-75,1-100)
• Applies strategies to single-digit addition facts
• Applies strategies to single-digit subtraction facts
• Adds two-digit numbers without regrouping
• Understands simple fractions
• Counts by 5’s, and 10’s to 100 Forms numbers correctly

Geometry

• Recognizes and represents geometric shapes

Measurement

• Identifies and counts a combination of pennies, nickels and dimes to $1.00
• Makes comparisons in measurement
• Understands and uses appropriate tools to apply concepts of measurement in length
• Tells time to the hour and half hour

Statistics and Probability

• Creates, interprets, and compares charts and graphs

Algebraic Relationships

• Creates and applies picture and number patterns

Social Studies

Rules and Laws

• Develops an awareness of himself/herself as a total person and understands that he/she is special
• Realizes that each family and home is a unique unit and will identify likenesses and differences between families from various cultures and continents
• Understands his/her right and responsibilities as a family member
• Gains insight into making decisions and how those decisions affect others
• Develops an awareness that people work together in the home, school, and neighborhood to meet basic needs
• Understands the importance of school and classroom rules

Map and Globe Skills

• Recognizes a globe and a map
• Recognizes maps and the globe as models of earth and recognizes various regions of the earth
• Identifies land and water masses on the globe and maps
• Locates the United States on the map and globe
• Locates the North and South Pole on the map or globe
• Understands that real objects can be represented by pictures or symbols
• Begins to use the four cardinal directions and legends on a map

Communities

• Describes ways in which families meet the needs of its family members
• Compares the rights and responsibilities of individuals and groups
• Differentiates between needs and wants

Cultural Heritage

• Demonstrates respect for individual differences among classmates and family members
• Studies a variety of holidays and historical events
• Becomes aware of various customs associated with holidays

Current Events

• Becomes aware of significant current events in the community, state, the nation and world
• Studies current events through the use of classroom newspapers, discussions, and various related materials

Science

Earth Science

Land, Water and Air

• Recognizes land and water formations on Earth
• Identifies characteristics of rocks and soil
• Observes how animals and plants change
• Explores how to preserve natural resources

Weather

• Measures weather with a thermometer, rain gauge, and wind vane
• Identifies types of clouds
• Compares rain, sleet, snow, blizzards
• Identifies predictable weather in each season

Day and Night Sky

• Identifies items visible in the day and night sky
• Describes the sun, moon, and phases of the moon

Life Science

Plants And Animals

• Identifies characteristics of living and non-living things
• Identifies a variety of plant and animal habitats
• Identifies animal and plant adaptations
• Identifies ways animals communicate
• Understands a variety of plant and animal life cycles
• Understands how plants make their own food
• Identifies food chains in a rainforest and marsh

Physical Science

Matter

• Observes properties of matters
• Identifies states of matter
• Explores physical and chemical changes to matter

Motion and Sound

• Explores forces
• Recognizes how speed depends on the amount of force
• Recognizes magnets cause some objects to move
• Understands vibrations cause sounds
• Identifies various sounds in nature and the environment

Energy

• Identifies a source of heat and light
• Observes light and shadows Identifies sources of energy Identifies simple machines

Media and Technology

• Identifies basic computer technology
• Demonstrates proper care and correct use of media equipment