Language Arts

The class focuses on word identification strategies, including identifying word patterns, tracking words, decoding skills, building a sight word vocabulary, and identifying letters and letter sounds. Children who are already readers focus on comprehension and achieving greater fluency. In their writing, children continue to use invented spelling and learn to use capitals and periods. Students learn to write using a variety of writing forms including personal narratives, descriptions, explanations, poems, fictional narratives and letters, as well as research reports. To see an example of a research report project (one week from beginning research to completion of report), click here. To see an example of a first grader’s creative story (“The Good Bad Dog”) click here.

Mathematics

First graders build fact family equations for addition and subtraction facts up to 12, learn number combinations for sums up to 12, and can add numbers containing multiples of ten. They can solve two-digit addition and subtraction problems with and without regrouping. They solve number stories using addition and subtraction. They read and write three-digit numbers, and can rename two- and three-digit numbers in terms of 100’s, 10’s, and 1’s. They understand patterns and relationships on the 100’s chart. They understand fractions as equal parts of a whole, and can identify ½ , 1/3, and ¼. They can draw and describe two-dimensional shapes and three-dimensional solids, including spheres, cones, cylinders, cubes, and prisms, trapezoids, parallelograms, and hexagons. First graders learn to use tools to measure length, mass, capacity and temperature. They measure objects using inches and centimeters, can tell time on a clock face to the quarter hour, can identify coins and can count the value of a collection of different coins and make equivalent amounts using different coins.

Social Studies

First graders learn to recount events in chronological order using a timeline. They are able to distinguish between facts and opinions. Students learn what traditions are, how they start and how they can change over time. They start to understand what a “culture” is through, for example, study of the Plains Indians. They study the difference between verbal and nonverbal communication and the role communication plays in society. They are able to identify standard American symbols (including, e.g., the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, the White House). They start learning about voting, elections, and U.S. presidents. As part of their civics studies, students understand and identify school rules and the consequences of not having rules in schools. They begin to learn how conflicts in school are resolved.

In their geography studies they can identify their own place in the world (home, neighborhood, community, city, state, country, continent, and world.) They understand that the United States is made of different geographical areas with different characteristics. They use a map key to locate and understand characteristics of different geographical regions on a map. They are able to locate familiar places on a globe (e.g., relatives’ homes).

In economics, students identify United States coin and currency denominations. They learn about trading and bartering as a form of currency in earlier time periods.

Science

Through the first grade science units, students gain observational skills and knowledge about the world around us. Students learn to use prediction, observation and other scientific processes to answer questions about the environment and its inhabitants. They use charts and graphs for recording observations and presenting results. In one science unit, students learn about wolves; to see a sample of their work in this unit, click here. In a second science unit, first graders raise butterflies from cocoons, watch them hatch and then set them free. The students write a letter to the butterflies telling them what the outside world will be like. To see student work related to the butterfly unit click here, and to see a sample goodbye letter (together with the teacher’s communication to parents regarding the butterfly unit), click here.

See link to first grade curriculum map. See example of first grade weekly news to parents.