First Grade Curriculum Overview

Religion: We begin each day reciting the Lord’s Prayer, Luther’s Morning Prayer and other prayers as we learn them. We also begin each day with a devotion. One in Christ is a series that is put out by Concordia Publishing House. It presents lessons of Bible stories from creation through the life and death of Jesus. A booklet will be sent home at the end of each unit.  You can go through it with your child to review what has been learned. Every Wednesday we will attend a school-wide chapel service. You are always welcome to attend chapel services with us. Additionally each month we gather with our “Faith Families” (a teacher, principal or pastor and a student or two from each grade make up each Faith Family) for devotion, service project or other bonding activity. Prayer, God’s Word and a Christian approach to our relationships with others are integrated throughout each day.

Bullying Prevention: Second Step is a program that teaches children important skills for getting along with others and doing well in school.  It also helps our school be a safe, respectful place where everyone can learn. Through the Second Step Bullying Prevention Unit children will learn specific skills to help stop bullying. Students will learn how to: recognize when bullying is happening, report bullying to a caring adult, refuse to let bullying happen to themselves or others, and be a bystander who stands up and is part of the solution to bullying.  

Reading and Writing: First Grade is a very exciting time for reading and writing! Our goal is to build a love and joy for reading, as well as writing through a variety of means.  The students will regularly hear stories read aloud from quality children’s literature – picture books as well as chapter books. The students will frequently practice their own reading skills using numerous books from our classroom library including decodable books. Superkids is our main reading program. It is published by Zaner-Bloser, a Highlights Company.  Children who completed the Kindergarten year of Superkids learned the letters of the alphabet, one sound for each, and how to decode words with these letter-sounds.  They were introduced to long vowel-sounds, but weren’t expected to read long-vowel words.  As students move forward in the first grade year of the Superkids program, they will expand their letter-sound knowledge to include consonant digraphs, long vowels, and vowel phonemes, and learn how to read and form words with endings. They will begin using phonetic and structural patterns to help them decode. Their comprehension and fluency skills will increase greatly as they read longer and more difficult fiction and informational texts from the beginning to the end of the school year. Teaching children how to express their ideas effectively in writing is an important goal of the Superkids Reading Program. Through specific writing lessons children develop critical writing skills that help them grow as writers throughout the school year.  Reading and writing at home are also strongly encouraged.

Math: Big Ideas Math is the program we use to teach First Grade math concepts. Students will be taught addition and subtraction situations, fluency and strategies within 10, more addition and  subtraction situations, adding numbers within 20, subtracting numbers within 20, counting and writing numbers to 120, comparing two-digit numbers, adding and subtracting tens, adding two-digit numbers, measuring and comparing lengths, representing and interpreting data, telling time, two and three dimensional shapes and equal shares. Big Ideas Math provides a balance of: Conceptual Understanding (discovering why through exploration & discovery), Procedural Fluency (learning how through explicit instruction) and Application (after building procedural skill and fluency, then knowing when to apply). Practicing math concepts & procedures at home is also strongly encouraged.

Social Studies: We use the “Happy Days in First Grade” Social Studies curriculum to present the social studies topics of communities, work, our world, traditions, and culture. Throughout the year we will also use quality children’s literature to expand our understanding.  Each day once we have completed our prayers, Christian songs and pledge to the Christian flag, we will also pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, sing the national anthem along with other patriotic songs, and recite several patriotic quotes.

Science: Using the  “Firstie Science” curriculum, we will explore units about Life Science – Living & Nonliving, plants, parts of a plant, the plant life cycle, needs of a plant, comparison of plants & animals, animal habitats, (plus a bonus unit about the Life Cycle of the Butterfly later in the school year), Earth Science – natural and manmade resources, uses of land, water cycle, caring for Earth, Weather – seasons, storms, Physical Science – States of Matter, Types of Matter, Solids, Liquids, Gases, Water and Matter, Heat and Light, Sun, Sun’s Light, Sun’s Heat, Shadows and Protection from the Sun, Space: Moon, Moon Craters, Moon Phases, Daytime, Daytime/Nighttime and Machines – Levers, Pulleys, Inclined Planes, Wheels and Simple Machines.

Writing: Handwriting/Printing skills are practiced every day as part of the “Daily Routine” portion of the SuperKids Reading and Writing Curriculum.

Art: Students will receive regular art instruction. Sometimes the Art Attacks curriculum will be used as our main resource.  We will not only focus on teaching the students the elements of art: line, shape, form, color, texture, composition, and perspective, but also aim to foster creativity while improving motor skills using scissors, crayons, paint, and other tools. 

Music: While music is integrated into many areas of First Grade, once a week First Graders attend music class with a separate music teacher. We will learn many Christian songs and hymns throughout the year. Kindergarten and First Grade students learn traditional Christmas hymns as part of a Christmas Pageant presented within one of our Wednesday evening Advent services. We will also participate with all the students in Kindergarten through 5th Grade in a Spring Musical.  Throughout the school year we will sing, listen and occasionally play simple instruments enabling us to learn tempo, beat, dynamics, rhythm, form, and style.

Physical Education: All students have Physical Education class twice a week. Students will participate in activities to develop strength, endurance, and flexibility. Basic skills in individual and team activities are emphasized, and cooperation and good sportsmanship are strongly encouraged. Our school also participates in a Mileage Club program and we track how many miles our students are walking during recess. 

Computer: All students participate in computer class twice a week. Students engage in a dynamic learning environment where they explore various digital tools.  Students work to master mouse skills and advance their proficiency with using the keyboard. Using the Microsoft suite of software, they expand their knowledge of Paint, Word, and PowerPoint.  Students are also introduced to basic block coding.  The first grade classroom is equipped with iPads for every student and a Promethean ActivPanel.

Spanish: Northern Arizona University Spanish curriculum will be utilized approximately once a week. Students will participate in various activities to expose them to the Spanish language. 

Field Trips: Trips that are related to our learning units are scheduled throughout the school year. These trips may include a visit to an apple farm, a pumpkin patch, The Butterfly House and/or the St. Louis Science Center. We appreciate as many parents joining us on field trips as room on the bus allows. You will receive more specific information about Field Trips as plans are confirmed.