1st Grade Curriculum
This guide is designed to give parents an outline of the main objectives their children will be taught during the upcoming year. It would be difficult to list everything that will be taught, but these pages will provide an overview of some of the most significant aspects of the curriculum for first grade students.
The philosophy of instruction at the elementary level provides for a personalized and individualized approach to learning. In the integrated language arts program, a core of children’s literature is used with other materials to help teachers emphasize lifelong reading, comprehension, and critical thinking as primary goals. A variety of assessment strategies are emphasized to determine a student’s instructional needs and academic progress. These subjects are taught using a wide variety of materials and methods with emphasis on problem solving and understanding of basic concepts. Throughout all areas of the curriculum, career education is addressed by exploring career opportunities in various related fields, and the acquisition of study skills is addressed in all curriculum areas.
It should be noted that the objectives listed below are merely samples from the various subject areas. They are taught in an integrated-thematic program so that students can see the relationship of school subjects to their lives. Most children master what is outlined on these pages. Some children will learn more quickly than others will. Enrichment is provided for students progressing at a faster pace, while special help is available for those who are experiencing difficulty.
FIRST GRADE is one of the most challenging and exciting years your child will have in his/her school career. It is an extremely important year during which a foundation is laid for future learning. The emphasis in first grade is on the development of comprehension and lifelong reading. To ensure success in early reading, the classroom environment is rich in experiences with printed materials, phonics, language experience activities, sight vocabulary, and creative writing. Writing is stressed as an effective means to promote good reading and to learn to think critically. Parents may extend the school program at home by reading frequently with their children. Mathematics and science are taught using many concrete materials and experiences to develop mathematical and scientific thinking. First grade is an integrated, experiential school learning experience that will help to prepare students for future academic success.
Social Skills
Focus: The development of social skills is integrated in all areas of the curriculum.
Theme:
- Understanding self and others
- Decision making and problem solving
- Interpersonal and communication skills
- School success skills
- Personal and social responsibilities
- Sense of community
Science
Using children’s natural curiosity and science inquiry skills, including observing, comparing, communication, organizing, discovering, and questioning children will continue to build a repertoire of experience with elements of the living and non-living world. This will lead students to develop understanding of the following concepts:
Life Science
- Plants and animals can only survive in the environment in which their needs are met
- Animals and plants reproduce. Offspring frequently have characteristics that resemble but are not identical to the parents of the organism
- Humans have organs (like heart and lungs), bones and muscles that allow our body to function
- Humans can make decisions that effect our survival, including eating the proper foods and taking care of our health
- The five senses provide us with an awareness of the world in which we live
- We can learn about extinct species and earth’s history by observing evidence, making comparisons, recreating models and asking questions
Physical Science
- Matter can exist in different states, including solid, liquid, and gas
- Materials can be identified based on their characteristic properties
Earth Science
- Daily changes in the weather can be observed and recorded
- Sustainability, climate change, and pollution are different ways humans leave footprints on earth
Processes of Science
Children will:
- Ask questions about their observations, such as, “What would happen if? How can I make it happen? What makes it happen?”
- Make predictions based on prior experience
- Use data to construct explanations
- Communicate observations and explanations through writing, discussions, drawings and simple graphs
- Work collaboratively with other students
Language
Communication
- Enjoy listening to and using spoken and written language
- Use talk to clarify thinking, ideas, feelings and events
- Speak clearly with confidence and show awareness of the listener
- Extend their vocabulary, exploring the meanings and sounds of new words
- Sustain attentive listening, responding to what they have heard
- Use language to organize and clarify thoughts
Reading
- Students use word analysis – Letter sounds, blending vowel sounds
- Students learn to use reading strategies – Context clues, picture clues, phonics, and sentence structure
- Students develop comprehension through predicting outcomes, main idea sequencing, and locating facts
- Students develop appreciation for literature by sharing, retelling and listening to stories and poems
- Students acquire new vocabulary from guided reading, listening, literature content areas, and thematic units
- Students develop fluency in reading expression
Language and Writing
- Students develop grammar skills – Punctuation, writing stories, speaking and writing in complete sentences, capitalization
- Writing in journals, writing stories, letters, poetry, creating simple books
- Beginning to write for various purposes such as lists, instructions, or stories
Handwriting
- Students develop letter formation
- Left to right, return sweep
- Spacing between words
- Writing on lines, neatly
Drama
Explore and perform ideas and themes through improvisation and role-play.
Spelling
- Students become aware of spelling rules and patterns
- Students participate in regular spelling instruction
- Sounding out letters to write simple words
Deutsch
Die Schwerpunkte der 1. Klasse sind:
- alle Buchstaben und Laute benennen und erkennen können unter Förderung aller Sinne
- Buchstaben zu einem Wort zusammenlesen
- Schreiben aller Buchstaben
- ersten Wortschatz aufbauen
Lesen
- gleiche Buchstaben in verschiedenen Wörtern feststellen, von anderen unterscheiden und kennzeichnen
- Laute und Buchstaben austauschen und neue Wörter entstehen lassen
- in vielseitigen Übungen jeden Buchstaben den ihm entsprechenden Laut zuordnen
- Einprägen von ausgewählten Wörtern durch oftmaliges Anbieten ihres Schrift- und Klangbildes
- Übungen zum raschen Wiedererkennen von Wörtern
- aufbauendes Zusammenlesen zunächst von bekannten, dann von unbekannten Wörtern; Erfassen ihrer Bedeutung
- mit lustbetonten Materialien Motivation der Kinder fördern
Schreiben
- Erarbeitung aller Buchstaben des Alfabets unter Einbeziehung aller Sinne
- Bewegungsabläufe von der Grobmotorik in Richtung Feinmotorik überführen
- Schulung der Auge-Hand-Koordination
- Schreibhaltung; Erfahrung im Umgang mit verschiedenen Schreibgeräten auf unterschiedlichen Schreibflächen sammeln
- Buchstaben formgerecht und im richtigen Bewegungsablauf ausführen
- formgerechtes und geordnetes Schreiben
Rechtschreibung
- einen begrenzten Wortschatz sicher beherrschen
Sprachbetrachtung
- Einsicht in Sprache durch spielerischen Umgang mit sprachlichen Elementen (zB Reime, unsinnige Wörter)
- Wortarten: Namenwort, Tunwort, Begleiter
Mathematik
Die Schwerpunkte der 1. Klasse sind:
- Zahlenraum 20
- Addition und Subtraktion
- Zahlenverständnis aufbauen
Aufbau der natürlichen Zahlen
- Entwickeln des Zahlenbegriffs 20
- Entwickeln grundlegender mathematischer Fähigkeiten (unterscheiden, vergleichen, zuordnen)
- Lesen und Schreiben von Ziffern bzw. Zahlen
- Vorgänger und Nachfolger bestimmen
- Gerade und ungerade Zahlen bestimmen
- operatives Durchforschen von Zahlen
Rechenoperationen
- Verstehen der Operationsstrukturen (dazugeben, wegnehmen, ergänzen)
- zu grafischen Darstellungen Rechenaufgaben bilden und lösen
- Rechenoperationen im additiven Bereich
- Sammeln von Grunderfahrungen zu multiplikativen Operationen im kleineren Zahlenraum
- Zehnerüber- und –unterschreitung
- Relationszeichen kennen lernen (< = ? >)
- spielerisches Umgehen mit Zahlen und Operationen (Rechenpuzzles, Zahlenrätsel …)
- Lösen von Sachproblemen
- mathematisieren von Spiel- und Sachsituationen nur aus dem kindlichen Lebensbereich
Größen
- Entwickeln von Vorstellungen zu Größen (bewusstes Erleben von Zeitabläufen, Geldwert)
- Operieren mit Größen (vergleichen, ordnen, messen)
- Geldbeträge notieren, Anzahl und Geldbeträge vergleichen
- Gewichtsmaß Kilogramm
- Raummaß Liter
- Längenmaß Meter
- Zeitmaß Tag und Stunde
Geometrie
- räumliche Positionen und Lagebeziehungen
- Richtungen und Richtungsänderungen angeben
- Untersuchen von Körpern
- Hantieren mit Würfeln und kugelförmigen Körpern aus der Umwelt des Kindes und Erfassen ihrer Eigenschaften
- spielerisches Gestalten mit Körpern und Flächen
Social Studies
Focus: To learn to use maps, globes, graphs, charts and diagrams for a better understanding of history and geography as well as learning good social skills and an appreciation of diversity.
Areas of Study:
All About Me
- Students share information about themselves and their families
- Students learn the importance of rules in different settings
World
- Appreciation of diversity
- Historical figures
- Holidays through the year
Map Skills
- Students learn basic map skills
Community
- Students learn about community workers
- Community Service Projects
Calendar Work
- Seasons of the year
Physical Education
Focus: The physical education program challenges each individual student to perform to the best of his/her ability in areas of safety, large and small muscle coordination, aerobic conditioning and exercise, movement patterning, body awareness, team play and cooperative learning.
Art
Focus: Students will be encouraged to:
- Develop problem solving skills
- Develop good work ethics and craftsmanship
- Accept and appreciate cultural differences and other points of view
- Become familiar with the works of famous artists
- Express themselves creatively through various art mediums (drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking and crafts)