1st Grade Curriculum

Listed below are the skill sets and knowledge expected of all first grade students by the end of the year. Please be aware of these expectations and work in cooperation with your child's teacher to assist your child in acquiring these skills. If you have any questions about the expectations, please contact your building principal. The expectations are separated into the four core curriculum areas and then specials (art, music, and physical education).

Language Arts

Reading

• Know letter-sound relationships
• Use phonics and word structure clues
• Recognize 120 high frequency words
• Use reading and comprehension strategies
• Identify story elements
• Read fluently with expression

Writing

• Write complete sentences using correct capital letters, end marks, grammar, and spelling of high frequency words
• Write a story: opening sentence, three details, closing sentence
• Express ideas clearly in written form

Listening

• Demonstrate the ability to listen
• Respond appropriately during discussions

Approved Textbook: Harcourt Collections, 2001

Mathematics

• Count, read, write, order, compare numbers to 100
• Solve basic addition facts to 20
• Solve basic subtraction facts from 20
• Understand problem solving strategies
• Understand number sense: patterns, odd/even, ordinal numbers, skip counting, place value
• Describe and label graphs
• Identify and count like coins
• Identify shapes and symmetry
• Describe fractions (1/2, 1/8, 1/4)
• Describe chronological order
• Measure using non-standard units

Approved Textbook: Harcourt Illinois Edition, 2007

Science

Scientific Inquiry (Problem, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedures, Results, Conclusion)

• Follow order of steps in a simple experiment
• Collect and compare data

Life:

• Understand the basic needs and differences of living things (plants/animals) and group according to similar characteristics
• Compare life cycles of plants/animals and how they adapt to their environment
• Describe how living things relate to survival (predator/prey food chain)

Physical:

• Describe and give examples of gases, liquids, and solids
• Sort and classify objects by physical properties
• Introduce push/pull
• Explore magnetism

Health:

• Personal Safety
• Understand body systems
• Good health habits

Approved Textbook: Harcourt Science, 2002

Social Science

• Identify the leaders of local, state, and national government (mayor, governor, president)
• Identify goods and services
• Describe how wages/salaries can be earned
• Describe how communities change
• Use map and globe skills to identify physical characteristics of places (local, global)

Approved Textbook: Harcourt Social Studies, 2000

Physical Education

• Demonstrate fundamental locomotor and non-locomotor skills
• Demonstrate fundamental manipulative skills (throwing, dribbling, etc)
• Identify and apply rules and safety procedures
• Identify characteristics of health-related fitness
• Develop team building skills

Art

• Identify primary & secondary colors
• Create different type of lines
• Create different types of shapes
• Demonstrate patterns
• Identify texture
• Demonstrate correct usage of supplies

Music

• Identify/demonstrate loud and soft qualities
• Identify/demonstrate high and low pitches
• Identify/demonstrate long and short qualities
• Identify accompanied and unaccompanied pieces
• Identify sounds of various instrument families
• Identify the steady and strong beat

Approved Textbook: MacMillan Spotlight on Music, 2005