1st Grade Curriculum
- Art
- Language Arts
- Library
- Math
- Music
- Phsyical Education
- Reading
- Science
- Social Studies / History
- Spanish
- Technology
Art
- continuation of SK curriculum
- introduction to observational drawing -- simple still life and figure
- emphasis upon overlapping and size relationships within compositional space
- color mixing with emphasis on hot and cool colors
- woodworking -- emphasizing size and space relationships, introduction to new tools
- pottery -- continued imaginative approach to manipulating clay; introduction of theme-based projects; introduction to pinch, coil, and slab methods of hand-building with emphasis on pinch method for construction; emphasis on making secure clay connections
- decorating with glazes
Language Arts
- spelling -- patterns, sounds, letters, and meanings
- complete sentences, simple punctuation, capitalization
- handwriting skills
- dramatization
- creative writing -- following a language pattern
- author studies
- reading in the content area
- story mapping -- application of knowledge to writing
- summaries -- using “magic sequence words”
- iPad activities
Library
- enjoy visiting authors and illustrators
- reinforce classroom language arts benchmarks, e.g., decoding of new words, predicting a story’s outcome, describing a story’s narrative elements, etc.
- continue to develop a sense of reading for pleasure, but also begin to develop the notion of reading for a purpose
- instruction on how a library is organized -- Dewey classification system and how to read an online card catalog entry
Math
(all math concepts taught with manipulatives)
- primary mathematics
- computation -- addition and subtraction facts
- place value through 1,000
- joining, separating, and comparing sets
- double- and triple-digit addition and subtraction with and without regrouping
- logic, reasoning and problem-solving
- introduction to simple fractions
- multiplication and division -- beginning concepts
- estimation
- making and interpreting graphs
- measurement -- unit concept
- time -- concept of hour, half-hour, quarter-hour, five-minute increments
- iPad activities -- various apps for facts practice, money
Music
- expand on the musical concepts taught in JK and SK
- celebrate the music of America as well as the state of Massachusetts through rhythmic chanting, melodic call and response, music notation and phrasing
- introduce the difference between beat and rhythm, simple forms in music, and singing two-part harmony
- celebrate the songs and dances of children around the world as students prepare for their class assembly
- explore songs and music about trees, butterflies and dinosaurs correlating with the science curriculum
- participation in various assemblies: Thanksgiving/Grandfriends’ and Revels (with 4th grade buddies), Holiday and Fine Arts Night (with SK and 2nd grade)
- share songs with residents at assisted living facilities
Phsyical Education
Reading
- phonics -- recognize in reading and writing regular consonants and short and long vowels, some digraphs and blends, contractions, compound words, and homophones
- continuing development of vocabulary, structural analysis and comprehension
- sharing literature through poetry, trade books, novels, read-alouds, and anthologies
- promoting enjoyment of reading and literature
- within writing, moving from inventive to approximate spelling
- applying prefixes, suffixes and plurals
- answering comprehension questions in complete sentences
- recognizing and using language patterns in reading and writing
- writing narratives with story map elements -- setting, characters, problem, goal, episodes, resolution -- after analyzing in literature
- story time with Head of School
- iPad activities
Science
Social Studies / History
- reinforce awareness and understanding of the children’s membership in many communities: school, city/town,state, country, and continent
- overview of the seven continents
- knowledge of geographical locations
- exploring for meaning, different holidays celebrated in the U.S.
- sharing personal talents and qualities
- reading strategies for gathering information from non-fiction books
- Open Circle social-emotional learning program
- study of the state of Massachusetts
- All Working at Racial Equity (AWARE) curriculum
- iPad activities -- culturegrams, research on specific countries
Spanish
- emphasis on listening and speaking proficiency using a natural approach to language learning
- learning through songs, stories, role-playing, games and movement
- topics include physical characteristics, numbers to 100, days of the week, weather, health and well-being, a fairy tale, and parts of the body
- cross-curricular ties include art and music as well as themes of apples, dinosaurs, rainforests around the world, and children around the Spanish-speaking world
Technology
- academic technology skills
- open, close, save, export, and print files on tablets and computers
- use software to create more advanced animation
- use presentation and drawing software to share learning with others
- use online resources for basic research
- learn shortcut keys (copy, paste, print, quit)
- programming/robotics
- basic BeeBot programming/coding skills
- advanced robotics programming and storytelling
- engineering/CAD skills
- building and constructing
- elementary engineering unit
- computer-aided design (CAD) - 3D design and printing
- digital citizenship
- what is the Internet?
- digital safety: Avoiding Ads
- digital footprint: Follow the Digi Trail
- safe searching: Inventors & Inventions