First grade is a very important year for students. It is in first grade that they will be introduced to concepts that they will continue to build upon for the rest of their academic years. First grade students will be instructed in Religion, Grammar, Mathematics, Vocabulary, Science, Social Studies, Handwriting, Phonics, Spelling, Reading, PE, Music, Art, Computers and Spanish.

Here are some of the new and exciting standards for first grade:

Religion:

saints, angels, sacraments, seasons of the church, adoration, rosary and the 10 Commandments

Grammar:

nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, contractions, compound words, subject and predicate

Math:

addition and subtraction strategies, counting money, telling time, estimation, symmetry

Vocabulary:

learning the meaning of words, how to use in a sentence, synonyms and antonyms

Science:

Earth’s materials, space, life cycles, animal habitats, the inquiry process and plant life

Social Studies:

families, communities, early Americans, model citizens, geography and economics

Handwriting:

correct formation of numbers, upper and lower case letters with emphasis on alignment, line orientation and spacing

Phonics:

digraphs, suffixes, root words, long and short vowels, word families, end rhyme, sight words and high frequency words

Spelling:

a focus on decodable words, sight words and usage

Writing:

Using the 6 + 1 Writing Traits, we will express our thoughts and what we know from all different subject areas.

 

Typically, in a year we try to take the children on three field trips. Each one is correlated with an objective that reinforces what we are doing in class. We have weekly homework and word tests. We celebrate the seasons with fall, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and End-of-the-Year parties. We celebrate birthdays and have a weekly star student. Our grade level service project is a visit once a month to an Assisted Living community to play games and talk with grand friends. We have an opportunity to host Monday prayer, mass and Friday courtyard prayer. First grade is filled with real life connections, service to our Lord and a ton of laughs. We lose a lot of teeth, grow like weeds and have fun doing it!