Curriculum

First Grade Curriculum Overview

Reading
First graders want to read, listen to, and talk about a wide range of books, including picture books, poems, short chapter books, and short informational materials. They are able to predict, sequence, and summarize story events. They expect the text to make sense, and, if necessary, they make a second attempt and reread. These students talk about themselves a readers.

Writing
First graders write to tell about an experience, to tell a story, or to describe. They use both words and picture. They use phonetic or “temporary” spelling as a strategy, but are growing in their knowledge of standard spelling.

Mathematics
The mathematics curriculum is organized into five strands:
(1) number and operations; (2) measurement; (3) geometry; (4) data analysis and probability; and, (5) algebra. Problem-solving strategies are embedded into each of the 5 strands.

Social Studies
First graders build on kindergarten concepts related to other children, families, home, and school. They compare their own home and school life with children in environments and societies different from their own. During this year, they become more individually responsible.

Science
The focus for first grade students is using their senses to make observations and using their own rules to classify living and nonliving objects.
Science Concepts: The needs of living organisms, Understanding of solid earth materials, Properties & relationships of objects, Understanding of motion, balance, and weighing of objects

Art/Music
Arts Education includes four separate and distinct disciplines; dance, music, theatre arts, and visual arts—each with its own body of knowledge and skills, The intent of the National Standards for Arts Education, along with the standard courses of study in each area, is that a comprehensive understanding of one or more of the arts is accomplished by each student throughout the K-12 Program.

Health/PE
The Healthful Living Education program promotes behaviors that contribute to a healthful life-style and improved quality of life for all students. The Healthful Living Education portions of the NC Standard Course of Study support and reinforce the goals and objectives of its two major components—health education and physical education.