First Grade
Academics:
Below you
will find a summary of the things your child will learn in first grade based on
the
Texas
Essential Knowledge and Skills that are given to us by the State of Texas.
ENGLISH
LANGUAGE ARTS AND READING
In Grade 1,
students continue to develop their oral language and communication skills and
move
to becoming
independent readers and writers. First grade students listen attentively and
connect
their
experiences and ideas with information and ideas presented in print. Students
listen and
respond to a
wide variety of children's literature, including selections from classic and contemporary
works. The stories and informational books students hear introduce them to new vocabulary.
Students recognize the distinguishing features of stories, poems, and
informational texts. First grade students continue to develop their concepts of
how print connects with spoken language. Students understand that spoken
language is composed of sequences of sounds and that those sounds are
represented by letters. Students can name the letters and know the order of the
alphabet and associate sounds with the letter or letters that represent them.
Students learn most of the common letter-sound correspondences and use this
knowledge to help them decode written words. First grade students regularly read
(both orally and silently) in texts of appropriate difficulty with fluency and
understanding. Students demonstrate their comprehension by asking and answering
questions, retelling stories, predicting outcomes, and making and explaining
inferences.
First grade
students become adept writers. Students know the difference between words, sentences,
and paragraphs. First grade students can organize their thoughts and ideas into
complete stories or reports. Students use subjects and verbs and are able to
write complete sentences using basic capitalization and punctuation. First
grade students become more proficient spellers as they learn to spell a number
of high-frequency words and words with regularly spelled patterns. The
students' messages move from left-to-right and from top-to-bottom and are
written with increasing control of penmanship.
MATHEMATICS
Within a
well-balanced mathematics curriculum, the primary focal points at Grade 1 are
building number sense through number relationships, adding and subtracting
whole numbers, organizing and analyzing data, and working with two- and
three-dimensional geometric figures. Throughout mathematics in
Kindergarten-Grade 2, students build a foundation of basic understandings in number,
operation, and quantitative reasoning; patterns, relationships, and algebraic
thinking; geometry and spatial reasoning; measurement; and probability and
statistics. Students use numbers in ordering, labeling, and expressing
quantities and relationships to solve problems and translate informal language
into mathematical language and symbols. Students use objects to create and
identify patterns and use those patterns to express relationships, make
predictions, and solve problems as they build an understanding of number,
operation, shape, and space. Students progress from informal to formal language
to describe two- and three-dimensional geometric figures and likenesses in the
physical world. Students begin to develop measurement concepts as they identify
and compare attributes of objects and situations. Students collect, organize,
and display data and use information from graphs to answer questions, make
summary statements, and make informal predictions based on their experiences.
Throughout
mathematics in Kindergarten-Grade 2, students develop numerical fluency with conceptual
understanding and computational accuracy. Students in Kindergarten-Grade 2 use
basic number sense to compose and decompose numbers in order to solve problems
requiring precision, estimation, and reasonableness. By the end of Grade 2,
students know basic addition and subtraction fact and are using them to work
flexibly, efficiently, and accurately with numbers during addition and
subtraction computation. Problem solving, language and communication,
connections within and outside mathematics, and formal and informal reasoning
underlie all content areas in mathematics. Throughout mathematics in
Kindergarten-Grade 2, students use these processes together with technology and
other mathematical tools such as manipulative materials to develop conceptual understanding
and solve meaningful problems as they do mathematics.
SCIENCE
In Grade 1,
the study of science includes simple classroom and field investigations to help
students develop the skills of asking questions, gathering information, making
measurements using non-standard units, with tools such as a thermometer to
extend their senses, constructing explanations, and drawing conclusions.
Students also use computers and information technology tools to support their
investigations. As students learn science skills, they identify components of
the natural world including rocks, soil, and natural resources. Students observe
that heat from the Sun or friction is an example of something that causes
change. In addition, students identify basic needs of living things, explore
ways that living things depend on each other, and separate living organisms and
nonliving things into groups. Students identify parts that can be put together
with other parts to do new things.
Science is a
way of learning about the natural world. Students should know how science has
built a vast body of changing and increasing knowledge described by physical,
mathematical, and conceptual models, and also should know that science may not
answer all questions. A system is a collection of cycles, structures, and
processes that interact. Students should understand a whole in terms of its
components and how these components relate to each other and to the whole. All
systems have basic properties that can be described in terms of space, time,
energy, and matter. Change and constancy occur in systems and can be observed
and measured as patterns. These patterns help to predict what will happen next
and can change over time. Investigations are used to learn about the natural
world. Students should understand that certain types of questions can be
answered by investigations, and that methods, models, and conclusions built
from these investigations change as new observations are made. Models of objects
and events are tools for understanding the natural world and can show how
systems work. They have limitations and based on new discoveries are constantly
being modified to more closely reflect the natural world.
SOCIAL
STUDIES
In Grade 1,
students learn about their relationship to the classroom, school, and
community. The concepts of time and chronology are developed by distinguishing
among past, present, and future events. Students identify anthems and mottoes
of the United States and Texas. Students make simple maps to identify the
location of places in the classroom, school, and community.
The concepts
of goods and services and the value of work are introduced. Students identify historic
figures and ordinary people who exhibit good citizenship. Students describe the
importance of family customs and traditions and identify how technology has changed
family life. Students sequence and categorize information. To support the
teaching of the essential knowledge and skills, the use of a variety of rich material
such as biographies; folktales, myths, and legends; and poetry, songs, and
artworks is encouraged. Selections may include a children's biography of
Abraham Lincoln. Motivating resources are also available from museums,
historical sites, presidential libraries, and local and state preservation
societies. The eight strands of the essential knowledge and skills for social
studies are intended to be integrated for instructional purposes. Skills listed
in the geography and social studies skills strands should be incorporated into
the teaching of all essential knowledge and skills for social studies. A
greater depth of understanding of complex content material can be attained when
integrated social studies content from the various disciplines and
critical-thinking skills are taught together. Throughout social studies in Kindergarten-Grade
12, students build a foundation in history; geography; economics; government;
citizenship; culture; science, technology, and society; and social studies
skills. The content, as appropriate for the grade level or course, enables
students to understand the importance of patriotism, function in a free
enterprise society, and appreciate the basic democratic values of our state and
nation as referenced in the Texas Education Code, §28.002(h).
HEALTH
In health
education, students acquire the health information and skills necessary to
become healthy adults and learn about behaviors in which they should and should
not participate. To achieve that goal, students will understand the following:
students should first seek guidance in the area of health from their parents;
personal behaviors can increase or reduce health risks throughout the lifespan;
health is influenced by a variety of factors; students can recognize and
utilize health information and products; and personal/interpersonal skills are needed
to promote individual, family, and community health.
In Grade 1,
students learn more about their bodies and how to care for themselves. Students
also begin to learn that relationships exist between behaviors and health, and
that there are community helpers such as nurses and doctors who help them stay
healthy. In Grade 1, students also learn skills to help them make friends,
resolve conflicts, and solve problems.
PHYSICAL
EDUCATION
In Physical
Education, students acquire the knowledge and skills for movement that provide
the foundation for enjoyment, continued social development through physical
activity, and access to a physically active lifestyle. The student exhibits a
physically active lifestyle and understands the relationship between physical
activity and health throughout the lifespan.
First grade
students continue to develop basic body control, fundamental movement skills,
and health-related fitness components such as strength, endurance, and
flexibility. Students can state key performance cues for basic movement patterns
such as throwing and catching. Students continue to learn rules and procedures
for simple games and apply safety practices associated with physical
activities.
ART
Four basic
strands--perception, creative expression/performance, historical and cultural heritage,
and critical evaluation--provide broad, unifying structures for organizing the knowledge
and skills students are expected to acquire. Students rely on their perceptions
of the environment, developed through increasing visual awareness and sensitivity
to surroundings, memory, imagination, and life experiences, as a source for
creating artworks. They express their thoughts and ideas creatively, while
challenging their imagination, fostering reflective thinking, and developing
disciplined effort and problem-solving skills. By analyzing artistic styles and
historical periods students develop respect for the traditions and
contributions of diverse cultures. Students respond to and analyze artworks,
thus contributing to the development of lifelong skills of making informed
judgments and evaluations.
MUSIC
Four basic
strands--perception, creative expression/performance, historical and cultural heritage,
and critical evaluation--provide broad, unifying structures for organizing the knowledge
and skills students are expected to acquire. In music, students develop their intellect
and refine their emotions, understanding the cultural and creative nature of
musical artistry and making connections among music, the other arts,
technology, and other aspects of social life. Through creative performance,
students apply the expressive technical skills of music and critical-thinking
skills to evaluate multiple forms of problem solving. By reflecting on musical
periods and styles, students understand music's role in history and are able to
participate successfully in a diverse society. Students analyze and evaluate
music, developing criteria for making critical judgments and informed choices.
TECHNOLOGY
APPLICATIONS
The
technology applications curriculum has four strands: foundations, information
acquisition, work in solving problems, and communication. Through the study of
technology applications foundations, including technology-related terms,
concepts, and data input strategies; students learn to make informed decisions
about technologies and their applications. The efficient acquisition of
information includes the identification of task requirements; the plan for
using search strategies; and the use of technology to access, analyzes, and
evaluates the acquired information. By using technology as a tool that supports
the work of individuals and groups in solving problems, students will select
the technology appropriate for the task, synthesize knowledge, create a solution,
and evaluate the results. Students communicate information in different formats
and to diverse audiences. A variety of technologies will be used. Students will
analyze and evaluate the results.