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1st Grade

  Students in the first grade are opened up to a whole new world of learning. Classes become more structured and information is presented in a more formal setting. 

By the end of the year, students will be independent readers and will have basic grammar skills including capitalization and punctuation.  They will also write in clear sentences and write short stories consisting of three or more sentences. In math, they will be able to count, sequence and write numbers up to 100. They will also be able to add and subtract two-digit numbers up to 20. 

The 1st grade core courses include; English Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science. We strive to provide an enriching academic curriculum in English using the Reading Street curriculum (new curriculum in 2023-2024), in Math using the McGraw Hill My Math, in Science using the Interactive Science curriculum, and in Social Studies using thematic units in order to meet the Alabama educational standards for First Grade. Our core curriculum is implemented along with an enriched and unique Arabic and Islamic Studies program guided by experienced instructors. 

Objectives/ Alabama State Standards

English/Language Arts

Foundational Skills

  • Recognize the features of a sentence, including capitalization of first word and ending punctuation 
  • Distinguish long vowel sounds from short vowel sounds; Decode one syllable words 
  • Isolate and pronounce beginning, middle and ending sounds in words; Segment words into sounds
  • Know common digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh) 
  • Know conventions of long vowel sounds including silent e and two vowels together (ee, ai, etc.) 
  • Read words with inflectional endings; Break some 2 syllable words into syllables to decode 
  • Read grade level high-frequency words by sight 
  • Use context to monitor for meaning; Self-correct as needed  Read grade level texts with accuracy, appropriate rate, expression and understanding 

Reading Standards for Informational Text and Literature

  • Know/use text features including headings, table of contents, glossaries and electronic menus/icons 
  • Retell familiar stories; Ask and answer questions about key details of a text 
  • Identify characters, setting and major events in a story; Identify main topic and key ideas 
  • Explain differences between fiction and nonfiction 
  • Identify words/ phrases that suggest feelings; Identify who is telling story 
  • Compare and contrast texts on the same topic; Compare and contrast experiences of characters 
  • Describe the connections between individuals, events and ideas in texts

Writing Standards

  • Write opinion pieces including topic or name of book, an opinion and justification for that opinion
  • Write informative pieces with topic, facts about topic and a sense of closure
  • Write narrative pieces with two or more sequenced events, details and a sense of closure
  • Add details to strengthen writing; Use digital tools to publish writing Speaking and Listening Standards
  • Participate in conversations about First Grade topics and texts; Seek to understand others
  • Follow agreed upon rules for discussions (listening and taking turns talking, staying on topic, etc.) 
  • Clearly express ideas while describing familiar people, places, things and events 
  • Produce complete sentences; Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says 

Language Standards

  • Print all upper- and lowercase letters 
  • Use nouns and pronouns appropriately; Use verbs to convey past, present and future
  • Use adjectives, prepositions (such as during/toward) and conjunctions (such as but/or/because) 
  • Write and expand upon complete sentences (statements, exclamations and questions) 
  • Capitalize dates and names; Use ending punctuation
  • Use conventional spelling for words with common spelling patterns and some irregular words 
  • Spell untaught words phonetically; Draw on knowledge of sounds and spelling patterns 

Maths

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

  • Use addition within 20 to solve problems with unknowns in all positions 
  • Use subtraction within 20 to solve problems with unknowns in all positions 
  • Understand the relationship between addition and subtraction 
  • Solve addition problems using 3 addends 
  • Demonstrate fluency in solving addition and subtraction problems within 20 
  • Relate counting to addition and subtraction
  • Understand meaning of equal sign; Determine if equations are true or false 

Numbers and Operations in Base Ten

  • Count to 120 starting at any number less than 120 
  • Identify and write numerals through 120 
  • Understand that the two digits of a two digit number represent the amount of tens and ones
  • Compare two digit numbers using the following symbols: <, >, = 
  • Use understanding of place value while solving addition and subtraction problems 
  • Add within 100 using concrete models, drawings and base ten strategies
  • Subtract multiples of 10 from multiples of 10 using concrete models, drawings and base ten strategies 

Measurements and Data

  • Understand the concept of measuring length
  • Compare the lengths of two objects indirectly using a third object
  • Tell and write time to the hour and half-hour using analog and digital clocks 
  • Organize, represent and interpret data with up to 3 categories; Ask and answer questions about data Geometry 
  • Identify and describe two and three dimensional shapes
  • Build and draw shapes to possess defining attributes
  • Compose 2 dimensional shapes: rectangles, squares, trapezoids, triangles, half-circles, quarter circles 
  • Compose 3 dimensional shapes: cubes, rectangular prisms, cones, cylinders
  • Partition circles and rectangles into two and four equal shares 
  • Describe equal shares using the words halves, fourths and quarters

Science

Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer 

  • Conduct experiments to provide evidence that vibrations of matter can create sound and sound can make matter vibrate 
  • Construct explanations from observations that objects can be seen only when light is available to illuminate them 
  • Investigate materials to determine which types allow light to pass through , allow only partial light to pass through, block light , or reflect light
  • Design and construct a device that uses light or sound to send a communication signal over a distance 

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

  • Design a solution to a human problem by using materials to imitate how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs 
  • Obtain information to provide evidence that parents and their offspring engage in patterns of behavior that help the offspring survive

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

  • Make observations to identify the similarities and differences of offspring to their parents and to other members of the same species 

Earth’s Place in the Universe

  • Observe, describe, and predict patterns of the sun, moon, and stars as they appear in the sky 
  • Observe seasonal patterns of sunrise and sunset to describe the relationship between the number of hours of daylight and the time of year 

Social Studies

  • Construct daily schedules, calendars, and timelines.   
  • Identify rights and responsibilities of citizens within the local community and   state.
  • Recognize leaders and their roles in the local community and state. 
  • Identify contributions of diverse significant figures that influenced the local  community and state in the past and present.
  • Identify historical events and celebrations within the local community and   throughout Alabama. 
  • Compare ways individuals and groups in the local community and state lived   in the past to how they live today. 
  • Describe how occupational and recreational opportunities in the local   community and state are affected by the physical environment.
  • Identify land masses, bodies of water, and other physical features on maps and  globes. Differentiate between natural resources and human-made products.  
  • Describe the role of money in everyday life.  
  • Identify traditions and contributions of various cultures in the local community and state. 
  • Compare common and unique characteristics in societal groups, including age, religious beliefs, ethnicity, persons with disabilities, and equality between genders.