Art

Students in first grade will learn about art elements and principles in a way that prepares them for art throughout Lower School. The students will be led in art activities by their homeroom teacher and will be allowed to creatively express themselves while displaying their knowledge of art in both the classroom as well as application to real-world situations.

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Language Arts

Through modeled, shared, small group and one-on-one reading, students develop skills in re-telling, making connections, making predictions, sequencing, and synthesizing. A large variety of book-study units on fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and multicultural books are used to help students learn to read for meaning. Phonemic awareness is emphasized through letter/sound association, hard-consonant sounds, hard and soft-vowel sounds, and digraphs and blends. By using guided reading, independent work, sight-word practice, and comprehension exercises, the children will increase their confidence and reading abilities. Through creative writing projects, students will build spelling, punctuation, and grammar skills. Students practice descriptive, narrative, and expository writing. The students will have many opportunities to write creatively and work through the writing process. Writing is integrated into science, social studies, and math.

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Mathematics

Our Singapore Math program focuses on concrete, pictorial, and abstract skills, as well as model drawing and problem-solving strategies. This allows the students to approach math in a meaningful way and understand mathematical concepts first and then learn and use formulaic expressions. The curriculum introduces and reinforces counting, number bonds, addition and subtraction, numerical patterns, money, time, non-standard measurement, capacity, and beginner multiplication and division. Students are given daily opportunities to apply their skills to word problem and problem-solving activities.

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Science

The first grade science curriculum provides students with the foundations for observing, communicating, measuring, comparing, describing, classifying, predicting, collecting and interpreting data. It is built to foster curiosity, inventiveness, persistence, and enthusiasm. Children learn by doing and reflecting upon this active learning. Materials from a variety of programs are utilized to explore the scientific method, states of matter, air and weather, magnets, the water cycle, animals, habitats, light and sound, the five senses, food nutrition, and living and non-living things.

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Social Studies

In first grade social studies, students learn about charts, maps, and globes to explore the earth’s geographic features. Students develop the awareness of others as they come to understand their role within the family unit, the community, and our country. We also study goods and services, Native Americans, presidents, Canada, and important figures in American history.

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Spanish

The first grade Spanish curriculum is largely based on oral development as students are introduced to the sounds of Spanish through carefully selected vocabulary giving students opportunities for successful communication in the target language. The program continues to development an awareness of cultural similarities and differences of the Spanish-speaking world. Students develop and expand this awareness through songs, dialogues, role-playing, skits, puppets, and games. The structure of the Spanish program creates a safe and fun environment for students to learn.