1st Grade
Catholic identity must and does permeate the curriculum guidelines, the instruction, and assessments. Curriculum guidelines provide a template for teachers to provide instruction, and assessments demonstrate that learners have achieved unsurpassed academic success. A process of continuous improvement ensures that curriculum guidelines are regularly examined and updated or revised where needed. For more detailed curriculum information, please visit olsorrows.com or contact Mrs. Andrea Allen, Assistant Principal, [email protected].
RELIGION
The emphasis of the first grade curriculum is for students to grow to know, love, and trust God. Our students learn prayers through daily prayer, morning prayer, prayer before lunch, prayer at the end of the day, and school Mass. They will have an Introduction to the Trinity, with emphasis on the life of Jesus, the plan of salvation, and the child's part in the plan.
READING
Students use the Wonders curriculum which provides differentiation for students while strengthening reading skills and confidence. These skills are taught using mini-lessons and a centers-based approach. Students are encouraged to grow in comprehension and reading fluency. Students are challenged to formulate questions before, during and after reading, while identifying the main ideas in a text. Students also focus on text features of fiction and non-fiction books. In first grade, there is a strong focus on phonic skills and reading strategies. Our children read “good fit” books which challenge students without going beyond their ability. They do all this with the goal of fostering a love of reading.
WRITING
Students use the Zaner-Bloser handwriting series to practice forming letters accurately. Students also focus on many forms of writing including: narrative writing, how-to writing, non-fiction writing, and opinion writing. Students are also encouraged to focus on journal and creative writing to help them communicate their through and ideas through writing. Students also are introduced to formal elements of grammar such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
SOCIAL STUDIES
In first grade, students move on to explore the neighborhood. They learn map skills through activities like drawing and reading maps of bedrooms, houses, classrooms, and neighborhoods. They also focus on past, present, and future and how communities evolve over time. Students also focus on people and buildings in neighborhoods and how they help communities.
SCIENCE
In first grade, through the FOSS program, students discover the differences between living and non-living things, sound & light, and the atmosphere. The year is divided into three units: air & weather (seasons, types of weather, severe weather safety), sound and light (observe sound and light as well as manipulate sound and light), and the year concludes with a focus on plants and animals (life cycles, food chains, animal habitats).
MATH
In first grade, through Progress in Math, the main focus is on addition and subtraction up to 20. Some time is spent on measurement, geometry, and problem solving. Students also learn to count money and tell time to the hour and half hour. The students study the concepts of sorting, patterns, whole numbers, fractions, addition, subtraction, fact families, vertical and horizontal problems, collecting data, sharing, counting by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s, problem solving strategies, graphs, charts, number lines, money, and measurement.
Textbooks
The textbooks we use are evaluated on a five year cycle. We choose books based on curriculum alignment, grade level appropriateness, and overall quality.