Grade 1
CURRICULUM
I. ENGLISH
Reading
1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development
Students understand the basic features of reading. They select letter patterns and know
how to translate them into spoken language by using phonics, syllabication, and word
parts. They apply this knowledge to achieve fluent oral and silent reading.
Concepts About Print
1.1 Match oral words to printed words.
1.2 Identify the title and author of a reading selection.
1.3 Identify letters, words, and sentences.
Phonemic Awareness
1.4 Distinguish initial, medial, and final sounds in single-syllable words.
1.5 Distinguish long- and short-vowel sounds in orally stated single-syllable words
(e.g., bit/bite).
1.6 Create and state a series of rhyming words, including consonant blends.
1.7 Add, delete, or change target sounds to change words (e.g., change cow to how; pan to an).
1.8 Blend two to four phonemes into recognizable words (e.g., /c/a/t/ = cat; /f/l/a/t/ = flat).
1.9 Segment single-syllable words into their components (e.g., cat = /c/a/t/; splat = /s/p/l/a/t/;
rich = /r/i/ch/).
Decoding and Word Recognition
1.10 Generate the sounds from all the letters and letter patterns, including consonant blends
and long- and short-vowel patterns (i.e., phonograms), and blend those sounds into
recognizable words.
1.11 Read common, irregular sight words (e.g., the, have, said, come, give, of).
1.12 Use knowledge of vowel digraphs and r-controlled letter-sound associations to read
words.
1.13 Read compound words and contractions.
1.14 Read inflectional forms (e.g., -s, -ed, -ing) and root words (e.g., look, looked, looking).
1.15 Read common word families (e.g., -ite, -ate).
1.16 Read aloud with fluency in a manner that sounds like natural speech.
Vocabulary and Concept Development
1.17 Classify grade-appropriate categories of words (e.g., concrete collections of animals,
foods, toys).
2.0 Reading Comprehension
Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. They draw upon a
variety of comprehension strategies as needed (e.g., generating and responding to
essential questions, making predictions, comparing information from several sources).
The selections in Recommended Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve illustrate the
quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students. In addition to their
regular school reading, by grade four, students read one-half million words annually,
including a good representation of grade-level-appropriate narrative and expository text
(e.g., classic and contemporary literature, magazines, newspapers, online information).
In grade one, students begin to make progress toward this goal.
Structural Features of Informational Materials
2.1 Identify text that uses sequence or other logical order.
Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text
2.2 Respond to who, what, when, where, and how questions.
2.3 Follow one-step written instructions.
2.4 Use context to resolve ambiguities about word and sentence meanings.
2.5 Confirm predictions about what will happen next in a text by identifying key words
(i.e., signpost words).
2.6 Relate prior knowledge to textual information.
2.7 Retell the central ideas of simple expository or narrative passages.
3.0 Literary Response and Analysis
Students read and respond to a wide variety of significant works of children’s literature.
They distinguish between the structural features of the text and the literary terms or
elements (e.g., theme, plot, setting, characters). The selections in Recommended Literature,
Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials
to be read by students.
Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text
3.1 Identify and describe the elements of plot, setting, and character(s) in a story, as well as
the story’s beginning, middle, and ending.
3.2 Describe the roles of authors and illustrators and their contributions to print materials.
3.3 Recollect, talk, and write about books read during the school year.
WRITING
1.0 Writing Strategies
Students write clear and coherent sentences and paragraphs that develop a central idea.
Their writing shows they consider the audience and purpose. Students progress through
the stages of the writing process (e.g., prewriting, drafting, revising, editing successive
versions).
Organization and Focus
1.1 Select a focus when writing.
1.2 Use descriptive words when writing.
Penmanship
1.3 Print legibly and space letters, words, and sentences appropriately.
2.0 Writing Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)
Students write compositions that describe and explain familiar objects, events, and
experiences. Student writing demonstrates a command of standard American English
and the drafting, research, and organizational strategies outlined in Writing Standard 1.0.
Using the writing strategies of grade one outlined in Writing Standard 1.0, students:
2.1 Write brief narratives (e.g., fictional, autobiographical) describing an experience.
2.2 Write brief expository descriptions of a real object, person, place, or event, using sensory
details.
Written and oral English language conventions
The standards for written and oral English language conventions have been placed
between those for writing and for listening and speaking because these conventions are
essential to both sets of skills.
1.0 Written and Oral English Language Conventions
Students write and speak with a command of standard English conventions appropriate
to this grade level.
Sentence Structure
1.1 Write and speak in complete, coherent sentences.
Grammar
1.2 Identify and correctly use singular and plural nouns.
1.3 Identify and correctly use contractions (e.g., isn’t, aren’t, can’t, won’t) and singular
possessive pronouns (e.g., my/mine, his/her, hers, your/s) in writing and speaking.
Punctuation
1.4 Distinguish between declarative, exclamatory, and interrogative sentences.
1.5 Use a period, exclamation point, or question mark at the end of sentences.
1.6 Use knowledge of the basic rules of punctuation and capitalization when writing.
Capitalization
1.7 Capitalize the first word of a sentence, names of people, and the pronoun I.
Spelling
1.8 Spell three- and four-letter short-vowel words and grade-level-appropriate sight
words correctly.
Listening and Speaking
1.0 Listening and Speaking Strategies
Students listen critically and respond appropriately to oral communication. They speak
in a manner that guides the listener to understand important ideas by using proper
phrasing, pitch, and modulation.
Comprehension
1.1 Listen attentively.
1.2 Ask questions for clarification and understanding.
1.3 Give, restate, and follow simple two-step directions.
Organization and Delivery of Oral Communication
1.4 Stay on the topic when speaking.
1.5 Use descriptive words when speaking about people, places, things, and events.
2.0 Speaking Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)
Students deliver brief recitations and oral presentations about familiar experiences or
interests that are organized around a coherent thesis statement. Student speaking
demonstrates a command of standard American English and the organizational and delivery
strategies outlined in Listening and Speaking Standard 1.0.
Using the speaking strategies of grade one outlined in Listening and Speaking Standard
1.0, students:
2.1 Recite poems, rhymes, songs, and stories.
2.2 Retell stories using basic story grammar and relating the sequence of story events by
answering who, what, when, where, why, and how questions.
2.3 Relate an important life event or personal experience in a simple sequence.
2.4 Provide descriptions with careful attention to sensory detail.
II. MATH
By the end of grade one, students understand and use the concept of ones and
tens in the place value number system. Students add and subtract small numbers
with ease. They measure with simple units and locate objects in space. They
describe data and analyze and solve simple problems.
Number Sense
1.0 Students understand and use numbers up to 100:
1.1 Count, read, and write whole numbers to 100.
1.2 Compare and order whole numbers to 100 by using the symbols for less than, equal
to, or greater than (<, =, >).
1.3 Represent equivalent forms of the same number through the use of physical mod
els, diagrams, and number expressions (to 20) (e.g., 8 may be represented as 4 + 4,
5 + 3, 2 + 2 + 2 + 2, 10 − 2, 11 − 3).
1.4 Count and group object in ones and tens (e.g., three groups of 10 and 4 equals 34,
or 30 + 4).
1.5 Identify and know the value of coins and show different combinations of coins that
equal the same value.
2.0 Students demonstrate the meaning of addition and subtraction and use these
operations to solve problems:
2.1 Know the addition facts (sums to 20) and the corresponding subtraction facts and
commit them to memory.
2.2 Use the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction to solve problems.
2.3 Identify one more than, one less than, 10 more than, and 10 less than a given
number.
2.4 Count by 2s, 5s, and 10s to 100.
2.5 Show the meaning of addition (putting together, increasing) and subtraction
(taking away, comparing, finding the difference).
2.6 Solve addition and subtraction problems with one- and two-digit numbers
(e.g., 5 + 58 = __).
2.7 Find the sum of three one-digit numbers.
3.0 Students use estimation strategies in computation and problem solving that
involve numbers that use the ones, tens, and hundreds places:
3.1 Make reasonable estimates when comparing larger or smaller numbers.
Algebra and Functions
1.0 Students use number sentences with operational symbols and expressions to
solve problems:
1.1 Write and solve number sentences from problem situations that express relation
ships involving addition and subtraction.
1.2 Understand the meaning of the symbols +, −, =.
1.3 Create problem situations that might lead to given number sentences involving
addition and subtraction.
Measurement and Geometry
1.0 Students use direct comparison and nonstandard units to describe the measurements of objects:
1.1 Compare the length, weight, and volume of two or more objects by using direct
comparison or a nonstandard unit.
1.2 Tell time to the nearest half hour and relate time to events (e.g., before/after,
shorter/longer).
2.0 Students identify common geometric figures, classify them by common
attributes, and describe their relative position or their location in space:
2.1 Identify, describe, and compare triangles, rectangles, squares, and circles, including
the faces of three-dimensional objects.
2.2 Classify familiar plane and solid objects by common attributes, such as color,
position, shape, size, roundness, or number of corners, and explain which attributes
are being used for classification.
2.3 Give and follow directions about location.
2.4 Arrange and describe objects in space by proximity, position, and direction
(e.g., near, far, below, above, up, down, behind, in front of, next to, left or right of).
Statistics, Data Analysis, and Probability
1.0 Students organize, represent, and compare data by category on simple graphs
and charts:
1.1 Sort objects and data by common attributes and describe the categories.
1.2 Represent and compare data (e.g., largest, smallest, most often, least often) by using
pictures, bar graphs, tally charts, and picture graphs.
2.0 Students sort objects and create and describe patterns by numbers, shapes,
sizes, rhythms, or colors:
2.1 Describe, extend, and explain ways to get to a next element in simple repeating
patterns (e.g., rhythmic, numeric, color, and shape).
Mathematical Reasoning
1.0 Students make decisions about how to set up a problem:
1.1 Determine the approach, materials, and strategies to be used.
1.2 Use tools, such as manipulatives or sketches, to model problems.
2.0 Students solve problems and justify their reasoning:
2.1 Explain the reasoning used and justify the procedures selected.
2.2 Make precise calculations and check the validity of the results from the context
of the problem.
3.0 Students note connections between one problem and another.