1st Grade

First grade is exciting year where students show much growth academically, socially and spiritually. Our units are developed in a way that integrates Biblical truth in Language Arts, math, science and social studies. We are helping students to build a solid academic foundation, to learn to love Jesus, and to learn to care for others. Some first grade highlights include:

LANGUAGE ARTS

READING

First grade uses:

• Phonemic awareness:

Phonics and rhyming words, long and short vowels, diagraphs, vowel teams, blends

• Reading comprehension strategies include:

Making compare / contrast, drawing conclusions, analyzing plot, details and main idea within a story, summarizing, problem / solution, cause and effect, sight words, context clues, self correcting

WRITING PROCESS

* Personal, Narrative, Poetry, Realistic,

Fiction, Letter, Information, Research

• Mechanics

• Use lower case letters consistently

• Spacing between words

• periods, question marks, exclamation marks, quotation marks

PENMANSHIP

• correct formation of numbers

• correct formation of upper and lower case letters

SPELLING / REBECCA SITTON PROGRAM

• high frequency words

• sight words

• phonetic based words

MATHEMATICS

NUMBER

• Number grid patterns

• Counting patterns by 1”s, 2’s, 5’s, 10’s, 25’s and 100’s

• Odd / even

• Place value

• Knows number facts for fact families to 18

• Data collection and graphs

• Number stories and problem solving

FRACTION

• introduce and compare fractions 

MEASUREMENT

• Use the standard units of inch and centimeter and accurately measure a unit.

GEOMETRY

• Two and three dimensional shapes

TIME

• Learning the hour and half hour

• Telling time to the nearest five minutes

MONEY

• counting, showing amounts, and making exchanges (dollars, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies)

SCIENCE

• Animals / classification, growing and changing food chain and habitats

• Health and Nutrition

• Plant Life

• The Solar System

• Magnets

• Ocean Life

• Insects

• Daily weather and seasons

SOCIAL STUDIES

• creating a Christian classroom community

• Pilgrims

• Christmas traditions around the world

• The Netherlands

BIBLE

• Old Testament stories which include Creation, Patriarchs, slavery to the Promised Land, Judges and Ruth, Kings and David

• New Testament stories about Jesus’ birth and

Resurrection

• Devotions involve discussion, worship and prayer

• Bible memory work / various verses are memorized each month

• Weekly chapel / Gathering Time with K – 4

• All school chapels

FIELD TRIPS

• Camp Roger

• Dutch Village

• Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra concerts for children