Lower School

Grade One

Program Overview

The first grade curriculum builds on the developmentally focused program of the kindergarten and is based on an interdisciplinary approach to learning.

The curriculum, both academic and social, strives to reflect and affirm the children and the world in which they live. Broadly, this means: incorporating the ethnicity, family structure, and culture of each child in the life and discourse of the classroom; structuring time for small group and class discussions; supplying a varied selection of books for the class library, for reading groups, and for reading aloud; carefully choosing the music sung and listened to and the material displayed on classroom walls. Each child should see her- or himself reflected in the curriculum.

In first grade, children develop language to self-identify race, religion, and family structure and learn to honor each other’s stories. They share power in work and play situations and recognize and speak up about injustice, both that which directly affects them and that which affects other individuals. They continue to be taught to resolve conflicts with physical and verbal grace.   

Reading and Writing

* Open Circle * solving vocabulary words through context * reading for meaning * making connections * reading together * building lifelong readers * phonics and decoding * developing fluency and expression * handwriting * spelling * journals * writer’s workshop* interdisciplinary writing connections *

Resources: Fountas & Pinnell books * Primary Phonics, EPS series 1-4 * interdisciplinary literacy activities *

* study of homes and utopia * first-grade block town (TERC-related) * Writer’s Workshop * buddy relationships with fourth-graders * study of physical disability *