The primary goals of the language arts program in Grade 1 are to promote a love of reading, to help our students appreciate reading as a source of both information and pleasure, and to give them the skills necessary to become good readers. Our program is designed to accommodate a predictably wide range of needs from the beginning readers to the independent readers.

Instruction takes place in whole group, small group, and in one-to-one settings. Children are exposed to a variety of reading materials, including classic and contemporary works from children's literature, as well as selections from various reading series. Informational texts, chapter books, and poetry are all used for explicit reading instruction in whole class and small group reading episodes. Teaching materials and strategies are many and varied, to accommodate the range of learning styles, and they are aimed at using and building upon the students’ various strengths and enhancing their existing repertoire of strategies. We include formal work in phonics, spelling and word recognition through a program called Wilson Fundations. Building upon the pre-existing individual strengths of our students, we expand their range of reading strategies so they can approach new material with growing confidence and independence.

Our writing program complements our reading program, as a child’s first successful reading experience often comes from being able to read his or her own written and spoken words. By exploring language, students learn about their own thinking and about how to make their thoughts accessible to others. As such, there is a continued focus on correct formation of letters with the goal of increasing the writing fluency. The children enjoy a variety of teacher-directed and open-ended writing experiences. First graders respond to writing prompts in notebooks, and in Writing Workshop sessions, they engage in writing about topics that are entirely self-chosen. Many of the writing activities are introduced with a mini-lesson about a particular writing strategy, after which students are encouraged to explore this strategy on their own. The students also make and record observations, write letters, and engage in beginning research activities. The children are encouraged to experiment with various writing forms, such as poetry and How-To books. Our Grade 1 authors are encouraged to share their stories with the class in a reflective and supportive atmosphere.

The context of the children’s own writing provides us with ample opportunities for elucidating and reinforcing the basic conventions of our language. We use children’s developmental spelling as a springboard into the beginnings of standardized spelling by noting patterns through the use of word families and through the use of formal reinforcement work with beginning, ending, and medial consonants and vowels. In each class, we build a spelling list of common sight words; these words are reinforced both in simple dictation exercises and in students’ daily writing.

Building upon the Kindergarten curriculum of Basic Needs and Identity, the Grade 1 social studies theme explores Community and Identity. The goal of the Grade 1 social studies program is to help students understand that forming groups is a basic human need and that groups have identities and particular functions. We begin the year with a look at animal habitats, focusing particularly on the communities that animals create in tide pools and forest environments. A large emphasis is placed on exploratory discussions about classroom community needs and responsibilities at this early stage in the school year. Mid-year, we shift our emphasis to human habitats and homes, using our school community and neighborhood as focal points. In our study of the Trinity School community, we learn about the history of the school, the physical plant, and the many people involved in helping the school operate. We examine the cooperative efforts of individuals and societies as they construct various types of shelters and communities, and discover how the resulting structures express both physical and artistic needs. An essential goal of this program is to move students toward being able to independently make choices that promote a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment. Explorations are enhanced with literature, hands-on projects, and field trips.

As a continuation of social justice discussions begun in Kindergarten, first graders explore the terms ally and advocate more deeply, along with more in-depth discussions about the terms stereotype, ethnicity, and race. These terms continue to be explored on a multi-faceted and age-appropriate level. As students progress through the Lower School, they will discover and learn deeper and more complex understandings about the meaning and significance behind such powerful words.

The First Grade Spanish program is based on FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School) in which students develop new language skills in the context of authentic situations through the target language (Spanish). To develop proficiency, children learn Spanish using immersion methodology. It is essential for us at Trinity to offer multiple opportunities to interact and orally produce the second language; this is why we divide each First Grade group in half.

 

The foundation of our curriculum is based on backwards design (Wiggins and McTighe) which focuses on standards, enduring understandings and performance assessments. We teach through thematic units inspired by the First Grade Social Studies curriculum and we focus on teaching phrases and practicing sentences in relevant contexts. Instilling a love of Spanish and Hispanic socio-cultures is an important goal of our program. 

 

In First Grade, Spain is the country of focus, and students explore the various symbols, food, music, traditions, influential activists and geography of this vibrant country. Our lessons incorporate games, songs and stories into fun learning experiences.

 

The goals of our program are to develop our students’ language proficiency and instill in them a love for Spanish and a curiosity about other cultures.