First and Second Grade Curriculum
The Archdiocese has written the curriculum for every subject taught and we follow it throughout the year. This means that we don’t just teach from the various subject’s textbooks, because they contain lessons that are not in the grade level curriculum and are missing some skills that we need to teach.
Our Language Arts Curriculum includes English, Phonics, Spelling, Handwriting, Literature, and Reading:
1st grade reading is exciting and challenging. It is traditionally organized into three levels: preprimer (which corresponds to Guided Reading levels C, D, E), primer (Guided Reading levels F, G), and first grade readers (Guided Reading H, I). 2nd grade reading is taught with a variety of books, usually including a textbook for each semester, corresponding to Guided Reading levels J-M, and chapter books of appropriate difficulty.
Our reading instruction is differentiated rather than whole group, which means the children are working in small groups at their own instructional levels, with tiered assignments, instead of whole-class assignments. They each take their reading books home each evening to reread their new stories with an adult Homework Helper, who then signs and sends back their reading verification slip. The groups are flexible, which means that if a child’s reading skills change during the year, they will be moved to the group that matches their new instructional level.
Our 1st grade Handwriting is D’Nealian printing, in preparation for learning cursive in 2nd grade. We will review the letter strokes and focus on legibility in slant and spacing. It will be part of the evaluation of assignments in Spelling and Language Arts for both first and second graders.
In our study of Phonics, we will be practicing in many ways the short vowels, long vowels, consonant blends, y as a vowel, consonant digraphs, contractions, and inflectional endings. We teach our students the Phonics Dance to introduce and practice daily many vowel and consonant pairs’ sounds. This helps the children decode new vocabulary. It is also a lot of fun!
The children will read various types of literature: modern fiction, historical fiction, folktales, poems, plays, and nonfiction selections. The 1st graders will each build a Poetry collection in their Poetry notebook. I give each child a copy of a silly or interesting poem. We read it aloud together until they can read it and then they illustrate it. By the end of the year their notebook is full of great poems.
Our English instruction includes writing complete sentences using nouns, verbs, pronouns, and adjectives. Mechanics stresses beginning each sentence with a capital letter and using correct ending punctuation. They will also practice by writing sentences and paragraphs to express their own ideas.
Thinking skills and strategies are taught during Reading class and used in other subject areas too. Listening and speaking skills are practiced daily in all classes. Speaking skills are well taught and practiced when each child takes their turn reading during school masses.
In the Spelling Curriculum, the children are expected to achieve a basic understanding level in identifying words with many vowel and consonant sounds, compound words, and contractions, all of which are introduced and practiced in Reading and Phonics class work.
Our Spelling lessons focus primarily on learning to spell the high frequency words which make up about 70% of what we read and what they will want to write.Many of these words do not follow the basic phonics rules, so they cannot be "sounded out." They also spend time reviewing sound families, like _at, and spelling decodable words using them, like cat, bat, fat, hat, etc., with activities in the classroom.
Under our Math curriculum, by the end of this year your child should have learned the following skills:
In the Number Operations and Relationships area, 1st graders will identify the place value of tens and ones, and 2nd graders will identify through hundreds. They will write fact families, understand ordinals through 10 (2nd graders through 20), write the numbers in order to one hundred (2nd graders to 1,000) count by 2s to 100 (2nd graders also by 3s and 25s), and demonstrate the concepts of one half, one third, and one fourth. They should know basic facts of addition and subtraction through sums of 12 (2nd graders through 18) and their fact families, and be able to use manipulatives and strategies to add and subtract to twenty, and use a number line. 2nd graders should also understand odd and even numbers, decimal notation for money, and fractions as equal parts of a whole.
For Probability and Statistics, they will read bar graphs by telling which has more or less, sort, order, and classify objects, and interpret event as likely or unlikely. 2nd graders will also compare and fill in graphs.
They will measure using non-standard units, compare measures of cup and quart, read and write the time to the hour and half hour, represent money amounts using the penny, nickel, dime, and quarter, and write dates with the day, month, and year. 2nd graders will also compare measures of pint, liter, half-gallon and gallon, measure by inches and feet, read and write time to quarter hour and by 5 minute intervals.
In Geometry they will describe and draw a circle, square, rectangle, and triangle, identify the 3-D shapes of rectangular prism, cone, cylinder, and cube, and identify congruent figures and lines of symmetry. 2nd graders will also identify hexagons, octagons, and parallelograms, draw a line of symmetry, and draw congruent figures.
In Algebra they will identify and describe patterns ABC and more difficult, understand math symbols plus +, minus -, and equals = in equations, and solve word problems using manipulatives. 2nd graders will also complete and create growing and repeating number patterns, sort, order, and classify numbers, and find missing numbers in addition and subtraction sentences.
Our Science Curriculum includes six units:
The Weather unit will include describing daily and seasonal changes and the water cycle. 2nd graders will also study sound and light and learn that light travels in a straight line, that white light can be split into the colors of the rainbow, and that vibrating objects produce sound.
In the Earth unit, they learn about earth’s materials: solid rocks and soil, liquid water, and the gases of the atmosphere, and their different properties, and that erosion changes rocks and landscapes. 2nd graders will also identify the layers of the earth, and recognize that the earth’s surface is mostly water.
In the Human Body unit, they will study the different kinds of teeth and how to take care of their teeth, and that some body parts are adapted for special uses.
In the Energy unit, the children learn that energy is needed for things to grow or move. 2nd graders also learn that heat is produced in many ways, and that electricity in circuits can produce heat, light, sound, and magnetism.
The Animals unit covers animal life cycles and different animal homes. They will also study insect life cycles, adaptations, and social insects, like bees! 2nd graders will also learn that animals need certain conditions to grow and survive, that all living things reproduce, and that animal tracks provide clues about animals.
In the Plants unit they learn about the parts of a seed and the many ways people and animals use plants. 2nd graders also learn that different plants live in different habitats.
The Space unit explains that Earth is a planet which supports Life. 2nd graders also learn about gravity, the sun, patterns of movement of the sun and moon, and about astronauts.
The Health curriculum covers Fire Safety, Bike Safety, Water Safety, Pedestrian Safety, and Stranger Danger. It also includes ways to express feelings. They learn to name the Food Groups and foods in each, and to identify healthy snacks. In the Drugs unit they learn to be safe with prescription drugs and the common drugs caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol. The Disease unit will teach how many common diseases can be prevented by avoiding germs, and what vaccines are. During the Growth and Development unit they will review the five senses and ways to take care of the body with soap, sunscreen, protective clothing, and getting enough sleep, for example. 2nd graders will also identify healthy lifestyles, habits, and hygiene.
The Catholic Social Teaching curriculum unit includes defining a family, family rules, and sharing self and material things, which overlaps the Family Life unit in Health.
Our Social Studies curriculum will be taught in 5 basic units, which include the required elements of Economics, History, Geography, Political Science, Behavioral Science, World Cultures, Human Environment Interaction, and Catholic Social Teaching. 2nd graders will complete an assignment in structured cooperative groups with assigned responsibilities.
Units One and Two will be ongoing throughout the year. Unit One is a multicultural study of the resources, cultures, and products of each continent. 2nd graders will illustrate the production and consumption of a product. We will compare and contrast people’s lives in different countries.
Unit Two is a study of some people and events that were important to world history. They will learn about Columbus Day, the English Colonies at Thanksgiving, etc. and that the Americas were already populated by native peoples. They will also read and make timelines. 2nd graders will construct a family tree and relate it to immigration to our country.
Unit Three is a Community study, taught in the fall, focusing on leaders, laws, and citizenship. 2nd graders should identify the mayor, governor, and president as leaders. They will also identify and explore career choices and describe personal finances: income, spending, saving. they should identify these symbols of our country: our flag, the eagle, and the Statue of Liberty.
Unit Four is Human Environment Interaction, which we will cover in the spring, prior to Earth Day. It will be tied into the Science “Earth” unit, Health’s Community and Environmental Health unit, and the Catholic Social Teaching unit “Care for God’s Creation” unit.
Unit Five is Geography, which has some overlap with, and will be combined with as possible, the Earth Study in Science. 2nd graders will learn to identify the oceans, identify some sources of pollution, and be able to give reasons that recycling is important. Both grades will identify some landforms and construct a basic map with a key. 2nd graders must also include a scale to measure distance. They must also distinguish between the neighborhood, community, state, country, and continent.
The Art Curriculum states that each child will develop skills in cutting and gluing and reach a basic understanding of these concepts:
Line: Use a variety of lines
Color: Review primary and secondary colors; use warm and cool colors to express feelings; do color blending in different media
Shape: Use six basic shapes to make designs and animals, and print pattern sequences
Texture: Use to make rubbings, pictures, and collages
Space: Organize shapes on picture plane to show near, far, inside, outside, above, below, under, over; use large and small shapes to show the illusion of depth; use warm and cool colors and overlapping to show distance; use a horizon line to show distance and perspective
History and Culture: Knows about art forms from other times and cultures; views masterpieces of art and can talk about how they relate to their art experiences.
I know that this is a lot of information, but I want to give you the opportunity to understand what my plan for teaching your child will be this year. I have condensed it quite a bit, so if you have any questions please feel free to ask me to explain further.
Our Language Arts Curriculum includes English, Phonics, Spelling, Handwriting, Literature, and Reading:
1st grade reading is exciting and challenging. It is traditionally organized into three levels: preprimer (which corresponds to Guided Reading levels C, D, E), primer (Guided Reading levels F, G), and first grade readers (Guided Reading H, I). 2nd grade reading is taught with a variety of books, usually including a textbook for each semester, corresponding to Guided Reading levels J-M, and chapter books of appropriate difficulty.
Our reading instruction is differentiated rather than whole group, which means the children are working in small groups at their own instructional levels, with tiered assignments, instead of whole-class assignments. They each take their reading books home each evening to reread their new stories with an adult Homework Helper, who then signs and sends back their reading verification slip. The groups are flexible, which means that if a child’s reading skills change during the year, they will be moved to the group that matches their new instructional level.
Our 1st grade Handwriting is D’Nealian printing, in preparation for learning cursive in 2nd grade. We will review the letter strokes and focus on legibility in slant and spacing. It will be part of the evaluation of assignments in Spelling and Language Arts for both first and second graders.
In our study of Phonics, we will be practicing in many ways the short vowels, long vowels, consonant blends, y as a vowel, consonant digraphs, contractions, and inflectional endings. We teach our students the Phonics Dance to introduce and practice daily many vowel and consonant pairs’ sounds. This helps the children decode new vocabulary. It is also a lot of fun!
The children will read various types of literature: modern fiction, historical fiction, folktales, poems, plays, and nonfiction selections. The 1st graders will each build a Poetry collection in their Poetry notebook. I give each child a copy of a silly or interesting poem. We read it aloud together until they can read it and then they illustrate it. By the end of the year their notebook is full of great poems.
Our English instruction includes writing complete sentences using nouns, verbs, pronouns, and adjectives. Mechanics stresses beginning each sentence with a capital letter and using correct ending punctuation. They will also practice by writing sentences and paragraphs to express their own ideas.
Thinking skills and strategies are taught during Reading class and used in other subject areas too. Listening and speaking skills are practiced daily in all classes. Speaking skills are well taught and practiced when each child takes their turn reading during school masses.
In the Spelling Curriculum, the children are expected to achieve a basic understanding level in identifying words with many vowel and consonant sounds, compound words, and contractions, all of which are introduced and practiced in Reading and Phonics class work.
Our Spelling lessons focus primarily on learning to spell the high frequency words which make up about 70% of what we read and what they will want to write.Many of these words do not follow the basic phonics rules, so they cannot be "sounded out." They also spend time reviewing sound families, like _at, and spelling decodable words using them, like cat, bat, fat, hat, etc., with activities in the classroom.
Under our Math curriculum, by the end of this year your child should have learned the following skills:
In the Number Operations and Relationships area, 1st graders will identify the place value of tens and ones, and 2nd graders will identify through hundreds. They will write fact families, understand ordinals through 10 (2nd graders through 20), write the numbers in order to one hundred (2nd graders to 1,000) count by 2s to 100 (2nd graders also by 3s and 25s), and demonstrate the concepts of one half, one third, and one fourth. They should know basic facts of addition and subtraction through sums of 12 (2nd graders through 18) and their fact families, and be able to use manipulatives and strategies to add and subtract to twenty, and use a number line. 2nd graders should also understand odd and even numbers, decimal notation for money, and fractions as equal parts of a whole.
For Probability and Statistics, they will read bar graphs by telling which has more or less, sort, order, and classify objects, and interpret event as likely or unlikely. 2nd graders will also compare and fill in graphs.
They will measure using non-standard units, compare measures of cup and quart, read and write the time to the hour and half hour, represent money amounts using the penny, nickel, dime, and quarter, and write dates with the day, month, and year. 2nd graders will also compare measures of pint, liter, half-gallon and gallon, measure by inches and feet, read and write time to quarter hour and by 5 minute intervals.
In Geometry they will describe and draw a circle, square, rectangle, and triangle, identify the 3-D shapes of rectangular prism, cone, cylinder, and cube, and identify congruent figures and lines of symmetry. 2nd graders will also identify hexagons, octagons, and parallelograms, draw a line of symmetry, and draw congruent figures.
In Algebra they will identify and describe patterns ABC and more difficult, understand math symbols plus +, minus -, and equals = in equations, and solve word problems using manipulatives. 2nd graders will also complete and create growing and repeating number patterns, sort, order, and classify numbers, and find missing numbers in addition and subtraction sentences.
Our Science Curriculum includes six units:
The Weather unit will include describing daily and seasonal changes and the water cycle. 2nd graders will also study sound and light and learn that light travels in a straight line, that white light can be split into the colors of the rainbow, and that vibrating objects produce sound.
In the Earth unit, they learn about earth’s materials: solid rocks and soil, liquid water, and the gases of the atmosphere, and their different properties, and that erosion changes rocks and landscapes. 2nd graders will also identify the layers of the earth, and recognize that the earth’s surface is mostly water.
In the Human Body unit, they will study the different kinds of teeth and how to take care of their teeth, and that some body parts are adapted for special uses.
In the Energy unit, the children learn that energy is needed for things to grow or move. 2nd graders also learn that heat is produced in many ways, and that electricity in circuits can produce heat, light, sound, and magnetism.
The Animals unit covers animal life cycles and different animal homes. They will also study insect life cycles, adaptations, and social insects, like bees! 2nd graders will also learn that animals need certain conditions to grow and survive, that all living things reproduce, and that animal tracks provide clues about animals.
In the Plants unit they learn about the parts of a seed and the many ways people and animals use plants. 2nd graders also learn that different plants live in different habitats.
The Space unit explains that Earth is a planet which supports Life. 2nd graders also learn about gravity, the sun, patterns of movement of the sun and moon, and about astronauts.
The Health curriculum covers Fire Safety, Bike Safety, Water Safety, Pedestrian Safety, and Stranger Danger. It also includes ways to express feelings. They learn to name the Food Groups and foods in each, and to identify healthy snacks. In the Drugs unit they learn to be safe with prescription drugs and the common drugs caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol. The Disease unit will teach how many common diseases can be prevented by avoiding germs, and what vaccines are. During the Growth and Development unit they will review the five senses and ways to take care of the body with soap, sunscreen, protective clothing, and getting enough sleep, for example. 2nd graders will also identify healthy lifestyles, habits, and hygiene.
The Catholic Social Teaching curriculum unit includes defining a family, family rules, and sharing self and material things, which overlaps the Family Life unit in Health.
Our Social Studies curriculum will be taught in 5 basic units, which include the required elements of Economics, History, Geography, Political Science, Behavioral Science, World Cultures, Human Environment Interaction, and Catholic Social Teaching. 2nd graders will complete an assignment in structured cooperative groups with assigned responsibilities.
Units One and Two will be ongoing throughout the year. Unit One is a multicultural study of the resources, cultures, and products of each continent. 2nd graders will illustrate the production and consumption of a product. We will compare and contrast people’s lives in different countries.
Unit Two is a study of some people and events that were important to world history. They will learn about Columbus Day, the English Colonies at Thanksgiving, etc. and that the Americas were already populated by native peoples. They will also read and make timelines. 2nd graders will construct a family tree and relate it to immigration to our country.
Unit Three is a Community study, taught in the fall, focusing on leaders, laws, and citizenship. 2nd graders should identify the mayor, governor, and president as leaders. They will also identify and explore career choices and describe personal finances: income, spending, saving. they should identify these symbols of our country: our flag, the eagle, and the Statue of Liberty.
Unit Four is Human Environment Interaction, which we will cover in the spring, prior to Earth Day. It will be tied into the Science “Earth” unit, Health’s Community and Environmental Health unit, and the Catholic Social Teaching unit “Care for God’s Creation” unit.
Unit Five is Geography, which has some overlap with, and will be combined with as possible, the Earth Study in Science. 2nd graders will learn to identify the oceans, identify some sources of pollution, and be able to give reasons that recycling is important. Both grades will identify some landforms and construct a basic map with a key. 2nd graders must also include a scale to measure distance. They must also distinguish between the neighborhood, community, state, country, and continent.
The Art Curriculum states that each child will develop skills in cutting and gluing and reach a basic understanding of these concepts:
Line: Use a variety of lines
Color: Review primary and secondary colors; use warm and cool colors to express feelings; do color blending in different media
Shape: Use six basic shapes to make designs and animals, and print pattern sequences
Texture: Use to make rubbings, pictures, and collages
Space: Organize shapes on picture plane to show near, far, inside, outside, above, below, under, over; use large and small shapes to show the illusion of depth; use warm and cool colors and overlapping to show distance; use a horizon line to show distance and perspective
History and Culture: Knows about art forms from other times and cultures; views masterpieces of art and can talk about how they relate to their art experiences.
I know that this is a lot of information, but I want to give you the opportunity to understand what my plan for teaching your child will be this year. I have condensed it quite a bit, so if you have any questions please feel free to ask me to explain further.
