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First Grade Academics


Below you will find a summary of the things your child will learn in first grade based on the
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills that are given to us by the State of Texas.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND READING
In Grade 1, students continue to develop their oral language and communication skills and move to becoming independent readers and writers. First grade students listen attentively and connect their experiences and ideas with information and ideas presented in print. Students listen and respond to a wide variety of children's literature, including selections from classic and contemporary works. The stories and informational books students hear introduce them to new vocabulary. Students recognize the distinguishing features of stories, poems, and informational texts. First grade students continue to develop their concepts of how print connects with spoken language. Students understand that spoken language is composed of sequences of sounds and that those sounds are represented by letters. Students can name the letters and know the order of the alphabet and associate sounds with the letter or letters that represent them. Students learn most of the common letter-sound correspondences and use this knowledge to help them decode written words. First grade students regularly read (both orally and silently) in texts of appropriate difficulty with fluency and understanding. Students demonstrate their comprehension by asking and answering questions, retelling stories, predicting outcomes, and making and explaining inferences.

First grade students become adept writers. Students know the difference between words, sentences, and paragraphs. First grade students can organize their thoughts and ideas into complete stories or reports. Students use subjects and verbs and are able to write complete sentences using basic capitalization and punctuation. First grade students become more proficient spellers as they learn to spell a number of high-frequency words and words with regularly spelled patterns. The students' messages move from left-to-right and from top-to-bottom and are written with increasing control of penmanship.

MATHEMATICS
Within a well-balanced mathematics curriculum, the primary focal points at Grade 1 are building number sense through number relationships, adding and subtracting whole numbers, organizing and analyzing data, and working with two- and three-dimensional geometric figures. Throughout mathematics in Kindergarten-Grade 2, students build a foundation of basic understandings in number, operation, and quantitative reasoning; patterns, relationships, and algebraic thinking; geometry and spatial reasoning; measurement; and probability and statistics. Students use numbers in ordering, labeling, and expressing quantities and relationships to solve problems and translate informal language into mathematical language and symbols. Students use objects to create and identify patterns and use those patterns to express relationships, make predictions, and solve problems as they build an understanding of number, operation, shape, and space. Students progress from informal to formal language to describe two- and three-dimensional geometric figures and likenesses in the physical world. Students begin to develop measurement concepts as they identify and compare attributes of objects and situations. Students collect, organize, and display data and use information from graphs to answer questions, make summary statements, and make informal predictions based on their experiences.

Throughout mathematics in Kindergarten-Grade 2, students develop numerical fluency with conceptual understanding and computational accuracy. Students in Kindergarten-Grade 2 use basic number sense to compose and decompose numbers in order to solve problems requiring precision, estimation, and reasonableness. By the end of Grade 2, students know basic addition and subtraction fact and are using them to work flexibly, efficiently, and accurately with numbers during addition and subtraction computation. Problem solving, language and communication, connections within and outside mathematics, and formal and informal reasoning underlie all content areas in mathematics. Throughout mathematics in Kindergarten-Grade 2, students use these processes together with technology and other mathematical tools such as manipulative materials to develop conceptual understanding and solve meaningful problems as they do mathematics.

SCIENCE
In Grade 1, the study of science includes simple classroom and field investigations to help students develop the skills of asking questions, gathering information, making measurements using non-standard units, with tools such as a thermometer to extend their senses, constructing explanations, and drawing conclusions. Students also use computers and information technology tools to support their investigations. As students learn science skills, they identify components of the natural world including rocks, soil, and natural resources. Students observe that heat from the Sun or friction is an example of something that causes change. In addition, students identify basic needs of living things, explore ways that living things depend on each other, and separate living organisms and nonliving things into groups. Students identify parts that can be put together with other parts to do new things.

Science is a way of learning about the natural world. Students should know how science has built a vast body of changing and increasing knowledge described by physical, mathematical, and conceptual models, and also should know that science may not answer all questions. A system is a collection of cycles, structures, and processes that interact. Students should understand a whole in terms of its components and how these components relate to each other and to the whole. All systems have basic properties that can be described in terms of space, time, energy, and matter. Change and constancy occur in systems and can be observed and measured as patterns. These patterns help to predict what will happen next and can change over time. Investigations are used to learn about the natural world. Students should understand that certain types of questions can be answered by investigations, and that methods, models, and conclusions built from these investigations change as new observations are made. Models of objects and events are tools for understanding the natural world and can show how systems work. They have limitations and based on new discoveries are constantly being modified to more closely reflect the natural world.

SOCIAL STUDIES
In Grade 1, students learn about their relationship to the classroom, school, and community. The concepts of time and chronology are developed by distinguishing among past, present, and future events. Students identify anthems and mottoes of the United States and Texas. Students make simple maps to identify the location of places in the classroom, school, and community.

The concepts of goods and services and the value of work are introduced. Students identify historic figures and ordinary people who exhibit good citizenship. Students describe the importance of family customs and traditions and identify how technology has changed family life. Students sequence and categorize information. To support the teaching of the essential knowledge and skills, the use of a variety of rich material such as biographies; folktales, myths, and legends; and poetry, songs, and artworks is encouraged. Selections may include a children's biography of Abraham Lincoln. Motivating resources are also available from museums, historical sites, presidential libraries, and local and state preservation societies. The eight strands of the essential knowledge and skills for social studies are intended to be integrated for instructional purposes. Skills listed in the geography and social studies skills strands should be incorporated into the teaching of all essential knowledge and skills for social studies. A greater depth of understanding of complex content material can be attained when integrated social studies content from the various disciplines and critical-thinking skills are taught together. Throughout social studies in Kindergarten-Grade 12, students build a foundation in history; geography; economics; government; citizenship; culture; science, technology, and society; and social studies skills. The content, as appropriate for the grade level or course, enables students to understand the importance of patriotism, function in a free enterprise society, and appreciate the basic democratic values of our state and nation as referenced in the Texas Education Code, §28.002(h).

HEALTH
In health education, students acquire the health information and skills necessary to become healthy adults and learn about behaviors in which they should and should not participate. To achieve that goal, students will understand the following: students should first seek guidance in the area of health from their parents; personal behaviors can increase or reduce health risks throughout the lifespan; health is influenced by a variety of factors; students can recognize and utilize health information and products; and personal/interpersonal skills are needed to promote individual, family, and community health.

In Grade 1, students learn more about their bodies and how to care for themselves. Students also begin to learn that relationships exist between behaviors and health, and that there are community helpers such as nurses and doctors who help them stay healthy. In Grade 1, students also learn skills to help them make friends, resolve conflicts, and solve problems.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION
In Physical Education, students acquire the knowledge and skills for movement that provide the foundation for enjoyment, continued social development through physical activity, and access to a physically active lifestyle. The student exhibits a physically active lifestyle and understands the relationship between physical activity and health throughout the lifespan.

First grade students continue to develop basic body control, fundamental movement skills, and health-related fitness components such as strength, endurance, and flexibility. Students can state key performance cues for basic movement patterns such as throwing and catching. Students continue to learn rules and procedures for simple games and apply safety practices associated with physical activities.

ART
Four basic strands--perception, creative expression/performance, historical and cultural heritage, and critical evaluation--provide broad, unifying structures for organizing the knowledge and skills students are expected to acquire. Students rely on their perceptions of the environment, developed through increasing visual awareness and sensitivity to surroundings, memory, imagination, and life experiences, as a source for creating artworks. They express their thoughts and ideas creatively, while challenging their imagination, fostering reflective thinking, and developing disciplined effort and problem-solving skills. By analyzing artistic styles and historical periods students develop respect for the traditions and contributions of diverse cultures. Students respond to and analyze artworks, thus contributing to the development of lifelong skills of making informed judgments and evaluations.

MUSIC
Four basic strands--perception, creative expression/performance, historical and cultural heritage, and critical evaluation--provide broad, unifying structures for organizing the knowledge and skills students are expected to acquire. In music, students develop their intellect and refine their emotions, understanding the cultural and creative nature of musical artistry and making connections among music, the other arts, technology, and other aspects of social life. Through creative performance, students apply the expressive technical skills of music and critical-thinking skills to evaluate multiple forms of problem solving. By reflecting on musical periods and styles, students understand music's role in history and are able to participate successfully in a diverse society. Students analyze and evaluate music, developing criteria for making critical judgments and informed choices.

TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
The technology applications curriculum has four strands: foundations, information acquisition, work in solving problems, and communication. Through the study of technology applications foundations, including technology-related terms, concepts, and data input strategies; students learn to make informed decisions about technologies and their applications. The efficient acquisition of information includes the identification of task requirements; the plan for using search strategies; and the use of technology to access, analyzes, and evaluates the acquired information. By using technology as a tool that supports the work of individuals and groups in solving problems, students will select the technology appropriate for the task, synthesize knowledge, create a solution, and evaluate the results. Students communicate information in different formats and to diverse audiences. A variety of technologies will be used. Students will analyze and evaluate the results.