About First Grade
Below, you will find highlighted major objectives for each subject in the first grade curriculum. Hopefully this will give you a clear picture of the program we follow.
RELIGION
Uppermost on our list of goals is the desire to instill in each child a love for God and respect and love for all of God’s children. Your child’s spiritual life needs to be nourished each and every day. Here at St. Madeleine Sophie School, we strive to foster this spiritual growth through daily prayer, liturgies, prayer services, retreats, school wide service projects, and most importantly by our example of living the teachings of Jesus Christ.Here are some of the topics that the children experience in first grade:
- God is Our Father
- We Believe in the Blessed Trinity
- Jesus Grew Up in a Family
- Jesus Works Among the People
- Jesus Teaches Us About Love
- Jesus Had Many Followers
- Jesus Died and Rose to New Life
- Jesus Sends the Holy Spirit
- The Holy Spirit Helps the Church to Grow
- The Church Serves
- We Belong to a Parish
- We Celebrate the Sacraments
- We Are Followers of Jesus
- We Celebrate God’s Forgiveness
- Jesus Gives Us the Eucharist
- We Celebrate the Mass
- We Honor Mary and the Saints
- We Care for the Gifts of God’s Creation
- Holy Days and the Church Year
LITERACY
St. Madeleine Sophie School literacy curriculum encourages students to think and then to express their ideas logically, critically, and creatively and to search for, organize, evaluate, and apply information. Our program encourages the integration and balance of listening, speaking, reading, writing, critical thinking and the learning of language skills in a meaningful context. Oral and silent reading is a part of our daily program.
Here are some samples of what we work on in first grade:
- Use phonics and word analysis skills to figure out unfamiliar words when reading and writing
- Learn about nouns, verbs, adjectives, compound words, contractions, and prefixes/suffixes
- Build a vocabulary of sight words (Word Wall)
- Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details
- Get facts and information from different writings
- Write about a topic, supplying some facts, and providing some sense of opening and closing
- Participate in shared research and writing projects
- Take part in conversations about topics and texts being studied by responding to the comments of others and asking questions to clear up any confusion
- Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly and with complete sentences
- Produce and expand complete simple and compound statements, questions, commands, and exclamations
- Identify the correct meaning for a word with multiple meanings, based on the sentence or paragraph in which the word is used
- Learn to think about the finer distinctions in the meanings of synonyms
- Develop an appreciation for good literature (fiction and nonfiction)
MATHEMATICS
St. Madeleine Sophie mathematics curriculum is based on the premise that all students can and need to learn, master, and apply mathematical concepts. Students need to develop the ability to organize and analyze information; to think critically; to generalize and apply concepts; and to solve problems. We want to equip our students with the skills necessary to meet the personal ambitions and career goals in an ever-changing and technologically rich global society. Our faculty (PreK – 5) teaches both computation and concepts, by emphasizing their application in problem solving contexts.
Here are some samples of what we work on in first grade:
- Solve addition and subtraction word problems in situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing
- Add with a sum of 20 or less, and subtract from a number 20 or less
- Quickly and accurately add with a sum of 10 or less, and quickly and accurately subtract from a number 10 or less
- Understand what the digits mean in two-digit numbers (place value)
- Use an understanding of place value to add and subtract
- Measure lengths of objects by using a shorter object as a unit of length
- Make composite shapes by joining shapes together, and dividing circles and rectangles into halves or fourths
- Tell and write time
- Identify coins and their values
- Represent and interpret data
SCIENCE & HEALTH
Our Science program encourages students to experience, explore, ask questions, and draw conclusions.
First grade students develop scientific thinking processes in:
- Beginning Organizing Skills (putting things in order)
- Observing (using the senses to get information)
- Communicating (talking, drawing, demonstrating)
- Comparing (similarities and differences)
Here are some samples of what we work on in first grade:
- Earth
- Water
- Weather
- Space
- The Sun
- Living Things
- Plants
- Animals
- People
- We Grow
- Families
- Homes
- Sharing the Earth
- Matter
- Matter Changes
- Energy
- Forces
- Technology
- Nutrition
- The Body
- Exercise
SOCIAL STUDIES
Social Studies in first grade is integrated throughout the curriculum. Fair play, good sportsmanship, and respect for the rights and opinions of others are emphasized.
Here are some samples of what we work on in first grade:
- Welcome to School
- Location and Distance
- Rules and Responsibilities
- Civic Values and Privacy
- Time
- History
- Transportation Technology
- Basic Needs of Families
- The First Thanksgiving
- Communication
- Children Around the World
- Holiday Celebrations of Cultures and Countries
- Post-Renaissance Scientists and Inventors
- World Cultures
- Maps
- Communities and Needs
- Patriotism and Presidents
- American Monuments
- American Values, Principles, and Beliefs
- Elected Officials, Individual Rights and Responsibilities
- Changes in Communities
- Economics
- Work, Families, and Communities
- Money, Goods and Services
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STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Art, Mathematics)
LIBRARY
MUSIC
ART
PHYSICAL EDUCATION