FIRST GRADE

STANDARD 1: LITERARY GENRE

 

   Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

 

   Reading is a rich and complex human activity. It allows students to create and explore new ideas. They gain the capability to learn about different subjects, find information, participate effectively in the workplace, and have a better understanding of the world. Students need to read for a range of purposes within a variety of contexts.

 

· Read, respond to, and study a variety of texts

· Discuss texts for several purposes

· Study and create nonprint (oral and picture) texts

· Develop as an independent reader

· Read primary texts from many regions

· Discover information, connections, and themes to form new insights

 

 

FIRST GRADE

1.  Experience a variety of literature (e.g., folk tales, poetry, fiction, nonfiction)

2.  Compare information from stories or folk tales to prior knowledge and experience

3. Create stories orally and through pictures

4.  Use a word wall including vocabulary in specific content areas

5. Read independently every day in class

 

STANDARD 2: LITERATURE AND CRITICAL THINKING

 

   Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.

 

   Literature plays a vital role in developing critical thinking. As students learn to read and respond to literary texts, they utilize terms and concepts of literary analysis necessary to and explore worlds (actual and imagined) from perspectives other than their own.

· Read and study characteristics of various genres

· Reflect critically on classic and contemporary works

· Learn and use specialized terms and concepts of literary analysis

· Explore the complexities of the human experience through literature

 

 

FIRST GRADE

1.  Compare what two stories have in common

2.  Look at text from the writer’s and illustrator’s perspectives

3. Predict words, story events, and story endings

4. Choose a book at independent reading level

5.  Make personal connections to literature

6.  Respond to who, what, where, when, and how questions

7.        Recognize how character traits affect plot

 

STANDARD 3: READING COMPREHENSION

 

   Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

 

   Interpreting and evaluating texts is a key element in helping readers explore their own responses, feelings, and values. This takes time and experience with a variety of texts. Students draw on prior knowledge and recognize strategies and conventions that guide them toward comprehension.

 

· Use graphic, phonological, syntactic, and semantic cues

· Form expectations and make predictions about a text

· Build on previous reading and life experiences

· Create meaning from the text

· Change strategies when moving from one genre or context to another

· Question, summarize, and restate the text

· Reflect on textual meaning from personal perspective

· Evaluate text elements such as purpose or emotional appeal

· Explore personal responses, feelings, and values to ideas presented

 

 

FIRST GRADE

1. Use reading strategies: meaning, structure, sound/symbol, and context, rereading to clarify

2. Read consonant, long and short vowel sounds to decode

3. Use 1:1 correspondence (finger pointing)

4.  Read fluently using phrasing (punctuation)

5. Use analogies to read unfamiliar words: word families, roots, endings (-s, - ed, -ing)

6. Read and spell at least 50 common, irregular sight words (e.g., the, have, said, come)

7.  Work with word structures: digraphs, r-controlled vowels, compound words, contractions, singular/plural nouns, possessives

8.  Blend or segment phonemes in single-syllable words

9.  Distinguish initial, medial, and final sounds in single syllable words

10. Add, delete, or change target sounds to change words  (e.g., cow to how, pan to ran)

11. Recognize main idea and relevant details in informational material

12. Retell text including beginning, middle, and ending of a story

13. Identify main characters, setting, plot, and theme

14. Make predictions about words and story events and have opportunity to confirm them

15. Respond to text connecting it to personal experience

16. Distinguish between real and make believe

 

STANDARD 4: LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION

 

   Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, and vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

 

   Language is used as expression in differing social arenas. Students need to study how language conventions vary from one context to another. Students acknowledge the audience as they compose different types of literary texts.

 

• Use various speaking and writing styles to fit different purposes and audiences

• Use standard English for speaking and writing

• Experience dialects and other forms of English

• Develop confidence and versatility in the use of language by exploring connections between voice and audience, purpose and form   

 

 

FIRST GRADE

1.  Take turns speaking and listening to others without interrupting

2.  Recall events from stories, films, and speakers

3.  Share written work orally and describe original projects (e.g., art, construction, etc.)

4.  Provide descriptions with careful attention to sensory detail

5. Relate an event in sequential order

6. Speak in coherent sentences

 

STANDARD 5: WRITING STRATEGIES

 

  Interpret and evaluate the various ways that visual image-makers (e.g., graphic artists, documentary filmmakers, illustrators, and news photographers) present events and communicate information.

 

   Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, and vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

 

• Reading and writing are not separate but intertwined. Just as students use a variety of strategies for reading, they also use a variety of strategies for writing. Students need frequent opportunities to write about an array of topics for different audiences and purposes. Students develop these skills with guidance through reading and writing activities

• Write frequently about different topics for a variety of audiences and purposes

• Use the stages of the writing process to plan, draft, edit, revise and publish for real audiences

• Utilize standard English as appropriate

• Demonstrate the ability to be flexible and adapt to different writing situations

• Read a variety of authors to learn the craft of writing

 

FIRST GRADE

1. Participate in the writing process daily for 30 minutes on self-selected topics

2. Writing Domains: Autobiographical Incident, Report of Informational, Story, and Observational Writing

3. Use descriptive words when writing

4. Write in all content areas for different purposes using response to literature, poetry, and the Writing Domains (see Appendix)

5. Find what makes a story appealing to enrich personal writing

6. Use the writing process with standard language for a final draft

7. Reread own writing to check meaning

8. Participate in writing response groups

 

STANDARD 6: LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS AND STRUCTURES

 

Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

 

Through the reading-writing process students learn grammar, language patterns, and conventions and apply it to the broader purposes of communication. Knowledge of the systems, structures of language and the conventions of writing, ensure that students write effectively.

 

• Spell frequently used words correctly

• Use spelling resources such as dictionaries, peer editing, word lists, temporary spelling, spell

check, etc.

• Write with command of standard English: capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, and

grammar

• Evaluate and discuss the structure of language in a variety of print and graphics

Evaluate and discuss a variety of print and graphics

 

 

FIRST GRADE

1. Spell and use 50 high-frequency words

2. Use temporary spelling for unknown words

3. Print each upper and lower case letter legibly and use appropriate spacing between words

4.  Use available resources to spell correctly

5.  Proof with adult help

6. Recognize syllables in a word

7.  Write statements and questions with end punctuation: period, question mark,

exclamation mark

8.  Capitalize first word of a sentence, names of people, and the pronoun “I”

9.  Print first and last name correctly

 

 

 

STANDARD 7: RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION

 

      Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, and people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

 

     Investigation, discussion, and reflection help students to look at and make sense of the world to develop questions, identify issues, address problems, and seek answers. Students acquire a range of tools to accomplish these tasks.

 

· Formulate engaging questions from life and classroom experiences

· Discuss, hypothesize and plan steps to find answers

· Gather data from a variety of sources

· Analyze and synthesize data in a way that clearly shows new knowledge

· Communicate what has been learned to suit purposes and audience

     

 

FIRST GRADE

1. Decide topics, gather data, write and present reports

2. Learn questioning techniques and practice asking questions

3. Compare information gathered from several sources

 

STANDARD 8: TECHNOLOGY AND RESOURCES

 

    Students use a variety of technological and informational resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, and video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

 

    Technology has opened new worlds to students. To utilize these valuable resources, they use computers and other interactive media. This knowledge equips them to attain their goals and career choices. Access to a wealth of information, ideas, and visual images enhances academic success and empowers students as lifelong learners.

 

· Students will demonstrate competence in using technology as a production tool in many disciplines to solve problems and communicate ideas.

· Students will demonstrate ability to access and synthesize information with available

technologies.

· Students will use technology responsibly, legally and ethically.

           

 

FIRST GRADE

1.  Use the computer to reinforce learning through educational games and writing

2.  Learn beginning computer skills

3.  Use overhead projector

4.  Learn how to locate material in  the library

 

STANDARD 9: DIVERSITY

 

   Students see, understand, and respect different perspectives and communicate effectively with those whose lives, languages, and cultures vary from their own.

 

    Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions and social roles.

 

    Language can foster understanding, both socially and culturally. Students bring a diverse heritage into the classroom. They build the groundwork for unity by understanding and respecting differences. Students deserve and need learning environments that encourage respect for culture, age, race, gender, religious and ethnic diversity.

 

· Investigate shared beliefs and traditions, and honor what is distinctive about individuals and

groups

· Read and discuss stories and texts that explore diversity

· Recognize how linguistic diversity influences language and perceptions of the world

· Participate in creating a safe, accepting environment

· Develop an appreciation for the complexities of language and dialect

 

 

 

 

FIRST GRADE

1.  Compare cultures and portray learning in a variety of ways (e.g., indigenous people, different countries)

2. Draw inferences and determine why certain characters behave the way they do in literature and in life

3. Read and discuss a variety of books celebrating differences and similarities among people

4. Discuss age, race, gender, religious, and ethnic issues appropriate to children’s needs

 

STANDARD 10: ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS (pre-Proposition 227, awaiting California State Department of Education direction)

 

   Students whose first language is not English use their first language to develop competency in the English language arts and to develop understanding of content across the curriculum.  

 

   This standard provides access to the core curriculum for students who are not part of the Bilingual/ Immersion Program. Please refer to the English Language Development (ELD) Bilingual Master Plan for more specific details on ELD learning strategies.

 

   Linguistic diversity is a factor in today’s classrooms as it is in the nation. Our focus is to enable students who are not proficient in English to become so. It is important that these students develop academic competency in both languages.

 

The following may be used throughout the grade levels:

1. Read appropriate leveled primary language content material when available

2  Read, write, and speak using primary language when appropriate

3. Demonstrate understanding by using an agreed upon signal

4. Work with English speaking partner for difficult tasks

5. Participate actively and collaboratively in group work

6. Participate in discussions with partner or in small groups

7. Interact appropriately in social situations within the classroom

8. Display awareness of common cultural markers (e.g., historical, geographical sites, pastimes, foods, and schedules)

9. Pursue acquisition of English through available activities, resources, and personnel  (e.g., listening centers, computers, TV and libraries)

10. Listen and respond to diverse literature

11. Participate in language arts activities that incorporate different learning

styles/modalities

12. Use oral language and models or pictures to explain thinking

13. Listen and respond to literature that reinforces thematic units

14. Write science and social studies reports with format provided

15. Understand written texts through discussion, illustrations and visuals

16. Make oral presentations in English

17. Practice oral language exercises and communicative language functions

18. Develop academic vocabulary

19. Participate in sheltered language activities in content areas

 

STANDARD 11: LITERACY COMMUNITIES

 

   Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

 

   Students are members of a variety of literacy communities including peers, teachers, friends, family members, as well as, communities within the technological world. Students develop awareness of their own roles within these communities and can see how language usage varies. This idea of community emphasizes the collaborative approach of language learning.

 

 

FIRST GRADE

1.  Participate in a variety of activities, songs, poetry, drama, and choral reading

2. Utilize the home/school connection to practice writing for different purposes

3. Recollect, talk, and write about books read during class

4. Participate in “grand conversations”

 

STANDARD 12: LIFELONG LEARNING

 

    Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

 

    Students developing strong learning habits and positive attitudes towards language, will chose to read widely, discuss issues, and question others thoughtfully. Students need to be well motivated to become responsible for their own lifelong learning. We are all lifelong learners.

 

 

 

FIRST GRADE

1. Utilize the home/school connection to practice reading with emphasis on the joy of reading

2. Recite personal information (birth date, telephone number, and address)

3. Follow simple written instructions

4. Read familiar books fluently aloud

5. Complete some assignments with a partner in order to collaborate in learning

6. Recognize and read environmental print

7. Connect problem solving to real life

8. Listen to, retell, and follow directions

9. Work independently as well as collaboratively for enjoyment and to acquire knowledge

10. Practice appropriate social awareness