Course Title: Religion

Grade               First
Faculty Name  Miss Mallory Voltz
Textbook          God Loves Us
Publisher         Sadlier,a Division of William H. Sadlier, Inc.
Copyright        2011
Website            http://www.sadlier.com

Significant Curriculum Guidelines

Students will:

• Be introduced to the concept of the Holy Trinity by presenting God as Father and Creator, Jesus as the Son of God, our Savior, Friend and Brother, and Holy Sprit as God‘s life within us.
• Be introduced to the concept of Church by becoming members at Baptism and the people of God as God’s Family.
• Develop a sense of personal morality by relating to God and self.
• Develop an awareness of social morality by relating to God’s gift of creation and relating to others.
• Experience growth in God’s love by recognizing self as a unique individual and by participating as a family member.
• Develop love for God and others by being a family member, member of the Church and member of the neighborhood.
• Encounter God in Scripture by being called by name, by knowing that we are loved by God, and by learning about the Bible.
• Encounter God in prayer by listening and speaking to Him, by offering praise, thanksgiving, and sorrow and by memorizing some formal prayers.
• Observe their parents’ example in sacramental settings by seeking Penance and by reverence in receiving Holy Communion.
• Recognize saints as friends and heroes/heroines in God’s family.

Teaching Strategies Used

• Participate in daily prayer
• Dramatize stories from the Bible
• Participate in singing and liturgical dancing
• Participate in First Grade Liturgy
• Observe quiet time with Jesus

Special Features

• Weekly liturgies
• Christmas Festival

Evaluation

• Complete end of chapter tests.
• Complete chapter homework.
• Recite prayers (Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be) several times throughout the year.

Course Title: Language Arts

Grade               First
Faculty Name  Miss Mallory Voltz, Ms. Maria Young
Textbook          Journeys (Around the Neighborhood, Sharing Time, Nature Near and Far, 
                                                                   Exploring Together, Watch Us Grow, Three Cheers for Us)
Publisher         Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Copyright        2012
Website            http://www.thinkcentral.com

Significant Curriculum Guidelines

Students will:

• Construct simple sentences using capital letters and correct end punctuation.
• Utilize their knowledge of word structure and phonics to spell new words.
• Learn and apply the fundamentals of spelling, grammar mechanics, and sentence structure.
• Write a simple story utilizing focus, organization, development of main idea, and plot.
• Develop the ability to use language with ease, clarity, and purpose in both oral and written form.
• Practice the Zaner-Bloser Method of manuscript writing.
• Retell a story in sequence.
• Spell and write words correctly in a dictated sentence.
• Express ideas orally in a complete sentence.
• Identify and practice steps of writing process (focus, content, organization, style, conventions).

Teaching Strategies Used

• Practice word and sentence building
• Practice journal dictation/writing
• Complete spelling homework
• Participate in spelling bees
• Practice simple story writing
• Complete oral book reports
• Play various spelling game

Special Features

• Write letters to Santa
• Write letters to soliders/veterans

Evaluation

• Writing samples
• Oral presentations
• Class participation
• Spelling tests
• Rubrics

Course Title: Reading

Grade               First
Faculty Name  Miss Mallory Voltz, Ms. Maria Young
Textbook          Journeys (Around the Neighborhood, Sharing Time, Nature Near and Far, 
                                                                   Exploring Together, Watch Us Grow, Three Cheers for Us)
Publisher         Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Copyright        2012
Website            http://www.thinkcentral.com

Significant Curriculum Guidelines

Students will:

• Receive phonics instruction to increase phonemic awareness and enable students to decode new words.
• Decode written words into speech using explicit systematic phonics instruction.
• Be introduced to all 250 Dolch Basic Sight Words.
• Be exposed to multiple encounters with key vocabulary words in order to improve comprehension.
• Increase their comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, and knowledge base by listening to literature.
• Read different forms of literature to increase literacy and appreciation.
• Progress from emergent readers into independent readers.
• Increase fluency by recognizing words automatically and grouping words into meaningful phrases.
• Receive ample opportunities to develop a life-long love of reading.
• Comprehend phrase and sentence meaning within context.

Teaching Strategies Used

• Participate in daily prayer
• Dramatize stories from the Bible
• Participate in singing and liturgical dancing
• Participate in First Grade Liturgy
• Observe quiet time with Jesus

Special Features

• Read library books
• Retell a story
• Read decodable books
• Discuss books for all learners
• Dramatize
• Have Book Talks/Literature Circles
• DEAR
• Participate in “Author of the Month”
• Participate in a “Poetry Café” 

Evaluation

• Oral reading/performance assessment
• Oral vocabulary tests
• Book reports
• Written post-tests
• Class participation/observation
• Frequent comprehension quizzes

Course Title: Mathematics

Grade               First
Faculty Name  Miss Mallory Voltz, Ms. Maria Young
Textbook         Sadlier-Oxford, Progress in Mathematics
Publisher         Sadlier, a Division of William H. Sadlier, Inc.
Copyright        2009
Website            http://www.sadlier-oxford.com

Significant Curriculum Guidelines

Students will:

• Review numerals 0 -12
• Understand the meaning of addition and subtraction, and will be introduced to the vertical format for writing additional and subtraction facts
• Develop mental math strategies including counting on, counting back, doubles, and learning basic addition facts to 12
• Utilize fact families for related addition and subtraction facts
• Identify and name plane and solid figures and to identify simple fractions
• Place events in sequential order, telling time to the nearest half-hour and introduction of the calendar
• Develop number concepts to 100, skip counting by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s, to find number patterns, and identifying ordinal numbers to 20.
• Develop place value concept to 100
• Focus on counting combinations of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and half-dollar coins totaling up to $1.
• Be introduced to estimating and measuring length, capacity, weight, and temperature in the customary and metric systems.
• Developmental math strategies for learning basics addition and subtraction facts to 18.
• Learn sums and differences of 2-digit numbers. 

Teaching Strategies Used

• Participate in problem of the day
• Be exposed to enrichment through problem solving.
• Participate in board relays.
• Guess the number (10 questions) 

Special Features

•     100th Day Activities

Evaluation

• Homework
• Diagnostic check-ups
• Chapter tests/cumulative review
• Observations/evaluation of board work

Course Title: Science

Grade               First
Faculty Name  Miss Mallory Voltz, Ms. Maria Young
Textbook         Interactive Science
Publisher         Pearson Education
Copyright        2012
Website            http://www.MyScienceOnline.com

Significant Curriculum Guidelines

Students will:

• Explore how our five senses help us learn about the world around us.
• Become familiar with their environment and all living things, plant and animal.
• Discover and appreciate the sacredness of all life as touched by God
• Learn the importance of Earth’s natural resources.
• Become aware of daily and seasonal weather conditions.
• Learn how matter exists and changes from one form to another.
• Discover that magnetic attraction is a force that affects the motion of an object.
• Define the concept of cycles.
• Observe plants and animals in growth and development.
• List two ways that an animal adapts to an environment

Teaching Strategies Used

• Participate in apple fest activities
• Collect and compare fall leaves
• Observe and write about the life stages of a butterfly
• Experience at Camp Lutherlyn learning about insects and plants
• Participate in Science Activities in Science Lab once a week
• Participate in Ocean centers
• Participate in Liquid, Gas, and Solid activities

Special Features

• Weekly Science Activities
• Camp Lutherlyn Field Trip

Evaluation

• Classroom observation and discussion
• End of chapter test

Course Title: Social Studies

Grade               First
Faculty Name  Miss Mallory Voltz, Ms. Maria Young
Textbook         Social Studies All Together
Publisher         Scott Foresman
Copyright        2008
Website            http://www.sfsocialstudies.com

Significant Curriculum Guidelines

Students will:

• Discover how famous people have impacted our culture.
• Discover the importance of holidays and how they enrich family and culture.
• Become aware of their school, neighborhood, and community as a whole.
• Learn basic directions studying a map.
• Understand that maps can be made of any place on Earth (i.e. a classroom or a room at home).
• Learn basic map reading skills.
• Learn to appreciate families have rules that contribute to better ways of sharing things and living together.
• Learn every person is a special creation of God and must be respected.
• Learn about needs and wants, goods and services, spending and saving.
• Explain and demonstrate the concept of manufacturing (e.g. assemble a set of papers, or pack treat bags).

Teaching Strategies Used

• Participate in seasonal/ holidays plays and make booklets and crafts
• Experience a field trip
• Earn Thanksgiving feathers for helping
• Enjoy a Thanksgiving feast

Special Features

• Thanksgiving feast
• Helping feathers

Evaluation

•     Classroom observation and discussion