Grade 1

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Language Arts & Literature Hide

The English and language arts curriculum is designed to develop and promote the student's interest in and knowledge of language and literature, including his abilities to listen, speak, write, and read effectively. He accomplishes this through a comprehensive program that includes a balance of written and oral language. Teachers employ a variety of instructional activities to help students learn the necessary skills and strategies to become proficient communicators. It is hoped that each boy will acquire a lifelong appreciation for the power of the spoken and written language, a love of literature, and a personal belief that literacy can enhance his life. The English/language arts program is built upon three critical strands: listening and speaking, reading, and writing. It also includes four essential conventions: grammar, sentence structure, punctuation and spelling. In the first grade, language arts activity centers are a continuation of the Kindergarten program. Circle time, author study, personal observations, and journal writing continue to provide settings for the building of essential skills. Students also work with teachers in guided reading, student interviews, and writers' workshop. Students learn the rules of correct usage of singular and plural nouns, possessives, contractions, and capitalization rules. Students are expected to apply the basic rules of sentence structure to their speaking and writing. They learn and use periods, exclamation points, and question marks in their writing. Their reading includes stories from basal readers, picture books, big books and chapter books.

Mathematics Hide

The mathematics curriculum assumes that students will make sense of mathematics in which they engage and become confident, active learners. Building this understanding is a long process that is in sequence and includes mathematical tools, technology and manipulatives. Students solve real-life problems and investigation, explore and investigate mathematical ideas and think both inductively and deductively. Communication is essential: "Students communicate to learn mathematics, and they learn to communicate mathematically" (NCTM Standards). Stuart Hall mathematically-literate students exhibit confidence in their abilities, are flexible, efficient and accurate with basic facts and computation, and demonstrate a variety of problem-solving strategies. The mathematics curriculum is built upon five essential strands:

• numbers and operations
• patterns, functions and algebra
• geometry and spatial sense
• measurement
• data analysis, statistics and probability

The following topics will be covered in 1st Grade:

• Numbers and patterns to 100
• Addition and Subtraction Concepts and Facts to 20
• Two digit Addition and Subtraction (without regrouping)
• Data, Graphing and Measurement
• Geometry, Fractions and Probability
• Money, Time and Calendar

Social Studies Hide

Stuart Hall social studies is a study of humanity. Students study the past in order to understand its connection to the present and how it directs the future. The curriculum emphasizes that ethnic and religious groups of the United States and other countries have a role in shaping the diverse society in which we live. The curriculum educates students to use critical thinking to understand the world and how each person fits in the world. The social studies curriculum is built upon four strands:

• civic values, ethics, rights, responsibilities and social participation
• geographic literacy
• historical literacy
• cultural literacy

Through various lessons, first grade students discuss how they show respect for their immediate environment. They study pictures and graphs and locate their school in its neighborhood and community. They learn about different national holidays and understand the significance of both religious and traditional school holidays. They begin to understand different cultures through the study of holidays around the world and how each boy's family represents an aspect of that diversity by how it celebrates its holidays.

Science Hide

The science curriculum is designed to promote an understanding of the nature of science and an appreciation of its methods and philosophy. The program prepares each student for the future by providing opportunities to investigate, explore, and evaluate the world. The program addresses how science works and what processes and methods expand scientific understanding. In kindergarten through grade five, all three strands (Earth, Physical and Life) are studied. In contrast, in grades six through eight, students study one strand per year. This reflects a shift to more in-depth study in the older grades. The science curriculum is built upon three critical strands: Earth Science, Physical Science and Life Science. Hands-on exploration and the use of the scientific method are central to the approach used to investigate the natural phenomena associated with the various strands of science. This approach includes eight essential processes: observing, communication, comparing, ordering, categorizing, relating, inferring, applying. By observing properties of rocks, First grade students understand that rocks can be classified by properties and that rocks do change over time. They ob-serve that all things are in motion and that motion is related to force. They study different types of force and motion and understand that the motion of an object can be described and categorized. They see that plants are living organisms and need certain things to grow. They learn the parts of the plant and how the different parts help the plants develop.

Religion Hide

In an endeavor to educate the whole child, we are guided by and faithful to the Roman Catholic tradition of faith in God and in Jesus Christ who reveals to us the love of God for all people. Studying the basic symbols, practices and concepts of religion makes much of history, literature, art and contemporary life intelligible. The intent of the curriculum is to help the student discover and articulate his own beliefs. Because the family is the primary educator in matters of faith and spirituality, we support both parents and students in their religious identities and in the faith foundations established in the home. Active faith propels one toward the pursuit of peace and justice in a diverse world. By educating each child to the love of God, self and neighbor, religious education at Stuart Hall forms in each student deep human values, a sense of wise freedom, and an informed, active faith. The religion curriculum is built upon four strands:

• Scripture: the student understands that scripture is an account of faithful people and that it has literary and historical contexts and inspirational aspects.
• Tradition: the student understands tradition as the collective lived and living response in relationship with God.
• Faith: the student understands faith as trust in God.
• Reason: the student recognizes the role of conscience and discernment in religious and ethical understanding.

In 1st grade religion, the primary goal is for students to begin to understand the traditions of the Catholic Church. Students learn that the Gospel stories tell the story of Jesus' life. From the Gospel stories, students consider ways to model their behavior upon the values expressed by Jesus in His stories. Students understand that as a member of a community, each has particular responsibilities and that church is a community of believers. Students explore the mystery of the Trinity and learn that the Holy Spirit is God's presence among us today. Students learn that various scriptures provide stories about how God reveals the divine presence in different religious traditions.

Art Hide

The study of the visual and performing arts provides the students with opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge of the arts through a sequential, creative, integrated and inclusive program that prepares them for further, more focused study. The arts teach students to participate in society in an intelligent way by encouraging them to "look at things carefully, hear things thoughtfully, feel things sensitively, and understand the role of the arts in the life of the individual and the collective life of [world] culture." The focus for the first grade year in art is on honing observation skills. A first grader uses two- and three-dimensional media on different surfaces to communicate his ideas and feelings. He uses foreground, middle-ground and background in two-dimensional art. He shows people and animals in a place, such as a landscape or a room. He begins to learn about different artists and discusses how he thinks their art was created. The student learns to work in various media, including paint, crayon, pastel and ceramic clay. He begins to see how art units related to other thematic units in his class. He continues to work in collaboration with other students in creating larger projects.

Music Hide

The study of the visual and performing arts provides the students with opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge of the arts through a sequential, creative, integrated and inclusive program that prepares them for further, more focused study. The arts teach students to participate in society in an intelligent way by encouraging them to "look at things carefully, hear things thoughtfully, feel things sensitively, and understand the role of the arts in the life of the individual and the collective life of [world] culture." The central focus for the first grade year in music is on the concept and elements of music. The first grade student continues to learn basic music theory. He composes using basic musical language. He also sings his own compositions using note names or solfeg. He is introduced to world music and begins to identify country origins and styles. He explores musical styles of the United States and can identify types of music, such as spiritual and folk. He begins to learn to two-part singing by singing in rounds.

Physical Education Hide

The primary focus of the physical education program is the student's total physical and emotional development. All students learn the motor skills needed in everyday living and in recreational activities. Students develop and maintain sound physiological functions through vigorous muscular activity. The curriculum provides situations for learning to compete so students learn to cooperate with others, treat others with respect and strive for achievement of common goals. Students learn to accept responsibility for their actions. The program provides a life-long sense of responsibility for health and well-being. The physical education curriculum is built upon four strands:

• physical activity
• movement skills and knowledge
• physical fitness and mental wellness
• social development and movement interaction

Exploration games, individual and partner games, relay and tag, and low-organization simple games, such as parachute and duck-duck goose, engage the first grade student in developing a sense of team activity. He continues to develop his eye-hand coordination by playing with balls, bats, paddles and balloons. He continues to develop his eye-foot coordination by beginning soccer skills. He continues to jump rope, walk and run to develop his cardio-respiratory endurance. He also learns to combine two and three locomotor skills to develop a pattern that he can repeat.

Computer Studies Hide

The computer lab provides an environment in which students, teachers, librarians and lab instructors collaborate on curricular-based projects. Through their years at Stuart Hall, the students explore a variety of hardware, software applications and telecommunications media. Students are introduced to these things at an early age and continually develop their skills. As the field changes, they adapt easily and explore confidently as new technology is incorporated into the curriculum. Critical thinking skills and problem solving strategies are a primary focus. Students will be knowledgeable, independent users of powerful computer applications. The Unkefer instructors, librarians and classroom teachers collaborate to create projects that use open-ended software such as multimedia programs and word processing. Students develop computer skills (copying and pasting, draw tools, etc.) that transfer easily across applications and computer platforms. Changes in hardware, software and curriculum keep the program alive and in a constant flux. The following yearly plans for each grade level are subject to variations depending on classroom teacher input, new products, and changes in technology. Beginning in the first grade and continuing for the next several years, students develop their word processing, multimedia and web skills. They write stories, interviews, and short reports in conjunction with classroom activities and assignments. Students begin to develop interactive mul-timedia presentations. Projects in the lower grades incorporate basic graphics and text, increasing in scope with grade levels to include digital images, sounds and movies. Students in grades three and four learn basic aspects of desktop publishing and web design. Keyboarding is introduced in the fourth grade via the Herzog Keyboarding Method and the program “Type!” First through fourth grade students also create simple databases and graphs as a means to track and record information. Younger students may use a graphic drawing program to illustrate their findings, while third and fourth graders create more advanced pictographs or use Excel to display results. Beginning in first grade, the computer projects incorporate the basic elements of research and use of reference materials. Each student learns how to cite and evaluate any information they include in their reports. By the fourth grade students have used electronic library and Internet resources to gather information. Students learn how to use these resources appropriately and to critically evaluate their content.