The Mom I Want to Be

Social Studies

* Holidays and festivals

* Patriotic celebrations

* Communities in other lands: past and present

* Family and family history

* Families around the world

* Neighborhoods

* Community services and helpers

* Shelters, stores, and food

* Citizenship and social responsibility

* Interdependence of people

* Basic geography: oceans, continents

* Map skills

 

Science

* Useful and harmful animals

* Life cycle

* Birds and insects in winter

* Animal babies

* Animal defense of themselves and their young

* Plant and animal food

* Dinosaurs and other extinct animals

* Food chain

* Plant reproduction and growth

* Habitats and homes

* Weather and its effects on earth

* Effects of the seasons on the lives of people, animals, and plants

* Climate

* Water cycle

* Air and atmosphere

* Magnets and forces

* Gravity

* Earth and sky

* Sun, moon, planets

* Simple constellations

* Exploring space

* Scientific method and scientific inquiry

 

 

Language Arts

* Reading silently for purpose

* Dramatizations and interpretative or oral reading

* Use and meaning of quotation marks in reading

* Story development: beginning, middle, end

* Simple book reviews

* Listening skills

* Organizing ideas and impressions

* Alphabetizing through second letter of a word

* Using dictionary guide words

* Vocabulary development

* Homonyms, synonyms, antonyms

* Methods of word attack

* Ways to study spelling

* Simple punctuation and capitalization

* Refining manuscript handwriting

* Writing independently in manuscript form

* Brief and simple letters and journals

* Narration, description, letters, poetry

* Increasing skill in handling books: table of contents, and index

 

 

Health and Safety

* Personal cleanliness

* Dental hygiene

* Basic food groups

* Communicable diseases

* Preventive measures against disease

* Neighborhood safety

 

Mathematics

* Counting, reading, writing to 1,000

* Counting by 2’s, 3’s, 4’s, 5’s, and 10’s

* Ordinal numbers to 10

* Zero as a place holder

* Using sets and number facts

* Addition and subtraction facts to 20

* Basic multiplication and division facts

* Multiplication and division facts as inverse operations

* Multiplication properties of 0 and 1

* Place value through 100’s

* Fractions in daily life

* Decimal numeration system

* Basic concept of ratio

* Geometry puzzles and activities

* Estimation

* Common customary and metric measures of time, weight, length, volume, shape, temperature

* Telling time and using the calendar

* Handling money (coins)

* Problem solving

* Charts and graphs

 

Following is a list of topics that are part of a well-rounded first grade classroom. Use this list as a starting point for a customized course of study for your 6 or 7 year old. These items are in addition to lower-level skills.

 

Language Arts

Reading (greater phonemic awareness and decoding skills)

Establish extensive sight vocabulary (Dolch sight words)

Ability to read common words (name, signs, etc.)

Dramatic play

Creating stories and poems

Simple narration of favorite stories

Following and giving multiple instructions, properly and with clarity

Book Reports and Critiques

Participation in group discussion

Alphabetizing

Beginning spelling (particularly words with same ending or beginning)

Beginning grammar (nouns, verbs, adjectives)

Beginning punctuation and capitalization

Advanced printing/manuscript skills

Using table of contents

 

 

Math

Counting and writing numbers to 100

Counting by 2s to 40

Counting by 5s to 50

Simple number patterns

Concept of ordinal and cardinal numbers

Beginning ordinal numbers

Concept of zero

Place value & sets (units/ones, tens, hundreds)

Single digit addition and subtraction to 9

Double digit addition without carrying

Use of number line to add and subtract large numbers

Concept of equality and inequality

Estimation

Concept of 1/2 and 1/4

Complex shapes (rectangle, oval, etc.)

Basic customary and metric measurements

Telling time to quarter hour (analog)

Matching analog and digital time

Value of penny, nickel, dime, quarter

Simple addition and subtraction word problems

Basic charting and graphing

Basic Probability and chance

 

Science/Health/Safety

Pets / Farm Animals / Zoo Animals / Woodland Animals

Grouping and classification

Common birds

Habitats

Solids, liquids, gasses

Living vs. Nonliving

Air & water

Magnet study

Fire & temperature

Sun, moon, stars, planets

Simple machines

Beginning Experimentation

Introduction to scientific method

Seeds, Bulbs, Plants, Flowers

Weather and Seasons

Hygiene

Dental health

Proper eating habits

Exercise and Rest

Common diseases

Dressing for the weather

Street safety rules

Recognition of safety signs, police officers, directional signals, etc.

 

Social Studies

Beginning American History

Basic geography terms (north, south, left, right, etc)

Making and reading simple (neighborhood) map

Holidays Traditions and Customs like Christmas, Hanukkah, Independence Day, etc.

American Heritage such immigration and mixing of cultures.

Different Cultures during different times

Family, school, neighborhood, community including neighborhood helpers like police, firemen, crossing guards, etc.

Farm and zoo

Jobs and careers

Social skills and responsibilities

 

Art/Music

Continued exposure to variety or musical and art genres

Expanded experience in creating with various mediums

Continued dramatic play

Exposure to theater and dance

Proper behavior at events

Social Studies

* Meanings of holidays, traditions, and customs

* Understanding and appreciating other cultures

* Individual’s role in family, home, school, and community

* Relationship of the individual to the group

* Work and jobs

* Safety rules and symbols

* Basic human needs

* Self-respect and self-awareness

* Awareness of others

* Location of home and school

* Diagram of home and school

 

Science

* Observation of everyday, familiar things

* Common animals and plants

* Interrelationships of animals and plants

* Classification of living things

* Farm animals

* Care of pets

* Like and unlike plants

* Indoor plants

* The sun: our principal source of energy

* Weather and seasons

* Temperature

* Light

* Colors

* Senses

* Earth, moon, stars, planets

* Simple measurement

* Beginning experimentation

 

Language Arts

* Phonics

* Choral reading

* Listening to literature, music, poetry

* Nursery rhymes, fairy tales, fables

* Social listening

* Constructing visual images while listening

* Oral communication skills

* Role play

* Following and giving directions

* Paraphrasing and summarizing

* Organizing ideas

* Experience stories

* Relating events and experiences using complete sentences

* Listening for correct speech habits and word usage

* Beginning writing process

* Manuscript handwriting

 

Health and Safety

* Personal hygiene

* Good eating habits

* Good grooming

* Care of teeth

* Major body parts

* Physical fitness

* Safety to and from school

 

Mathematics

* Simple counting to 20

* One-to-one relationship

* Concepts of more, less than, same

* Sequence of events

* Correspondence of quantities

* Ordinal-cardinal relationship

* Number-numeral relationship

* Recognition of basic sets

* Meaning of addition and subtraction

* Introduction to number line

* Estimation

* Elementary geometry (shapes)

* Calendar and clock

* Denominations of money

* Basic problem-solving strategies

* Basic chart and graph concepts

Size

* Understands big and little.

* Understands long and short.

* Matches shapes or objects based on size.

 

Colors and Shapes

* Recognizes and names primary colors.

* Recognizes circles.

* Recognizes rectangles.

* Matches shapes or objects based on shape.

* Copies shapes.

 

Numbers

* Counts orally through 10.

* Counts objects in one-to-one correspondence.

* Understands empty and full.

* Understands more and less.

 

Reading Readiness

* Remembers objects from a given picture.

* Knows what a letter is.

* Has been read to frequently.

* Has been read to daily.

* Looks at books and magazines.

* Recognizes some nursery rhymes.

* Identifies parts of the body.

* Identifies objects that have a functional use.

* Knows common farm and zoo animals.

* Pronounces own first name.

* Pronounces own last name.

* Expresses self verbally.

* Identifies other children by name

* Tells the meaning of simple words.

* Repeats a sentence of 6-8 words.

* Completes incomplete sentence with proper word.

* Has own books.

* Understands that print carries a message.

* Pretends to read.

* Uses left-to-right progression.

* Answers questions about a short story.

* Tells the meaning of words heard in story.

* Looks at pictures and tells a story.

* Identifies own first name in manuscript.

* Prints own first name.

 

Position and Direction

* Understands up and down.

* Understands in and out.

* Understands front and back.

* Understands over (on) and under.

* Understands top, bottom, middle.

* Understands beside and next to.

* Understands hot and cold.

* Understands fast and slow.

 

Time

* Understands day and night.

* Knows age and birthday.

 

Listening and Sequencing

* Follows simple directions.

* Listens to a short story.

* Listens carefully.

* Recognizes common sounds.

* Repeats a sequence of sounds.

* Repeats a sequence of orally given numbers.

* Retells simple stories in sequence.

 

Motor Skills

* Is able to run.

* Is able to walk a straight line.

* Is able to jump.

* Is able to hop.

* Is able to alternate feet walking down stairs.

* Is able to march.

* Is able to stand on one foot for 5-10 seconds.

* Is able to walk backwards for five feet.

* Is able to throw a ball.

* Pastes objects.

* Claps hands.

* Matches simple objects.

* Touches fingers.

* Able to button a garment.

* Builds with blocks.

* Completes simple puzzles (5 pieces or less).

* Draws and colors beyond

* a simple scribble.

* Able to zip a zipper.

* Controls pencil and crayon well.

* Cuts simple shapes.

* Handles scissors well.

* Able to copy simple shapes.

 

Social-Emotional Development

* Can be away from parents or primary care givers for 2-3 hours without being upset.

* Takes care of toilet needs independently.

* Feels good about self.

* Is not afraid to go to school.

* Cares for own belongings.

* Knows full name.

* Dresses self.

* Knows how to use handkerchief or tissue.

* Knows own sex.

* Brushes teeth.

* Crosses residential street safely.

* Asks to go to school.

* Knows parents’ names.

* Knows home address.

* Knows home phone number.

* Enters into casual conversation.

* Carries a plate of food.

* Maintains self-control.

* Gets along well with other children.

* Plays with other children.

* Recognizes authority.

* Shares with others.

* Talks easily.

* Likes teachers.

* Meets visitors without shyness.

* Puts away toys.

* Able to stay on task.

* Able to work independently.

* Helps family with chores.