Reading can open up new worlds for students by helping them build knowledge and sparking their curiosity. In first grade, students spend approximately forty-five minutes of their instructional ELA block on foundational skills, focusing primarily on phonics and phonemic awareness. To learn more about the foundational skills practiced for each unit, please access the unit plans below.
Students spend approximately another forty-five minutes of their instructional ELA block focusing on learning content and background knowledge on topics in science, history, and the arts, while practicing foundational reading skills. Geodes, information-rich books that provide emerging readers with an opportunity to build knowledge, while practicing foundational reading skills, are the primary resources used during this time. Every book is at least 80 percent decodable based on the scope and sequence of Fundations from Wilson Language Training, so all students can put their phonics skills into practice. First grade students will build knowledge of the following topics:
In Module 1, students explore the power of books shared across time and cultures. In Module 2, students explore intriguing animal traits and behaviors and are introduced to people who study animals. In Module 3, students explore how wind affects life on Earth and how wind energy can be used to generate power. Finally, in Module 4, students explore countries and cultures through the lens of an enduring tale. To learn more, access the complete unit plans hyperlinked above as well as the following resources:
Finally, students spend approximately another forty-five minutes of their instructional ELA time reinforcing, reviewing, or extending their skills in centers, small group instruction, writing tasks, or various other related literacy tasks and activities.
