• Recognizes that God is the creator and nurturer of all things; learns that the Bible is Jesus’ way of teaching us about God and His love for us
• Realizes that we are God’s children
  
• Participates in worship individually and as part of a community through the Eucharistic celebration
• Recognizes that prayer is communication with God; sees that Mary is the Mother of God and our Mother, too
• Experiences liturgical seasons and their themes, feast days, and celebrations
• Learns that the Sacrament of Baptism celebrates our membership in the Christian family; recognizes our identity    as Catholic Christians
• Begins developing personal responsibility, with decisions having consequences, living good lives with the  help of the Holy Spirit
• Responds to the Christian message by serving others
• Learns basic formal prayers; experiences various forms of prayer on a daily basis.
  

READING

• Recognizes words, phrases, short sentences with emphasis on literal meaning, including pre-primer words, primer words, word families, sequencing, cause and effect, and inflected endings

• Reads grade-appropriate material
• Gathers information from a variety of sources such as  charts, word books, atlas, maps, and graphs

WRITING

• Prints legibly, with correct size, shape, and spacing
• Begins to write two to three sentences on a topic
• Identifies and correctly uses contractions, present and past tenses
• Begins to edit for capitalization, punctuation, and subject- verb agreement
• Uses punctuation such as period, question mark, exclamation point, and comma
• Uses standard spelling for high frequency words
  

LISTENING AND SPEAKING

• Listens respectfully and attentively, asks questions
• Uses complete sentences, appropriate vocabulary, and volume
  
• Recites poems, retells stories, and relates personal experiences

NUMBER

• Writes, compares, and orders whole numbers to 100
• Learns place value of tens and ones
• Identifies and knows the value of a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter
  
• Recognizes wholes, halves, thirds, and fourths 
• Memorizes addition and subtraction facts through 20
• Counts by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s with numbers to 100
• Solves addition and subtraction problems with one-and  two-digit numbers without regrouping
• Finds the sum of three one-digit numbers
• Make reasonable estimates with quantities up to 100

ALGEBRA AND FUNCTIONS

• Understands the meaning of the symbols +, -, =, >, <.
• Begins to understand the concept of unknowns (1+ x = 3)
• Creates, completes, describes, and identifies simple patterns.

MEASUREMENT AND GEOMETRY

• Compares the length, width, weight, and volume of two or more objects using direct comparison
• Tells time to the hour and half hour, compares time related to events (before/after, elapsed time)
• Knows the days of the week and the months of the year
• Identifies and describes squares, circles, rectangles, and triangles
• Recognizes cubes, spheres, cones, and cylinders

STATISTICS, DATA ANALYSIS AND PROBABILITY

• Sorts object by common attributes and describes the groups formed
• Begins to compare data using picture, bar, and real graphs  as well as tallies

MATHEMATICAL REASONING

• Begins to apply a variety of strategies to solve problems
• Begins to use appropriate mathematical vocabulary
• Explains the reasoning used and justifies the procedures selected

PHYSICAL SCIENCE

• Identifies different forms (states) of matter – solid, liquid, or gas
• Learns that three states of matter can change when mixed, cooled or heated
  

EARTH SCIENCE

• Knows that weather can be observed, measured, and described
• Learns that weather is predictable in the four seasons
  

LIFE SCIENCE

• Identifies differences between living and nonliving things
• Learns basic parts of plants and the ways people use plants
• Identifies basic needs for survival of living things and  that living things grow and change

HUMAN BODY

• Learns about the five senses
• Learns about proper nutrition, good eating habits and the five food groups
  

• Develops an understanding of social skills in school and in the family, with emphasis on Christian values             and responsibilities
• Understands the growth, development, and differences of town and country, city, suburb, and neighborhood
• Understands the concept of the specialized work done in factories to manufacture, transport, and market             goods and services
• Learns about the symbols and traditions of the United States
• Identifies national heroes from our country’s history
• Learns the location, environment, and some aspects of the people of Mexico and Canada
• Learns about and celebrates national and cultural holidays
• Learns basic map skills and use of an atlas

• Demonstrates the ability to operate a computer
• Learns the ways technology helps us
• Uses a variety of software applications

• Develops motor skills, balance, and ball skills through participation in relays, rhythmic activities, and agility games
• Increases body skills and coordination through exercises and calisthenics
• Develops sport skills and participates in track activities
• Develops an understanding for physical health and nutrition
  

MEDIA

• Learns about visual and tactile perception
• Develops creative expression
• Becomes familiar with visual art heritage
• Participates in analysis and interpretation of art
• Art is incorporated in thematic units throughout the curriculum

MUSIC

• Introduced to concepts of beat, structure, pitch, form, tempo, dynamics, and tone
• Develops creative expression through songs, rhythmic games, use of rhythm instruments
• Experiences and develops attentive listening skills
• Begins to understand historical and cultural heritage
• Develops an appreciation of music
  

• La Mesa Public Library
• La Mesa Fire Station

Parents are encouraged to participate in daily reading. A variety of picture books and children’s storybooks are readily available at your local library.  Daily reading to your first grader is highly recommended.

Beginning Chapter Books

• All I Can Read Series         
• Ready to Read Series      
• Step Into Reading Series

Some Suggested Reading Lists: