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Rockwood School District

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1st Grade

Course Description

First-grade instruction builds the foundation for students to read, write, listen, and speak effectively. First graders will become more fluent readers by increasing knowledge of high-frequency words, applying phonics, and demonstrating strategies to solve words. Students will build on their communication skills when listening, speaking, reading, and writing. They will apply comprehension strategies to develop a deeper understanding of fiction and informational text. Students will write opinion, narrative, and informative pieces. Instruction may be in small groups, whole group, and/or individually, depending on the needs of the students.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Applies Word Analysis Skills When Solving Words
  • Reads Grade Appropriate Text Fluently
  • Comprehends Grade Appropriate Fiction Text
  • Comprehends Grade Appropriate Informational Text
  • Engages in Reading
  • Writes a Paragraph to Communicate Ideas for Appropriate Task and Purpose
  • Applies Grammar Skills in Writing
  • Spells High Frequency Words and Patterns Correctly in Writing
  • Uses Correct Capitalization and Punctuation
  • Prints with Correct Letter Formation and Spacing
  • Participates and Listens in Collaborative Conversations
  • Expresses Ideas Clearly when Speaking

Course Description

First grade students will become active engaged citizens by learning to describe their place geographically, noting historical and cultural influences that impact their needs and wants. Through inquiry based learning, students will evaluate sources, recognize others’ perspectives, communicate conclusions, and take informed action.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Civics: Exhibit good citizenship
  • Geography: Use map skills to explain how geography and culture impact each other.
  • History: Utilizes a variety of sources to understand and examine United States history
  • Economics: Applies economic decision making to satisfy needs and wants

Course Description

First grade students will flexibly work with numbers to build their number sense. Students build confidence and fluency working with numbers to 20 using a variety of strategies. Students will count, add, and subtract numbers to 120. Students will continue to apply learned strategies when solving real world problems. Students will understand and apply measurement, money, time, and data skills to deepen their understanding of mathematics.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Understands and Uses Numbers Up To 120
  • Understands Place Value of Two-Digit Numbers
  • Uses Place Value Understanding to Add and Subtract
  • Represents and Solves Problems Involving Addition and Subtraction
  • Understands and Applies Properties of Operations and Relates Addition and Subtraction
  • Measures Length in Non-Standard Units
  • Reasons With Shapes and Their Attributes
  • Works With Time and Money
  • Represents and Interprets Data

Course Description

The unit of Seeds, Sprouts and Sunshine This unit follows the growth of a plant from seed to seed. The students begin by dissecting seeds and growing them to explore how young plants change as they grow and respond to external inputs like light and water. The unit concludes with the students exploring the different ways humans use plants and discussing ways that we can reduce, reuse, or recycle paper plant products in order to help conserve trees. The Crosscutting Concept of Structure and Function is featured prominently as students go on to explore the parts of a plant and their functions. The students also explore what parts of a plant they eat. During the study of the Sun and Moon, We explore how a young child begins to understand time? What does rotation of the Earth and revolution around the sun have to do with time? This unit emphasizes the Crosscutting Concept of Patterns and Systems and System Models as the basis for understanding both our place in the universe and time. Students learn about cycles and make observations to find out more about how the sky changes throughout the day. They also learn what makes day and night and focus on these repeating patterns. How do humans use sound and light to communicate? The Crosscutting Concepts of Cause and Effect and Patterns are featured prominently in the unit of Putting on a Show with Light and Sound. Students explore how vibrating materials cause sound and the presence of light enables them to see. The students learn about light and sound to complete the design challenge, to create a shadow puppet show by engineering a musical instrument out of recycled materials and making shadow puppets. In the unit of Birds, Beaks and Babies, students will learn about inheritance, behavior and adaptations. They will consider these topics through the lens of a bird living in a tree. The Crosscutting Concepts of Patterns, Structure and Function, and Systems and System Models are featured prominently as students explore how birds build nests, interact with their young and adapt to particular food sources. Students will consider how birds change their environments to meet their needs by learning about different kinds of bird nests and considering what they would need to know to build their own bird nest. They will explore how baby animals, particularly baby birds, are similar yet different from their parents. Students use the engineering design cycle in order to design, build, test and redesign a bird nest.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Demonstrates how structure and function help plants live and grow
  • Evaluates and compares adult plants with their seeds
  • Communicates similarities and differences of adult plants and seedlings
  • Demonstrates patterns of sun, moon and stars
  • Investigates patterns of daylight during the year
  • Identifies position of sun, moon and stars in the sky
  • Demonstrates relationship between vibrations and sound
  • Determines objects can be seen when illuminated and demonstrates relationship between materials and a beam of light
  • Designs a device using light and/or sound to communicate
  • Demonstrates how structure and function help animals live and grow
  • Explores interactions between parents and offspring that enable offspring to survive and communicates similarities and differences of parents and offspring
  • Explains with evidence how animals change their environment

Course Description

First Grade Art focuses on thinking creatively and critically through exploratory investigation and collaboration. Students will engage in the artistic processes of planning, creating, and reflecting through practicing the Studio Habits of Mind. A variety of skills, techniques, and media will be introduced, including but not limited to: drawing, painting, mixed media, collage, fibers, printmaking, sculpture, and ceramics. Students will be introduced to visual literacy strategies and develop empathy by relating to the arts of other times, places, and cultures and will communicate about their work throughout the artmaking process. Students will exhibit curiosity by exploring their interests and/or backgrounds while creating original ideas.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • CREATING: Play & Ideation - Engage collaboratively in exploration and imaginative play with materials. VA:Cr1A.1
  • CREATING: Investigation - Use observation and investigation in preparation for making a work of art. VA:Cr1B.1
  • CREATING: Skill Acquisition - Explore uses of materials and tools to create works of art or design. VA:Cr2B.1
  • CREATING: Reflect-Refine-Continue - Use art vocabulary to describe choices while creating art. VA:Cr3A.1
  • Responding: Interpret - Interpret art by categorizing subject matter and identifying the characteristic s of form. VA:Re8A.1
  • Responding: Evaluate - Classify artwork based on different reasons for preferences. VA:Re9A.1

Course Description

This course will focus on exploring the musical processes of creating, performing, and responding, while forming connections within arts and non-arts disciplines. Students will develop the skills necessary to experience music as a performer and consumer, thus encouraging a lifelong appreciation of music.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Demonstrates knowledge of concepts through the creation of original music.
  • Sings, plays instruments and moves to music.
  • Evaluates and responds to music.

Course Description

The First Grade Health/Physical Education curriculum is based on sequential and developmentally appropriate activities selected by the teachers from the suggested facilitating activities. The teachers will focus on and are not limited to, locomotor (combining two or more) and non-locomotor skills, general space awareness, manipulative skills (passing, throwing, catching), health-related fitness, parts of a workout, heart rate, decision making, problem-solving, risk-taking, goal setting, safety, sportsmanship, personal health, and nutrition.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Participate in health-enhancing physical activities
  • Participate in a variety of activities that will increase and/or enhance their level of physical activity
  • Demonstrate and apply locomotor and non-locomotor skills.
  • Demonstrate and apply personal and social responsibilities.
  • Demonstrate rhythmic and dance activities.
  • Demonstrate and apply manipulative skills.
  • Understand the function of the bones, muscles, heart, lungs, brain, and nerves.
  • Examine, apply and understand the current USDA food groups and the impact food advertising has on food choices.

Course Description

The Library Media program for grades 1-3 will continue to develop students’ abilities to navigate and access a variety of current library resources while learning library skills. The program will emphasize growth as lifelong readers and as appropriate users of current technology.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • In order to become lifelong learners and readers, students will be able to find, filter, and apply digital and print resources ethically and responsibly.

Course Description

The goal of our program is to have students spend as much time in their regular classroom as possible. Each English Learner (EL) receives support from a certified ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Teacher. The ESOL teacher provides academic support in all content areas, and partners with classroom teachers and other education professionals to ensure that ELs’ needs (academic, social, personal) are met. Rockwood employs a variety of instructional models to support students’ needs. Students may receive services in class, in a small group, or one-on-one depending on their level of proficiency. All ELs also work on developing portfolios as another way to track their academic growth and their English language development.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • English language learners communicate for social and instructional purposes within the school setting.
  • English language learners communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of language arts.
  • English language learners communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of mathematics.
  • English language learners communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of science.