1st Grade Overall Picture
<Modules 1 and 2 are technically kindergarten content. I included themit because it makes the curriculum accessible to a wider group of families. It is a quick review; the kindergarten text will deal with these topics in a more thorough manner.
Unit One: Introduction to Addition and Subtraction
Module 1: The Numbers One to Ten
Skill 1: Learn to write the numbers one to ten. This includes an activity with pipe cleaners and beads where they mold the pipe cleaner to look like the number and then string the appropriate number of beads onto it.
Skill 2: Students will learn to show the correct number of objects when asked. They will connect the concept of the number to the amount.
Skill 3: Students will order the numbers one to ten and also compare them. They will learn that numbers come in a sequence.
PROJECT: Students create a booklet that shows each number with real life examples and pictures. This is designed to be a fun and quick review. 1 day.
<The projects listed will typically take 1–2 days. They are designed to be fun and allow students to apply their knowledge to a real world situation. Topics will most likely include business, science, and art.
Module 2: The Numbers Zero to Twenty
Skill 1: Learn to write the numbers zero to twenty.
Skill 2: Students will learn to show the correct number of objects when asked. They will connect the concept of the number to the amount.
Skill 3: Students will order the numbers zero to twenty and also compare them. They will learn that numbers come in a sequence.
Game: Ordering the numbers 0–20
Module 3: Addition
Skill 1: Students learn to complete addition by “adding on.” They will model this using objects and counting up from what they started with. They also learn this skill pictorially by drawing the additional objects.
Skill 2: What happens when you add zero? Students broaden their understanding of zero by noticing that when you add zero nothing changes.
Skill 3: Commutative property of addition, students discover they get the same result when adding in a different order.
Skill 4: Making tens. Students practice putting different numbers together with the goal of getting ten. They will use snap cubes or a bar diagram to visualize this.
Skill 5: Word Problem Workshop
Module 4: Subtraction
Skill 1: Students learn the concept of subtraction by acting it out and taking some objects away. They also model this with pictures by crossing out certain items and counting what remains.
Skill 2: Use subtraction to make comparisons and discover how many more there are of one item.
Skill 3: Students learn what happens when they subtract all or zero from a number. This broadens their understanding of zero.
Skill 4: Subtraction equations. Students begin writing subtraction equations using the minus and equals sign.
Skill 5: Word Problem Workshop
Unit 1 review <reviews are a two-page spread that allows students to practice a mix of skills. I’ve set one day aside for each review.
<No game is included for unit one because the concepts are too new. Typically, I’ll be creating a game for every skills-based unit and a project for every conceptual unit. For instance, there are two games included in unit three because students are practicing the skill of adding and subtracting. For unit five a project is a better fit.
Unit Two: More Addition and Subtraction
Module 5: More Addition
Skill 1: Students expand their skills of adding on and adding in any order to larger numbers.
Skill 2: Adding doubles. Students explore adding doubles as an effective strategy for addition. Then they practice adding doubles plus one and doubles minus one.
Skill 3: Use “make a ten” to add when the sum is greater than ten.
Skill 4: Students learn to add up three numbers.
-Game (Fishing for fives, fishing for tens).
<I wrote a blog post explaining the game Fishing for Tens. If you’d like to read it to get a better idea of my vision for the math games the link is here: http://www.kathryngomes.com/fishing-for-tens-a-math-game-for-elementary-students/
Module 6: More Subtraction
Skill One: Students use the strategy of counting backwards to subtract.
Skill Two: Students use related facts to perform subtraction.
Skill Three: Making tens to subtract.
Skill Four: Students use the strategy of “breaking apart” to subtract. Snap cubes will be used to help model this.
Skill Five: Word problem workshop with addition and subtraction word problems. Students practice deciding which part of the problem they are trying to find.
Game: Connect four with subtraction
Module 7: Addition and Subtraction Are Related
<I touched on this topic in module six but it is important enough to dedicate an entire module to studying it. Students will learn about number families or related facts.>
Skill 1: Students begin matching and memorizing related facts. I may call them “related facts” or “number families.” Here is an example of one number family.
Skill 2: Students learn to use their addition skills to check their answers to subtraction problems.
Skill 3: Find the missing addend.
Skill 4: Students learn different ways to make twenty. This also helps them memorize their facts up to twenty.
Game: Make that Number...One Way or Another!
Units 1–2 review
<Up to this point all questions and answers have been within twenty.
Unit Three: Place Value
Module 8: Counting
Skill1: Students count by ones and then by tens to one hundred and twenty.
Skill 2: Students learn to identify tens and ones. They practice creating numbers using the base ten blocks. This is their first exposure to the concept of place value.
Skill 3: Students practice decomposing numbers up to one hundred. They learn to write numbers and model them in different ways.
Skill 4: Students practice modeling, reading, and writing the numbers one hundred to one hundred and twenty. This is their first practice with hundreds in place value.
Game: Memory where students match a card that has a number with a card showing that number using base ten blocks.
Module 9: Comparing Numbers
Skill 1: Students learn to compare and circle the number that is greater or less than.
Skill 2: Students use the greater than and less than symbols.
Skill 3: Students practice finding the number that is one more, one less, ten more, and ten less. I have a particular activity in mind for this.
Game: Two-digit war
Module 10: Two-Digit Addition and Subtraction
Skill 1: Students practice adding and subtracting tens.
Skill 2: Students use a hundred chart to add.
Skill 3: Students use models to add.
Skill 4: Students use the strategy of “making tens” to add.
Skill 5: Students use place value to add. At this point, they can line the number up and add them without the use of a model.
Skill 6: Word problem workshop.
PROJECT: Students complete a project that involves two-digit addition and subtraction.
Units 1–3 review
Unit Four: Measurement and Data
Module 11: Measurement
Skill 1: Students begin by comparing the lengths and sizes of objects and putting them in order.
Skill 2: Students begin measuring use the unit cube from their base ten set or other colored tiles. They use these measurements to compare objects.
Skill 3: Students learn to tell time to the hour and the half hour.
Module 12: Data and Graphs
Skill 1: Students create and read picture graphs.
Skill 2: Students create and read bar graphs.
Skill 3: Students create and read tally charts.
Skill 4: Students solve word problems involving data.
PROJECT: Science related project using data and data representations.
Units 1–5 review
Unit Five: Geometry
Module 13: Shapes
Skill 1: Students match and identify the shapes including circles, triangles, rectangles and squares.
Skill 2: Students are introduced to three-dimensional figures (spheres, cubes, cones, and cylinders) and the relationship between faces and two-dimensional shapes.
Skill 3: Students identify flat and curved surfaces.
Skill 4: Students learn to identify sides and vertices.
Skill 5: Students learn to sort shapes according to different properties.
GAME: Shape Scavenger Hunt
PROJECT: A Geometry project related to art.
Cumulative review
Notes on the First Grade Program:
Problem Solving Strategies emphasized in 1st grade
-Draw a picture
-Act it out
Daily Schedule
The schedule for this program will follow a thirty-two week school year with a four day week (one day is kept free in case the family participates in a co-op or needs a day off). Each lesson will be a two-page spread completed in one day. One to two days are allocated for each project depending on complexity. I’ve also allocated one day for the introduction of each game. Once a game is introduced it may be listed on the daily schedule in the future in addition to the students completing a lesson. This is because the games are included to reinforce skills not to teach them.
Structure
Each book will be divided into approximately six units. Within the units there are modules that address a specific skill. Within each module are the daily lessons. Instead of listing the individual lessons I’ve highlighted the skills that need to be taught in each module.
Fact Practice
Fact practice is a main component of elementary math. In addition to the games parents can use flash cards or songs to reinforce skills. Rather than include these materials in the program parents can supplement with them as needed. On the daily schedule I will designate “fact practice” and which facts should be rehearsed that day. In the teacher notes included in the answer key I will explain the different options to parents. Each family might favor a different method for practicing.
Here is an example of how this will appear in the daily schedule:
I’d also like to include a list of the facts that need to be memorized by grade in the back of the book. When students have mastered the facts they check something off a box and eventually earn a certificate. What it means to “master” a group of facts will be clearly explained in the teacher’s notes.