In 1st grade, your child will become a more independent reader and writer. Your child will continue to learn and practice rules for recognizing the sounds that make up words and will be able to sound out more complex words. Such foundational skills are necessary and important components of developing proficient readers with the capacity to comprehend a wide range of materials. Students will learn to think about what they read and talk about the main ideas of simple stories. As they write and speak, 1st graders will learn to use language appropriately; this includes using complete sentences and spelling words with increasing accuracy.

A Sample of What Your Child Will Be Working on in First Grade

• Using phonics (matching letters and sounds) and word analysis skills to figure out unfamiliar words when reading and writing.
• Describing characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
• Writing about a small moment.
• Writing about a topic, supplying some facts, and providing some sense of an opening and closing.
• Taking part in conversations about topics and texts being studied by responding to the comments of others and asking questions to clear up any confusion.
• Producing and expanding complete simple and compound statements, questions, commands, and exclamations.

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