Grade One Curriculum Overview (2021-2022 School Year)

This overview is adapted from the parent letter to the 2021 first grade families

The primary work in first grade is an introduction to the letters through pictorial imagination provided by stories, fairy tales. The other half of the curriculum portion of the year is learning the four operations by using counting objects and creating equations, which we will call “number sentences.” Learning to read and write letters and numbers is the bulk of the “academics” of grade one.

Students will learn how to sit at a desk and manage a bit of personal space and work on building good relationships with others. Teaching how to keep track of and care for supplies, pay attention and listen to directions can prove challenging for the youngsters. The beginning first grader's attention span may appear short, but watch it grow over the year.

Morning Lesson

Each morning, we will begin the day with a verse giving thanks to nature for her gifts and asking for strength and guidance in our learning.  We will participate in “circle,” which is the movement and interactive portion of morning lesson.  Circle could include jumping rope, bean bag tossing and catching, saying times tables, walking the letters, counting sticks, and putting them in groups of ten, counting blocks and making up equations, singing and dancing, cooperative games, nature walks, and right-hand left-hand activities.  Circle is comprised of activities through which students unconsciously learn many skills such as body geography, front and back space, coordination, speech, poetry, songs, dances, team work, cooperation, patience, gross and fine motor skills, balance, turn taking, memory building, confidence, rhythm, beat, timing, and much more. “Circle” is packed with priceless learning opportunities and it is a special part of Waldorf education.

The next part of the morning is “story.”  Story could come before or after circle, or at the end of morning lesson, right before snack.  The curriculum in first grade calls for fairy tales.  We will cover many fairy tales over the year, and the students are typically very attentive, soaking in the advice, cautions, and warnings, exulting in the good-wins-over evil-theme.  In Waldorf education the teacher is not to moralize but to allow the story to sink in and become an active tool or resource for the child to apply such as in outside conflicts, life choices or to enliven their imaginative play.  We trust that this archetypal oral tradition will work wonders on the deeper parts of the child’s brain unconsciously and their spirit to help sort out the complications of life and human dilemma, giving hope and encouragement to those who work hard to do the right thing. Social graces and lessons are put to the test as characters set about making mistakes and dealing with the consequences or solving other problems that arise. They are helped by their own goodness and the kindness of others. 

The final part of the morning lesson is “book work.”  Students will be asked to draw from the story, either working with the teacher’s example or creating pictures of their own.  This is a tool for building drawing skills and an education in color and balance of space and objects on the page.  

Painting

Once a week the children paint from seasonal themes, festivals, or color studies.  This first year is about building a base for understanding the colors and how they combine and interconnect, how they stay pure and how they combine to make a whole new color.  Because of this stage of experimentation only three colors are used: a pure ultramarine blue, lemon yellow, and red.  These pure colors are mixed to create green, orange, purple, and brown and all shades of those six colors.  It is genuinely exciting to teach painting. Students paint exclusively “wet -on -wet,” meaning liquid watercolor paint on wet paper. 

Lesson Block Rotation

Lessons are taught throughout the year in three- and four-week sessions called blocks.  The first block of the year will be form drawing.  The students hear a tale of a child who wanders through a kingdom following the sun and looking for a purpose. They find that they really want to go to school to learn numbers, letters, and how to read the things the universe must tell them.  The first forms correspond to balance in the human body and are a precursor to writing.  How a child draws these forms shows something about the child and where they are in their physical body with following directions, balance, and sturdiness. This activity is a forerunner to writing and reading and a base for artistic education.

“If you want your children to be brilliant, tell them fairy tales.  If you want them to be very brilliant, tell them even more fairy tales.” - Albert Einstein.

The second main lesson block will be language arts, where I will begin with introducing the consonants through fairy tales. The first step is to find a pictorial connection to the given letter. For example, B is the beginning sound of the word bear, and the B looks like a bear.  W has the beginning sound of the word water and can be drawn to look like a wave of water.  The teacher tells the story to the students from memory. The students first draw the visual representation of the letter, which combines sound and image. Then the child will very carefully write the letter and practice writing the letter several times.  The next day the letter will be written into their main lesson books. After a few days, I will ask the children if they know of a word that begins with the letter and the sound of the letter.  And I will then write the words that the children offer. This list will then be put into the main lesson book as well. 

In the second language arts block, the students will practice writing sentences carefully in their writing practice book. In this book, they will typically write a few lines from a favorite poem or class play. It is important to keep the writing and learning fresh and alive and for that reason, we may just pick a special line or part. If you read this with your child, ask them to tell you the whole story or poem. Chances are they will know it by heart. 

Often, reading practice simply includes reading the main lesson books aloud. The students will also share reading time with the eighth graders. Each eighth grader will team up with a first grader or two to read simple children’s books and share one on one time.  This exchange was successful in the past and I hope it will continue to be a special part of the week for the first graders.  We will wait to see if Covid safety protocol will allow for this exchange. As you know by now, the pace for reading on demand is much slower in a Waldorf School.  This is to prevent burnout and preserve the imaginative forces of the child, which when lost can never be restored. Additionally, the child is encouraged to learn at their own pace, which means that if your child is already reading, that is ok too. We are interested in letting these skills unfold naturally, we do not teach reading to children as decoding, which can prohibit a deep connection between language and the imagination. Grade school is where the love for reading is born. Do you ever lose yourself in a book for an hour and feel like you were a world away? That deep reading is developed through imagination. This kind of connection to language is difficult for children who are constantly distracted and entertained by stimulus or who are made to read before they are ready. In our fast-paced modern culture it pays to shelter the child from burnout and over intellectualizing. 

The third main lesson block will be mathematics.  In Waldorf Education we learn from the whole to the parts, for example, we will study the quality of numbers before we discuss the quantity of numbers.  This first block will be very visual, giving children firm ground to stand on when understanding the numbers and what they represent.  This is also aimed at connecting the unity of all things, animals, plants, human beings, and mother earth and how the whole universe can also be understood through numbers.  While numbers naturally indicate quantity, we also talk about them in terms of quality. For example, there is the number “one” and there is also “oneness.” With the number two we can notice the duplicity found in our own body with two eyes, nostrils, hands, arms, legs, feet, etc. And so the quality of numbers is a block where we look to see numbers all around us in the world and in our selves. The students also learn the Roman numerals as an introduction to the quality of numbers.  We do this because the Roman numerals are based on the human body and the fingers, and were used before Arabic Numbers. We use mathematic manipulatives which give students the opportunity to work concretely with abstract concepts as we begin calculation, for instance we count pine cones, sticks, blocks, and other objects.  We will put them in groups to illustrate the times tables, for example three sets of three pine cones equals nine pine cones, 3x3=9.  Then the children will be led to writing the number sentences into their main lesson books but only after handling and experiencing physical objects and bringing the numbers into a concrete experience. 

Students will count in circle time up to 100 and backwards again.  This is an excellent way to reinforce sequencing, to practice, and to take stress off having to perform individually.  The four mathematical operations are introduced by the story of the number kingdom.  The king looks for his four helpers, Queen Minus, Prince Plus, Princess Multiplication, and Duke Division. These four characters help the king to add up his wealth, divide it evenly, give it away, and create new wealth, they add, divide, subtract, and multiply for the king and his kingdom. Students will also be introduced to the operational symbols. By the end of the year, they may be given up to ten problems a day to figure independently using their manipulatives. 

Science in Grade 1

We will study nature throughout the year by going on nature walks and by observing plants, animals, the weather, and insects.  As an experienced grades teacher, I will lead young students in making observations of the natural world that I know will school the capacities that build important science skills in the upper grades. I will emphasize looking at seeds, listening to water, watching the changes of the seasons, and taking a keen look at what living creatures we are able to see and when. Also, how do animals keep their homes? You can help by taking lots of nature walks with your child as well and taking notice of insects, birds, critters, and nests, and just asking and answering the natural questions that come up effortlessly out of open human curiosity.  We are building skills of observation and the point is to question through observing. I also typically tell simple nature stories during beeswax modeling.  The students will model animals, plants, or flowers, and we will share our stories about animal behavior and our experience with the outdoors.

We will observe the weather and play outside daily. Open free play is key to a large class finding harmony and healthily builds context for understanding the world through making tactile connections with weather, nature, and the seasons. In Waldorf Education this is the basis for scientific studies in the grades.  Each day the students will receive two recesses. At times one recess might be in the gym or on a walk. The other recess will typically take place at Pulaski Park. We will rotate the location of recess play with other classes in the school keeping our class apart from others to decrease their exposure to others.

Class Play

Every grade at a Waldorf School puts on a class play. I will rely on parents to help with making or obtaining costumes. The play helps to unify the class and builds in them a feeling of togetherness, teamwork, and accomplishment.

Winter Assembly

The Winter Assembly for 2021 was a virtual experience. Each class provided songs and poems as well as images of work that they have been working on thus far this year. Here is what Grade One shared.

Goals for the First Grade:

Developing an increased degree of control in gross motor movement and improved coordination

Increasing muscle strength and skills through jumping rope, running, tumble activities, throw and catch games

Developing a sense of balance by standing on one foot and using a balance beam

Increasing independence while getting ready to go outside by learning to tie shoes, manage buttons and zippers

Learning to distinguish right from left

Counting to 100

Writing numerals 1-50

Writing number sentences for the 4 math processes independently

Counting by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s forward and back

Identifying even and odd numbers

Using the four processes to solve problems mentally and with manipulative

Beginning to calculate using the four processes in math including signs

Drawing forms through focusing on gross motor skills with pencil and paper

Making seasonal observations through natures stories, walks, and crafts, listening, hearing, and identifying sounds of letters

Identifying word families and reading simple words

Learning lower case letters

Reading and writing short simple sentences

“To believe in a child is to believe in the future. Through their aspirations they will save the world.  With their combined knowledge the turbulent seas of hate and injustice will be calmed. They will champion the cases of life’s underdogs, forging a society without class discrimination. They will supply humanity with music and beauty as it has never known.  They will endure. Towards these ends I pledge my life’s work. I will supply the children with tools and knowledge to overcome the obstacles. I will pass on the wisdom of my years and temper it with patience. I shall impact in each child the desire to fulfill his or her dream. I shall teach.” - Henry James

Block Rotation Grade One Tamarack 2021-2022 Teacher: Amy Marks

September: Two weeks: Form Drawing: Form drawing presented through stories in preparation for writing letters and numbers

September and October: Language Arts: Introduction to capital consonant letters through fairy tales

October and November: Mathematics: Introduction to Roman Numerals and Arabic numbers. Counting exercises up to 100 by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s

December: Language Arts: Continue with consonant letters of the alphabet including the vowels.

January: Mathematics: Introduction of the four processes. Counting by 3’s, and 4’s up to 24, running forms

February: Language Arts: Fairy Tales from around the World, finish introduction to the letters

March: Mathematics: continue with the four processes add number sentences and number dictation

Prepare the class play

April: Language Arts: Introduce the lower-case letters simply as the little brother or sister of the upper-case letter. Continue Fairy Tales from around the World, writing short sentences from the story.

May and June: Phonics: letter combinations and word families

Grade 1

Grade One Curriculum Overview (2021-2022 School Year)

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