Grade 1 English Language Arts
11 units matched to the Nova Scotia Curriculum. Kids see this subject as “Letters & Words”.
Learning focus
- A1 Foundations of Language: Learners will apply listening, speaking, and non-verbal communication skills and strategies to understand and communicate meaning for various audiences, purposes, and contexts.
- A2 Foundations of Language: Learners will apply understanding of foundational language knowledge and skill when reading and writing.
- A3 Foundations of Language: Learners will apply knowledge of sentence structure, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation when reading and writing.
- B1 Comprehension: Learners will apply knowledge of text structures, features, and styles to comprehend texts in a variety of genres that represent diverse perspectives and experiences.
- B2 Comprehension: Learners will use reading, listening, and viewing strategies to comprehend a variety of texts that represent diverse perspectives and experiences.
- B3 Comprehension: Learners will apply critical thinking skills to deepen comprehension of texts and analyse how various perspectives and topics are communicated and addressed in a variety of texts.
- C1 Composition: Learners will apply pre-writing skills and strategies to develop various texts for a range of authentic audiences and purposes.
- C2 Composition: Learners will apply knowledge and understanding of text forms and genres to write a variety of texts.
- C3 Composition: Learners will use suitable and effective media, techniques, and tools to publish and present final texts in a range of genres.
Units
Unit 1
Blend It
Blending sounds into words (s-u-n makes sun), counting the sounds in a word and hearing the last sound. These listening skills are the base of reading and spelling.
Learning outcome: A2 · blending and segmenting sounds to read and spell words
Unit 2
Short Vowels
Hearing the short vowel in the middle of words like cat, bed, pig, dog and sun, and filling in the missing vowel to spell the word.
Learning outcome: A2 · short vowel sounds in reading and spelling
Unit 3
Word Families
Words that share an ending, like cat, hat and bat. Once children know one word in a family, they can read and spell many more by changing the first sound.
Learning outcome: A2 · word families and rhyming patterns
Unit 4
Sh, Ch, Th
Letter pairs that make one sound (sh, ch, th) at the start and end of words like ship, cheese and tooth.
Learning outcome: A2 · the sounds sh, ch and th
Unit 5
Sight Words
Common words like said, was, they and where that are tricky to sound out. Children practise finding, using and spelling them so they can read them at a glance.
Learning outcome: A2 · recognizing and spelling high-frequency words
Unit 6
Sentences
Starting sentences and names with a capital letter, ending with a period or question mark, telling whole sentences from parts, counting words and finding naming words.
Learning outcome: A3 · capital letters and periods in sentences
Unit 7
Kinds of Sentences
Knowing a telling sentence from a question, a command and an exclamation, choosing the end mark, and seeing sentences with two ideas joined.
Learning outcome: A3 · sentences that tell, ask and exclaim, and the punctuation they need
Unit 8
Describing Words
Opposites (hot and cold) and describing words that tell how something looks, feels, tastes or sounds, including finding the describing word in a sentence.
Learning outcome: A2, A3 · describing words and opposites
Unit 9
More Than One
Plurals: adding -s to a naming word means more than one (one cat, two cats). Stretch questions add -es to words like box and fox.
Learning outcome: A3 · word endings that make plurals
Unit 10
Story Time
Reading short stories, then naming who is in them and where they happen, and putting the events in order. Reading the story aloud together and talking about it helps a lot!
Learning outcome: B1, B2 · story elements, and retelling in order
Unit 11
Think It Through
Reading a short story, finding the main idea and details, and using clues to work out what is not said.
Learning outcome: B2 · using strategies to check and show understanding of a text
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