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How to learn Grade 1: English language arts

Colorado academic standards: English language arts, Grade 1

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1. Writing and Composition · Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

  1. Revising and editing: Proof-read own writing to check for errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation; evaluate and revise writing with teacher/peer support, re-reading to ensure meaning is clear and tense is consistent
  2. Grammar words: letter, word, sentence: Use basic grammatical terminology when discussing reading and writing: letter, capital letter, word, singular, plural, sentence, punctuation, full stop, question mark, exclamation mark
  3. Starting and Ending Sentences: Begin sentences with a capital letter and end them with the appropriate mark (full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark); recognise and name end punctuation
  4. Capitals for Names, Days and I: Use capital letters for proper nouns (names of people, places) the days of the week, and the personal pronoun 'I'

2. Writing and Composition · Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

  1. Building sentences: Understand that words combine to make sentences — a sentence expresses a complete thought; produce and expand complete sentences in speech and writing
  2. Prepositions: Understand and use the most frequently occurring prepositions of location and direction (e.g. to, from, in, out, on, off, for, by, with)
  3. Writing to inform: Compose informative or explanatory texts using drawing, dictating, or writing that name a topic and supply some information about it
  4. Basic Nouns & Verbs: Use frequently occurring nouns (people, places, things) and verbs (action words) appropriately in speech and writing
  5. Past, Present and Progressive Tense: Use verbs to convey past and present tense correctly and consistently, including the progressive form (e.g., she is drumming, he was shouting), understanding how tense indicates time
  6. Pronouns: Use personal, possessive, and indefinite pronouns correctly (e.g., I/me/my, they/them/their, anyone/everything), replacing nouns to avoid repetition
  7. Forming Capital Letters: Form capital letters correctly; print many upper- and lowercase letters legibly

3. Reading for All Purposes · With guidance and support from adults, demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

  1. Shades of Meaning: Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs describing similar actions and among adjectives differing in intensity; make real-life connections between words and their use
  2. Connecting reading to experience: Link what is read or heard to own experiences; draw on background knowledge and vocabulary to support understanding of texts
  3. Sorting & Categorising Words: Sort common objects and words into categories to understand how concepts relate; demonstrate understanding of opposites (antonyms) for common verbs and adjectives
  4. Defining Words: Define words by category and by one or more key attributes (e.g., 'a duck is a bird that swims'), making real-life connections between words and their use

4. Reading for All Purposes · Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 1 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.

  1. Reading for Meaning: Understand that reading is about making meaning, not just saying words correctly — a text that can be decoded but not understood has not been read
  2. Root Words & Inflections: Identify frequently occurring root words and their inflectional forms (e.g., look/looks/looked/looking), using affixes as clues to word meaning and understanding how suffixes create nouns and adjectives

5. Reading for All Purposes · Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension:

  1. Reading fluently: Read aloud books matched to phonic ability accurately and with growing fluency; reread familiar texts to build confidence, speed, and expression
  2. Reading with Expression and Accuracy: Read aloud with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression (prosody), re-reading familiar texts to build fluency and confidence, and using context to self-correct

6. Reading for All Purposes · Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

  1. Single Letter Sounds: Know the primary sound for each consonant and the short and long sounds for the five major vowels; respond speedily to single-letter graphemes
  2. Onsets & Rimes: Blend and segment onsets and rimes in single-syllable words; isolate and pronounce individual phonemes (initial, medial, final) in CVC words; add or substitute phonemes to make new words
  3. Blending Sounds to Read Words: Apply phonic knowledge to blend sounds in unfamiliar words containing taught grapheme-phoneme correspondences; respond speedily to graphemes for all 40+ phonemes
  4. Reading Inflectional Endings: Read words containing taught GPCs with common inflectional endings (-s, -es, -ing, -ed, -er, -est) and the prefix un-; read multi-syllable words with taught patterns
  5. Syllables (age 6+): Decode words of two or more syllables by breaking them into syllable chunks, applying knowledge that every syllable must contain a vowel sound, and blending the parts together

7. Reading for All Purposes · Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

  1. Syllables: Count, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words; divide written words into syllables as an aid to reading and spelling

8. Reading for All Purposes · Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.

  1. Understanding print: Demonstrate understanding that print carries meaning, follows left-to-right top-to-bottom directionality, and is organised page by page in books

9. Reading for All Purposes · Use Integration of Knowledge and Ideas to:

  1. Comparing Characters Across Stories: Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories; identify similarities and differences between two texts on the same topic
  2. Book Features and Author's Reasons: Identify front cover, back cover, and title page of a book; identify the reasons an author gives to support points in informational text
  3. Pictures and Text Working Together: Describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear; use pictures to support and extend comprehension

10. Reading for All Purposes · Use Craft and Structure to:

  1. Non-Fiction Text Features: Recognise different non-fiction text structures and features (headings, contents, glossary, index), understanding how texts are organised to present information
  2. Asking Questions: Ask relevant questions to extend understanding; ask and answer questions to seek help, get information, or clarify something not understood
  3. Writing Poetry: Write poetry, exploring patterns of language, rhyme and rhythm, and learning poems by heart for recitation with appropriate intonation
  4. Different Types of Texts: Recognise common types of texts (storybooks, poems, non-fiction); name the author and illustrator and define the role of each in telling or presenting a text
  5. Expressive and Sensory Language: Recognise recurring literary language in stories and poetry, identify words and phrases that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses, and discuss favourite words and phrases

11. Reading for All Purposes · Use Key Ideas and Details to:

  1. Main Topic of Informational Texts: Identify the main topic and retell key details of informational texts; describe connections between individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information
  2. Main Topic & Key Details: Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph informational text, determine the focus of specific paragraphs, and explain how key details support the main idea
  3. Predicting what happens next: Predict what might happen next in a story based on what has been read so far; discuss the significance of titles and events
  4. Characters, settings, and events: Identify characters, settings, and major events in stories; become familiar with key stories, fairy tales, and traditional tales and retell them with key details in sequence
  5. Retelling Stories with Structure: Retell stories including key details in sequence, describe characters, settings, and major events using evidence from the text, and describe the overall structure of a story (beginning, middle, ending)

12. Oral Expression and Listening · Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

  1. Listening and responding: Listen and respond appropriately to adults and peers; follow agreed-upon rules for discussion such as listening to others and taking turns speaking
  2. Group discussions: Participate actively in collaborative conversations staying on topic; continue a conversation through multiple exchanges; maintain attention in discussions

13. With guidance and support students can:

  1. Shared Research Projects: Participate in shared research and writing projects; recall information from experiences or gather information from sources to answer a question
  2. Sharing and Publishing Your Writing: Read own writing aloud clearly enough to be heard by peers and the teacher; use digital tools to produce and publish writing
  3. Responding to Writing Feedback: With teacher guidance, re-read own writing aloud to check it sounds right; listen and respond to questions and suggestions from teacher or peers to add detail, clarify meaning, and strengthen writing — this is the scaffolded beginning of writing self-evaluation, not an independent skill
  4. Expressing & Justifying Opinions: Articulate and justify answers, arguments, and opinions; participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, and debates
  5. Writing opinions: Compose opinion pieces using drawing, dictating, or writing that name a topic or book and state a preference or opinion about it
  6. Using New Vocabulary: Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, being read to, and responding to texts in own speech and writing
  7. Rhyming words: Recognise and produce rhyming words; join in with predictable phrases and rhymes in stories and poems; learn to appreciate and recite poems by heart
  8. Discussing Texts as a Group: Participate in discussions about what is read, taking turns and listening to others; explain understanding clearly; actively engage in group reading activities
  9. Listening to Texts Read Aloud: Listen to and discuss poems, stories, and non-fiction at a level beyond independent reading; confirm understanding of texts read aloud by asking and answering questions about key details
  10. Describing Aloud: Describe familiar people, places, things, and events with detail; speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly; give well-structured descriptions and explanations