Learning in First Grade

Focus On First Literacy Curriculum

This year in first grade your child will engage in a content-based literacy curriculum called Focus on First. Students will learn to read and write through four topics of study. They are: Building Strong Communities; Animals Surviving and Thriving; Resources in Our Communities; and Communicating with Sound and Light. Students will also build knowledge and develop their vocabularies as they read, listen to read alouds, write, speak, and create with different materials related to the units’ themes.

At the beginning of each unit we will send home a family newsletter for you to know the topic of study and the questions children will be exploring during the unit’s five weeks. You will also find a list of all the books and articles we will read in class, along with the 20 vocabulary words for each unit. We hope that you can use the words as you talk to your child about what he/she is learning at school. These conversations will support your child to expand his/her vocabulary, and this is very important in learning to read and write.

Please check out the BPS Department of Early Education Website for more curriculum information. Anyone can access curriculum materials and content through the website.

Investigations 3 Math Curriculum

Boston Public Schools uses the TERC Investigations 3 Math Curriculum in grades K-5. Through this curriculum, students will use real-world problems and hands-on experiences to create a conceptual understanding of mathematics. Investigations 3 has 8 learning units in first grade. The units are fully aligned to the Common Core State Standards and the Massachusetts Mathematical Curriculum Frameworks. Students will build their understanding of number sense; place value; geometrical shapes; data, and time.

Please check out the TERC Investigations website to see detailed summaries of each Unit.