This domain will introduce students to fables and stories that have delighted generations of people. By listening to these classics, students will increase their vocabulary and reading comprehension skills, learn valuable lessons about ethics and behavior, become familiar with the key elements and parts of a story, and acquire cultural literacy.

For example, a student who has listened to “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”in this grade will be prepared to later understand a news reporter who characterizes a politician as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

In the first six read-alouds of the Anthology, students will listen to some well-known fables, which are special types of fiction that teach morals or important lessons. Listening to fables such as “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” “The Goose and the Golden Eggs,” and “The Fox and the Grapes” will help students learn the elements of this genre.

In the last four read-alouds, students will be introduced to classic folktales, such as “Medio Pollito (The Little Half-Chick)” and “The Crowded, Noisy House,” and will develop an understanding of different types of fiction.

Reading these fables and stories will help first-grade students develop a strong foundation for the understanding and enjoyment of fiction.

Parent Letters : Fables and Stories

The primary focus of the fi rst half of this domain is to provide students with a basic introduction to the human body. An interactive approach is taken in the first six read-alouds. Students will be asked to explore and make discoveries about their own bodies. They will be introduced to a network of body systems, comprised of organs that work together to perform a variety of vitally important jobs.

Students will learn the fundamental parts and functions of five body systems: skeletal, muscular, digestive, circulatory, and nervous. The narrator of these read-alouds, a rhyming pediatrician, will share rhymes that reinforce basic facts that students are expected to learn.

The second half of this domain focuses on care and maintenance of the human body. Students will learn how germs can cause disease,as well as how to help stop the spread of germs. They will be introduced to two men, Edward Jenner and Louis Pasteur, whose discoveries aided in the cure of diseases.

Students will be taught five keys to good health—eat well, exercise, sleep, keep clean, and have regular checkups. By using the food pyramid and “plate” to create their own meals, students will also learn the importance of a well-balanced diet.

This domain will provide students with the rudimentary lessons they need in order to develop healthy living habits.

Parent Letters: The Human Body

This domain will introduce your students to three themes in folktales that have been told to children for generations, using variations from different lands or countries. By listening to these stories, students will increase their vocabulary and reading comprehension skills, be exposed to different places and cultures from around the world, and learn valuable universal lessons.

This domain provides an opportunity to connect to different cultures and in some cases explore folktales from students’ own cultures.

The first three readalouds are all stories about good people who are treated unfairly and ultimately find happiness, with variations set in France, Egypt, and Ireland.

The next three read-alouds are folktales about supernaturally small characters. These include variations set in England, Denmark, and Japan.

The last three read-alouds are all folktales about cunning animals who try to trick children, with variations set in Germany, China, and Botswana.

Reading these folktales and fairy tales will help students develop a strong foundation for their understanding and enjoyment of similar storiesfrom different lands.

Parent Letters: Different Lands/Similar Stories

This domain will introduce students to the development of early civilizations by examining the fundamental features of civilizations, including the advent of farming, establishment of cities and government, and creation of other practices, such as writing and religion.

The word civilization, as used in this domain, is not meant to convey a value judgment but to indicate that a group of people collectively established and shared these practices.

Starting in the ancient Middle East, students will study Mesopotamia. They will learn about the importance of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the development of cuneiform as the earliest-known form of writing, the first codification of laws known as the Code of Hammurabi, and the significance of gods and goddesses in the “cradle of civilization.”

Students will then explore ancient Egypt and be able to compare and contrast Mesopotamia and Egypt. They will learn about theimportance of the Nile River; the use of hieroglyphs; the rise of pharaohs, including Tutankhamun and Hatshepsut; the building of the Sphinx and pyramids; and the significance of mummification and the afterlife for ancient Egyptians.

In the first two parts of the domain, the concept of religion (polytheism) in Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt is introduced as one of the major forces shaping those civilizations. The end of the domain provides a historical introduction to the development of three world religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—which are all characterized by a belief in a single God.

Note: The read-alouds in first grade focus on teaching students very basic similarities and differences among religions, and foster an understanding and respect for those similarities and differences. The historical events and ideas leading to the development of each religion are presented in a balanced and respectful manner. If students have questions about the truth or “rightness” of any beliefs or religions, we will encourage them to discuss their questions with you at home, by saying, “People of different faiths believe different things to be true. These are questions you may want to talk about with your family and the adults at home.”

Parent Letters: Early World Civilizations

The domain includes a study of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations, exposing students to the gradual development of cities.

Students will examine the fundamental features of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca, including farming, the establishment of cities and government, as well as religion. Students will be encouraged to compare and contrast each of these societies and their elements. Specifically, students will learn about the ancient Mayan city of Baakal and about the Mayan king, Pakal II.

Students will also learn about Moctezuma, the Aztec ruler, and about the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. For the Inca, students will hear about the city of Machu Picchu and the role the Inca runners played in Incan society.

Last, students will learn that much of what we know about the Maya, the Aztec, and the Inca today is due to the work of archaeologists.

Parent Letters: Early American Civilizations

In this domain, students will be introduced to the solar system—our home in space. They will learn that Earth, the planet on which we live, is just one of many different celestial bodies within the solar system.

They will learn how the sun, the stars, the moon, and the other planets relate to the earth (given its position in space).

In the early read-alouds, students will learn that the sun is a giant star as well as a source of light, heat, and energy for the earth. They will also learn about the earth’s orbit around the sun, and how the earth’s ownrotation on its axis leads to the phenomenon of day and night.

Part of this domain is focused on the history of space exploration and the missions to the moon. Students will learn about NASA, the Space Race, the Apollo missions, and what it takes to be an astronaut. Students will get a good introduction to the basics of astronomy in this domain.

Parent Letters: Astronomy

In this domain, students will learn about the geographical features of the earth’s surface. They will also learn about the inside of the earth and characteristics of its various layers.

The domain focuses on the geographical features of the earth’s surface and the layers of the earth. Students will learn about the shape of the earth, the North and South Poles, and the equator.

Students will also learn the names of the layers of the earth—the crust, the mantle, and the core—and characteristics of each layer. Students will learn how occurrences such as volcanoes and geysers give information about the layers of the earth.

Students will learn about the importance of rocks and minerals in their dailylives. They will also learn about the three types of rocks andcharacteristics of each type. Students will learn how rocks and minerals are taken from the earth’s crust to be used by people.

Students will also learn about fossils and their importance in giving us knowledge about the history of living things on the earth.

Parent Letters: The History of the Earth

This domain will introduce students to the wonder of the natural world, focusing on the interconnectedness of all living things with their physical environment and with one another.

Students will learn what a habitat is and will also learn to identify specific types of habitats and their related characteristics. They will learn to recognize different plants and animals as being indigenous to specific habitats and will begin to develop an understanding of several fundamental principles of nature. They will learn, for example, that animals and plants typically live in those habitats to which they are best suited, often developing unique characteristics or features that enable them to specifically adapt to the climate and conditions of a given environment.

Students will also be introduced to simple classifications of animals according to the types of food they eat and will begin to understand the notion of a food chain.

Parent Letters: Animals and Habitats

This domain will introduce students to fairy tales that have been favorites with children for generations.

Students will learn about the elements of fairy tales that distinguish them from other types of fiction. They will also learn that fairy tales have the elements of character, plot, and setting that are found in other types of fiction.

By becoming familiar with particular fairy tales, students will be able to add these tales to their repertoire of stories that they are able to retell orally.

Reading these fairy tales will help first-grade students develop a strong foundation for the understanding of other fictional stories in later grades.

Parent Letters: Fairy Tales

In this domain, students will hear about the birth of our country, the United States of America.

They will be introduced to many important historical figures and events as the story unfolds to describe how the thirteen colonies evolved slowly over time from their initial dependence on England to the status of an independent nation.

The overriding focus of this domain is from the perspective of a rather wide lens, i.e., to emphasize the story of how the colonies became an independent nation.

Although students will hear about many people, events, and dates, it is important to recognize that Grade 1 students are not expected to master or recall all of these details and facts. Some specifics are, of course, necessary so that students can understand and retell the story of our nation’s birth.

In addition, students will hear about many different places and geographical concepts in this domain, such as Great Britain, North America, New England, etc.

In the read-alouds at the beginning of the domain, students will hear about the establishment of the thirteen colonies and will learn about the conflicts that ensued between the colonies and Great Britain. They will learn how the imposition of taxes upon the colonies by Britain led to the Boston Tea Party and, eventually, to war between the colonies and Britain, culminating in the Declaration of Independence and the founding of a new nation.

Additional readalouds highlight several particularly important historical figures—Betsy Ross, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson.

Finally, the domain concludes with two read-alouds that focus on the role of women, Native Americans, and African Americans during the colonial time period, as well as important symbols of our nation. Understanding the chronology of events and the importance of certain people—and how they fit together during this formative period of American history—will lay the foundation for another Grade 1 domain, Frontier Explorers.

Parent Letters: A New Nation: American Independence

In this domain, students will learn about the American frontier and the explorers that played an important role in the westward expansion of the United States. Students will be introduced to key people and events that played a role in the early westward expansion of the United States.

The overriding focus of this domain is to emphasize the story of the westward expansion of the United States. While students will hear about many people, events, and dates, it is important to recognize that Grade 1 students are not expected to master or recall all of these details and facts.

Some specifi cs are, of course, necessary so that students can understand and retell the story of the westward expansion of the United States. The details that Grade 1 students should be able to recall are explicitly identified in the Core Content Objectives. Other factual information is incorporated to accurately tell and expose students to the complete “story.”

Students will first review the development of the thirteen colonies and the Revolutionary War. They will hear how the first English colonists settled along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

As more people migrated to the colonies, and by the time of the Revolutionary War, the line of the frontier moved all the way to the Appalachian Mountains. Students will learn that the Appalachian Mountains were difficult to traverse and acted as a barrier to the colonists who wanted to settle farther west.

Students will be introduced to Daniel Boone and the role he played in westward expansion, specifically his role in the creation of the WildernessRoad.

After hearing about Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road, students will then hear about the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. Students will learn about how Jefferson enabled the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France, moving the line of the frontier all the way to the Rocky Mountains.

Students will hear about Lewis and Clark’s explorations of the Louisiana Territory and about the three reasons why President Jefferson commissioned the exploration of the new land. (to find an all-water route from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean; to make contact with various Native American tribes; and to record the geography and the wildlife of the Louisiana Territory)

Students will also be introduced to Sacagawea and her role in the expedition. By the end of the domain, students should have a good understanding of the concept of westward expansion and how it contributed to the growth of the United States, as well as the key people involved.

Parent Letters: Frontier Explorers