Through whole-group instruction and station teaching, first grade uses Great Minds Eureka Math Squared as the core curriculum to deliver instruction. The major first grade instructional focuses are:

1. developing understanding of addition, subtraction, and strategies for addition and subtraction within 20
2. developing understanding of whole number relationships and place value, including grouping in tens and ones
3. developing understanding of linear measurement and measuring lengths as iterating length units

Supplemental digital resources include Zearn, XtraMath, and First in Math, available on students' ClassLink (opens in a new tab).

First grade uses a variety of modules and units of study to explore the features of different fiction and informational genres.

Series books and read alouds allow first graders to build reading stamina as they begin to read more complex texts. Students will analyze literary elements such as characters, setting, problem, solution, and plot.

Fairy tales further deepen students' understanding of stories and the messages they convey.

Informational units build students' content knowledge as they read text sets on individual interests and on content areas.

Poetry introduces students to the joy and language of poems as they explore rhythm, rhyme, repetition, line breaks, and different types of poems. Students read, discuss, and create poems while developing an appreciation for word choice, imagery, and the ways poets express ideas and feelings.

Students continue learning more complex phonological structures through Sounds-Write. Students acquire the conceptual knowledge that a single sound can be spelled with one, two, three, or four letters, that a sound can have multiple spellings, and a spelling can represent multiple sounds. They apply this by segmenting and blending words, and take this knowledge and these skills to attack multisyllabic words.

First graders continue to practice letter formation using the familiar Itchy's Alphabet. The practice of both strengthens students' orthographic mapping.

First grade uses units of study to write narrative, opinion, and informational pieces. First graders also write about their reading. Teachers use The Writing Revolution (opens in a new tab) approach not only during these writing projects, but across the school day and in all content areas, to support students' development of grammar, conventions, sentence structure, and organization.

First graders study Our Sun and Night Sky, Light, Sound, & Communication, and Animal Habitats and Survival using a combination of resources from OHM BOCES science kits. Students engage in hands-on science labs, using writing to explain their learning and demonstrate their understanding of scientific concepts.

Using BOCES-created curricula, students develop an understanding of rules and laws, global citizenship, families, economic choices, community, and geography.

First grade uses a variety of resources to support students' social-emotional development, including RULER. Students receive different levels of support based on their individual needs. Throughout the year, students also participate in cultural contribution activities and explore character traits that promote positive relationships, responsible decision-making, and a strong sense of community.