content Connections: First Grade

Sorting

Sorting is a foundational concept that leads to critical thinking. This concept requires first graders to categorize, arrange, and classify items based on kind, class, quantity, quality, or other characteristics. First graders extend the concept of similarities and differences found in kindergarten by learning the variety of properties, characteristics, and complexities involved in sorting. Work with sorting also allows first graders to begin the use of multiple perspectives as they analyze complexities.

Patterns and Interactions

Patterns and interactions are the fundamental understanding of the connections and relationships between and among individuals, groups, and the environment in order to create deeper understanding. First graders participate in groups, share information, compare, question, and work with others. Through these interactions, first graders begin to understand patterns and start to apply them in order to work effectively, productively, and respectfully with others in their environment.

Life Connections

Life connections are the recognition of the application, relevance, and meaning of academic information to a first grader’s experience in civic, social, and post-secondary life. Making connections is the cornerstone of thinking strategies. Making life connections involves building on prior knowledge and schema to allow for greater depth of learning. The ability to relate or associate people, events, ideas, language, performance and various other aspects of learning to one another creates deeper understanding.

Personal Communication

Personal communication is the ability to appropriately express one’s thoughts, feelings, and ideas to others. First graders are working on the fundamentals of communication through nonlinguistic and linguistic representations. First graders are building lifelong skills that employ literacy strategies that include the foundations of reading, writing, listening and speaking in order to be understood.