Grade 1 English Language Arts: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 1 english language arts in the Nunavut Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Uqausiliriniq: communication and language, creative and artistic expression, and reflective and critical thinking.
- Comprehension: listen, view and read to understand a range of texts.
- Production: speak, write and represent ideas clearly for different audiences and purposes.
Easy ways to practise english language arts at home
- Read aloud every day and let your child finish familiar phrases.
- Play with sounds: “What starts with /b/? What rhymes with cat?”
- Point out letters on signs, cereal boxes and the street.
- Ask your child to tell you a story about their drawing, and write down a sentence or two.
What each unit covers
Blend It
Blending sounds into words (s-u-n makes sun), counting the sounds in a word and hearing the last sound. These listening skills are the base of reading and spelling.
Short Vowels
Hearing the short vowel in the middle of words like cat, bed, pig, dog and sun, and filling in the missing vowel to spell the word.
Word Families
Words that share an ending, like cat, hat and bat. Once children know one word in a family, they can read and spell many more by changing the first sound.
Sh, Ch, Th
Letter pairs that make one sound (sh, ch, th) at the start and end of words like ship, cheese and tooth.
Sight Words
Common words like said, was, they and where that are tricky to sound out. Children practise finding, using and spelling them so they can read them at a glance.
Sentences
Starting sentences and names with a capital letter, ending with a period or question mark, telling whole sentences from parts, counting words and finding naming words.
Story Time
Reading short stories, then naming who is in them and where they happen, and putting the events in order. Reading the story aloud together and talking about it helps a lot!
Describing Words
Opposites (hot and cold) and describing words that tell how something looks, feels, tastes or sounds, including finding the describing word in a sentence.
More Than One
Plurals: adding -s to a naming word means more than one (one cat, two cats). Stretch questions add -es to words like box and fox.
Kinds of Sentences
Knowing a telling sentence from a question, a command and an exclamation, choosing the end mark, and seeing sentences with two ideas joined.
Think It Through
Reading a short story, finding the main idea and details, and using clues to work out what is not said.
Reading Smart
Practises thinking before and while reading: using what you already know, predicting what happens next, making connections to your own life, using headings and pictures, telling kinds of texts apart and learning topic words.
True, Pretend and Opinions
Practises telling what could be true from what is make-believe, noticing that people see the same thing differently, seeing people like us in books, and giving an opinion with a reason.
Plan and Write
Practises planning writing by drawing and talking, putting ideas in order, grouping ideas that belong together, showing feelings in writing, improving after feedback, and knowing different kinds of writing.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Nunavut report card guide.
Common questions
Read aloud every day and let your child finish familiar phrases. Play with sounds: “What starts with /b/? What rhymes with cat?” Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The Nunavut Curriculum Grade 1 english language arts units include blend it, short vowels, word families, sh, ch, th, sight words, sentences.
Free printable Grade 1 english language arts practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.