Canada · Ontario Curriculum Expectations
Grade 1 Language Arts
This course develops essential communication skills through phonological awareness, narrative exploration, and purposeful writing. Students engage with diverse texts to build comprehension strategies and express their own ideas through structured linguistic conventions.
01The Magic of Narrative and Story Elements
Students explore the structure of stories by identifying characters, settings, and plot sequences in diverse picture books.
Analyzing how characters respond to challenges and how their traits influence the story's direction.
Investigating how the time and place of a story impact the mood and the events that occur.
Developing the ability to summarize a story by identifying the beginning, middle, and end.
Students learn to identify the central message or lesson of a story.
Students identify the problem characters face and how they resolve it.
Students compare elements like characters, settings, and events across different narratives.
Students explore why authors write stories (to entertain, teach a lesson).
Students use clues from the text and illustrations to predict what will happen next.
Students practice creating mental images while listening to or reading a story.
Students express their understanding of a story through drawing or simple crafts.
02Informing and Explaining Our World
Students transition to informational texts to learn how to extract facts and use text features to navigate non-fiction.
Identifying and using captions, headings, and diagrams to locate information quickly.
Distinguishing between statements that can be proven and statements that reflect personal feelings.
Learning to write clear, step-by-step instructions for a specific audience.
Students identify the central subject of a non-fiction book or article.
Students formulate and answer questions about key details in informational texts.
Students compare and contrast information presented in two different non-fiction sources on the same topic.
Students practice writing simple sentences that convey factual information.
Students learn to use a table of contents to find specific information in a book.
Students interpret information presented in diagrams and their corresponding labels.
Students design and create a poster to present facts about a chosen topic.
03The Power of Language and Sound
This unit focuses on phonological awareness, vocabulary building, and the rhythmic qualities of poetry.
Exploring phonemes and syllables through poetry and song to build decoding fluency.
Using surrounding text and images to determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary.
Mastering the mechanics of writing, including capitalization and ending marks.
Students explore words with similar and opposite meanings to expand vocabulary.
Students identify and use verbs (action words) and nouns (naming words) in sentences.
Students learn to use adjectives to add detail and description to their writing and speech.
Students practice forming grammatically correct simple sentences.
Students identify and create words belonging to the same word family (e.g., cat, hat, mat).
Students practice sounding out and blending consonant-vowel-consonant words.
Students learn to recognize and read common words quickly and automatically.
04Communicating Through Voice and Vision
Students develop oral communication skills and learn to present their ideas confidently to an audience.
Practicing the habits of a good listener and learning to ask clarifying questions.
Developing confidence in speaking loudly and clearly while maintaining eye contact.
Engaging in group conversations to build on the ideas of others and reach common goals.
Students learn to incorporate simple visuals (drawings, objects) to enhance their oral presentations.
Students practice sharing personal experiences and stories with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Students practice asking relevant questions and providing complete answers in conversations.
Students learn to adjust their speaking volume and pace for different audiences and purposes.
Students practice listening carefully and following two- and three-step oral instructions.
Students focus on using precise words and clear sentences to convey their thoughts effectively.
Students begin to understand that different media (TV, books, internet) have different purposes.