First Grade

Welcome to ​Old Fashioned Education's FREE online K-12 curriculum.
Before you begin, please read the introduction and license agreement. ​

Directions: 

1. Gather materials using the Booklist (below) for what to teach.
2. Print the free 40-Week Schedule PDF for when to teach it.
3. Order the Grade 1 Teaching Guide (optional) with lesson plans, worksheets, tests, and answer key for how to teach it or plan your own lessons using the FREE Homeschool Planner PDF.

Key:  *Free online   ❶  Our Pick!   ❷ Christianbook

First Grade

Age 6+
General American History

King James Bible

• King James Bible* ($1 at Dollar Tree) | All Levels

Bible Study

• The Nursery Book of Bible Stories by Amy Steedman* | Level 0-1 ❶ or
• Mother Stories from the Old Testament* | Level 0-1
• Mother Stories from the New Testament*​ | Level 0-1
• Reference: Hurlbut's Bible Atlas * | Level 1-2
• Child's Book of Prayers ❷ or Prayers for Children or Little Folded Hands* | Level 0-1
• Learn 9 prayers. Learn The Lord's Prayer.

​Optional Sunday Reading:

• Mrs. Gatty's Parables from Nature* | Level 1-2

Devotions

• Keys for Kids* or Kids 4 Truth Devotionals* or  More Than Words ❶ or your choice | Level 1

Arithmetic

Choose 1.

• ​CIMT, MEP, Primary Year 2* | Level 1
• Everyday Arithmetic Primer (First Half)* with Answers* | Level 1
• Ray's New Primary Arithmetic* and Ray's free video lessons* | Level 1
• Math program of your choice, purchase separately ❶ ​

Science

Choose 1.

• ​Enjoying Science Together (family together) or

Read through the following: 

• Among the Forest People*  ❶
• Among the Night People* ❶
• Among the Pond People* ❶
• Among the Farm-Yard People* ❶
• Among the Meadow People* ❶
• The Stories Mother Nature Told Her Children*

​
​Library Skills

• Go to the library once a week, learn how it all works. If you go on Fridays then you can check out the books you'll need for the following week.

​
Language Arts

• Phonics: Word Mastery: A Course in Phonics for the First Three Grades*, pp. 26-64
• Reading: McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader* ❷ and A Primary Reader*
• Writing: Penmanship book of choice or Enjoying Penmanship - My First Copybook ^, purchase separately
• Spelling: McGuffey's Eclectic Spelling Book, up to lesson 4 (included in Enjoying Penmanship) ​
• Grammar: Lessons in the Use of English: Book 1*, Part 1 (oral only) [1]

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If you are using all 3 programs of study, the reading below is optional.

Literature
Choose as many or as few of these books as you see fit.  You don't need to read all of them.  Just the ones you like.

• Andersen's Fairy Tales *or Andrew Lang's Fairy Books * | Level 1-2
• The Aesop for Children * or Here | Level 1
• Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by Edith Nesbit* | Level 1
• A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson * | Level 1
• Arthur Scott Bailey's Nature Stories *​ | Level 0-1

​
History

• Stories of American Life and Adventure *  

Biography

• Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans *

​
Geography & Social Studies

• The Seven Little Sisters who Live on the Round Ball that Floats in the Air by Jane Andrews
• First Lessons in Geography by James Monteith [2]
• ​Sampling Science & Social Studies*, figure on 1 or 2 books per month as desired​

Read Alouds (FREE at library or build your library - 1 picture book per week) 

Term 1 (Weeks 1-12)​

1. A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker
2. The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane by C. M. Millen *
3. A House Is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman
4. Miss Twiggley’s Tree by Dorothea Warren Fox *
5. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber *
6. A Picture Book of Christopher Columbus by David A. Adler
7. Katy No-Pocket by Emmy Pane
8. Wynken, Blynken, and Nod by Eugene Field, Illustrated by Johanna Westerman
9. The Caboose Who Got Loose by Bill Peet
10. The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear
11. The Little Island by Margaret Wise Brown
12. The Very First Thanksgiving Day Rhonda Gowler Greene

Term 2 (Weeks 13-24)​

1. ​Choo Choo by Virginia Lee Burton
2. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg *
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss *
4. Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
5. The Moon Shines Down by Margaret Wise Brown *
6. Norman the Doorman by Don Freeman
7. Pickle-Chiffon Pie by Jolly Roger Bradfield *
8. The Star-Spangled Banner Illustrated by Peter Spier
9. Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books by Kay Winters
10. White Snow, Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt
11. Patrick – Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie de Paola
12. Doctor DeSoto by William Steig

Term 3 (Weeks 25-36)

1. Little Toot by Hardie Gramatky
2. Rechenka’s Eggs by Patricia Polacco
3. The Glorious Flight by Alice and Martin Provensen
4. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears by Verna Aardema
5. Fly High, Fly Low by Don Freeman
6. Millions of Cats by Wanda Ga’g
7. The Storm Book by Charlotte Zolotow
8. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
9. A Time to Keep by Tasha Tudor
10. Saint Francis and the Wolf by Jane Langton, Illustrated by Ilse Plume *
11. A Song for Wooster - Happy Day Farm Series by Lana Kuhns*
12. Bart the Bully Goat - Happy Day Farm Series by Lana Kuhns*

Need additional picture books?  Little Jewel Books (Christian)

First Grade Syllabus​

Spend about 60 minutes daily on Program 3: Individual Study for Grade 1 as follows:

Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4
Math ​(20 minutes)	Math ​(20 minutes)	Math ​(20 minutes)	Math ​(20 minutes)
Science ​(30 minutes)	Grammar ​(30 minutes)	Science (30 minutes)	Grammar ​(30 minutes)
Reading ​(10 minutes)	Writing (10 minutes)	Reading ​(10 minutes)	Writing (10 minutes)

Add in 1 lesson from Program 1: Christian Study and 1 lesson from  Program 3: Enrichment Study daily for a complete curriculum.

Have First Grade questions or comments?  See FAQ's

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Notes
[1] Classical Phonics is based on the original Word Mastery (which is available for free). We picked the printed, updated version.
Grade 1 completes the oral recitation only, not written portion. Lessons in the Use of English by Mary Hyde is the FREE original work. English for the Thoughtful Child and First Language Lessons were both based on this work. For the first time teacher, First Language Lessons really digs in and teaches the child with instructor/teacher scripted lessons. For those with more than one elementary child, you could choose level 1 and teach all your children together, moving to the next level the following year.
[2] A few details in the geography books are out of date. We recommend that you get a world map and use an ink pen to update the text as needed.
^Consumable books less than 10%