LCSD CCSS English Language Arts Instructional Template
Grade: 1
Strand: Language
Standard: L.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing and
speaking.
a. print all upper- and lowercase letters.
b. use common, proper, and possessive nouns.
c. use singular and plural nouns with matching verbs in basic sentences (e.g., He hops; We hop).
d. use personal, possessive, and indefinite pronouns (e.g., I, me, my; they, them, their; anyone, everything).
e. use verbs to convey a sense of past, present, and future (e.g., Yesterday I walked home; Today I walked home;
tomorrow I will walk home).
f. Use frequently occurring adjectives.
g. Use frequently occurring conjunctions (e.g., and, but, or, so because).
h. Use determiners (e.g., articles, demonstratives).
i. Use frequently occurring prepositions (e.g. during, beyond, toward).
J. produce and expand complete simple and compound declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory
sentences in response to prompts.
Learning Targets
What are the knowledge, reasoning, performance skills, and products that support the standard?
Type: _________Knowledge __________Reasoning _____X_____ Performance Skill __________Product
Recognize nouns:
common, proper, and possessive
Recognize that nouns and verbs match in sentences
Knowledge Target
Recognize pronouns:
personal, possessive, indefinite
Know past, present, and future verbs
Identify adjectives
Recognize conjunctions
Recognize determiners
Knows common prepositions
Recognize sentence types:
complete sentences, compound, declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing
to expand sentence types:
Reasoning Target
complete simple, compound, declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when
speaking
Use common, proper, and possessive nouns in speaking
Use singular and plural nouns with matching verbs in basic sentences
Performance Skill
Target
Use indefinite personal, possessive, and indefinite pronouns.
Use past, present, and future tense verbs.
Use frequently occurring adjectives, conjunctions, determiners, and prepositions.
Produce and expand complete, simple, compound declarative, interrogative, imperative, and
exclamatory sentences in response to prompts.
Product Target
Teaching Strategies
(The activities should directly reflect the learning targets.)

Class Discussion / Reading / Informational Just because books are called “ABC books” does not mean they are
always easy to understand. Therefore, to understand them, we have to be willing to ask questions and to think
deeply. Tell the students that they are going to look at The Graphic Alphabet. On each page, there is a letter, but
there is something more going on than just that letter. Look at “A.” Have the students ask questions about the page
and try to answer them (e.g., “Why is the letter “A” crumbling? Could the letter be a mountain? Is that an
‘avalanche’?”). There will be new vocabulary introduced, but as you go through the book and throughout the unit,
students will have an opportunity to learn those words.

Language / Writing Introduce the writing of declarative and interrogative sentences by focusing on an informational
ABC book, such as Eating the Alphabet: Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z (Lois Ehlert). On a chart, write a
question such as “What is your favorite fruit?” Teach the students to answer the question with a complete
declarative response, such as “My favorite fruit is a strawberry.” Discuss the end punctuation. Continue this activity
to teach the expansion of sentences to include details, such as “Strawberries are my favorite fruit because they are
juicy, sweet, and delicious.”

Writing / Informative Give students this prompt: “Children should eat healthy foods, exercise, and take care of
their bodies. Name one way to stay healthy. Supply some facts about the topic you chose and provide closure at
the end of your writing.” As students write, watch closely that they focus on just one way to stay healthy and that
they compose an essay supported by facts.

Writing / Shared Research Using the ABC books as a model, generate some ideas for writing a class ABC book.
Work together as a class to come up with a big class question. Begin by asking questions such as, “Is it possible to
create an ABC book with ‘Games to Play’ as our title?” Allow the class to give some ideas (e.g., names, authors,
books, plants, insects.) After ideas have been shaped into a research question, allow the children to vote on a
theme for the class ABC book. Once the theme is chosen, collect (and research using a variety of texts and digital
resources) ideas for each letter of the alphabet. Decide on a design for the book. Assign each student a letter in the
book. Each page should include an upper and lowercase letter, the key word, an illustration, and a sentence using
the key word. Be sure to have them follow rules for spelling and punctuating correctly.

Reading / Literary As you read the book Tomas and the Library Lady, pause periodically and encourage students
to ask questions. By using, “I wonder” as the beginning of the question, have students predict what is coming next
in the story and clarify understanding. Use Post-Its or white boards to keep each child engaged in the questioning.

Class Discussion / Reading Throughout this unit, students are reading from a variety of texts: stories, poems, and
informational texts. When you have a ten-minute block, play “I Spy” with the children (e.g., “I spy an informational
book,” “I spy a non-fiction book”). The students then have to guess which book you are looking at in the display of
unit books.

Writer’s workshop

Drafting and Revising in response to mentor text

Responding to literature in Core (Basal)

Morning Message

Journaling

Sentence Building

Sentence expansion

www.eslflow.com/PrepostionActivities.html

Taxi Driver Game Show

Model sentence syntax using language experience

Shared Writing

Sentence Building

Word Charts showing articles (e.g., a, the) & demonstratives (e.g., "this" or "those" specifying which person or thing
is being referred to)

Verb Sort using a three column chart (Past/Present/ Future)

Oral conversations

Language Experience

Collect adjective “word jar”

Shared Writing

Language Experience

Simple Sentence Building using conjunctions

Sentence Combining

Print rich environment

Word walls

Mix and Match words for sentence building

Set Editing For Publishing Standards:
Editing board
Label the room

Noun Sort for common, proper and possessive nouns.

Mentor Text – A My Name Is Alice to write a class book using student’s names

Copy Sentence Frames (e.g. My favorite color is_____ because ______) to complete

Draw/Dictate/Write in a Three Column Chart (beginning, middle, end)

Word Bank

Handwriting Practice

Kinesthetic Letter Writing Activities

Writing Process

Journal Writing/ Learning Log

Literature Responses

Double Entry Journal

Sharing Written Entries in Logs/Journals

Sentence Stalking & Sentence Imitating
Assessment Methods
(The assessments should directly reflect appropriate method to measure the learning targets and the standard as a whole.)


Teacher Made Tests
http://www.lites.lth5.k12.il.us/finale_units/1st/lifecycles/a3.pdf

http://www.testdesigner.com/questions/Grammar/Grade_1

Performance Assessment

First Grade Language Arts Test

Formative Assessment

First Grade Grammar Questions

http://www.lites.lth5.k12.il.us/finale_units/1st/lifecycles/a3.pdf

http://www.testdesigner.com/questions/Grammar/Grade_1
Vocabulary
Skills Specific
Recognize match Know Identify Recognize
Types complete sentences
sentence
Standards Specific
Demonstrate, conventions, standard, English
grammar writing speaking upper- and lowercase
letters common, proper, and possessive nouns.
singular and plural nouns
personal possessive, and indefinite pronouns
verbs convey sense of past, present, and future
frequently occurring adjectives
conjunctions determiners articles, demonstratives
frequently occurring prepositions
produce expand complete simple compound
declarative interrogative imperative exclamatory
sentences
Resources
Alphabet Books and Children Who Read Them
Sentence Quest: Using Parts of Speech to Write Descriptive Sentences
Launching Writing Workshop
Noun Dunk
Handwriting Practice Sheets
Action Verbs
Personal Pronouns
Hot Air Balloon Sentences
Singular and Plural Forms
Past, Present, and Future Tense Verbs
Kung-Fu Sentences
LITERARY TEXTS: Grade 1 = 50%
Stories:
Poetry:
Read-Aloud Stories:
The Perfect Pop-Up Punctuation Book by Kate Petty
TEXT COMPLEXITY BAND = NA
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference by Lynne Truss
Punctuation Takes a Vacation by Robin Pulver
Painless Grammar by Rebecca Elliott Ph.D.
Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective? by Brian P. Cleary
Read-Aloud Poetry:
See Poetry Folder on LSCD Website
INFORMATIONAL TEXTS for ELA: Grade 1 = 50%
TEXT COMPLEXITY BAND = NA
Informational Texts:
Read-Aloud Informational Texts:
Tier II Interventions
(The interventions need to be Learning Target specific.)



Classworks
Specific teacher intervention

http://www.zoodles.com/game/e-learning-for-kids/personal-pronouns

http://www.zoodles.com/game/bbc/hot-air-ballon-sentences

http://www.zoodles.com/game/roy-the-zebra/singular-and-plural

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/literacy/making_sentences/play/popup.shtml

Activity C.001 extension activities to expand sentences

Games
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/basketball/index_pre.html
Used with permission of the Kentucky Department of Education, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601.