Grade 1

At the Hydrostone Academy, the Primary program is play-based. Primary students build cognitive, social, emotional, and physical skills that serve them well moving into grade one.

Therefore, it is in grade one that students are formally introduced to literacy and numeracy. Teachers tell stories that feature the sound and shape of each of the letters of the alphabet, and students respond by recalling the story, following the teacher in creating an illustration from the story, and then practicing forming the letter, for example, in sand, with beeswax, in the air, on a classmates’ back, and then with crayons in their lesson books. This happens in a two or three-day cycle. Numbers are also introduced through stories, with an emphasis on developing a strong sense of the meaning of each number.

Math and Language Arts rotate monthly as the main focus; science suggests that it takes approximately a month to really learn something. These monthly blocks of learning allow students to really have time to grasp the learning concepts. When one of these subjects is not the main focus it is still included daily in the form of review and practice.

Language Arts

As in all grades, the grade one language arts program consists of: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. As grade one students at Hydrostone Academy are experiencing their formal introduction to literacy, the academic outcomes in language arts are similar to the grade Primary NS Public School academic outcomes.

Math

Again, similar to studies in language arts, grade one students at the Shambhala School are experiencing their formal introduction to math, so their academic outcomes in math, at the beginning of the school year, are similar to the grade Primary NS Public School academic outcomes. Later in the year, students move on to math outcomes that are equivalent to the Grade One NS Public School outcomes.

Throughout the year, math outcomes are achieved through stories, artistic renderings reflecting a sense of each number and mathematical operation studied, songs, poems, movement activities, connections to real-life, and games; grade one students embody their mathematical understanding. 

Science

Topics in grade one science are nature-based, such as hibernation, seasonal changes, eggs, plants, and the water cycle. Many stories that reflect indigenous perspectives of the natural world are shared.

Art

Art is integrated throughout the curriculum. In grade one, the first response to most lessons is an artistic one: students paint using wet-on-wet watercolour techniques, they model with beeswax,  and they draw illustrations to demonstrate their understanding. They learn to knit, and they learn to play recorder. Students engage in form drawing, first focussing on straight and curved lines, then moving into running forms.

Social-Emotional Learning and Health

Emphasis is placed on providing opportunities for developmentally-appropriate social-emotional learning. Specific lessons that focus on social-emotional learning introduce topics including: gratitude, sharing, taking turns, collaboration, positive self-talk, and conflict resolution. ‘Health’ is not listed as a topic on report cards, but many health topics are woven into the curriculum, such as the importance of sleep, healthy eating, oral health, self-regulation, gender identity and use of pronouns, and friendship. 

French

Students are taught by a French specialist three times each week. The program is mostly conversational, with drama, games, music, and fine art being integral parts of the program.

Physical Education

Physical education is taught two to three times a week by a specialist teacher.

Music

Students sing most days, and learn to play the recorder by imitating the teacher. A music specialist teacher visits twice a week.

Handwork

Grade one students learn to knit. They also engage in other handwork and crafting projects that are connected to curricular studies.

Key language and math outcomes: by the end of grade one, most students have developed strong letter-sound correspondence. They can read simple texts. Some can independently write simple sentences; some will need support. In math, they have  a strong sense of numbers up to 20. They explore place value through story and through the use of manipulatives. They have practiced skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s. They have been introduced to the four mathematical processes. They can interpret and create patterns. They can write their digits and they can accurately create simple math number sentences.