Grade 1 Curriculum
Learning to read and to reason
Early & Foundation · Kindergarten – Grade 2
Grade 1 turns emerging readers into readers. Learners decode confidently, write real sentences, add and subtract fluently within 20, investigate the world around them and take their first structured steps in digital and coding skills.
Developmental learning priorities
- Decoding and reading fluency
- Sentence writing
- Addition and subtraction fluency
- Structured observation
- Independence and responsibility
Subjects taught in Grade 1
Reading & Writing Foundations(open for detail)
Learners blend sounds into words, read decodable and levelled books daily, answer questions about what they read, and write complete sentences with capital letters and full stops.
Annual learning objectives
- • Decode CVC and common blend words
- • Read 100+ high-frequency words
- • Answer who, what, where questions about a text
- • Write three or more connected sentences
Key units & topics
- • Blends and digraphs
- • Reading fluency
- • Comprehension questions
- • Sentence writing
- • Storytelling
Skills developed
- • Decoding
- • Fluency
- • Comprehension
- • Sentence construction
Projects & performance tasks
- • My own story book
- • Class reading chart and read-aloud day
Technology & AI integration
Learners type their names and short sentences and listen to recorded stories.
Assessment approach
Running records, weekly dictation and writing samples.
Number Operations & Measurement(open for detail)
Learners master addition and subtraction within 20, understand place value to 100, measure length and time, and solve one-step word problems using drawings and objects.
Annual learning objectives
- • Add and subtract fluently within 20
- • Understand tens and ones to 100
- • Measure length with non-standard and standard units
- • Tell time to the hour and half hour
Key units & topics
- • Place value
- • Addition and subtraction
- • Measurement
- • Time and money
- • Shapes and halves
Skills developed
- • Number fluency
- • Problem solving
- • Measuring accuracy
Projects & performance tasks
- • Classroom measuring survey
- • Market-day counting activity
Technology & AI integration
Simple maths practice apps and a class tally recorded on a shared screen.
Assessment approach
Fluency timings, unit tests and practical measuring tasks.
Living Things, Materials & Weather(open for detail)
Learners investigate plants and animals, sort materials by their properties, track weather patterns and carry out their first fair tests with teacher guidance.
Annual learning objectives
- • Identify the needs of plants and animals
- • Sort materials by property
- • Record weather over time
- • Make and check a simple prediction
Key units & topics
- • Plant and animal needs
- • Materials
- • Weather patterns
- • Simple investigations
Skills developed
- • Prediction
- • Recording
- • Sorting
- • Comparing
Projects & performance tasks
- • Seed-growing experiment with light and no light
- • Weather diary with a bar chart
Technology & AI integration
Learners enter weather data into a class chart on a device.
Assessment approach
Investigation records and oral explanation.
Sequencing & First Coding(open for detail)
Learners write longer instruction sequences, use simple tap-to-move coding activities, and learn to debug by testing an instruction and fixing what went wrong.
Annual learning objectives
- • Build a sequence of 5+ steps
- • Use directional commands
- • Find and fix an error in a sequence
- • Explain what an algorithm is in their own words
Key units & topics
- • Algorithms
- • Directions and turns
- • Debugging
- • Repeating steps
Skills developed
- • Logical sequencing
- • Debugging
- • Persistence
Projects & performance tasks
- • Floor-robot or paper-robot maze challenge
Technology & AI integration
First taste of loops: 'repeat this step' — and the idea that computers never guess.
Assessment approach
Task completion and explanation of fixes.
Digital Basics & Safe Use(open for detail)
Learners log on with help, use a keyboard and mouse purposefully, open and save simple work, and follow safety rules about personal information.
Annual learning objectives
- • Locate letters and space bar on a keyboard
- • Open, type and save a document with help
- • State the rule about never sharing personal details
- • Handle equipment responsibly
Key units & topics
- • Keyboard familiarity
- • Opening and saving
- • Safe use rules
- • Drawing tools
Skills developed
- • Keyboarding readiness
- • Basic file use
- • Online safety awareness
Projects & performance tasks
- • Typed and illustrated 'About Me' page
Technology & AI integration
Introduces the idea that everything typed is stored somewhere.
Assessment approach
Practical checklist.
Money Basics(open for detail)
Learners recognise Liberian currency, count small amounts, distinguish wants from needs and understand what it means to save toward something.
Annual learning objectives
- • Recognise notes and coins
- • Count money to make a small total
- • Explain wants versus needs
- • Set a simple saving goal
Key units & topics
- • Money recognition
- • Counting money
- • Wants and needs
- • Saving
Skills developed
- • Counting money
- • Decision making
Projects & performance tasks
- • Class shop role play with real pricing
Technology & AI integration
Prices recorded in a class spreadsheet by the teacher with learners reading the totals.
Assessment approach
Practical money tasks.
Health, PE & Wellbeing(open for detail)
Learners build hygiene routines, learn about balanced meals and road safety, name and manage feelings, and develop movement skills through daily play and games.
Annual learning objectives
- • Follow daily hygiene routines
- • Identify healthy and less healthy foods
- • Cross a road safely
- • Run, jump, throw and catch with control
Key units & topics
- • Hygiene
- • Nutrition
- • Safety
- • Movement games
Skills developed
- • Self-care
- • Coordination
- • Emotional vocabulary
Projects & performance tasks
- • Class health rules poster
- • Mini sports day
Technology & AI integration
Health videos and a class activity tracker.
Assessment approach
Demonstration and observation.
Arts, Music & Culture(open for detail)
Learners draw from observation, explore colour, craft with local materials, sing Liberian songs and perform rhythms, building creative confidence.
Annual learning objectives
- • Draw what they observe
- • Mix and name colours
- • Sing songs in tune with the class
- • Keep and repeat a rhythm
Key units & topics
- • Observational drawing
- • Colour
- • Local craft
- • Songs and drumming
Skills developed
- • Observation
- • Craft skill
- • Rhythm
- • Performance confidence
Projects & performance tasks
- • Cultural songs performance
- • Craft from recycled materials
Technology & AI integration
Work photographed for a digital class gallery.
Assessment approach
Portfolio and performance.
History: My Family & Community Past(open for detail)
Learners interview a family member, compare life today with life in their grandparents' childhood, and build their first simple timelines. They learn who founded their town or school and why places have names.
Annual learning objectives
- • Build a simple timeline of four to six events
- • Ask an adult two prepared interview questions
- • Describe two ways life has changed in the community
- • Name Liberia's Independence Day and why it is marked
Key units & topics
- • Family timelines
- • Life long ago in our community
- • Place names and their stories
- • Independence Day
Skills developed
- • Chronology
- • Interviewing
- • Comparing then and now
- • Recounting
Projects & performance tasks
- • Grandparent interview poster
- • Class 'Our community long ago' wall timeline
Technology & AI integration
Learners record a short interview on a supervised device and listen back to it.
Assessment approach
Interview poster, timeline task and oral presentation.
Civics: Responsibility & Our Community(open for detail)
Learners take on classroom jobs, learn what a leader does, and discuss what makes a decision fair. They meet the idea that a community has leaders chosen by the people.
Annual learning objectives
- • Carry out a classroom responsibility reliably
- • Explain what makes a decision fair
- • Name a local leader and what that leader does
- • Suggest one way to improve the classroom
Key units & topics
- • Classroom jobs
- • Leaders in our community
- • Fair decisions
- • Caring for shared spaces
Skills developed
- • Responsibility
- • Simple reasoning
- • Speaking in a group
- • Cooperation
Projects & performance tasks
- • Classroom helper council
- • Clean-and-care project for the school compound
Technology & AI integration
A short video of a community meeting is watched and discussed.
Assessment approach
Job-rota reliability, participation and oral reflection.
End-of-year outcomes
By the end of Grade 1, a learner:
- Reads simple books independently with understanding.
- Writes several connected, correctly punctuated sentences.
- Adds and subtracts fluently within 20 and understands place value to 100.
- Completes a guided investigation and records results.
- Debugs a simple instruction sequence and uses a device safely.
Our School, Town & Country(open for detail)
Learners study their school and town, learn to read a simple map, identify Liberia on a map of Africa, and understand rules and why communities need them.
Annual learning objectives
Key units & topics
Skills developed
Projects & performance tasks
Technology & AI integration
Satellite view of the town shown and discussed.
Assessment approach
Map tasks and oral questioning.