The First Grade Lesson Plans are similar in format to the Kindergarten Lesson Plans except that they offer a lot more as your child becomes more immersed in school. Now there are four pages dedicated to each week of lessons. the first two pages provide a parent's preparation check list, weekly goals, overviews of week's assignments and much more. The layout is both beautiful and easy-to-use. The final two pages for the week are a planner-format lessons chart with ample room around the edges for notes, additions, changes, etc. The lesson plans are organized around a four-day work week, allowing families to plan a special day for field trips, family activities, house cleaning, or just catching up.
The basic texts used are: Little Stories for Little Folks (Catholic Phonics Readers), My Very First Catholic Speller, MCP Math Level A, the New Catholic Picture Bible by Fr. Lovasik, Faith and Life Book One, A Year With God: Celebrate the Saints Throughout the Year, Easy as 1,2,3,: A Catholic Overview of Science, Writing Can Help by Marie Picard, Art with a Purpose, Our Musical Year and Fun Physical Fitness for the Home. Recommended supplemental materials, great children's stories for reading practice and beautiful character-building cards are also included. Very impressive!
New Revised Edition: The new Revised Edition of the First Grade Lesson Plans (available Fall 2002) includes the following improvements: Page numbers updated to correspond with the revised edition of Faith and Life Activity Book, Grade 1, "Year At-a-Glance Chart" for ease of planning (pages 30-31), "Read-Aloud List" for locating read-alouds each week (pages 32-33), "Art Appreciation List" for locating art masterpieces each week (page 34), alternate illustrated chore chart (page 187), Larger character-building cards in Appendix Two for ease of use, updated resource section (pages 212-220) new additions to the "Frequently-Asked Questions and Answers", Revised selections for art appreciation (ones that are easier to locate), page numbers added to the lesson plan. The revised edition is 220 pages (compared to the previous 195), but the price is unchanged at $24.95.
