First-grade classrooms at Liberty Common School are led by professional instructors who deliver the Core Knowledge Curriculum while managing their exuberant charges with established expectations and routines. 1st-grade students are developing early independence, and consistent enforcement of behavior expectations instills the school’s Foundation Stones, while developing appropriate habits.

Under the expert tutelage of their professional classroom instructors, 1st-grade students at LCS continue developing fluent, independent literacy skills, building upon the phonetic practice initiated in kindergarten. Reading groups, a strategy developed in-house by LCS’s 1st-grade instructors, divide students into groups based upon their assessed reading competency. With help from parent volunteers, reading groups provide each student with thirty minutes to read amongst peers of a similar competency. A detailed explainer of reading groups is included in the downloadable content for 1st grade.

Similar to kindergarten, 1st-grade students will also experience literature beyond phonetic trainers. Reading independently or with an adult from a curated great-books list of age-appropriate, rich literature fosters in students a love of the sound of language and an appreciation for the exciting world of stories, while reinforcing the tenets of virtue and character.

History and Geography content from the Core Knowledge Curriculum utilizes interesting stories and spatial relationships to pique students’ interest in learning about these subjects. LCS 1st-grade teachers instill in students the school’s Foundation Stones when discussing events and individuals from curriculum.