The Need for Lesson Plans in First Grade

1st grade teachers are always on the lookout for good lesson plans. Reading and writing
are two of the main areas for this search. This is because it takes so much planning time
to get ready for class. When teachers have a ready made plan, they are always ready.

However, with every lesson plan, adaptations have to be made to accommodate all the
children in the class. With the various ability and interest levels and the learning styles of
the students, you may need different methods of presentation or evaluation to make each
plan work for you.

With each lesson plan you create for first grade, you have to make sure your objective
correlates with the mandated state or provincial curriculum. Then you are sure that you
are teaching what the students need to know before they can progress to the next level.
With a reading and writing lesson, the two don't need to be taught separately, but can easily be integrated or even taught in combination with a Science or Social Studies lesson. In a
whole language classroom, you can use Children's literature as the basis of your
curriculum and teach all the concepts from the books.

Although it does take time to adapt to creating your own lessons, you can individualize
your teaching so that you take each child from where he/she is to the next level. You may
have children in Grade 1 reading at preschool level, while others are reading at a grade 3
level or higher. Although they have the same interest level when it comes to stories, they
all do not need the same focus for concepts and skills.

All First grade teachers need to get to know the strengths and weaknesses of their students in order to plan effective lessons. This will help you keep the students' interest and allow them to develop independence in their work habits.