First Grade Reading Curriculum — 9 Weeks of Ready-to-Teach Lessons & Activities

Launch the year with a tight, teacher-friendly program that blends systematic phonics, daily decodables, bite-size comprehension, and authentic writing—all mapped to an easy 30–40 minutes/day routine. Perfect for classroom or homeschool, this 9-week bundle walks you day-by-day through the first quarter with zero guesswork.

What’s inside

• 9 complete weekly units (Weeks 1–9) with day-by-day plans, timing, and materials lists.
• Phonemic Awareness warmups, explicit phonics mini-lessons, word building, and dictation each week.
• High-Frequency Word (HFW) mapping with spiral review (≈4–6 words/week).
• Decodable passages + word/phrase lists for accuracy, phrasing, and 1-minute fluency checks.
• Comprehension mini-lessons (characters/setting → B-M-E → main idea → key details → ask/answer questions).
• Writing integration every day (sentences, labels/diagrams, “because” statements, short paragraphs).
• Quick assessments (weekly dictation, HFW checks, oral retell rubrics) and a Quarter 1 check at Week 9.

Skills covered (scope at a glance)

• Phonemic Awareness: blend, segment, and manipulate sounds.
• Phonics/Decoding: CVC short vowels a/i/o/e/u → -ck and floss ff/ll/ss/zz → digraphs sh/ch/th/wh → ng/nk → intro blends.
• HFW: ~150+ mapped across the year; this Q1 pack introduces core sets and spirals them for mastery.
• Fluency: accuracy, phrase scooping, and timed rereads with decodable-leaning poems.
• Comprehension: characters/setting, B-M-E retell, main idea + details, key details (who/what/where), ask/answer questions.
• Writing/Spelling: encode taught patterns; daily complete sentences with capitals, spacing, punctuation

Week-by-week snapshot (themes keep kids engaged)

• W1: Short a/i + HFW (Back to School) — characters & setting; phrase-list fluency.
• W2: Short a expansion (Apples) — B-M-E retell; dictation (3 CVC + 1 sentence).
• W3: Short i (Community Helpers) — problem/solution; label + sentence; 1-min rereads.
• W4: Short o (Fall Leaves) — main idea (page) + 2 details; sentence scrambles; poem of the week.
• W5: Short e (Animals) — compare two characters; dictation with and; punctuation scoops.
• W6: Short u (Pumpkins) — setting (when/where + clues); label + 2 sentences; phrased reading.
• W7: -ck after short vowel & floss rule (Bats/Owls NF) — key details (who/what/where); “because” sentence; accuracy focus.
• W8: sh, ch digraphs (Friendly Spooky) — text features (photos/captions); diagram + sentence; digraph fluency lists.
• W9: th, wh; ng/nk (Harvest) — ask/answer questions; mixed digraph dictation; decodable reread set.

Perfect for

• K–1 teachers, reading interventionists, and homeschool parents who want explicit instruction with minimal prep.
• Schools seeking a consistent first-quarter scope that bridges into long vowels and teams in Term 2.

Format & prep

• Printable PDFs: lesson plans, decodable passages, fluency phrase lists, HFW cards, word cards, graphic organizers (B-M-E, main idea/details, who/what/where), dictation sheets, and weekly exit tickets. Print in black-and-white; use color only if you want to highlight target patterns.

Outcome: By the end of 9 weeks, students read and spell across all short-vowel CVC patterns, apply early rules (-ck, ff/ll/ss/zz), decode common digraphs, track ~30–50 HFW, and write clear, punctuated sentences—ready to tackle magic-e and long-vowel teams next term