Grade One

Students entering grade 1 typically exhibit a range of language skills. Some students will still be in the Emerging Phase while others will be ready for the beginning stage of formal literacy learning.

Listening Objectives (Grade 1)

Students at the Emerging Phase begin to develop an awareness of listener needs and ask questions when something is not understood. Students listen to and enjoy stories read in one-on-one and small group situations. Students respond to stories through drawing and incorporate story elements into their play.

Students in the Emerging Phase enjoy and participate in language games, showing awareness of rhyme and alliteration of initial consonant sounds. Students make auditory discriminations of sounds in the environment within a teaching/learning context and show awareness of sound qualities (loud/soft, high pitched/low pitched, near/far, abrupt/sustained). Students recognize and imitate short sound sequences related to the concepts of first, last, middle, same, and different. They are able to repeat short sentences with varying forms. Students also participate in activities using the alphabet song.


Students at the Early Developing Phase show readiness for formal learning. They listen to adults and peers, and respond accordingly. Students ask questions when something is not understood. They listen to and enjoy stories read in whole class situations. Students show enjoyment and understanding of a book through talking, drawing, and dramatizing meaningful parts. Students choose to return many times to favourite books and make connections between story events and their own experiences. They increase their vocabulary while broadening their life experiences.

Listeners at the Early Developing Phase demonstrate increased awareness of rhymes and various forms of alliteration when listening to stories, poems, and songs. They recognize sound sequences related to the concepts of repetition and pattern. They count words in spoken sentences and may be able to clap the syllables in spoken words. They segment familiar compound words into their component words, and segment and blend words into their onsets and rimes 1.


By the end of grade 1, most students listen attentively and respond appropriately to a range of oral communications. Grade 1 students listen to and understand grade-level appropriate material including selected works of children's literature. Students follow simple two-step oral directions and ask questions for clarification and understanding. They retell stories, relating the sequence of story events by answering who, what, when, where, why, and how questions. Students listen to books and retell the most important information. They listen courteously and attentively to each other in pairs, small groups, and whole class activities to understand the meaning and intent of others.


By the end of grade 1, most students:

Foundational Objective: Listen to a range of grade-level appropriate texts for a variety of purposes. Foundational Objective: Learn about and practise the skills and strategies of effective listeners.

Before Listening During Listening After Listening Foundational Objective: Assess personal strengths and set goals for future growth.

Assessment Techniques for Listening (Grade 1)

The purpose of assessment is to improve students' learning and the quality of instruction by diagnosing strengths and needs, assessing students' progress against defined objectives, and reviewing the effectiveness of teaching methods and approaches. Diagnostic techniques, such as the following, help teachers clarify each student's phase of language development and the needs of the students in their respective phases of language learning. The result of these assessments help the teacher choose appropriate activities. The page numbers following each technique refer to sample assessment forms provided in this curriculum guide.

Sample assessment techniques include:

Instructional Suggestions for Listening (Grade 1)

It is important to choose instructional activities based upon students' needs and interests. The following list provides some initial ideas. Sample instructional activities include:
1 Researchers have found it useful to teach onsets and rimes as part of word study. An onset is the consonant, blend, or digraph before the vowel in a syllable or one-syllable word (for example, the b in back). A rime is the vowel and any consonant after it (the ack in back). Onsets and rimes are used in the creation of word families.