1st Grade

Grade 1: “Our Wonderful World”

“Our Wonderful World” is the theme for the 1st-grade Sunday School as it explores various aspects of God’s creation, the teachings of Jesus, the Holy Trinity, and the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The book covers essential topics such as creation, the life and teachings of Jesus, the significance of the Holy Trinity, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. These lessons help children understand and appreciate the beauty of God’s creation and the important role that faith plays in our lives, connecting them to the Nicene Creed’s proclamation of belief in the One True God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Through these lessons, children learn how to live following God’s teachings and reflect God’s love and grace in the world around them.

Learning Outcomes

This list summarizes all the learning outcomes a child should know at the end of this Grade and at this age. For more information on this approach of "what a child should know?", we recommend reading "The Goals and Objectives of Education in the Orthodox Church", by Rev. Fr. Dr. Anton.

Holy Trinity

G1.LO1 - Explain that the Mystery of the Church is one that we cannot explain but accept by Faith. (Lesson 3)

G1.LO2 - Recognize in the Nicene Creed that we believe in One True God and that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are also described. (Lesson 3)

G1.LO3 - Use the example of the Sign of the Cross, and how we always remember the 3 Persons of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), whenever we remember God. (Lesson 5)

G1.LO4 - Recognize in Liturgy to make the Sign of the Cross whenever we glorify the Trinity. (Lesson 5)

God the Father

G1.LO5 - Recognize the First person of the Holy Trinity, the Father, along with the Son and Holy Spirit. (Lesson 8)

G1.LO6 - Relate Jesus calling the Father “My Father” (Mt 11:27) to how Jesus introduces God as Your Father (Lk 6:36) (Lesson 8)

G1.LO7 - Understand how God is Our Father by relating that He is both your Father and my Father, and that we are His children (Lesson 4)

G1.LO8 - Understand that the Father loves you. (Lesson 4)

Jesus Christ

G1.LO9 - Generalize the Life of Christ. (Lesson 9)

G1.LO10 - Identify Jesus as the Son of God. (Lesson 6)

G1.LO11 - Identify Jesus as born of St. Mary and God become man. (Lesson 6)

G1.LO12 - Express the Love of Jesus Christ. (Lesson 8)

Salvation

G1.LO13 - Identify that when Adam & Eve sinned, humanity's relationship with God changed and sin entered the world. (Lesson 2)

G1.LO14 - Identify sin as anything that takes us away from God and sin caused death to enter the world. (Lesson 2)

G1.LO15 - Understand that God saves us from death because He loves us. (Lesson 2)

G1.LO16 - Visualize what "saving" means using simple analogies. (Lesson 11)

G1.LO17 - Inspect the Resurrection icon and understand that Christ saves Adam & Eve; therefore all of humanity. (Lesson 11)

G1.LO18 - Connect the Tree of Life to Holy Qurbana. (Lesson 1)

Holy Spirit

G1.LO19 - Understand the Holy Spirit as God. (Lesson 14)

G1.LO20 - Describe the work of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. (Lesson 14)

G1.LO21 - Introduce the work of the Holy Spirit as the Perfector of Sacraments. (Lesson 12)

G1.LO22 - Visualize the Holy Spirit descending as a dove at Theophany and as tongues of fire at Pentecost. (Lesson 12)

Church

G1.LO23 - Understand that the Church is a worshipping community filled with the love and peace of God. (Lesson 13)

G1.LO24 - Understand that we can come to Church to receive complete healing of sins. (Lesson 7)

Holy Priesthood

G1.LO26 - Recognize the Priest as a loving father and shepherd for the flock and the one chosen/ordained by the Holy Spirit through the bishop to administer the sacraments. (Lesson 10)

G1.LO27 - Study the meaning of the vestments. (Lesson 16)

Blessing of the Home

G1.LO28 - Understand how the blessing of the house makes it into a home. (Lesson 13)

G1.LO29 - Recognize that home is where God lives and with God we live to become like God. (Lesson 13)

G1.LO30 - Understand that the home is the mini Church. (Lesson 13)

Feast of the Holy Cross (Sleeba)

G1.LO31 - Understand the action of making the sign of the Holy Cross, the motion of it, the meaning of it, the power of it, and the use of it. (Lesson 5)

G1.LO32 - Identify the places we see the Holy Cross. (Lesson 5)

Church Fathers

G1.LO33 - Understand that our Church Fathers are great teachers and guides of the Holy Church. (Lesson 8)

Diversity and Inclusion

G1.LO34 - Understand that God made us man and woman, and in His image and likeness. (Lesson 1)

G1.LO35 - Discuss how we should respond if we see someone who does not look like us. (Lesson 14)

G1.LO36 - Recognize that everyone is unique and being different is not "ugly". (Lesson 14)

G1.LO37 - Understand that name-calling and other actions we do may cause people to feel bad. (Lesson 14)

Christian Stewardship

G1.LO38 - Understand what stewardship means. (Lesson 16)

G1.LO39 - Understand the roles of a Christian steward. (Lesson 10)

G1.LO40 - Understand our responsibility as caretakers and stewards of creation. (Lesson 16)

Christian Ethics

G1.LO41 - Understand how our faith informs our behavior and the choices we make. (Lesson 2)

G1.LO42 - Recognize the image and likeness of God in every person. (Lesson 1)