Slovakia First Grade Primary School Curriculum - Slovak Language and Literature

This curriculum outlines the key learning objectives and content for Slovak Language and Literature in the first grade of primary school in Slovakia. It is divided into three periods: Preparatory, Primer, and Reader. The curriculum emphasizes the development of all communication skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

Preparatory Period

This period focuses on pre-reading and pre-writing skills. Activities include:

• Writing: Introductory and preparatory exercises, visual and auditory perception, auditory analysis and synthesis, using picture clues and letters from the large print alphabet.
• Reading: Communication exercises, visual and auditory perception, auditory analysis and synthesis, using picture clues and letters from the large print alphabet.

Primer Period

This period introduces the Slovak alphabet and basic reading and writing skills. Activities include:

• Writing: Letters of the Slovak alphabet, combining letters into syllables and words, copying written letters, syllables, words, and sentences, transcribing printed letters, syllables, words, and sentences, writing words and sentences from dictation.
• Reading: Letters of the Slovak alphabet, syllables, words, and sentences, sentences and punctuation marks, short coherent texts.

Reader Period

This period focuses on developing reading comprehension and creative writing skills. Activities include:

• Writing: Improving writing technique, copying written text, transcribing printed text, writing from dictation, independent written expression of thoughts, writing proper nouns of people in cursive, capitalization of the first word in sentences, using punctuation marks at the end of sentences, practicing prescribed spelling phenomena for 1st grade.
• Reading: Poems, riddles, texts, fairy tales, stories, titles and authors, practicing correct intonation, reproducing read literary texts, expressing feelings evoked by read texts, illustrations and their function.

Communication Skills Development Across All Periods

The curriculum emphasizes the development of communication skills throughout the year.

• Speaking: Expanding active vocabulary, using appropriate communication conventions, improving oral expression by telling short stories, correct pronunciation.
• Listening: Understanding that listening is an integral part of communication, listening to the communication partner (teacher, classmate, other person) and using the acquired information in subsequent communication.
• Reading: Gradually acquiring reading skills, achieving a certain level of quality in reading technique, reading with comprehension based on individual student abilities.
• Writing: Memorizing all forms of printed and cursive letters, copying and transcribing text.

This curriculum provides a framework for developing fundamental language and literacy skills in first-grade students, preparing them for further learning in Slovak Language and Literature and other subjects.