What Grade 1 schemes of work are
Grade 1 is the start of lower primary, and teaching at this level is play-based, practical and integrated – learners build language, number and social skills through activity rather than through formal lessons. A scheme of work turns the KICD curriculum design for each learning area into a term-by-term, week-by-week plan: what to teach each week, the specific learning outcomes, suggested learning experiences, key inquiry questions, resources and assessment.
This page brings together the Grade 1 schemes of work for every learning area in one place. Each set comes in editable Word format, so you can adjust the weeks, dates and activities to fit your school's calendar and your class, and they are kept in line with the current school calendar and the latest KICD curriculum designs. Use the links below to open the schemes for the learning area you need, or the button at the bottom for the full Grade 1 set.
The Grade 1 learning areas
Under the CBC lower-primary timetable, Grade 1 covers a set of "Activities" learning areas – the naming reflects how integrated and practical the level is. KICD's latest curriculum review rationalised these areas, merging several creative subjects into Creative Activities and folding environmental, hygiene and nutrition learning into Environmental Activities. The learning areas below follow this current, rationalised structure.
Literacy Activities – early reading, writing and pre-literacy skills that underpin every other learning area. Grade 1 Literacy Activities schemes of work
English Language Activities – listening, speaking, early reading and writing in English. A dedicated version for learners with hearing impairment is also available. Grade 1 English schemes of work · English (Hearing Impairment)
Kiswahili Language Activities – listening, speaking and early literacy in Kiswahili (schools using Kenya Sign Language follow the KSL activities). Grade 1 Kiswahili schemes of work
Indigenous Language Activities – the learner's mother tongue or the language of the school's catchment area. Grade 1 Indigenous Languages schemes of work
Mathematical Activities – early number, pattern, measurement and shape through hands-on activity. Read our detailed Grade 1 Mathematics hub for what the schemes cover. Grade 1 Mathematics schemes of work hub
Environmental Activities – the learner's immediate environment, hygiene, nutrition, safety and care for surroundings. This is the current merged area, which brings together environmental learning with hygiene and nutrition. Grade 1 Environmental Activities schemes of work
Religious Education Activities – available as Christian Religious Education (CRE) or Islamic Religious Education (IRE), following the school's programme. Grade 1 CRE schemes of work · Grade 1 IRE schemes of work
Creative Activities – the current merged creative area covering art and craft, music, and movement in one integrated learning area. Grade 1 Creative Activities schemes of work
What every Grade 1 scheme of work contains
Whichever learning area you pick, each Grade 1 scheme is built the same way, from the KICD design for that area: the strands and sub-strands broken into weekly lessons, with specific learning outcomes, suggested learning experiences, key inquiry questions, learning resources and assessment. Because Grade 1 is activity-based, the schemes lean on songs, games, stories, real objects and group work rather than textbook exercises.
The schemes also mainstream the CBC core competencies – communication and collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving, creativity and imagination, citizenship, digital literacy, learning to learn, and self-efficacy – together with values and Pertinent and Contemporary Issues, woven into everyday activities rather than taught separately.
How the schemes map across the three terms
Each learning area's scheme spreads its strands across Term 1, Term 2 and Term 3 and builds in assessment and revision. Because Grade 1 outcomes are foundational, the early terms concentrate on the building blocks – letter and number recognition, listening and speaking, basic hygiene and social skills – that later work depends on. For the exact weekly sequence in your term, open the learning area you need above.
Download the Grade 1 schemes of work (Editable Word)
The full Grade 1 schemes of work, for every learning area, are in our catalogue as editable Word files, kept in line with the current school calendar and the latest KICD curriculum designs. Use the button below for the complete Grade 1 set, or the learning-area links above to go straight to the subject you need.