English Language Arts 1, by Lincoln Empoweredª. This course encompasses reading, writing, spelling, speaking, and listening. By integrating this content, students have the opportunity to learn in a holistic manner. At this age, students are called emerging learners. This simply means that they are developing the skills needed for full fluency in English Language Arts. First grade is an important year as students are laying the foundation for more in-depth English Language Arts skills they will use in the future. This year is full of new learning, and students will learn to read. They will listen for sounds within a word, write the sounds they hear, and discover language.