Week of January 3rd-January 7th

 

First Grade Newsletter

January 3rd-January 7th

Literacy

Reading Street: Unit 3 Week 1 

Main selection:  A Place to Play

Weekly Question:  How do places change?

Amazing Words: growth, population, teeter, public, makeshift, crooked, shuffle, spindly

High-Frequency Words: always, become, day, stays, things, nothing, everything

Phonics Target: Vowel sounds of y (my, funny); syllable pattern (hi, so, me)

Comprehension skills: Sequence

Comprehension strategy: Summarize

Genres:  Realistic Fiction

Written Expression: Predicate Expander "How" (People cheer loudly!)

Reading Street Parent Connection:

• Unit 3 Family talk letter for concept conversation starters and 6-week overview of the unit. (Sent home January 3rd)
• Practice reading words (see red or green sheet sent home Monday) for Unit 3, Week 1 (first column). Please return sheet by Friday, January 7th for students to be tested on Week 1 words. 

PHONICS

Spelling 

• Skill(s):  Glued sounds (-an, -am)
• Review: Bonus letters at the end of a word: ff, ll, ss (and sometimes zz); Use digraphs (sh, wh, th, ch, and -ck)
• Trick Words: from, have, do, does, were, are
• Review trick words and practice using in writing: the, of, and, a, is, his, as, has, in, into, we, he, she, be, me, or, for, you, your, I, they, was, one, said

**Trick words are irregularly spelled words that each child is expected to be able to spell in their writing.**

Lively Letters (Sounds)

• Review stories and sounds for each letter pair: No new pairs
• Last week’s letter pairs: p/b, t/d, k/g, f/v, qu, m/n, s/z, j/ch, r/l, x/y/c, w/h,  a/o, u/i, e, ng, wh


Handwriting Without Tears
• Review all letter formations and writing letters NEATLY
• Alphabetical order 

Math in Focus

Chapter 5

Addition and Subtraction within 20

Objectives

- Add by counting on

- Add by making a 10

- Add by using doubles and doubles plus one facts

- Understand that addition can be done in any order

     -  Subtract by counting back

      - Subtract by grouping into a 10 and ones

     - Recognize related addition and subtraction sentences

     - Make fact families from number sentences

-    - Subtract using addition facts

     - Determine if number sentences involving addition and subtraction are true or false

     - Solve real world problems involving addition and subtraction

Science

Sound & Light Unit
        This week students will review the meaning of transparent, translucent, and opaque. After reviewing the meanings, students will predict if different materials are transparent, translucent or opaque. Once students make their predictions, they will conduct an experiment to test the materials using a flashlight.

Social Studies

Our social studies learning this week is embedded in our reading program. We will be focusing on communities and change through our readings.  This week the children will work to answer the question "How do places change?".

In Second Steps, students will continue to learn about empathy. Students will learn how to identify how the other person is feeling by observing their face, body language, and learning about the situation the student is in.

Specialists

MONDAY: Music  

TUESDAY: P.E.

WEDNESDAY: Art

THURSDAY: Music

FRIDAY: P.E.

Writing Workshop

This week students continue the morning work assignment that requires students to about two activities that they did over the weekend, including who was there, where the event took place, and how did the child feel about this event (favorite/worst part, sad, excited, etc.). Since students need to write about two events, we will be discussing transitional words to help students move from one event to another within their writing. The purpose of this exercise is for students to practice putting their ideas on paper through words and illustrations in narrative form.

Genre Writing-Narrative

     This week they will continue to write and I will conference with each student to help him/her continue their story.

                  
Parent Reminders

1.  Our class goes to the library on Mondays at 2PM. Please make sure your child has their library book in their backpacks, so that they can take out a new book for the week.

 2.    Before School Help is on Tuesday morning at 8AM.

 3. Please be sure your child returns their green school-to-home folder and their homework folder to school everyday.  Also, please check your child's school-to-home folder each day for important handouts. I will write about specific handouts that you should be looking for throughout the week in this section of the newsletter. Students should also have their red homework folders in their backpacks every day.

4.    Children should bring in a small healthy snack (separate from their lunch) to have in class at 9:50 a.m. Please make sure that it is nut-free and has no glass products.

5. New Homework Activities- 1) Weekly Fluency Passage: Each student will bring home a fluency passage to practice Monday through Wednesday. The fluency passage is due back to school on Thursday. I will check in with each student on Thursday. 2) Addition & Subtraction facts within 10: I will be sending home addition facts within 10 for the next couple of weeks. Each week your child will practice one or two different rules (+0, +1, +2, etc.) until all rules are being practiced. Some weeks I will send home a survey to check-in and see how math fact practicing is going and if there is anything I can do to help. Each child's grown up at home should fill out the survey and put it in their child's homework folder. 

  

Happy First Week of 2022!

Mrs. Ash

Homework

Your child will bring home their red homework folder on Monday. Inside the folder is a reading log, math activity with materials, and individual login information for all of our online platforms. This week students should be reading for 10 minutes, write a letter in their journal, and cut out the addition fact cards to explore (Once you are done exploring, put in the plastic bag).

Your child also will bring home their Dialogue Journal (penpal journal). Please read my letter and have your child respond to it in 1 penpal letter. If I did not write your child a letter, your child can write to me about anything s/he wants. Once your child has finished his/her letter, return it to school. If I did not receive your child's journal last week, please have your child write a letter to me this week and I will check both letters once the journal is turned in. 

Behind the reading log, there is our word lists for the next 6 weeks on red or green paper. Please practice the words in Column 3.1 on the sheet every day this week. I will check in with each child at the end of the week. Please also read and practice the fluency passage due on Thursdays. The homework folder should always be brought to school in your child's backpack, but only returned on Fridays. (Keep completed work in the homework folder.)