First Grade Newsletter
October 12 - 18, 2015
Our Fabulous First Graders!
The first graders had a very productive week of learning last week. We began Paw Fit at the beginning of the week. We spent a lot of time thinking and discussing how we can stop bullying. We finished our first health unit and began social studies. There has been a lot to learn. Way to go first graders!
Curriculum
Reading
This past week, students continued exploring the elements of fiction. They learned how to describe the characters based on their actions in Big Al and Shrimpy. They also learned how to find the central message or lesson in the story. They spent time using illustrations and details to describe character feelings in Alicia’s Happy Day. They event had a chance to ask and answer questions about a new story called the City Mouse and Country Mouse.
In the upcoming lessons, students will spend time describing the characters and setting using key details in the City Mouse and Country Mouse. They will also describe the major of events in this story and dramatize the story. In a story called Go Pip!, the students will notice evidence in the text and illustrations to describe the events. Then they will finish the week by thinking about cause and effect to describe story elements in The Three Little Pigs.
Math
In math this past week, we continued learning how to find combinations and solve story problems. We finished investigation four, so now we are ready for the end of the unit assessment. The end of the unit assessment will take place this coming week. Students will also be pre-assessed for unit 2. Please see the unit 2 math newsletter for more information about the upcoming unit.
The teachers will be spending time regrouping students for different math classes. We want to give the students opportunities to experience other learning environments with a variety of peers. We also want to give them practice with switching classes. Therefore, students will be switching to different classes for math starting the week of October 19th.
Content
Last week all first graders finished the first health unit. Now students will be working on social studies. In social studies, the students will be learning about geography. They will discover what geography is and learn about natural and physical features in the area where we live. They will learn how humans impact our natural resources. They will also learn about continents and oceans and begin learning about map elements. We are so excited to start this new social studies unit!
Homework
For math homework this week, a new workshop log will be used for the next two weeks. It will be collected on October 23rd. You will notice that on Tuesday of each week a worksheet will be sent home with your child. Please have your child complete the worksheet instead of a workshop on those nights. The worksheet will be collected and/or checked the next day by your child’s teacher. You will also notice that Dreambox is on the log for Thursday evenings. This is optional. If your child does not have access or privileges to be on the computer, have your child complete a workshop. Whatever your child does should be recorded on the log. If your child does Dreambox, please monitor how long your child is on. He/she only needs to complete about 10 minutes of time on Dreambox. This doesn’t include logging into BCPS One, so please monitor your child’s computer use.
This week students will write in their homework journal for reading homework. Below is a description of what is expected each night. Please keep in mind that your child has learned about the writing process, but he/she has not mastered being able to go through the process independently. The steps for each night are guidelines for how you can help your child each night.
Writing Process for Homework Journal-Personal Narrative
Monday- Prewrite: Your child needs to think about something that has happened to him/her. It can be anything he/she wants to tell about. This will be the story he/she writes this week for homework. For example, maybe your child went apple picking over the weekend and that is what he/she wants to write about. Tonight, he/she will only need to draw a picture(s) to show his/her story. He/she may draw one picture or he/she may draw a picture on three different pages for the beginning, middle, and end of his/her story.
Tuesday- Draft: Your child will write his/her story. He/she could have added words to his/her pictures last night, but tonight he/she will write sentences to tell his/her story. Please have him/her tell you the story before he/she writes. Then let him/her to write the story alone. He/she has learned to underline words he/she doesn't know how to spell and keep writing. (Remind him/her if he/she forgets.) Don't look for mistakes in his/her writing tonight. He/she will revise and check for mistakes tomorrow.
Wednesday- Revise and Edit: Your child will edit and revise his/her draft (writing) from last night. To revise, he/she needs to read over and decide if anything needs to be added or deleted. Check the proofreading sheet in the front of the journal for marks that we learned. He/she can use these marks as needed. He/she does not have to add or delete just to add and delete something. He/she just needs to make sure he/she is telling the whole story, not leaving anything out, and needs to make sure it makes sense. He/she will only add to his/her writing or delete something if he/she think something is missing or doesn't sound right.
To edit, he/she need to use the C.A.P.S. checklist in the front of his/her notebook as a guide for editing. (He/she does not need to put checks on the paper. He/she just needs to make sure he/she has looked for all those types of mistakes. We want to use that checklist for this whole homework journal.) So to edit, first have him/her check for capital letters (Capitalization). Then have him/her check for end marks (Punctuation). He/she should have already underlined words he/she doesn't know how to spell (Spelling), so he/she can ask for the correct spelling on words that are underlined. Just write the correct spelling above the misspelled word. Last, have your child make sure it sounds right (A for Audience means: Does it sound right to my audience?) After he/she has checked it, then you can check it and show him/her the corrections he/she needs to make. Tomorrow he/she will publish by writing the whole thing on a clean sheet of paper.
Thursday- Publish: Your child will publish the story he/she has been working on all week. He/she will bring home a separate sheet(s) of paper with lines for publishing. (If your child left early for any reason today, he/she will not have the paper to publish. Please just use another piece of paper from home or from inside the homework journal.) Please have your child write in pencil when he/she publishes, that way if he/she makes a mistake he/she can erase. If your child has the stamina and wants to trace over the words in pen, that would be great! If not, just writing it neatly on the lined paper in pencil with no mistakes is perfect! Please don’t have your child write in marker. Just explain to him/her what I’m telling you. He/she can also add pictures to go with his/her story. Thank you for assisting your child in going through the writing process.
If you have any questions about homework, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher.
Important Dates
October 14th- Box Tops Due
October 16th- No School for Students, Professional Development Day for Students
October 23rd- Pink Day
October 29th- Book Projects Due