First Grade News

Important December Dates to Remember

December 6th -  PJ Day for assembly

December 7th - PTG Kids Shop

December 7th - Report cards sent home

December 13th - Book Day Celebration

December 20th - K-4 Holiday Concert - 1:00 p.m.

December 21st - Classroom Christmas party

December 21 - Early release and start of Christmas Break

January 2, 2019 - Back to School! - Happy New Year!

    The month of December is going to be a busy one!

The children are going to be learning so much!

In our reading program we will be working on

drawing conclusions, comparing and contrasting,

and sequencing events. We are also going to be

working on reading, writing and spelling words

with r clusters, l clusters, and s clusters. We

will continue to add more words to our Word

as the month of December goes on. Our short

vowels will continue to be a focus, too.

    In our Lucy Calkins writing program the

children will continue to write teaching books,

choosing topics they are experts in to teach

others. Soon they will begin writing chapter

books, learning how to make a table of contents

to introduce each of the topics in their chapter

book. The children will learn how to write

introductions and conclusions for their

chapter books, finding ways to keep their

readers engaged and interested.

In Math we will continue to work

with addition and subtraction

equations in topic 5.  We will begin

topic 6 this month. In this unit we will

collect, organize, and represent data.

 We will talk about surveys, tally marks,

different types of graphs, and comparing data.

    In December the first graders will

be doing a  ‘Christmas Around the World’

unit in social studies. The children will

learn about the Christmas traditions in

6 different countries - England, Australia,

Scandinavia, Wales, Russia, and Italy.

They will also make a project that shows

the Christmas tradition of each country.

It will give the children the opportunity

to learn how children around the world

celebrate at this special time of the year.

     We want to wish everyone a safe and happy

holiday season. Enjoy this very special time of

the year with your child. Merry Christmas

and Happy New Year!

**Just a reminder...please bring/wear

appropriate clothing to play outside in at recess time**

                                       Thank you

I wanted to quickly thank you for your ability to meet with me to discuss your child.  Collaborating between school and home is a vital relationship that ensures a successful year. So, thank you for coming to Parent Teacher Conferences.  If for any reason you have questions or concerns throughout the year, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Happy Halloween!

November Newsletter

It is very hard to believe that we are entering the month

of November already.  Our first grade friends have been

super busy learning.

Just a reminder (if you have not signed up already)

have parent teacher conferences coming up.  

The link to sign up is

https://www.ptcfast.com/schools/Center_Drive_School

As we enter the new month we will also be starting

our theme 3 reading unit.  In this unit our reading

strategies are phonics and decoding words, evaluating

as we read, predicting/inferring, and questioning.

 For comprehension we focus on main idea and details.

This leads into summarizing what we have read.

We work on reading fluency daily, and have seen

much improvement. For grammar we are focusing

on what is a sentence, and the naming part of the

sentence or the who, and the action part of the sentence.  

We begin Spelling words and tests in this unit.

Be on the lookout for a spelling list to come home.

The first graders will also bring home a Spelling

Contract each week. They will be responsible for

choosing 5 different activities to help them practice

the words on their spelling list. The children are very

excited to start having spelling tests…….just like the big kids!

We are beginning Topic 4 in Math…..Subtraction facts to 20.

 In this topic the students are introduced to several key

strategies for solving subtraction facts.  These strategies

include counting to subtract, making 10 to subtract, and

using addition to subtract. Please continue to practice

those basic addition and subtraction facts:)

 

Ask your child what a small moment story means to them.

The finishing touches (editing and revisions) are being made

to their favorite small moment story as these blossoming writers

are becoming published authors.  Information writing is coming

up next. The students will be writing to teach about topics

that they are “experts” about.

In Science we will explore sound.  The key learning

that sound is caused by vibrations.   For Social Studies

we will discuss and read about the pilgrims and how life was then.  We will also compare it to life now.

**As the weather begins to cool down please dress

appropriately for recess.**

IMPORTANT DATES

Book Fair October 29th - November 9th

Parent Teacher Conferences  November 8th Noon Dismissal

Parent Teacher Conferences November 9th  No School

Veteran’s Day November 12th No School

Thanksgiving Break November 21st to 23rd

The Book Fair will be coming to our library....
October 29th through November 9th.
It will be open during school hours and
 during parent teacher conference times.

  We will be visiting the book fair during our library times.
  (Tuesday at 1:30 to 2:00)
 Our first visit will be to browse and create a wish list.
 Students can bring in some money to shop. 
If you send in money please put it in a baggie with child's name. 

Reminder......picture day is on Thursday October 11th.
Bring those beautiful smiles to school😀

 OCTOBER IN GRADE ONE

Dates to remember

*October 5th full day teacher inservice

*October 8th Columbus Day

*October 11th Picture Day

*October 24th noon dismissal   

READING

We will be continuing to review consonant sounds and short vowel sounds.  

Through reading texts we will be comparing and contrasting, and working with

cause and effect.  Our reading genres will be fantasy, realism and realistic fiction.

A main focus will be on story structure and elements.  Reviewing and working on high

frequency words will be done. Students will continue to read just right books daily.

WRITING

We are still working on small moments.  We are working on ways to bring

our stories to life, make our characters talk, move, feel, and think.

 We are working on telling our stories in steps. After we complete our

narrative unit, each student will publish their favorite small moment story.

MATH

We are still working on adding and subtracting  fluently within 10.

Once we complete topic 2 we will start addition facts to 20.  We will

work on lots of different strategies to add. Please take

some time to work with basic addition facts at home. Thank you:)

SCIENCE

Our second unit is Communication.  We will discuss how people

can communicate with people who are nearby and far away.

 Our discussions will be centered around how we communicate with others.

The students will practice communicating using light and Morse Code.  

They will also create a telephone using cups and string. They will need

to build, test, and explain their creation. It is always amazing to see how many “phones” do work!

OTHER

Please continue to check communication folders daily.  

The year has started wonderfully and the first graders are awesome!