A Parent’s

Information

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First Grade – where you’ll watch your child blossom!

Taking Care of “BEES”ness!

Here is some helpful information to ensure a “weed-free” year!

Sincerely, Monica Kathol

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Our First Grade Curriculum

READING

Your child will learn to read this year with TREASURES

by McGraw-Hill. This reading program combines explicit lesson

mapping and instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics with

a sequential, systematic approach (preteaching, reinforcing,

applying, and reviewing through interesting stories and

activities) to build successes. Thus, the key components of our

reading program will be phonological awareness, guided and

shared reading, phonics instruction and practice based on vowel-orientation, integrating the

curriculum and meeting individual needs. We will also learn new vocabulary through word families (see

below).

Our Treasures textbook consists of five first grade books containing four main stories each.

Our goal is to focus on one story and its companions each week. A set of vocabulary words (word

family words and high frequency words) will be introduced prior to each story and practiced

throughout the week. I encourage you to check your child’s recall of the words as he/she brings

them home. Extra practice at home may be necessary. Your child will also bring home his/her

reading book at least twice a week (more if needed) to read the stories we are working on. Skills will

be practiced through worksheets, computer activities, games, and other hands-on activities.

Leveled Readers accompany each story and provide additional reading practice at your child’s

approximate level because they contain the skills and high frequency words your child will be focusing

on with each story. We have only six copies of each level and so the books will have to be shared.

Your child will be bringing home one of the leveled paperback books once or twice each week for

additional reading practice. It is important that they are read (and reread if necessary) and

brought back the very next day so other children may also take home a leveled reader.

Library books and S.S.R. (Sustained Silent Reading) will also provide additional reading

opportunities and practice. We will visit the library once a week to return previous books and pick

out a new book. Most of the time these books may be too hard for your child to read (especially at

the beginning of the year), so your child will enjoy having someone read it to them! Reading stories

to and with your child is just as important as having your child read to you. Please continue to read

to your child even as he/she becomes a reader him/herself!

Spelling / Phonics / Word Families Our phonics program is vowel-oriented and based on the Orton-Gillingham system. Units

include short vowels (closed up vowels), long vowels (open vowels), vowel-consonant-e (V_E), vowel

teams (ai, ay, ee, ea,), and R-controlled vowels (ar, er, ir, . . .). Worksheets

will be brought home upon so you can see what your child is learning and

how he/she is doing.

Word Families are commonly used vowel-consonant patterns such as

__an, __ig, __ed, __ake . . . . Your child will learn one or two word

families a week and bring home a project or activity paper he/she did to

remember that word family. We will begin the year learning _an, _at, _ig,

_ed, . . . and progress throughout the year to such word families as _ing,

_ake, _ain, _eet, . . . These words will also be a part of your child’s weekly

spelling list.

Spelling tests will be given on Friday. On Mondays or Tuesdays your child will bring home

his/her new word family and spelling list to read and to practice spelling for you. The core learning

will take place in school. However, additional review and practice may be needed. There will be some

good websites linked from our homepage to allow your child to practice in a fun, motivating way.

Thank you for taking the time to have your child practice their vocabulary lists and spelling words at

home. Each week a few review words from past learning will be given on the test. And from time to

time a review test will be given. It is important to remember that the greater assessment comes

weeks later and in daily written work. It is often easy to learn the words for the test, but are they

being retained and truly learned?

LANGUAGE / WRITING

Your child will learn to become a good first grade writer this year through

systematic and explicit instruction of key writing foundation skills. We will also

incorporate the Six Trait Writing Model: Ideas & Content, Organization, Voice,

Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, and Conventions (spacing, punctuation, legibility . . .)

Instruction will follow the “Big Idea”: “I do it. We do it. You do it.”

Writing opportunities will include journaling, writing letters to pen pals, and

authoring and illustrating stories. Often times, your child’s writing projects will be displayed and

shared at school for several weeks before being brought home or their work will be filed in their

keepsakes journal/folder and brought home at the end of the year.

MATH Hartington Newcastle Public School is committed to improving students’ math

problem-solving skills and computational skills across the curriculum. We will follow

the Math Expressions Textbook while incorporating Investigations into Numbers,

Data, and Space to guide your child to be a proficient mathematician. Our goal is for

your child to develop flexibility and confidence in approaching problems and to

become fluent in using mathematical skills and tools. Much of our work in math will

involve using manipulative, hands-on materials and activities, playing games and then

communicating (discussing and writing) about their findings, thinking, and

understanding. A Family Letter will be sent home prior to each unit to let you know what your child

will be learning and ideas you can do at home to help reinforce math. Now and then worksheets and

activity papers will be brought home so you can see what your child is learning and how he/she is

doing. Computational fluency of basic number facts will develop through daily math lessons focusing

on in-depth understanding of number relationships. Your child will then practice and gain fluency of

addition and subtraction math facts with 30+ minutes a week on a computer program called Big

Brainz! More information about this program will be sent home soon.

SCIENCE and SOCIAL STUDIES

Science and Social Studies will be interchanged and, at times, tied into our stories and other

subject areas.

We will be using the textbook, Harcourt Science this year as a basis for science instruction.

Harcourt Science was developed to meet the goals of the National Science Education Standards.

Your child will learn standards-based life, earth and physical science content, use tools and processes

of scientific inquiry and hands-on investigations, and become familiar with the history and nature of

science and the work of scientists. Your first graders areas of study will include: plants and animals,

Earth’s land and natural resources, the weather, sky, and seasons, matter and energy, forces,

magnets, health, etc. From time to time will have “THAT’S A WONDER” science time, in which a

“cool” experiment or “trick” will be shown and tried by inquisitive minds! In Social Studies your child will learn about good citizenship, good character, the land around

us, people and cultures, history, changes in time, our town, our country, inventions, holidays, etc.

Technology will be used quite often in our classroom to enhance your child’s learning. Many

lessons will be taught on the Smartboard which allows your child to interact and become

involved in the lesson. The internet provides access to many great interactive websites

which teach, provide practice, and reinforce any concept and skill being learned. Some of our

class books will even be made digitally and put on our website for your reading enjoyment.

Our first grade website (see attachment) will keep you informed of our happenings in first

grade and provide access to practice lessons and sites.

http://hartington.esu1.org/~mkathol/firstgradehome.htm

I invite you to check out and bookmark our first grade homepage on your computer at home. You will be able to access the weekly guide, daily schedule, snack calendars, kids’ educational and fun websites, and much more! Our website will be a wonderful way for your child to practice and review skills at home. There are many great website connections for first graders. I will try my best to keep the weekly guide and practice websites for your child updated on this site. If you do not have access to our website, please let me know and I will be sure to send home a paper copy of our Weekly Guide. (Our class and school websites work best if your screen setting is set to 1028 x 768.)

Character counts will be a priority in our classroom each and every day.

Character is doing the right thing – when nobody is looking! Your

reinforcement and emphasis at home is appreciated.

I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their

character. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.

~Theodore Roosevelt

The final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands. ~Anne Frank

Discipline takes into consideration the personality of each student and provides the

opportunity for each individual to take an active part in his/her learning. We will

focus on Character Counts and use a Love and Logic approach to discipline

(loveandlogic.com)

APL Instructional and Behavioral Strategies are also used to elicit good behavior and

provide an environment conducive to learning. The four basic principles of Love and

Logic include:

1. Helping kids to feel good about themselves.

2. Helping them learn to solve problems and think for themselves.

3. Leaving them with a healthy sense of control.

4. Teaching them to be responsible for the consequences of their actions.

At times we are confronted with situations that require some kind of consequence

that holds a person accountable for his/her inappropriate actions.

REWARDS

1. Happy teacher and happy

classmates.

2. Verbal praise. Positive

feedback.

3. Extra free time and fun

activities.

CONSEQUENCES

1. Verbal Warning

2. Training/Practice Sessions.

3. Loss of recess time or

late dismissal from school.

4. Call or note to parents and principal.

RULES

1. Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself.

2. Listen and follow directions the first time

given.

3. Be honest and trustworthy.

4. Be fair – share!

5. Treat others with kindness and respect.