First Grade News

January 2015

Dear Parents,

We hope everyone had a safe and relaxing break. Catch your breath because we are off and running in January. We will continue to have high expectations for all students. We appreciate all the time you spend reviewing skills at home.

READING

As we begin the month of January, students will continue to work on recalling the key details and identifying the main topic. Students identify the main topic using details of photographs and text and ask questions to clarify meaning. Students will be encouraged to use the skill of intellectual risk taking when they share ideas. We will work on determining the meaning of unknown words using a variety of strategies. We’ll look at how good readers can use the pictures, words around the unknown word, and affixes in order to figure out the word’s meaning. As January comes to a close, students will continue to read informational texts to build content knowledge and to work on comprehension strategies.

WRITING

During the first two weeks of January, we will be writing to state our opinion about the “Best of Germantown”. The children need to state their opinions and provide reasons and support by gathering information and recalling their own personal experiences. At the end of the month, we will go back to writing to inform. The students will need to gather information and supply facts about a topic. They are expected to use correct spelling and punctuation. They will also need to edit their own work in order to include additional details and begin sentences with different and varied words. They will give feedback to others to help their classmates improve their writing pieces.

MATH

In math, we’ll kick off the month of January with a focus on operations and algebraic thinking. First graders will use a variety of classroom tools such as number blocks, Cuisenaire Rods, pattern blocks and connecting cubes to add three whole numbers whose sum is less than 20 (e.g., 2 + 3 + 2 = 7). In order to find the sum in the most efficient way, they will be encouraged to write an equation and utilize strategies like doubles, doubles plus one, and picture models. Students will also practice writing and illustrating their own number stories that represent three quantities whose sum is within 20. While working on three number equations, the children will learn about the commutative property of addition and recognize that changing the order of the numbers in an equation does not affect the sum (2+3+5 = 10 or 5+2+3 = 10). We will end the month with a new focus on measurement and data. Students will be provided with opportunities to order and describe the lengths or widths of three objects using both direct and indirect comparison. First graders will continue to review their addition and subtraction facts throughout the month, so it is important for them to practice their basic facts at home.

SOCIAL STUDIES

In Social Studies,we will explore differences between past and present time by classifying important events as belonging to the past or present. Students will examine photographs from the past and present and identify their differences. We will discuss what life might have been like in the past and compare it to life in the present, focusing on important inventions that have changed the way we live. Our first graders will use words related to time to order events sequentially that have occurred in the school. They will use a calendar and a timeline to organize their ideas. We will then transition into geography, where students will use maps, globes, atlases, and cardinal directions to locate places on earth such as continents, oceans, countries, states, and towns. They will also identify the physical characteristics of places using photographs and illustrations and provide written descriptions of those places.

SCIENCE
We will continue our exploration of magnets. Students will use what they know about magnets to create a chart of objects which are magnetic and non-magnetic. Then they’ll test the objects and record their findings on a graphic organizer. We will also look at a variety of magnets to determine if some magnets attract objects better than others. Students will experiment to see if different parts of a magnet are stronger than other parts. We will experiment with different materials (such as aluminum foil and paper towels) to see if magnets can attract metal through another material. We will finish the quarter by reviewing things we learned about living and non-living things.
Quarter 3 will begin our Earth and Space Sciences unit. We will be observing and comparing soil samples. Students will be using hand lenses to observe different soil and sand samples to see what they are comprised of. They will be looking at sand photographs and discussing how sand can be different colors and textures. We will also be identifying features of the Earth that are not made by humans.
IMPORTANT DATES
January 14th – Morning Math with Muffins- 8:30-9:30
January 15th – Arts Night-6:30-8:00 p.m.
January 16th -End of 2nd marking period
January 19th -No School-Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
January 20th -No School for students
January 29th -Report Cards distributed
Looking forward to a successful 2015!
Sincerely,
The First Grade Team