Letters+and+Forms

=__**Pre-1st Day of School for Students:**__ =

Dear Student,

Welcome to first grade! I hope you are having a fantastic summer. I am so excited to meet you. You will have a lot of fun learning this year. Together, we will explore the world of reading, writing, and numbers.

My summer has been filled with exciting stories. I can’t wait to share those with you and hear about your summer. I hope that you are enjoying your last days of summer and are looking forward to starting school again. I know I am!

Please bring all of your labeled school supplies to school during Open House on (date) from (time) so you can “move in” to your new classroom. You will then be all set for the first day of school on -(date).

= =
 * Letter to Parents: **

Dear Parents,

It is with pleasure that I welcome your child to first grade! I am looking forward to having a very exciting and academically stimulating school year instructing your child. Please review the following information as it pertains to classroom procedures.

You may notice that your child is tired and irritable at the end of a school day. Emotions are often very strong the first several weeks. This is NORMAL! The children will be adjusting to new routines and a full day of academic work. Each child will make that adjustment at a different rate.
 * School Adjustment**

Sometimes children need to be picked up early from school, ride a different bus home, or stay after school for special activities. Please send a note or contact me each time to let me know about these special circumstances. School policy states that I must send your child home on his/her regular bus unless I have parent notification that gives other directions. This is for the safety of your child.
 * Home to School Communication**

Students will bring a reading book home to "show off" and to practice their reading skills each day. A listening ear would be appreciated. Please have your child select a small passage of a longer (chapter type) book instead of having him/her read the entire book. Discussing the book after your child reads to you is very important for understanding/comprehension. The books will need to be returned the very next school day as they are used daily in class. A replacement fee will be issued for any lost books. Math Home Links folders will come home several times a week. This is a great opportunity to watch your child at work and keep up to date on the math skills being taught in class. The learning targets for the current unit will be in the front pocket of the folder. They provide a valuable “road map” of what we will be learning in that unit. You will also find valuable information in the unit Family Letter enclosed with the homework. Please take the time to read it. Individual Profiles of Progress will appear on Infinite Campus at the end of each unit. You will be notified via email when it is time to log on and view your child’s math progress. Word Work (Spelling) homework will begin the first week of October. Please refer to the Word Work section below for further homework details. We eat lunch at 11:20. If your child chooses to take hot lunch please talk over the selections before coming to school. It helps for less confusion in the morning when the students are signing up for hot lunch.Students may bring a daily snack(s) to school if they wish. The snack MUST be nutritious, NUT-FREE and NON-MESSY as it is eaten while they work. Sharing of snacks will not be allowed due to possible food allergies of some students. (Nutritious snack ideas: granola bars not covered with chocolate, crackers, string cheese, pretzels, cheese cubes, dry non-sugar coated cereal, raisins, etc.) Food items such as cookies, doughnuts, candy, and chips will not be allowed during classroom snack time. Students will be instructed to consume those kinds of food items in the cafeteria during lunchtime. You may send a full metal or plastic water bottle (water only – no juice) to school each day with your child if you wish. Children will then bring the water bottle home nightly for proper cleaning/recycling. **Library Days**Every Wednesday and Friday we will go as a class. Students are allowed to check out 2 books at one time. Students are responsible for remembering their books.**Parties and Birthday Treats**There will be three classroom parties: Fall, Holiday, and Valentine's Day. A parent volunteer will contact you before one of them to see if you can contribute a treat.Birthday treats are allowed and enjoyed! Birthday treats DO NOT have to be nutritious. If your child has a summer birthday, you may wish to send a treat for their half birthday.**Special Classes**Phy.Ed.: Tues. & Wed. 12:35pm (gym shoes are required these days): Music: Tues. & Fri. 1:15pm Tues and 10:20am Fri.: Art: Mon. & Thurs. 12:35pm: Guidance: Fridays 12:35pm: Sometimes students miss school due to family vacations. Any missed schoolwork that is necessary to make up will be done AFTER the vacation.
 * Homework**
 * Lunch/Snacks**
 * Vacations**
 * Folders**Your child will pick one folder to be their daily TAKE HOME folder. If something is on the HOME side, please take it out and keep it at home. If something is on the SCHOOL side, please look it over, complete it if needed, and send it back to school. This will be our first step in organization and responsibility.On Fridays an additional school-wide FRIDAY FOLDER will be sent home. It will contain school related informational items. Please empty the folder and send it back with your child on Mondays.**Reading/Language Arts**The KM reading program consists of the following components:
 * Mini Lesson:** the teacher teaches a specific learning target through the process of a connection, teaching point, active engagement, and a link**Shared Reading:** skills and strategies are taught in a whole group**Guided Reading and Strategy Groups:** small flexible groups where the teacher provides instruction in specific reading strategies and skills **Interactive Read-Aloud:** the teacher models her thinking process while reading and invites students to share their thinking**Independent Reading:** students independently practice learned skills and strategies in books of their choice**Partner Reading:** students read and then talk with a peer about their book, thus promoting a deeper understanding of their reading**Conferencing:** the teacher and student meet to discuss progress, learn new skills/strategies, and set further goals
 * Share:** the teacher and/or students share their key learning for that day

Sample units of study we will work on during the school year are: Ways parents can support their child as a lifelong reader:Set aside reading time every day. Listen to your child read. Afterward, talk about the pictures and the story. Pick out things each of you like/dislike or are funny/sad, etc. Discuss possible connections the book may have with events in your child's life or other books you have read together. Please remind your child to return their reading folder each day, as those books are needed in class everyday. Word Study (Spelling) will begin the first week of October. Students will be given a spelling assessment in September. From the results of that assessment, each student will be placed in a spelling level to match their developmental spelling stage. Every Monday your child will bring home an envelope with their list of words (or picture cards for initial sounds and blends) for that week. Each night your child is expected to do a different activity listed on the envelope using his or her words from the envelope. This should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. A final spelling test will be given each Friday. If your child has a list of actual words, then he or she is expected to be able to correctly spell those words by Friday. Your child may have a list of picture cards to be sorted by specific letters or letter blends i.e. “s” and “h” and “sh”. The picture names containing those letters or blends will be tested, but only the targeted letter or letter blend will be assessed. Example: If the target picture words are “sun” “house” and “shovel” and the student writes “__s__n” “__h__ows” and “__sh__uvl” on the final test, he/she will earn credit for each word because of the accurate targeted letters and blend. If a student wrote “__th__un” for “sun” or “__s__ovel” for “shovel”, he/she would not get credit as the targeted initial letter and blend had not been accurately spelled.
 * Building Good Reading Habits
 * Tackling Trouble
 * Character Study
 * Nonfiction
 * Word Study (Spelling)**


 * Writing**Writing goes hand-in-hand with the reading process. Writer’s Workshop consists of the following components:
 * Mini Lesson:** where a specific learning target is taught with a connection, teaching point, active engagement, and a link
 * Shared/Interactive Writing:** the teacher and students work on a collaborative piece together
 * Independent Writing:** students write independently to practice learned skills and techniques
 * Conferencing:** the teacher and student meet to discuss progress, learn new skills/strategies, and set further goals
 * Partner/Group Share:** students share their writing with a partner or the class to promote a deeper understanding of the writing process

Sample units of study we will work on during the school year are:
 * Small Moments
 * Poetry
 * Revision/Editing
 * Nonfiction

The students will be using inventive/sound-out spelling and encouraged to do so to develop a sense of writing and to feel successful. We will be focusing on **__correct__** spelling of high frequency words and the use of punctuation as the year progresses. Please be supportive of any writing your child does and invite them to write at home using lists, letters, notes, etc. Also, write to them. They will love it! **Math**The math series we are using is Everyday Math by the University of Chicago. The focus is hands-on math as it relates to everyday experiences. The students are exposed to math strands in a "spiral" effect. They see the concept again and again throughout the year. The series relies on experimentation, discussion, and discovery as well as direct instruction.The Home Links homework will give you an idea of what is happening in math. Home Links are designed for a student to complete with a parent or discussed with a parent after the child completes it individually. It needs to be returned the next school day. **Science/Social Studies/Health**We study a variety of topics. We will be reading and writing about each of the areas. Science Units: Pebbles, Sand & Silt; Solids & Liquids; and New PlantsHealth Units: Accident Prevention; Nutrition; and Making Healthy ChoicesSocial Studies Units: Rules & Workers; Home, School, and Community; Holidays & Customs Around the World; Introduction of the Continents; Maps & GlobesPlease feel free to contact me with any questions. It is easiest to reach me before school (phone number). You may also send a note with your child at anytime or email me at (email). Please do not leave any time sensitive messages on my email as there are many days I do not get the chance to check email until after the students have left school. I am looking forward to a great year. I hope you find this information helpful for the start of your child's First Grade year. You may wish to refer to this page periodically throughout the school year.