Dear First Grade Parents,
The First Graders kicked off the New Year with a bang! They came back after Christmas ready to learn more! I was very impressed with their abilities to resume right back on track to our daily schedule!
Religion-For the month of January we learned about the different types of prayer and how we can use these different types of prayer during our day. We discussed ways to praise, say sorry, ask for help, and to give thanks to God. We also tied our chapters on prayer with the story about Noah’s ark. Noah was asked by God to build an ark and protect his family and the animals. Noah and his family used the four types of prayer we talked about in class. The children enjoyed creating a foam ark with Noah and the animals. They also had a creative writing assignment in which they had to compare and contrast animals from Noah’s ark. Also, in January to celebrate the beginning of a new year, the children created doves to show that we can be peaceful and good like God, Jesus, and Mary.
Math-In January we wrapped up our chapter on Geometry and began a new chapter on Telling Time. The children started the New Year off by reviewing Plane Shapes, Solid Figures, Same Size, Same Shape, Symmetry, Slides, Flips, Turns, and Fractions. We also learned about Equal Parts, Halves, Thirds, and Fourths. After Geometry, we moved onto Telling Time. The children enjoyed creating their own clocks to practice at home. We discussed Minutes, Hours, Telling and Writing Time to the Hour and Half Hour, Ordering Events, Estimating Lengths of Time, Using Data from a Schedule to Solve Problems, Days of the Week, and Months. We also continue to do our Math Problem of the Day and Word Problems on a regular basis!
Spelling/Phonics-We have been focusing on word endings ~ip, ~op, ~ish, ~ame, ~ake, ~ate, ~ave, ~ape, ~ime, ~ite, ~ike, ~ice, ~ive, and ~ipe. The children continue to do very well on their Spelling tests. After their Spelling tests I dictate three sentences. The children need to write the sentences, read the sentences at the end, and draw a picture for each afterwards. The first four months of 1st Grade focused on short vowels. In January we began reading and writing words with long vowels, as well as short vowels. The children get very excited when they can spell new words by sounding them out and/or rhyming them with words we have done in class!!
Science – In January we started a new unit on Living and Nonliving Things in Science. They enjoyed creating graphic organizers on Living and Nonliving Things with a partner. The children were also introduced to several non-fiction articles and stories on Reptiles, Amphibians, Mammals, Birds, Insects, and Fish. The 1st Graders really enjoy reading non-fiction stories about animals! The children were also asked to write about their favorite sea animal and state three interesting facts about that sea animal. They enjoyed presenting their facts to the class!
Reading and English Language Arts- I am very pleased with the children’s Reading and Writing in 1st Grade! We continue to work on strategies for decoding and comprehension. The children also enjoy our weekly stories, and they are doing very well on their tests. Please keep up the good work at home with the nightly vocabulary cards. I love to hear how they are reading with expression and fluency now! They are becoming more confident when they read aloud in class! During one of our review weeks for Reading/ELA the children were also asked to complete their first book report. They were asked to use their skills they have been taught. Some areas the book report focused on were Title, Author, Summary, Favorite and Least Favorite Parts, Characters, Setting, Main Problem, Solution, and Overall Rating of the book. The children had to discuss their book in front of the class and answer questions about their book. I think everyone was a little nervous at first, but overall I was very impressed with their ability to discuss the book on their own. They can’t wait for another book report!!
In ELA we worked on Days of the Week, Months of the Year, Identifying Nouns and Special Names in Sentences, Verbs, Contractions, Statement, Questions, and Cause/Effect. The class also enjoys writing more on their own and reading in class to a partner. I love to see how they are able to do all of this more independently! In January the children also started a Creative Writing folder. The children were assigned one Creative Writing piece a week in January. They wrote a rough copy and a final copy each week. Each piece has been added to their folder, and we will continue to add to them each month. Your child’s folder will be sent home in June. I know you will enjoy reading them just as much as I did!
*The children had a great time during Catholic Schools Week. In addition to all of our special activities throughout the week, the class also discussed and wrote about why they are so fortunate to attend a Catholic School. I hope you all had a chance to read them during Open House. If not, they are still on display on the wall on your way up to the school office.
I hope you enjoy this photo of your child dressed like they are 100 years old, and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and Mid-Winter break!!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Kotlik