CLASSROOMS/K-5 CURRICULUM

GRADE 1 - MRS. ABBOTT

My website: http://teacherweb.com/MA/Stratton/firstgrade/index.html

Hola! On Cinco de Mayo, the fifth of May, the Mexican army defeated the French at the Battle of the Puebla. In first grade each class has been exploring Mexico through research and folktales. Classrooms have been busy creating artwork,
researching the differences in culture, listening to music and much more. Be sure to ask your child what they created, ate and explored!

Our Engineering unit winds down with the creation of windmill blades that created enough power to lift as many as 20 metal washers. Our next science unit, Organisms is well underway. We began with discussions and compare and contrast activities about what things we think are living or non-living. Most recently, the classrooms are sprouting with new plant life. We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of live bugs, fish and plants so we can create classroom aquariums and terrariums.

First graders are hooked on reading! Reading independently in a cozy spot, Buddy Reading and Reader’s Theater are often the preferred choice when other work has been completed. All the classrooms have begun a read aloud of Charlotte’s
Web by E.B. White. As the children listen they are asked to visualize/picture what is happening at a specific moment. Their ideas are sketched into personal sketch books that will facilitate a retell of important details with you at home. In Fundations, we have introduced the vowel consonant e syllable type, “silent e”. Children are expected to read and spell the short and long vowel sounds as they enter second grade. BrainPop has some great videos that we have used in class and the children can review at home. They are often accompanied by funny jokes
and activities. We have also been having fun with compound words. The children are genuinely excited when they can make a word from two other words; consequently, reinforcing the concept of multisyllabic words and the benefits of chunking out those big words for decoding and comprehension.

Uno, dos, tres… in math we continue to look at real life stories that are missing information. For example, Ms. Donovan met with 15 teachers after school. Some of the teachers left early. There were 9 teachers when the meeting was over. How many teachers left the meeting early? Learning to manipulate numbers in everyday situations helps children connect to these concepts in meaningful ways. Talking to children about how they figured it out is even more important than the actual answer when developing concepts. More often than not, first graders have been learning from their mistakes. Ask any first grader what they know/notice and they will be eager to share their wonderful ideas! Another current math focus is combining numbers to make ten and some more. We are exposing children to the concept of regrouping. This is an important second grade skill. For example, children are asked to combine two numbers like 7 and 4 by representing the number as 10 and some more. You may notice repetition in our practice. We call this spiraling. The Minute Math worksheets you see coming home are a way to continually reinforce these mathematical concepts. When discussing everyday math around home, keep asking your child how they figured it out and
offer paper and pencil so they can show you their thinking.

The first graders are budding like spring flowers! Every year it is amazing to look at the progress the children have made. We are so proud of our students and they are equally proud of themselves!

Classroom Policies/Procedures

· Water bottles- All students may bring “sport top” water bottles to school to keep at their seat. Think green! There are many available choices for reusable water bottles.

· Food & Birthday Policy- Periodically, for classroom events, we will have a special snack. In case of any food allergies, these snacks will be decided upon in advance. We will celebrate each child’s birthday by crowning them king or queen for the day. A crowning for summer birthdays will take place in June. Please do not send in any food items for birthdays.

· E-mail, Notices & Communication- Most of my notices will be sent as paper at the beginning of the year. At Back to School Night we will discuss other ways to get information and you may sign-up to get notices electronically. I check may e-mail daily and like to communicate with you this way; however, I am not usually able to respond during your child’s school day. If you need to contact me or let the school know something that needs immediate attention, please call the school secretary, Mrs. Fischer at 781-316-3753. This is a good number to have in a cell phone.

· Folder- Your child’s folder will go back and forth from school to home each day. One side is designated for “Homework” and the “Other” side is for notices. Please check your child’s folder each night. Anything that needs to be returned to school should be place on the “Homework” side.

· Schedule- Our schedule is posted on my website

· Homework- The children will be given a homework packet each Monday. This should be completed and checked by a family member before it is returned the following Monday.

· Snack- We will be having a morning snack and break. Children may bring in fresh fruits or vegetables or a packaged snack with fruit and/or vegetable ingredients.

· Pick up- We will exit the school from the side that leads to the basketball and blacktop area this is the same area students line up before school. If someone other than parents or legal guardians are picking up your child from school the school needs to be notified. Either write me a note and send it in their folder or call the office. I will not be able to release your child if I am not notified.

· Volunteers- Our class will need a handful of volunteers this year. Think about your special talents and what you could share with our classroom this year. We will have a sign up sheet on Back to School Night.

· Behavior Policy- As we develop as a community, the children and I will work collaboratively to create guidelines and rules for our classroom. You will receive more information in the first few weeks of school and at Back to School Night.

Links & Resources

Helping Your Child at Home: www.mrsmcgowan.com/reading/help.htm

Curriculum Outline

First Grade Skill Expectations