January News for First Grade

Happy New Year to all parents, students, and friends!  We are ready to begin the new year with a fresh new start.  We will have lots of work ahead of us and we are looking forward to all the exciting things planned for 2008!  Here is an important date to remember:

 

1/1

Happy New Year!

1/5

School Reopens

1/9

Mismatch Spirit Day

1/19

M.L. King’s Birthday-No School

 


Reading

 The most important of all new skills to be learned in first grade is reading and writing.  Our goals each year are to help our students grow as independent readers and writers and develop a lifelong love of reading.  At CES we use the McGraw Hill School Reading /Language Arts curriculum.  This month we will be reading the stories   Snakes,  Let’s Camp Out! Tha Shopping List and Yasmin’s Ducks.  We should be on word list 14 by the end of the month.   Be sure to visit their web site at www.mhschool.com/reading/2005/student /.  Click on the raccoon and see all of the great activities available for each of our stories.  Also great sites for beginning readers are www.starfall.com and. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/.  

 

 

When helping your child read at home these strategies may be used to help.

*  Look at the pictures.  Sometimes the word is something that is seen in the picture.

*  Look for “chunks” in the word, such as it in sit, or at in mat.

*  Get your mouth ready to say the word by shaping the mouth for the beginning letter.

*  Does it look like another word?  Does red look like bed, for example?

*  Read to the end of the sentence.  By reading the rest of the words in context, the child may figure out the unknown word.

*  If the child says the wrong word while reading, ask questions like:

Does it make sense?

Does it sound right?

Does it look right?

Here are some of our high frequency words for books 3.  Play Tic-Tac-Toe.

 

try

under

together

where

old

would

fall

why

grow

 
 

their

any

new

know

any

too

eat

now

where

 
 


 
 


 

 

 


               Spelling Words

Snakes

Let’s Camp Out!

The Shopping List

Yasmin’s Ducks

came

fire

wide

hole

lake

mud

bite

home

made

snow

hide

hope

name

sticks

five

nose

shade

sun

hive

rope

snake

twigs

white

those

 

 

while

note

 

 

smile

pole

 

 

kite

cone

 

 

shine

bone

 

 

 


Math

This month we will be working with place value, number stories, and basic facts. 

 
You can count back to subtract.

You can use doubles to subtract.

You can use related facts to subtract.

You can use addition facts to subtract.

Practice using these strategies to solve these problems. For some fun with math facts you can play High Roller from Every Day Math or try some other games at www.primarygames.com.  Try playing Da’Numba!
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Color red if you used related facts.

Color blue if you used doubles to subtract.

Leave white if you counted back.

 


Just For Fun

There are lots of on-line games for first graders to play at www.funschool.com  .  For some winter fun you can make your own snowman at http://www.primarygames.com/seasons/winter/snowman/start.htm or http://blackdog.net/holiday/christmas/snowman/index.html

 


Just a Few Reminders

*  Please continue to practice word lists, spelling words, and math facts every day.

*  Please help our students get to school on time. 

*  Please take the time to read to your children and listen to them read to you.

Text Box:                                                Mrs. Swan
                                                             Mrs. Rambo
                                                            Ms. Kolody