First Grade Newsletter 2018 PS 147 The Isaac Remsen School 325 Bushwick Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11206 March Ms. Lee Ms. Kudo Sensei Mr. Yoshi Sensei   First Grade Newsletter 2018 At PS 147, we are stepping up to greater things. Reading/ELA In March, students will work on their fluency, phonics, and comprehension abilities. Students will use the strategies they have learned to increase their reading abilities. Students will also build their reading stamina as they read longer and more difficult texts. Students will learn how to read smoothly and at appropriate pace so that they can retain the information or story that they are reading. In doing so, students will build their comprehension abilities and work on answering questions about the text and beyond the text.   In shared reading and read aloud, we will be focusing on reciprocal teaching where we will practice making predictions, asking questions, clarifying parts or new vocabulary, and summarizing stories that we read. We will work on this with a variety of texts and build our oral language skills and reading abilities. Math In March, first graders will be learning about understanding of whole number relationships and place value, including grouping in tens and ones. They will learn how to compare two-digit numbers based on meaning of the tens and the ones digits, recording the results of comparisons with the symbols >, =, and <. The children will also be given a two-digit number, mentally find 10 more or 10 less than the number, without having to count. They will explain the reasoning used. Word Study We will be doing a variety of activities during word study. We will be practicing our letters and letter sounds to build a strong phonetic (letter-sound) foundation. We will also learn how to spell words by using all that we know about letter sounds. We will continue to practice writing sight words and learn new vocabulary words. We will engage in activities such as writing words in ABC order and writing words in sentences.

Writing Important Dates Reminders: JDLP Social Studies/Science In March, we will be spending 2 weeks on our unit in poetry and songs. In this unit we will learn about how poets look at ordinary objects differently. We will be discussing how they use their hearts to write about things they have strong feelings about. We will be learning that poets do not always write in complete sentences. In class, we will be writing couplets, poems with rhymes and pattern poems, acrostic poems, and free verse poems. We will also spend some time learning about language conventions. In doing so, students will practice using periods at the end of sentences and using commas for making lists. Students will also work on using word chunks to spell words correctly and using the word wall to spell sight words or new vocabulary. Students will work on writing with proper spacing between words. Additionally, students will practice writing with capital letters at the beginning of sentences or for writing names. Students will most importantly work on writing with the proper use of lower case letters. JDLP Social Studies/Science In social studies, we will learn about Families Now and Long Ago. We will focus on the structure of the houses in Japan in comparison to the houses in New York. In science, students will continue working within the hydroponic lab and learn related vocabulary in Japanese. We will also learn about the properties of matter. . Important Dates March 9, 2018: P.S. 147 Day – Wear School Gear March 13, 2018: Pre-K Non Attendance Day March 15, 2018: Parent Teacher Conference. 11:20am Dismissal for ALL students. March 23, 2018: Open House at 9:00am March 26, 2018: Character Education Assembly @ 9:00am, Kindergarten Performs. March 28, 2018: Parents In The Classroom @ 8:15am, PTA Meeting @ 9:00am March 29, 2018: No afterschool programs. 2:20pm Dismissal for ALL students. March 30-April 6, 2018: Spring Recess (No school) April 9, 2018: School Resumes   Reminders: Please remember to complete homework every night. Your child should be reading every night for at least 20 minutes. Please come to school every day on time. Our school collects “box tops for education.” Please send in any you collect. If you wish for your child to eat breakfast in school, please be here by 7:15 am.