First Grade Handbook ********************************************************

Contact Information Ekstrand Office – Mrs. Chase – Mrs. Finnesand – Mrs. Lange – Mrs. Spurgeon – Mrs. Wall –

Specials Music – 25 minutes, every other day – P.E. – 25 minutes, every other day – Art – 35 minutes, twice every 6 days – Media – 30 minutes, once every 6 days – Guidance – 30 minutes, once every 6 days –

1 st Grade Website Please visit this website for up-to-date information on what is going on in our classroom. There are also additional resource documents for extended practice at home. We also have links to other websites for student practice and enjoyment.

Nightly Reading Students are expected to read each night. Students will bring home a nightly reading folder with a book at or around their level. Students are to record the title of the book as well as the level. Parents are to record whether the book was too hard, too easy, or just right. Students have the opportunity to bring a new book home every night when they return their books the next day.

Planner Homework Planners will be sent home on Monday’s and are expected to be returned on Friday’s. There is a sample week of how to record planner homework for the week of August 26 th. Students need to complete a Words Their Way spelling sort each night and record which sort they completed. There is also a math problem to be completed each week.

Science & Social Studies Students will be switching teachers for science and social studies. Mrs. Chase and Mrs. Spurgeon are teaching science. Mrs. Lange and Mrs. Wall are teaching social studies. Mrs. Finnesand will be co-teaching in both science and social studies. Science Units (Based on the Next Generation Science Standards) are: Light and Sound Plants and Animals Earth’s Place in the Universe Social Studies Units are: Time for School In My Community Work! Work! Work! Our Earth, Our Resources This Is Our Country Our Country, Our World

Math We have recently adopted the Go Math instructional framework. This framework is aligned to the Iowa Core. Students will be given a variety of assessments within this program including pre- and post-assessments. We will also be journaling daily in math. Math Topics Include: Operations and Algebraic Thinking Number and Operations in Base Ten Measurement and Data Geometry There are also 8 Mathematical Practice Standards we will be working on this year. They are: 1. I can solve problems without giving up, 2. I can think about numbers in many ways, 3. I can explain my thinking and try to understand others, 4. I can show my work in many ways, 5. I can use math tools and tell why I chose them, 6. I can work carefully and check my work, 7. I can use what I know to solve new problems, and 8. I can discover and use shortcuts.

Words Their Way Words Their Way is the program we use for spelling instruction. This program allows students to work on word study at their level. Students will receive a word sort on Monday and be tested over 5 – 10 of these words on Friday. It is important to note that students are only assessed on the skill they are studying that week. For example: if students are working on beginning blends and they have the word black….the blend would be bl (often times these are the categories the students sort the words into)….if the student spells “black” as blok on the Friday test, they will still receive 100% for that word as they spelled the blend (the skill they were working on) correctly. As a general rule of thumb, if the student brings home a picture sort they will be graded on the skill, if the student brings home a word sort, they will be graded on the whole word.

English-Language Arts We have adopted the Iowa Core and are implementing our instruction based around these standards. Our ELA program consists of Guided Reading, Shared Reading, and Writing. The Iowa Core Standards address reading literature, reading non-fiction, writing, speaking and listening, as well as foundational skills. Guided Reading Daily 5 Read to Self, Read to Someone, Writing, Listen to Reading, Word Work Small Group Instruction at Reading Level Instruction Supports Shared Reading Shared Reading Large Group Instruction Strategy Based Instruction 50% fiction and 50% non-fiction Writing Narrative, Opinion, Informative Journaling – Across Content Areas