MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Jan. 12 th – Candles are due for our prayer service. Jan. 18 th – No School, Martin Luther King Day. Home & School Ice Skating Party. Find more information about this event online. Jan. 22 nd – First Grade Prayer Service in the Chapel at 2:15pm. Jan.26 th – Snowman project is due Please check our school website for additional news and events. Thank you! First Grade News January 11 th – 15 th 2016 Starting the New Year Off on the Right Foot Good organizational skills are the key to success in and outside of the classroom. Reviewing your child’s classroom assignments is an excellent way to monitor growth, and it provides additional reinforcement. Save assignments for a period of time to ensure the content has been mastered. A hearty breakfast and a nutritious lunch will help fuel the body for learning! Please pack a healthy morning snack. Let’s save the cookies and potato chips for our afternoon snack time. Make sure your child is getting an ample amount of sleep each evening. It is important to arrive to school on time. If your child has an appointment and will be late or they need to leave early, please notify us ahead of time. Now that cold weather is upon us, please make sure to label your child’s coat, hat and gloves. Please review the dress code policy online. Make sure that your child is adhering to all of the standards. Note that sweatpants are to be worn for gym class. Leggings and yoga pants are not permitted for gym class. If you have questions, please contact the office. Thank you. "You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So... get on your way!" Fluency Practice Students should be practicing the Credo for Peace as part of their daily reading. Happy New Year! Our New Years resolutions are proudly displayed in our hallway. Students did an excellent job setting personal goals. Winter Project: Design and write about a snowman. Project guidelines were sent home last week. An additional copy is attached to this PowerPoint. We can’t wait to see your brrr…illiant work! This is due on or before Tuesday, Jan. 26th Frosty’s Favorite First Grade Friends

Daily Reading Practice Daily reading should consist of fluency practice, sight word practice, and free-choice reading. Break these into separate times to prevent them from feeling time consuming to your child. Fluency Practice – Repeated Readings (5 minutes a night) Echo or choral read poems, songs or short stories together to model expression and fluency. Sight Words (5 minutes a night) Don’t forget to practice the Dolch sight word booklet on a regular basis. Five minutes of daily sight word practice can make a big difference! Also, please have your child practice reading the weekly words that are attached to our spelling list. These words are in conjunction with our weekly phonics/spelling skills. Reading these words will help your child apply our phonics skills. Free Choice Reading (a minimum of 10 minutes a night) Allow your child to select a book at their reading level to read aloud to you. When time allows, read to your child. This will inspire them and help them grow as readers. Have a book talk. Ask your child questions about what they are reading independently and/or aloud to you. This will help you to monitor their comprehension. This Week’s Curriculum Notes Phonics - Long e: e, ee This week, we will explore long e. We will also review short e. Please practice the sight word list that is on the reverse side of your child’s spelling list. This was sent home on Friday. Reading & Spelling - This week, we will be reading, Honey Bees. Our reading skill is: compare and contrast. Our spelling words are generated from this story. Our spelling test will be on Friday. Grammar & Writing – This week during our grammar lessons, we will review contractions and plural nouns. Students will identify nouns within a sentence. Students will review how to use part of a question (question stem) to respond to comprehension questions. We will also identify homophones. Please review these skills with your child. Religion – We will continue to read and discuss Chapter Five, Jesus Teaches Us About Love. We will also prepare for our prayer service. We hope to see you on January 22 nd. Social Studies & Science – We will learn about and discuss Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In conjunction with this week’s story, we will learn more about honey bees and continue to learn about animals that live in the forest. READREAD

Spelling Words Long e: e, ee be green feet me heshe seetree we week High-Frequency Words: somefamily Challenge Words: Long e: ee and ea treat speech freeze clean This list of spelling words and sight words were sent home in your child’s yellow folder on Friday.

week / weak heap pea each be / bee heat queen keep sneeze seem team wheat green Long & Short e leg bet Meg step tell get hen jet then shell when help yell she tree sea / see street eat feet treat knee tea free beet / beat clean seat

Story Connection: Please select one of these questions to discuss with your child each evening. Take a picture walk through the story. Look at the pictures before reading the story to predict what may happen. Setting - Where does the story take place? Who is/are the main character(s) of the book? What was the problem and/or solution of the story? Draw conclusions – How do you think the story may end? What was the main idea of the story? What was your favorite part? Why? Compare and contrast characters, other stories, etc. What type of genre? How do you know? Visualize – What mental pictures do you make as you are reading? Write down 2-3 words that were challenging to read and add these to your sight word list to practice each evening. Rate the book. Tell why you liked or did not like the story. Text–Self connection – this story reminds me of… A time when I… A person I know… A book I read… List the sequence of events Summarize the story Monitoring Comprehension Below are the story connections that we are currently working on. Please find time to have a book talk with your child on a regular basis. As your child becomes an independent reader, it is important to discuss with them what they are reading. This will enable you to monitor their comprehension and help them with book selections.

Wintertime is a great time to cuddle up with a good book and cup of hot cocoa. Mrs. Frost’s Class Notes: Scholastic Book Orders are due on or before Tuesday, Jan. 19 th. Please make sure to make your check out to Scholastic Book Clubs. Scholastic does not accept cash. Thank you! "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

Frosty’s Favorite First Grade Friends Winter Project Design and write about a snowman Put your creative cap on and design a snowman. Use a small poster board or piece of cardboard (approximately 12in x 16in) to draw your perfect snowman. Color, paste, or attach whatever you wish to your snowman. Be creative and have fun. Once you have created your perfect snowman, complete the attached writing assignment. Please use your very best handwriting and don’t forget to give your writing piece a title. Also, make sure to edit your writing with an adult. This project will be proudly displayed in the hallway. I hope you have fun designing and writing about your snowman. Wintertime is a great time of year! I can’t wait to see your brrr…illiant work! This is due on or before Tuesday, Jan. 26th

_______________________________________ By: ___________________________ My snowman’s name is My snowman and I like to At night, my snowman

My snowman likes to eat While I am at school, my snowman My snowman is special because