1. MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Jan. 22 nd – First Grade Prayer Service Our prayer service will start promptly at 2:15 in the Chapel. Please arrive early to find parking and to reserve a seat. We are so proud of everyone’s effort and excitement. It is going to be a very special service. Jan.26 th – Snowman project is due Jan. 31 st - Feb. 5 th – Catholic Schools Week! More information on this fun-filled week will be sent home shortly. Please check our school website for additional news and events. Thank you! Have a wonderful week! First Grade News January 18 th – 22 nd 2016 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. 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. Winter Project: Design and write about a snowman. Project guidelines were sent home. You can find an additional copy attached to last week’s newsletter. Written responses should be detailed and edited by an adult. Students will share their snowman and will read their writing piece aloud to their classmates. We can’t wait to see your brrr…illiant work! Be creative and have fun! Frosty’s Favorite First Grade Friends We are collecting Boxtops and Campbell’s soup labels. Let’s see if we can be the winning class! Happy Birthday Caroline! We hope you had a great day! Best wishes!

2. 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 – Vowel sounds of y and a review of long vowels. This week, we will explore the vowel sounds of y. Please practice the sight word list that is on the reverse side of your child’s spelling list. This was sent home on Thursday. An additional copy can be found on slides 5 and 6. Reading & Spelling - This week, we will be reading, An Egg is an Egg. Our reading skill is: compare and contrast. Our spelling words are generated from this story. Our spelling and reading comprehension test will be on Friday. Students will review how to use part of a question (question stem) to respond to comprehension questions. Grammar & Writing – This week during our grammar lessons, we will review contractions, antonyms and synonyms, compound words, and identifying nouns within a sentence. Students will have a test on these concepts next week. During our writing workshop time, students will write about their dreams and ways they show their kindness and friendship towards others. Math – Chapter Five, Place Value We will begin Chapter Five. Our focus will be on place value to 100. Please review how to correctly read and write numbers and number words. Continue to practice adding and subtracting. We will have a follow-up assessment next week to monitor progress. Attached are some slides to help your child review how to read and spell numbers. Religion – We will complete Chapter Five, Jesus Teaches Us About Love. We will also prepare for our prayer service. We hope to see you on Friday. Social Studies – We will learn more about and discuss Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

3. Wintertime is a great time to cuddle up with a good book and cup of hot cocoa. Mrs. Frost’s Class Reminders: Book orders are due on Tuesday. "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." Heads Up! Assessments Students will have a grammar and math test during the week of January 25 th. Please review the following concepts: 1. Nouns – identify plurals nouns and nouns within a sentence. 2. Compound words 3. Contractions 4. Synonyms and antonyms Math Students will have an addition and subtraction test. Please continue to practice addition and subtraction facts. Suggestions: Create or purchase flash cards to help your child memorize their facts. Replay math games that have been sent home to reinforce these important concepts.

4. Math is “snow” much fun! Math Project Estimating Quantities Developing Number Sense In conjunction with Chapter Five, Place Value, I would like to have some fun with estimating. I am looking for some help with this. If time allows, please use a clear jar or container and fill it with an item. For example: dried pasta, goldfish, mini-marshmallows, cotton balls, Legos, etc. Make sure to use something that is the same size and shape. Complete the card below and seal it in an envelope and send it in with your container. Feel free to do this activity with your child. However, please make sure that your child keeps the actual amount a secret. We will be estimating the actual amount in class. The deadline for this activity is February 5 th. This is completely optional. Thank you for your time and support. Excellent Estimating Item : ________________ Actual amount: __________________

5. Spelling Words Long e and Long i: y my fly by cry trylucky anysilly bodypuppy High-Frequency Words: thingsalways Challenge Words: chilly bunny becausefriends Words to READ things always day become nothing stays everything Our spelling test will be on Friday. Enjoy your long weekend. Please find time to practice your spelling and sight words.

6. my by try any body cry lucky silly puppy buddy sunny happy Bobby dry shy why Long e and Long i: y sly candy fry spy kitty pretty fly baby carry party merry Mary supply berry Godly twenty 20 thirty 30 forty 40 fifty 50 sixty 60 seventy 70 eighty 80 ninety 90 Don’t forget to complete this month’s reading log. Daily reading recommendations can be found on your newsletter. If you have not completed your Dolch sight word booklet, please find time to practice it on a regular basis. Thank you!

7. 10 ten 20 twenty 30 thirty 40 forty 50 fifty 60 sixty 70 seventy 80 eighty 90 ninety 100 one hundred Math Review Below are charts to help your child read and write numbers 1-00. 1 one 2 two 3 three 4 four 5 five 6 six 7 seven 8 eight 9 nine 10 ten 11 eleven 12 twelve 13 thirteen 14 fourteen 15 fifteen 16 sixteen 17 seventeen 18 eighteen 19 nineteen Place Value Review 75 seven tens, five ones 32 three tens, two ones 18 one ten, eight ones 60 six tens, zero ones

8. Practice reading and writing numbers Examples: 75 seventy-five 43 forty-three 98 ninety-eight 23 twenty-three 71 seventy-one 33 thirty-three 84 eighty-four 59 fifty-nine 60 sixty 15 fifteen

9. 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.