1. Welcome to First Grade’s Curriculum Night!
2014

2. Report Cards We will be using a skills based report card this year
Report Cards We will be using a skills based report card this year. We will give the grades of*3- Proficient (on grade level) Developing 1- Emerging . We will use rubrics, teachers observations, checklists, along with traditional paper and pencil tests to determine your child’s grade.

3. Class Work
A lot of our learning is hands-on. For this reason, you will not always see daily work come home.
We will send home papers at least once a month. Please sign and return them the next day.

4. Reading Workshop Reading Workshop includes the following:
A lesson teaching a new reading skill or strategy
Time for the students to practice those skills while reading to his or her self in a “just right” book
Time for students to practice those skills while reading with a partner
A lesson teaching new high frequency words and vocabulary
A phonics lesson teaching a weekly phonics sound
Time for students to practice their weekly phonics sound.
Time for each student to work in a group with the teacher on reading skills or strategies that fit his/her need

5. Reading Levels
Show book examples.

6. What is the best way to meet this reading goal?
Reading 20 minutes a day increases fluency.
Like most anything…the more you practice, the better you get.
Reading every night is essential to your child’s successful reading growth. Every night your child will bring home a book (in a bag or folder) to practice reading. Please have your child read this book to you. Have them bring this book back everyday.

8. Phonics/Spelling
We will use the Words Their Way program for phonics and spelling.
We will give a spelling assessment during the first few weeks of school. We will create differentiated phonics groups based on this assessment.
Your child will take part in an explicit phonics lesson that is geared specifically to his/her needs. Thus your child may be traveling to a different first grade teacher for 30 minutes each day. Your child will then go back to his/her class and continue to practice/apply these phonics skills.
Your child will have a word sort to practice at school and one to take home to practice.

9. Phonics/Spelling
We will be taking a spelling check at the end of the week in class to keep track of progress. This will be similar to a spelling test. The list could be a word from their sorts previous week(s) or one not included on the Word Sort sheet but one that fits the pattern.
More information will be sent home in September further explaining phonics/spelling and giving homework instructions.

10. Writing
Writing Workshop includes the following:
A lesson teaching a writing strategy
Time for students to practice those strategies by writing independently in his/her writing folder
We will learn to write: small moment stories, how- to books, all about books, persuasive paragraphs, and poetry.
At the end of 1st Grade, students should be able to write in complete sentences, have proper punctuation and capitalization, and put finger spaces in words.

11. Writing Folders
Your child will use the meet the teacher folder as his/her writing folder. Please decorate the front and back of this folder with pictures or magazine clippings that represent special events that have happened in your child’s life. These folders are due back Friday, August 29th.

12. Math
We use the Investigations Math series. By using this math series we learn by doing. The class will practice math concepts by playing partner games and participating in hands on activities. There are very few worksheets.
This year in Math we will learn: to count to 120 starting with any number; to fluently add to 10; to add and subtract within 20 using multiple strategies; to find a missing addend; to use place value to compare, add, and subtract two two-digit numbers; to measure using units; to tell time to the hour and half hour; to manipulate two and three dimensional shapes; and divide shapes into halves and fourths.

13. Homework
Show homework sheet.

14. Binders
This binder includes homework, monthly behavior sheets, important notes, money, etc…
The binder will go home daily and will also need to be returned to school daily.
Please sign the behavior sheet in the binder every night.

15. Cafeteria Our class eats lunch at 11:05-11:30. Breakfast $ 1.25
Breakfast is served beginning at 7:30.
Our class eats lunch at 11:05-11:30.
Please send breakfast/lunch money to school in an envelope with your child’s name, ID number, and the amount enclosed on the front of the envelope.
Checks for meals should not include money for other items such as field trips, books orders, etc…
Please include a phone number on all checks.
If you will be joining us please meet us outside the cafeteria doors.
Breakfast $ 1.25
Lunch $ 2.25
Extra Milk $ 0.50
Adult Lunch $ 3.75

16. Tardies and Absences
School begins PROMPTLY at 8:00 a.m. and dismisses at 3:10 p.m.
Excused absence
MUST receive a written note or Doctor’s excuse explaining reason for absence within three days.
Please write your child’s full name on all excuses.
Unexcused absence
Any absence without a note or Doctor’s excuse
Excuses are turned in daily to the office

17. Transportation
If your child is to go home a different way than usual, you must send a written note or notify the office as soon as possible. This cuts down on confusion at the end of the day, and I can be sure that your child makes it home safely.

18. Snacks We will have a light snack at the end of the day.
Please send your child to school with a healthy finger food snack that does not require a spoon.
You may send water in a bottle or resealable container, or your child can get water at the water fountain throughout the day.

19. Tennis shoes must be worn in order to participate in P.E. each day.

20. If you would like to contact me or schedule a conference , please call the office, write me a note, or send me an at
If you have an address that you frequently check, please make sure you have included it on the contact form. is a great, quick form of communication. 