First Grade News
January 2016
Dear Parents,
We hope everyone had a safe and relaxing break. Catch your breath because we are off and
running in January. We will continue to have high expectations for all students!
READING
As we begin the month of January, students will continue to work on recalling the key details
and identifying the main topic. Students identify the main topic using details from photographs
and text and ask questions to clarify meaning. Students will be encouraged to use the skill of
intellectual risk taking when sharing ideas. We will work on determining the meaning of unknown
words using a variety of strategies. As January comes to a close, students will continue to read
informational texts to build content knowledge and to work on comprehension strategies.
WRITING
During the first two weeks of January, we will be writing to state our opinion about the “Best of
Germantown”. The children need to state their opinions and provide reasons and support by
gathering information and recalling their own personal experiences. At the end of the month,
we will go back to writing to inform. The students will need to gather information and supply
facts about a topic. They are expected to use correct spelling and punctuation. They will also
need to edit their own work in order to include additional details and begin sentences with
different and varied words. They will give feedback to others to help their classmates improve
their writing pieces.
MATH
In math, we’ll kick off the month of January with a focus on operations and algebraic
thinking. First graders will use a variety of classroom tools such as base ten blocks, Cuisenaire
Rods, pattern blocks and connecting cubes to add three whole numbers whose sum is less than
20 (e.g., 2 + 3 + 2 = 7). In order to find the sum in the most efficient way, they will be
encouraged to write an equation and utilize strategies like doubles, doubles plus one, and picture
models. Students will also practice writing and illustrating their own number stories that
represent three quantities whose sum is within 20. While working on three number equations,
the children will learn about the commutative property of addition and recognize that changing
the order of the numbers in an equation does not affect the sum (2+3+5 = 10 or 5+2+3 = 10).
We will end the month with a new focus on measurement and data. Students will be provided
with opportunities to order and describe the lengths or widths of three objects using both
direct and indirect comparison. First graders will also continue to review their addition and
subtraction facts throughout the month.
SOCIAL STUDIES
In Social Studies, we will explore differences between past and present time by classifying
important events as belonging to the past or present. Students will examine photographs and
identify their differences. We will discuss what life might have been like in the past and
compare it to life in the present, focusing on important inventions that have changed the way we
live. Our first graders will use words related to time to order events sequentially that have
occurred in the school. They will use a calendar and a timeline to organize their ideas. We will
then transition into geography, where students will use maps, globes, atlases, and cardinal
directions to locate places on earth such as continents, oceans, countries, states, and towns.
They will also identify the physical characteristics of places using photographs and illustrations
and provide written descriptions of those places.
SCIENCE
We will continue our exploration of magnets. Students will use what they know about
magnets to create a chart of objects which are magnetic and non-magnetic. Then they’ll test
the objects and record their findings on a graphic organizer. We will also look at a variety of
magnets to determine if some magnets attract objects better than others. Students will
experiment to see if different parts of a magnet are stronger than other parts. We will
experiment with different materials (such as aluminum foil and paper towels) to see if magnets
can attract metal through another material. We will finish the quarter by reviewing things we
learned about living and non-living things.
Quarter 3 will begin our Earth and Space Sciences unit. We will be observing and comparing
soil samples. Students will be using hand lenses to observe different soil and sand samples to
see what they are comprised of. They will be looking at sand photographs and discussing how
sand can be different colors and textures. We will also be identifying features of the Earth
that are not made by humans.
IMPORTANT DATES
January 18 - No School-Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
January 22nd - Second marking period ends
January 25th – No School
th
Looking forward to a successful 2016!
Sincerely,
The First Grade Team