First Grade News
February 2016
Dear Parents,
It is hard to believe that half of the school year has gone by already! We have seen
much progress and growth in your children and have planned many exciting experiences for
the remainder of the year. February is shaping up to be a very busy month.
Reading/Language Arts:
In February, students will be reading many different kinds of informational texts. Students will
be asked to compare information found on U.S. and World maps. They’ll use text features
(photographs, headings, etc.) to find out about natural features found throughout the
United States. We will also review the strategies good readers’ use when reading
informational texts. Students will continue to practice identifying the main topic as well as
retelling important details.
As we work on our vocabulary skills students will be asked to sort words, phrases, and
photographs related to science and social studies topics being studied. We’ll determine the
connections between words and their use. Students will also identify words with similar
meanings but convey different feelings and attitudes to the reader or audience (harvest,
pull, cut down, pick, gather). We will work with the prefix –un and look at how adding the
prefix changes the meaning of the word (happy vs. unhappy, tie vs. untie).
Writing:
The children will work on a class inquiry project comparing several different cities in
Maryland. They will write an informational piece by researching, recording, and organizing
facts about the location, natural resources, human made features, jobs and other interesting
facts about that city. Each class will then choose a city and make a travel commercial for
our beautiful state of Maryland! We are looking forward to putting it all together and we will
share the completed product on our website.
Science:
Our science unit is Earth and Space Science. Students will use hand lenses to observe and
identify differences in rocks. They will describe the color, shape, size, and texture of various
rocks. They will also identify materials; such as soil, sand, rocks, and water that make up
Earth’s natural features. Next, students will investigate how sunlight affects temperature
changes in water and air. They will look at how weathering and erosion affects the Earth’s
surface. Students will explore natural and human-made objects and identify the materials
they are made of. They will also be comparing and contrasting the observable properties of
a variety of building materials (e.g. bricks, straw, and wood) and discussing what they are
used for. Finally, the children will look at recycled materials and compare them to the
materials they were made from.
Social Studies:
Our students will begin studying geography in social studies. We will use geographic tools
and characteristics to locate and describe places and environments on Earth. Students will
spend time examining and comparing photographs of landforms, climate, and vegetation
from various places around the world. They will identify and describe human-made features
found on U.S. and world maps, and compare those human-made features to natural
features. Furthermore, our students will gain solid map skills and confidence when locating
important places on a variety of maps by studying cardinal directions and map elements.
After developing a solid understanding of geography, students will begin examining the
differences between land from the past and present. We will focus on a plot of land in
Maryland and explore the ways that human development transformed the physical
characteristics of that piece of land. Through this activity, students will be able to explain
how people modify, protect, and adapt to their environment. We will also examine the
harmful effects of pollution on the environment and identify ways to protect our planet. Our
students will also explore ways to help protect the environment such as recycling, conserving
energy, and reducing litter.
Math:
Throughout the month of February, our first graders will focus on measurement as well as on
operations and algebraic thinking. We’ll begin by exploring everyday application of
measurement and determine how it is used in our day to day lives and/or jobs. We’ll
measure and compare length with non-standard units such as connecting cubes, die cut
letters, paper clips and craft sticks. Classroom tools such as color tiles and Base-10 blocks will
be used to measure different lengths of an object such as height, width or depth, and we will
practice measuring length using multiple copies of a non-standard unit. Our students will use
non-standard units to compare different linear measurements (length, width and height) and
investigate measurement using different lengths of the same non-standard unit. As we near
the end of the month, we will spend time building our fluency with addition and subtraction
facts (within twenty) and modeling related addition and subtraction equations. First graders
will explore inverse relationships between addition and subtraction and model addition and
subtraction equations on a number line. We’ll conclude by using our knowledge of addition
and subtraction strategies to identify “mystery” numbers in related equations when given the
sum and difference. Vocabulary words to practice and use at home include unit, length,
width, height, shorter, shortest, longer, longest, taller, tallest, addend, sum, and difference.
Important Dates
February 8 - Field Trip to the Aquarium in Baltimore
February 10 – Report Cards Distributed
February 12 -Valentine’s Day Party
February 15 – No School
February 26 – Early Release Day
The First Grade Team