First Grade Newsletter
October 2014
Dear Parents,
Our class has been busy learning the ropes of first grade! We are getting settled into our
routines nicely.
A few friendly reminders: Please check and sign your child’s red folder each night. I
often will put special reminders on the homework sheet and the home-school
connection is important for your child’s academic success.
Please send money in an envelope with your child’s name on it. This will ensure that
your money is received by the correct person.
What we are learning:
Reading- This month we focused on reading strategies that can help us solve unknown words.
We are learning to check the picture and think about what makes sense for the story. We also
talked about characters, setting, problem and solutions in stories. We identified these through
our read alouds this month. I have started meeting with my guided reading groups. I meet
with 2 groups each day. Students are introduced to a new book and are practicing their
reading strategies. We talk about the stories we read and make connections to the characters.
Writing- Students are independently writing stories each day. They choose their own topics. I
use daily reading conferences to support students in adding details to their stories and help
them stretch words out as they write. Each student has a writing folder to hold their stories.
At the end of the quarter students will be able to take some of their writing home.
Math- This month we focused on number concepts and addition readiness skills. Students
continue to practice writing their numerals to 100. They have learned the difference between
a bar graph and a pictograph. Students have also asked classmates survey questions and used
the data to create a graph. We have spent the past 2 weeks learning about number
combinations as an addition readiness skill.
Science- In science this month we observed and discussed the changes that occur in the fall.
We drew pictures and wrote about how animals prepare for the winter, what happens to
some trees in the fall, and how people participate in special fall activities.