January Greetings from 1st Grade
by Sarah Morris
January 02, 2008
Greetings from the First Grade Class Room. Can you believe we
are already in January 2008? I am not even used to writing 2007
yet. Oh how time flies!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas
and New Year.
First Grade is always busy in the Summer and Fall months but we
seem to be even busier in the Winter and Spring months. I would
like to share some of the things we will be doing in our classroom
the rest of this year.
In Math we will be learning more about time, money, fractions,
place value, number stories, measurement, and basic facts. Please
watch the Math Homeworks that come home in your child’s folder each
day in order to practice with your child what they have learned at
school. Your child will feel special when you ask them to share
their learning day with you and the reiteration of a little more
practice in the evenings can help your child immensely in their
retention of learned information. Everyday Math (our Math
curriculum) is a spiral learning method. That is that one topic or
piece of learned information builds on another piece of
information. A few minutes of practice at night can make a huge
difference for your child the next day.
In our Science class we will be finishing up our Balancing Kit and
starting on Solids and Liquids. Then, the most loved kit for my
students each year, Organisms. We will have some live critters in
our classroom the last few months of school!!!
And now for our most important topic in First Grade, Reading. We
are plugging along in our Phonics Lessons. Thank you for helping
your child finish their Phonics Homework each evening. Your child
reading to you each evening will make a major difference in your
child’s success. Reading is made up of five major components.
Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and
Comprehension. Phonemic Awareness and Phonics is the basic
knowledge and understanding of letters and sounds, and how those
letters and sounds come together to make words. Fluency is being
able to read in a fluent manner that is not choppy, but has a good
rhythm and pace to it. Reading Fluency has many levels and can only
get better when reading is practiced. Having your child read to you
everyday for a few minutes is key in their reading success. In the
First Grade class room, nothing is more important. Vocabulary is
expanded when children read, are read to, are talked to, and are
exposed to as much literature as possible. Children are natural
born learners. It is a lot of fun for them to simply learn a new
word and use it. The last, but not the least important is
Comprehension of reading. Comprehension of reading is when children
understand and remember what they have read. The best way for a
child to improve their Comprehension Skills is for them to be asked
questions about what they have just read. This skill will also get
better with practice.
Stop by our classroom at your convenience to see what we are
learning about. We would love to have you. I do appreciate all of
the wonderful family support that we have at Bronaugh. You are
wonderful at helping the students with their school work and
sending it back each day. Your support makes our school a success.
Thank you for all that you do. You are the key to your
child’s education.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Morris
