Mrs. Christensen's First Grade Class

Dear Parents, The Harvest Festival is tonight from 5-9 pm!  I hope to see you there! Math:  We are in the second half of Module 1 of our Engage New York Math Program and now working with addition AND subtraction equations/word problems. We will learn about double numbers and double numbers +1.  The students will review the "Doubles song" to help them learn double facts.  Please continue to work on math facts to 10.  This will help your child build a strong foundation in addition and subtraction. Grammar:  The students will focus on adding interesting adjectives to their sentences and being able to find the noun, verb and adjective in a sentence. Comprehension:  The focus will be on story structure this week. Word Wall Words:   him         every       once Phonics : We will continue learning phonograms, two or more letters that when written together, make one or more different sounds. This ...

Dear First Grade Parents, We have a fun filled month planned!  The students are looking forward to the school-wide Harvest Festival on Friday, October 11th.  We will read books about Halloween, pumpkins, bats.  We will read the book, "Stellaluna", to tie into our Scholastic News magazine. Grammar:  The students will focus on making sure all the sentences they write have a noun and a verb to make it complete. Comprehension:  We will focus on what the problem is in a story and notice how they are solved. Word Wall Words:    about      also    after Phonics : We will start learning phonograms, two or more letters that when written together, make one or more different sounds. This week we will learn the sounds that SH and TH make; ship, mash, this, three. Reading Workshop : In Reading Workshop we have learned how readers improve their reading by using good habit.  Next week, students will learn about how to break ba...

Dear First Grade Families, I hope you're enjoying this cool weather.  The weather has been unpredictable these days so please send a jacket or sweatshirt to school. Math:   The students will continue to solve word problems with a missing part/addend.  Please practice math facts with your child as this will help them get through their "sprints".  We also did a CGI problem that you'll find on our math bulletin!  I'm impressed! Grammar:  We will focus on nouns, verbs and adjectives. Comprehension:  We will focus on what the problem is in all the stories we read this week and notice how they are solved. Word Wall Words:     very    then    just Phonics : We will continue work with short vowel words and learn the reasons why the vowels are short. Your child has learned the vowel song which helps to learn the sounds that all of our vowels make. Ask you child to sing it to you. It's about a doggie and how he hurt his p...

Dear Parents, I hope you're enjoying the last bit of summer!  The first day of autumn is on September 23rd. The students are excited about the many changes that happen during this time!   Math:  We will continue for a couple more weeks to work in this first module of Engage New York working on fluency with addition, numbers to 10, and then work our way into subtraction. The students are learning many different math strategies to solve an equation and most importantly, learning to use THE MOST EFFICIENT one.  The students have been subitizing numbers to 20 and they are becoming experts on detecting five and ten groups within ten-frames, dots or other objects. Again, daily work at home in Zearn and using flashcards will help your child.  Zearn cards were sent home on Friday.  Please look for it and have your child practice logging in and out of Zearn. Grammar:  We will focus on capitalizing names and using the correct punctuation. Comprehension...

Dear Room 4 Parents, I hope you're enjoying this warm weather!  It is nice to have bright and sunny days at school! Grammar:  We will focus on capitalizing names. Comprehension:  We will focus on noting details in the stories we read and those that we write. Phonics : We will work to find words with short vowels and learn the reasons why the vowels are short. We will learn a vowel song that will help the students learn the vowel sounds! Reading Workshop : Reading Workshop has started and we will continue working in Unit One learning how readers build good habits as well as learning how reading partners work together to build their skills. The students now have their own book bag filled with books at their level from our leveled library. They shop each week for new books to read independently in an area of their choice building stamina to independently read for longer periods of time.  Writing:  Students will continue to write small moment stories....

Dear Room 4 Parents, It was a short and fun week!  The students have adjusted well to the routines of first grade.  I appreciate all of your support with the morning routine.  I can tell the students are proud of themselves for going up to the playground independently!   Fall will occur on September 23rd so we will be incorporating fall activities into our schedule these next few weeks.  We will discuss the harvesting of apples and the changes that occur in the fall.  I can't wait! Math:   In this first module, students are working towards fluency with addition and subtraction of numbers to 10 and presented with opportunities to start COUNTING ON from the bigger number and NOT counting ALL which leads students to decomposing and composing addends and total amounts.  You can support this learning at home by reviewing the math worksheets your children bring home.  You can also make up your own addition/subtraction stories and ha...