September 3 - 6, 2013

Dear families and friends,

Our first week of First Grade has been exciting, exhausting, and a great time of getting to know one another. You will be able to see some of the fun activities from this week in your next Tuesday Folder. Next week we will start our "real" schedule, which means that we will begin our regular reading and writing workshops, along with more rigor in Social Studies, Science, and Math. Please be sure to send your child each day with a water bottle, healthy snack, and a good night's sleep.

Reminders:

*9-2-13 No school – Holiday

*9-9-13 Parent Orientation at 6:00pm

*Tuesday/Thursday- PE Days, tennis shoes only

*Please send a water bottle and healthy snack daily.

We have lunch at 12:05 and the kids are very hungry.

Math:

This year in Math we will learn many new concepts and develop new skills. The state of Texas revised the TEKS for the 2014-2015 school year. As a proactive school district RRISD instituted a conversion year. This year we will teach the current TEKS and the "new/revised" TEKS. Many things are new and/or different. For our first unit we will be exploring Place Value. The objectives for this unit include 1) composing and decomposing numbers up to 120, 2) Generating numbers from 0 up to 120, 3) Representing, comparing and ordering numbers to 100 using symbols (<, >, =), 4) Using Place Value to compare whole numbers up to 120 (i.e. 23 has 2 groups of ten and 3 ones). Please review your child's work as it comes home in their folder. The students also use their Math Notebooks on a daily basis. As we establish routines we will begin sending home the Math Notebook periodically for parents to review.

Reading Workshop:

This week we will launch our reading workshop procedures and the students will learn that one of the most important things to do to become a better reader is to read good-fit books. We will learn how to look for good-fit books in five ways using the acronym I PICK. They will learn: “I” choose my book, “P”urpose-Why do I want to read it? “I”nterest-Does it interest me? “C”omprehend-Am I understanding what I am reading? “K”now-I know most of the words. I encourage you to use this same dialogue with your child at home to help them choose good-fit books for independent reading at home. Once we grasp how to choose a good-fit book, we will start our lesson with three ways to read a book. It takes time to establish reading workshop procedures, but after we build a solid foundation, it pays off all year long!

Writing Workshop:

In this session of Writing Workshop, we will be learning what the expectations are for Writing Workshop and how to use the supplies. Once we model the process of choosing a topic, sketching it, and then writing about it, the students will choose their own topics, sketch, and write.

Social Studies:

This week, we will be discussing rules and laws at school, home and in our community. What is the difference between a rule and a law? Why do we need rules and laws? We will also talk about positive and negative consequences. 

Habit #1: Be Proactive- Being proactive means that you are a responsible person. You are in charge of your actions and your moods, and you take responsibility for your choices. We read stories about being proactive last week. This week, we will reinforce being proactive in the classroom, at home, and in our community. Please talk with your child about what they can do to be a proactive member of your family. Thanks!

Have a fantastic Labor Day Weekend!