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First Grade Parent Letter October 27, 2005 |
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First Grade Parent Letter October 27, 2005 |
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| Dear Parents, Enclosed is your child’s "First Grade — Big Two." In an effort to increase knowledge of addition and subtraction facts to 10, we will practice this skill at the beginning of each math lesson. We will begin using unifix cubes and eventually move to using our number line on our desks. During the second quarter your child will bring home math flashcards each Tuesday to practice after their Home Link. We will continue to practice addition and subtraction facts daily, but it is important to have support from home. You may want to make/purchase some addition and subtraction flashcards to 10 to practice with your child. The dollar store has flashcards. Your support will help your child become successful in mathematics by knowing their addition and subtraction facts. This has been a busy week for students. They have finished their first magazine test. Students did very well. Our class average was 97%. It was given with full support. I model how to take the test for the first two tests. Then the last three tests are given with partial support. Students will take magazine tests until fifth grade; they are part of our reading units. Magazine tests also help students prepare for the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) given in the spring in grades 1-8. Next week we will begin a new reading unit called "The World Outside My Door." It includes stories called My River, Citybook, and Listen to the Desert. Also poems such as "Sleeping Outdoors," and "I Love the World." Over the next few weeks, you will see four books come home: Our Plants, A Fish Trip, A Walk in the City and Hats Hats Hats. These books will include new vocabulary words. Enclosed is a list of the vocabulary words. Last Tuesday students completed Unit 2 Checking Progress (math test). Enclosed is your child’s test. Students took it without support or help from me. It assessed time and money. Most students did well, but counting money and exchanging coins for fewer coins is a difficult skill for them. I gave students the opportunity to fix any incorrect answers on their test. If their answers were not correct, then I worked with them one-on-one. |
We have begun a new math unit called
Visual Patterns, Number Patterns, and Counting. As
patterns with numbers are investigated, children will
take a closer look at the common patterns found in odd
and even numbers. They will observe the patterns in the
ending digits of counts by 2s, 3s, 5s, and 10s.
Frames-and-Arrows diagram will be introduced to help
children in their investigation of number sequences.
Children will also continue to develop their time-telling
and money-counting skills. They will practice telling
time on the hour and the half-hour. And they will
continue to work with real coins. Finally we will work on
addition and subtraction. This is an important topic-it
will be developed throughout the year. On Monday we will have our Halloween party at 12:20 to 3:00 p.m. Students’ costumes need to come to school in a bag with their name on it. No weapons are to be brought to school along with their costume. Mr. or Mrs. Gauthier, Mr. or Mrs. Hall, Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Ward will be our helpers. Please come at noon for instructions on your holiday center. After trick or treating, students will have a great deal of candy. Please remind your child to keep his/her candy at home. Your child needs healthy snacks at school. On Thursday we will walk to the Onekama Public Library to return our books and check out three new books. If your schedule permits, please join us. Students need weather appropriate clothing. Each morning our temperature is in the upper 30s. Your child needs a warm coat, hat and gloves. Please be sure to send them each day. The following are dates that you may want to add to your calendar:
Warmly, Mrs.
Niederstadt |
