Welcome to First Grade

1. Welcome to First Grade

2. Expectations for Learning What should I be expecting my little star to learn?

3. Reading • In the area of decoding words, your child will . . . --Learn to apply letter sounds, including consonants and vowels consonant blends, consonant digraphs (th, sh, ck), and irregular vowel combinations (ea, ie, and ee). --Blend these sounds to read words. --Use common spelling patterns (chunks) to read words. --Use structural clues, such as base words, compound words, and endings to recognize words. --Learn to recognize high frequency words, such as said, was, where, etc. --Use word order and context to support word identification and meaning.

4. In the area of reading comprehension, your child will. . . --Learn to establish the purpose for reading. --Monitor their own comprehension by using strategies such as rereading, cross checking, self-monitoring. --Learn to use prior knowledge (schema) to anticipate meaning and make sense of the text. --Identify different types of texts and their features. --Learn story structure including plot, setting, and the story’s problem and solution, tell main ideas with supporting details, and analyze characters, --Use a variety of metacognitive reading skills to make inferences and predictions, create sensory images, and make connections between texts to self, other texts, and texts to the larger community to build comprehension.

5. Spelling/Working with Words • Spelling will look different. • --You will see word chunks (-at, -ap, -an) • --Students will learn how to spell using chunks with short • and long sounds, blends, plurals and other endings, • and ‘r’ controlled vowels, such as ‘ar’ in star. • --Students will make words with these chunks and be expected to spell them correctly. • --You will see high-frequency words (you, of, that) • --Students will be expected to increasingly • use familiar words correctly • in their writing.

6. WRITINGDuring 1st Grade your child will. . . Use elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing)to compose texts. Write texts to express their ideas and feelings about people, events, and ideas with beginnings, middles, and ends. Write in different forms for different purposes such as lists to record, letters to share messages, invite, or thank, and poems to convey sensory details. Write expository texts to communicate ideas to specific audiences for specific purposes. Use appropriate written conventions, such as capital letters and correct end marks while writing legibly. Make connections from his/her own experiences with the life, language, customs, and culture of others.

7. abc Handwritingxyz Allen ISD has adopted a new handwriting style district wide this year. We will be doing Modern or Slant Manuscript. Legibility is our greatest goal with handwriting. To help with this, you can— • Encourage your child to use proper spacing in words and between words. • Have your child start letters from the top to the bottom and work in continuous strokes when possible. • Encourage them to start the following letters like a c - a, d, f, g, o, q

8. Mathematics In first grade, your child will… Recognize and make patterns (pictorial, concrete, numerical, and use of fact families). • Compile data, make and interpret several types of graphs. • Learn how to solve word problems with addition and subtraction. • Use money correctly up to one dollar. • Understand place value of tens and ones. • Know and use numbers up to 99. • Identify 3D shapes. • Use non-standard measurement. • Understand and use fractions of ½, 1/3, and ¼. • Master addition for sums to 18 and subtraction up to 18-9. • Identify and use mathematics in everyday situations.

9. Four Part Math Model • Daily Drills • Problem Solving • Whole Group Lesson • Small Groups

10. ScienceDuring first grade your child will: • Learn lab safety • Learn the names and uses of simple lab tools as they carry out investigative experiments using the scientific method • Improve their sorting and classifying skills using a variety of living and non-living objects. • Observe life cycles of plants and animals such as frogs, chicken, and fish. • Learn how to think, question, and learn from their natural world. • Make observations, collect and interpret data, make and interpret charts and graphs • Observe and record data about the natural world around us

11. First Grade Social Studies • Identify contributions of historical figures and leaders who have influenced the community, state, and nation. • Describe and compare the observance of holidays and celebrations, past and present. • Locate significant places on a map. • Explain the need for rules and laws. • Identify characteristics of good citizenship. • Use voting as a way of making choices and decisions. • Describe similarities and differences in ways families meet basic human needs. • Retell stories from folktales and legends. • Identify examples of goods and services in the home, school, and community. • Describe how household tools and appliances have changed the ways families live. • Identify anthems and mottoes of the United States and Texas. • Describe the roles of public officials including mayor, governor, and president. • Identify landforms, bodies of water, natural resources , and weather.

12. Homework • Assignments will be meaningful and interactive for your child. • Assignments will be reinforcements of skills or concepts previously taught in class. • Students should read daily and record time on reading logs.

13. First Grade applied for and was awarded two grants this year from the Foundation for Allen Schools. They are: • Mentor Texts Grow Lifelong Learners— • Read Them Again and Again! • and • Reading can be Mathematical!

14. 1st Grade Report Card The First Grade report card is very similar to the Kindergarten report card. Your child is assessed in all academic areas as well as social development and work habits.

15. Report Card Goals • To reflect the academic and social skills that are outlined in the state standards (TEKS). The indicators will show a student’s current achievement, rather than an average. • To provide a better tool for parents to use in understanding their child’s progress in relation to the TEKS. • To provide consistency between Kindergarten and First Grade in reporting student progress.

16. Reporting Periods • Students will receive a report card each marking period. Starting this year we will have four marking periods. • Mid-marking period progress reports may be completed for first grade students who meet “at-risk” criteria. • Progress reports will not be given during the first marking period.

17. Reporting Numbers To report your child’s progress, the following number system will be used. These should not be correlated to letter grades. 3 2 1 4

18. Please refer to your sample report card to help guide you through the grade explanations.

19. How can you learn more about grade level objectives or the report card? • Access the Learner Services area on the AISD website. There you will find links to the curriculum documents which list the grade level objectives (TEKS) as well as a document explaining how these objectives are assessed on the report cards.

20. Excitement and Enthusiasm • As a team, we promise to provide your child with the tools and environment they need to succeed. • We are excited about the growth and development of your child. • Thank you for sharing our enthusiasm and partnering with us for a successful year!