A Class

September – December 2006

This is going to be a fun year in A Class. We have a lot of exciting topics to explore, experiments to conduct and fun to be had by all! In order for your child to be successful in class as well as at home, please make sure your child is current in his/her A Classics Kit. as we talk about and expand upon the concepts covered within the kits.

We will have a Star Student every few weeks and that is your child’s time to bring in items, pictures, stories … to share with their friends at school. It is really important that they do not bring in these items when it is not their share day. Items from home can get broken and/or lost and the students have enough activity to keep them busy while in class.

Since A Class is full day, the students tend to get hungry before lunch. Please send your child with something extra to get them through, also a water bottle for the day would also help (please label it with your child’s name).

Educating children is a partnership between home and school. I am always interested in your feedback and comments about your child’s education. Please feel free to come and talk to me about your child’s education at any time. I am also open to parents volunteering in the classroom (please make sure you are cleared through the office first).

I look forward to this exciting school year and hope your child learns, enjoys and remembers his/her educational experience.

September Topics of Study

Journal: This is always a free-write activity. This is done every morning after we talk about the calendar and days of the week. Sometimes I have a topic for the students and other times it is a pick your own topic. Journals are never corrected; I simply provide positive feedback and respond to the student’s journal so they know I am reading them.

Language Arts: We will practice our sentence writing this month and focus on grammar in writing. The students will see that a sentence has different parts like a noun, verb, capitals, punctuations…  We will practice using words to make complete sentences. This will be an ongoing topic for the year. We will follow state standards in Language Arts for first grade. Please remember though, you need to continue working on your programs given to you by your advisor.

Handwriting: Students will be continuing the Handwriting Without Tears program for handwriting. We will practice all the letters uppercase and lowercase. You may occasionally see a page sent home to practice, just if there is a need.

Math:  Students will be working on their numbers, counting, shapes, colors, sorting, patterning and addition facts. We will also make a number line which will help them see patterns in counting and skip counting. We have many math manipulatives which we will also use to practice our math concepts including songs we will be singing to practice our math facts. This month we will make a “Mouse Paint” book using finger paint to practice our colors and painting skills. We will follow state standards in Math for first grade. Please remember though, you need to continue working on your programs given to you by your advisor.

Science: This month we will be exploring Our Earth, rocks, minerals and volcanoes. We will talk about the different parts of the Earth using an apple, make a tear art volcano, conduct a geological time experiment on erosion and learn a song about volcanoes.

History/Geography: This month we will focus on our community, our world and maps and globes. Getting to know one another, our friends in school, our community and the rules of which we follow, will also be discussed. We will talk about the “Golden Rule” and read the book Rainbow Fish. We will then briefly go into hunters and gathers and the Mayas. Incas and Aztecs. We will do an Archeological Dig using cookies to see how archeologists explore and learn about the past.

Art: Art will sometimes coincide with another topic or study or will simply be a free art time. This month we will create a Rainbow Fish scene depicting their friendship and how they will be good citizens.

Miscellaneous:

We will do a special monthly Heroes unit with the K and B classes. Make sure you ask your child if they had a special visitor in class that they learned about.

October Topics of Study

Journal: This is always a free-write activity. This is done every morning after we talk about the calendar and days of the week. Sometimes I have a topic for the students and other times it is a pick your own topic. Journals are never corrected; I simply provide positive feedback and respond to the student’s journal so they know I am reading them.

Language Arts: We will practice continue our sentence writing this month and focus on grammar in writing. The students will begin to explore changing their sentences and then using sentences to create paragraphs. I will use a Reading/Writing Journal with the students to practice their writing. This month we will be writing on topics of The Farm and then at the end of the month go into Seeds. Each of the topics in this book has a word bank for the students to look at and use as they write.

Handwriting: Students will be continuing the Handwriting Without Tears program for handwriting. We will practice all the letters uppercase and lowercase. You may occasionally see a page sent home to practice, just if there is a need.

Math:  Students will be working on their numbers, counting, patterning and addition facts. We have been using the number line to count and now we are starting to count by 5’s. We will use the M & M’s book of math to have some fun with math and then eat our M & M’s when we are finished.  We will start learning the song about the math facts of 5.

Science: This month we will be exploring Our Solar System. We will learn 2 facts about each planet and watercolor a realistic looking planet to wear for our opening. We will also do moon prints using round paper, soap to create bubbles and food coloring.  Finally, we will also use black paper to draw stars & constellations and the solar system and watch a brief NASA created video on Space and the Satellite.

History/Geography:  We will continue to work on maps, globes and the Mayas, Incas and Aztecs. Exploring their past and their community and way of life.

Art: This month art will be done with Science.

Miscellaneous:

*We will do a special monthly Heroes unit with the K and B classes. Make sure you ask your child if they had a special visitor in class that they learned about.

*We have sharing this month!  We will share what we have been learning about our Solar System.

*PTA is going to do some Fall craft activities with our class.

November Topics of Study

Journal:  Free-write and various miscellaneous topics

Language Arts: This month we will be writing on the topics Seeds and then Dream. Each of the topics in this book has a word bank for the students to look at and use as they write.

Handwriting: Students will be continuing the Handwriting Without Tears program for handwriting. We will practice all the letters uppercase and lowercase. You may occasionally see a page sent home to practice, just if there is a need.

Math:  Students will be working on their numbers, counting, patterning and addition facts. We have been using the number line to count and now we are starting to count by 5’s & 10’s. We will continue to practice the song about 5 math facts and learn the 10 math fact song as well.

Science: This month we will be exploring in depth History/Geography

History/Geography:  We will explore in-depth Captain John Smith, the Pilgrims, English Settlers, Sir Walter Raleigh, Jamestown, Virginia, Pocahontas, Mayflower. We will talk about the events which led up to The First Thanksgiving. We will make a pocket book which explores the events prior to and The First Thanksgiving.

Art: This month art will be done with History/Geography.

Miscellaneous:

*We will do a special monthly Heroes unit with the K and B classes. Make sure you ask your child if they had a special visitor in class that they learned about.

*Opening we will share our two math facts songs that we have been learning.

December Topics of Study

Journal:  Free-write and various miscellaneous topics

Language Arts: This month we will be writing on the topic of The Three Horned Dinosaur.

Handwriting: Students will be continuing the Handwriting Without Tears program for handwriting. We will practice all the letters uppercase and lowercase. You may occasionally see a page sent home to practice, just if there is a need.

Math:  Students will be working on their numbers, counting, patterning and addition facts. We have been using the number line to count and now we are starting to count by 5’s & 10’s. We will continue to practice the song about 5 math facts and learn the 10 math fact song as well.

Science: We will talk about extinct animals and the dinosaurs. This will then go into our main focus of habitats. We will talk about how it was when their were dinosaurs on earth and what it means to be extinct.

History/Geography:  We will look at different cultures and their traditions. We will mainly focus on the Mexican culture and their history, geography, their people and their traditions. We will color Mexico's Flag and glue an outline of Mexico on back. We will also make a tourists guide to Mexico which will include their- food, music, dance. We will do the Mexican Hat dance and have some food that we cook from Mexico and play maracas we made and use a piñata as a concluding celebration from our study of Mexico.

Art: This month art will be done with History/Geography & Science. There will also be a free-art station at center time.

Miscellaneous:

*We will do a special monthly Heroes unit with the K and B classes. Make sure you ask your child if they had a special visitor in class that they learned about.

* Opening we will share our two math facts songs that we have been learning.