JAE Teachers

Mrs. Boswell's First Grade

Note from the Teacher

Dear Parents,

Welcome to our class website. Now that the cold weather is here, please make sure your child brings a jacket or coat to school so they won't be cold at recess.

We are looking forward to many fun activities in December, such as "Christmas Around the World" and "Polar Express Day." During "Christmas Around the World," we will take our passports and visit Sweden, Mexico, Australia, Israel, and Holland. We will taste a food and make a craft in each country, as well as learn interesting ways these countries celebrate their holidays!

Don't forget, children may wear their pajamas or robes on "Polar Express Day." Shoes are required, rather than slippers, due to the field trip.

Our Christmas party will be on Thursday, December 20th, at 10:30. Dismissal will be at 11:30 that day. Students will return to school on January 7th.

I will be updating information on this website weekly, so be sure to check it out regularly.

Thank you,

Sally Boswell

Vocabulary Words:

everything

stays

nothing

become

day

always

thing

Spelling Words:

try

any

body

fly

cry

lucky

silly

puppy

What We are Learning:

Language Arts

We will be working on words that end with a y (long i sound or long e sound). We will also be working on words with two syllables that have two consonants in the middle. We will continue practicing our sight words. The combination of phonics skills, high frequency words, and comprehension skills will help the children become more fluent readers. We are also practicing handwriting, as well as writing in our writer's notebooks. We are also learning about adding -s to a noun to mean more than one.

Math

Through Saxon Math, we are working with numbers in many ways: identifying, writing, counting, ordering, sorting, and comparing. We will be building on these skills, as we learn much more throughout the year. Please reinforce the following strategies for practicing addition and subtraction facts:

adding and subtracting doubles (6+6=12, 6-6=0)

adding and subtracting zero (4+0=4, 4-0=4)

adding and subtracting one (7+1=8, 7-1=6)

specific skills we are working on: equal parts, time to the hour, counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's

Science/Social Studies/Seasonal

We are learning about animals and their needs. We are also learning about different groups of animals. We are also enjoying some Christmas activities.

Homework

Saxon Math homework will be given on Tuesdays and Thursdays. No written homework will be given on Wednesdays, but your child will read the story out of the reading book at home on Wednesdays. Please sign and return the form the next day. Other than that, your child will be expected to study for spelling tests and study vocabulary lists that are sent home.

Related Arts Schedule

Day 1: Music 1

Day 2: Library

Day 3: Art

Day 4: P.E.

Day 5: Music 2

Day 6: Computer

Day 7: P.E.

Lunch is from 10:55-11:25.

Weekly Challenge

Have your child complete the following activity and bring it to school for a reward from the prize basket:

Sort your spelling words into two groups: words that end with a y that sounds like an i and words that end with a y that sounds like an e. Write the two groups.

Check back weekly for a new challenge.

December Birthdays:

We have no December birthdays.

If you have not already done so, please send your e-mail address if you are interested in communicating through e-mail, in addition to the usual letters and calendars.

The following list of words are common words found on standardized tests. If we expose our children to them now, they will be familiar and comfortable with them by the time they start taking these tests. Please take a moment here and there to reinforce these words at home, on a first grade level. Ask your child to tell you about the ones we have talked about at school.

trace formulate summarize

analyze describe compare

infer support contrast

evaluate explain predict