First Grade

Mrs. Maureen Marini

 March 13 2006

Dear First Grade Families,

What a busy week we had last week; first the Dance Asia field trip (which was a huge hit) then we had a lovely presentation called Poetry in Motion.   Next up, this week, our community field trip on Thursday.  If you have not already sent in your permission slip, please do so as soon as possible.  A big thank you to the parents who accompanied us to Dance Asia; Mrs. Holland, Mrs. Perda, Mrs. Ringes and Mrs. Mok.  A reminder that your child’s China projects are due On Friday, March 17.  We will beginning presenting them to the class on the following Monday.  On Friday, the children will be given a Dress Up Day in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.  Please make sure that the outfit your child wears is appropriate for church as we will be having our usual Friday mass.

Religion:  We will be covering the review of Unit 4.  We will be covering helping the poor, petitions and the Holy Spirit as our teacher.  In addition we will be working on the Stations of the Cross as part of our Lenten study.  Test on Unit 4 on Friday

Spelling:  A large part of our list this week we be long o and e vowels.  Also note that the list has now been increased to 25 words this week.  The list is as follows: me, mean, bean, be, beet, feet, low, road, who, door, grow, know, seat, creep, neat, more, also, any-thing, know, moved, only, room, should, those, write.  Test on Friday.

L.A.:  We will begin our fourth reader in the series and begin with the story, “ A Bed Full of Cats”.  In addition, we will be covering using our spelling words in sentences and developing word families.  We will also be working on verbs in the past tense, capitalization of the names of holidays and using “am“, “is“, “are” in the proper context in a sentence.

Math:  This week we will be working on creating equal groups, reading word problems and begin counting with coins and money values.  We will continue with our math drills.  To date, all of drills have been on addition facts, we will begin on subtraction problems this week.

Social Studies:  We will be discussing key words of city/town, neighborhood, services, leader and goods.  Our field trip on Thursday, will help to reinforce these concepts.

Our Book Club is running very well.  Please reinforce with your children that this is not a competition with the other children, it’s a challenge for them to see how many books they can read. Additionally, please let them know that the size of the book is less important than it is for them to read books that they can read.  A good rule of thumb to judge whether or not a book is appropriate for child is for the child to be able to read 90-95% of the words on their own.  If you are helping your child with the majority of the words, it’s not the right book.  Encourage then to keep up all the good work and I’m amazed at how much stronger the children have become in such a short period of time.

Thank you all for your generous support for the mission project.  Mrs. Porado has been so pleased with response.  God bless you all !

The main presentation for International Week will be on Thursday, in the Church Hall, at 1pm. I can not wait to see all the children all dressed up in their lovely costumes.  Again, many thanks to Mrs. Keane for doing such an awesome job!  You are all welcome to come to see all the presentations.

Have a great week and Happy St. Patrick’s day to you all.

Mrs. Marini

Summer Reading List
 

Favorite Authors –These will be found in the Picture Book section of a bookstore or library (alphabetical by author’s last name). Stories, by the authors listed below, make great read aloud books for family members.

Aesop

Aliki

Mem Fox

Don Freeman

Ezra Jack Keats

Bill Martin, Jr.

Mercer Mayer

William Steig

Harriet Ziefert

Rosemary Wells

Joy Cowley

Kevin Henkes

Max Lucado

Eric Carle

Frank Asch

Tomie dePaola

Lois Ehlert

Dennis Fleming

James Herriot

Steven Kellogg

H.A. Reys

Robert Munsch

Patricia Polacco

Laura Numeroff

Robert McCloskey

Syd Hoff

Arnold Lobel

Cynthia Rylant

Favorite Characters – Stories for these characters will usually be grouped together.

Arthur by Marc Brown

Clifford by Norman Bridwell

Franklin by Paulette Bourgeois

Little Bill by Bill Cosby

Curious George by H.A. Rey

Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

Berenstein Bears by Stan Berenstein

Little Bear by Maurice Sendak

Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant

Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Mr. Putter and Tabby by Cynthia Rylant

Poppleton by Cynthia Rylant

Stories to promote character education/values:

RESPECT

Stellaluna by Cannon

Chrysanthemem by Henkes

Big Al by Yoshi

Frederick by Lionni

HONESTY

Too Many Tamales by Soto

A Birthday for Frances by Hoban

The Berenstein Bears and the Truth by Berenstain

A Big, Fat, Enormous Lie by Sharmat

COMPASSION

Now One Foot, Now the Other by de Paola

Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs by de Paola

Be Good to Eddie Lee by Fleming

Through Grandpa’s Eyes by Machlachlan

GENEROSITY

The Giving Tree by Silverstein

The Doorbell Rang by Hutchins

The Wednesday Surprise by Williams

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Wood

ACCEPTANCE

The Berenstein Bears’ New Neighbors by Berenstain

The Big Orange Splot by Pinkwater

Arthurs’ Tooth by Brown

What is the Sign for Friend? By Greenburg

FRIENDSHIP

George and Martha by Marshall

The Berenstein Bears Get In a Fight by Berenstain

Best Friends by Kellogg

Frog and Toad Are Friends by Lobel

Ira Sleeps Over by Waber

COOPERATION

A Chair for My Mother by Williams

Frederick by Lionni

The Little Red Hen by Galdone

Swimmy by Lionni

PERSEVERANCE

Amazing Grace by Hoffman

The Carrot Seed by Krauss

Mirette on the High Wire by McCully

Brave Irene by Steig

RESPONSIBILITY

Arthur’s Pet Business by Brown

The Berenstein Bears and the Messy Room by Berestain

Just A Mess by Mayer

SELF-DISCIPLINE

Arthur’s Teacher Trouble by Brown

King Midas and the Golden Touch by Hewitt

The Berenstein Bears and the Bad Habit by Berenstain

I Was So Mad by Mayer

CLASSICS for Ages 5-8

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Viorst

The Cat in the Hat by Seuss

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Johnson

The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant by de Brunhoff

The Velveteen Rabbit by Williams

Where the Wild Things Are by Sendak

These books can be found at the C.H. Booth Library in Newtown (to make your search easy I have included the “call number” for each book).

Would You Rather…                         John Burningham                              E BUR

Frozen Noses                                     Jan Carr                                            E CAR

Dad and Me                                      Peter Catalanotto                            E CAT

I Hate to Go to Bed                          Katie Davis                                       E DAV

Alphabet Under Construction                   Denise Fleming                                   E FLE

Little Dog and Duncan                     Kristine O’Connell George                 E GEO

Nicky and the Big, Bad Wolves          Valerie Gorbachev                            E GOR

Cat Up a Tree                                   John and Ann Hassett                      E HAS

Katy No Pockets                               Emmy Payne                                                E PAY

Henry and Mudge                              Cynthia Rylant                                  E RYL

Mr. Putter and Tabby                       Cynthia Rylant                                   ER RYL

Poppleton                                          Cynthia Rylant                                  ER RYL

Lionel                                                Stephen Krensky                               ER KRE

Alphabet                                           Roger Pare                                        ER PAR

The Kite                                            Mary Packard                                    ER PAC

Elephants                                          Jo Ann Early Macken                       ER MAC

Pig Picnic                                          Patricia Hubbel                                 ER HUB

Minnie and Moo                                Cazet                                                          ER CAZ

Apples Here!                                      Will Hubbel                                        E HUB

Ten Red Apples                                 Pat Hutchins                                    E HUT

Fall Is Not Easy                                  Marty Kelley                                      E KEL

It’s My Birthday                                 Pat Hutchins                                    E HUT

There’s Nothing to D-O-O-O!            Judith Mathews                                E MAT

All for One                                        Jill Murphy                                        E MUR

My Freight Train                               Michael Rex                                      E REX

My Race Car                                     Michael Rex                                      E REX

My Fire Engine                                   Michael Rex                                      E REX

Grunt                                                          John Richardson                               E RIC

A Book of Letters                            Ken Wilson-Max                                E WIL

A to Z Summer                                 Tracy Nelson Maurer                        E MAU

Rookie Readers and Welcome Books are two great series for beginning readers. These are just a few (there are also Rookie Readers Read About Holidays and Geography) that can be found at the C.H. Booth Library under the following call numbers (author):

          ER ABR (Abraham)

          ER AMA (Amato)

          ER BRI (Brimmer)

          ER BRE (Bredeson)        

ER DOU (Douglas)

          ER BUR (Burke)

          ER FOL (Foley)

          ER ECK (Eckart)

          ER HUG (Hughes)

          ER HIL (Hill)

          ER MIL (Miller)

          ER KOT (Kottke)

          ER WIN (Winne)

          ER WAL (Walker)

          ER THO (Thomas)

          ER OTT (Otter)

          ER PIC (Pickering)

          ER SNY (Snyder)

          ER SAL (Salzmann)

          ER MOL (Molter)

Other Series to try, also available at the Booth Library—Phonics Readers, A Compass Point Early Reader, Weekly Reader, My First Reader and Brand New Readers, listed by call number (author):

          ER BAL (Ballard)

          ER FLA (Flanagan)

          ER ROO (Root)

          ER SCH (Schubert)

          ER HEN (Hennessy)

          ER FRI (Friend)

          ER MAC (Macken)

          ER PAC (Packard)

          ER PAR (Pare)

          ER RAU (Rau)

If you will be traveling this summer or just keeping busy around Newtown, here are a few activities students will enjoy.

Have your child take pictures of their favorite vacation spots, friends and family that they visit or might come to visit them. When the pictures get developed let your child create their own vacation picture book complete with captions.

Have your child keep a travel log. Using a journal or notebook, let your child create a page for each letter of the alphabet. As they enjoy summer activites, let them keep a list of things they do and see. See if they can come up with at least one item for each letter of the alphabet by the first day of school.

Even a trip to the mall can provide learning fun this summer. Why not go shopping for words? Before going to the mall, make a list of five easy-to-find words for your child to look for while shopping. Words can include: entrance, push, pull, exit, shoes, parking, etc. Read the list out loud and give it to your child as you enter the mall. Challenge your child to find each word before you leave. Cross off or highlight each word as they find it.

Can't visit a favorite relative or friend? Have your child create a phone list. Let them write the numbers and dial the phone to make the calls. This is great for practicing number formation and number order. Make sure to remind them of your rules for using the phone.

Have your child keep a weekly calendar. Let them write in the days of the week and then draw/write the activity that is planned for each day or let them record a favorite activity from the day each evening. This is great practice for learning the days of the week.

Summer is a great time to enjoy God's many, awesome creations. 

Take a visit to the library...

...select a book about insects or animals. Then take a discovery walk through your backyard or visit a park. See how many different insects you can find. Talk about what special job each insect has. Take a trip to the zoo. Talk about how God made each animal special and unique. Which animals do you think Noah took on the ark? 

...select a book about weather. Keep a weather log for a week. Draw/write about the weather each day. Share a Bible story, like Noah's Ark.

...select a folktale from another country or a book about children from another country. Talk about how God made us all unique, and each one of us is special. Have your child draw/write about what makes them special. How does God want us to treat people who are different from us?

After enjoying the beautiful world God has given us, don't forget to celebrate Mass each week this summer and say a prayer of thanks.

There are some wonderful children's Bibles and Bible story books available.  Read stories from both the Old and New Testament.

This is a good time to have your child practice the Sign of the Cross, Our Father and Hail Mary.

A rainy day is a good day for a Veggie Tale movie. Stop by your local video store and pickup a Veggie Tale video. Don't forget to learn the Veggie Tale song, we like to sing this in first grade!

Math fun...

Practice skip counting by 2s to 20 and 5s to 50.

Have your child tell you numbers that are missing in a sequence. Start with numbers to 20.

Make a number line on the driveway. Hop forward as you count to 10. Hop backwards as you count back to 0.

Ask your family to save their extra pennies and nickels. Practice counting them and make exchanges.

Write your numbers from 0 to 25.

While taking a walk or riding in a car, see how many different shapes you can find.

Make a grid of numbers from 0 to 25. When riding in the car, cross off each number as you see it on a sign, license plate, mailbox, etc. see how fast you can get all 26.

The summer reading list for incoming first graders will be distributed at the end of the current school year.

In addition to reading suggestions, here are a few resources that are good for practicing skills acquired in Kindergarten and learning a few new skills to prepare for First Grade. These are available at the local bookstores and/or The Teacher-Parent Store in Danbury.

Summer Bridge Books by Rainbow Publishers...*Transition Workbook for *Kindergarteners going to 1st Grade.

*This publisher also makes small individual workbooks that focus on one skill area.

Summer Smarts by Evan Moor. This is also a good transition workbook.

Getting Ready for First Grade by Scholastic.

There are many small individual workbooks available through various publishers. Many of these are available at The Teacher-Parent Store in Danbury, Barnes and Nobles has also recently published their own individual books. These cost between $2.00 and $3.00 each and are highly recommended for those students who need to focus on a specific skill.

Supply List

Three PRIMARY (D'Nealian) ruled writing tablets

Four Sturdy Folders with bottom pockets (no trapper folders)--any design

**(Label these "Homework", "Classwork", "Specials", "Projects")

Four Sturdy Folders with bottom pockets (no trapper folders)--solid color, no design

**(Label these "Parent Review", "Centers", "Writing Workshop", "Reading Workshop")

One Package of 3 x 5 ruled index cards

One Package of 5 x 8 or 4 x 6 unruled index cards

One Letter Size Clipboard

One Small (5" x 7") Clipboard

One Plastic Supply Box (inside of desk is 4" tall and 18" deep)

One Box Crayons--24 Count Standard Colors (no metallic, smelly, or glitter)

One Dozen Sharpened #2 Pencils (standard yellow, no decorative pencils)

Two Sharpened Red Pencils

Two Pink Pearl Erasers

One Pair of Primary Scissors

One 8 oz. Bottle of Elmer's Glue

Three Large Glue Sticks

One Thick Highlighter (Yellow, Blue, or Pink)

One package of 12 count Colored Pencils, Sharpened

One package of Thick, Washable Markers

One package of standard Watercolors with brush

One 12" Ruler (standard and metric)

One 6" Ruler (standard and metric)

One small bottle of antibacterial, waterless soap

One large solid Navy T-shirt (to be used as smock for art and science projects)

One Backpack (no wheels...these do not fit in lockers)

One Lunch box/bag

 PLEASE LABEL ALL SUPPLIES WITH YOUR CHILD'S NAME

 (Not all supplies will be kept in the supply box for daily use. A separate container, labeled with your child's name, will be kept in a cabinet. This container will be used to keep "extra" supplies, such as the extra pencils, glue sticks, eraser, etc. We ask for all the supplies at the beginning of school so that they are readily available when your child needs them.)

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