This year I am trying to improve upon communicating with parents. The homework folder is designed to come back every day. I check it during my lunch hour and try to put something new in it by third recess. On Fridays, I will keep the folder to check after school and put a packet in it for homework. My colleagues and I will be sending home the first set of phonics readers and high frequency word lists to review and practice at home. They are placed in a plastic bag for you to keep at home. The books and lists will come home each week, and you can add them to your bag.
Thanks to you, parents, for returning so many forms. I am keeping track of what has been turned in. If you haven't sent in your forms yet, please do so as soon as possible. I find the most important form to be the pink emergency card. That card needs to be returned promptly. During parent conferences, I will have any other forms that were missed ready for you to sign.
Yesterday, the homework folders did not come home, because it was Friday. However, I did send home a booklet the students created. We reviewed colors, using a capital and a period, and using a basic sentence frame. Next week, the students will work toward using the sentence frame more independently by completing it with a color word and a noun. Here are some samples of the booklet that went home:
When the kids took the booklets, they were excited about sharing and reading them with you, the parents. It is good practice for them as they are still learning their color words and the basic high frequency words used in the sentence.
During the year, more writing will be coming home. The following is a list of editing symbols I will use:
In first grade, it is important to use a capital at the beginning of a sentence, for the first letter in a name, and for the letter "I" when it appears all by itself. All other letters should be lowercase. Students must be able to distinguish uppercase from lowercase letters and use them properly. We will continue to work on this throughout the year.
Below is the rubric used for independent writing samples. From the rubric you can see what is expected from your child's writing.
I took the first sample on Friday and will add it to their portfolio I keep in the classroom. It is always astonishing to look at this first sample in comparison to what students create by the end of the year. I am looking forward to it.
