Alston Ridge ElementaryAnnie Deans– First Grade

Welcome to Open House!

Goals for First Grade

• Develop independent and inquiry learners

• Create a classroom community of respect and exploration

• Facilitate learning experiences for each learner at his/her instructional level

CurriculumCommon Core State and N.C. Essential

Standards• Wake County schools adopted the new Common Core

State Standards and the N.C. Essential Standards at the beginning of the 2012 – 2013 school year.

• These new guidelines describe the essential skills and knowledge that students master annually and provide parents with a clear and common understanding of what their child is expected to learn and know.

• To find out more information please visit the WCPSS website at http://www.wcpss.net/common-core/.

Daily Schedule• 8:45 – 9:15 Early Arrival/Morning Work • 9:15 – 10:00 Specials (Rotating Schedule)• 10:00 – 11:50 Daily 5/Language Arts • 11:55 – 12:25 Lunch• 12:25 – 1:00 Letterland• 1:00 – 2:00 Math• 2:00 – 2:30 Writer’s Workshop• 2:30 – 3:00 Recess• 3:00 – 3:40 Social Studies/Science• 3:40 – 3:45 Pack Up• 3:45 – 4:15 Dismissal

SpecialsAre on a rotating schedule. Look for the specials schedule in the bi-weekly newsletters. Snack may vary throughout the week from being before recess and after recess. Lunch is subject to change slightly by quarter.

What My First Grader Will

Be Learning This Year.

Reading• One of the most important goals in first

grade is that all children learn to read and comprehend to the best of their ability. Reading with your child EVERY DAY for at least 20 minutes is extremely important.

• The Wake County Public Library is a great place to visit each week. Try to make it part of your routine.  

• In our classroom, we participate in the Daily 5 to make the most of our reading time every morning.  

The Daily Five• The Daily Five is a way of structuring our

reading block so every student is independently engaged in meaningful literacy tasks. When it is up and running smoothly, students will be engaged in the Daily Five, which is comprised of:

• Read to Self   • Work on Writing • Word Work • Listen to Reading (Raz Kids or Storyline Online)• Other centers students will be involved in include

phonics games, IPODS, and reading fluency.

Raz Kids• This is a program that we use in school and you

can use at home as well.• Students log in to a computer to read e-books

on their level and answer questions about the books they have read.

• Kids really love it and many may have used it in Kindergarten.

• We are asking for all parents to send in $5.00 for Raz Kids. Please send the money, cash or check, in a sealed envelope or baggie by August 11th.

Spelling and Sight Words• Phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, decoding,

vocabulary, fluency, and spelling are critical parts of language instruction in first grade. Students will receive extensive instruction and practice in these areas.

• Alston Ridge Elementary uses the ‘Letterland’ phonics program for the primary grades (K – 2) . Visit http://www.letterland.com/parent-guidehttp://www.letterland.com to find out more information about this exciting program.

• Students must also learn to spell sight words correctly. They can practice spelling the Dolch sight words online at home by going to www.spellingcity.com, ,click Find a List, type 27519 in the space provided and change the drop-down menu to zip code.

Letterland• Letterland is a unique, phonics-based approach to teaching reading, writing

and spelling to 3-8 year olds. The Letterland characters transform plain black letter shapes into child-friendly pictograms and they all live in an imaginary place called Letterland.

• Friendly letter characters provide strong visual memory clues (or mnemonics) so your children learn and retain phoneme/grapheme correspondences

• Daily blending and segmenting activities make word-building fast and effective

• Focused multi-sensory activities appeal to all learners and activate all learning channels

• Built-in visual and verbal clues ensure correct letter formation, provide reasons for capitals and digraphs and reduce confusions like b/d, p/q, s/z, n/u and m/w

Writing• Students will write each day as part of

our Daily 5 literacy block. • Students will also learn and practice

writing during our afternoon writing block.

• Students will learn to write at least five sentences about a given topic using capitals, periods and age-appropriate spelling by the end of the year through Writer’s Workshop.

Writing Topics• Concepts of letters, words and sentences• Left to right progression of writing• Consistencies in spelling• The ability to convey meaning through

writing• Punctuation, capitalization• Writer’s Workshop includes small moments,

realistic fiction, how to’s, adding feelings and details, animal research project

Math• Children use a lot of manipulatives and

develop problem solving and thinking skills along the way.

• We try to focus on real-world problems solving and application skills.

• Students will constantly be engaged in solving problems, writing story problems, reading about math topics, and practicing first grade math objectives through various daily math lessons and centers.

Math (continued)• Interpreting graphs is a part of our math

curriculum. We make and read graphs throughout the school year. 

• Other goals in math include addition and subtraction with word problems, measurement, telling time to the hour and half-hour, and geometry (shapes).

• Teaching your child to recognize and know the amounts of coins would be helpful.

ScienceUnits Covered: • Comparing and Measuring• Balance & Motion• Pebbles, Sand & Silt• Organisms • All units are hands on and interactive.

Students have an opportunity to explore materials, as well as think critically through inquiry based learning.

Social Studies

Units Covered:• “I am a citizen of many

communities.”• “I can find my way around my

community.”• “Our community celebrates.”• “We care for our community.”

Handwriting• Students will have handwriting

practice throughout the school year.• Students will be expected to form the

letters of the alphabet correctly, as well as numbers.

• Students are expected to practice their best handwriting throughout the entire year.

Differentiation• I assess my students on a daily basis, formally

and informally. This is how I plan my daily instruction.

• Students are consistently learning and practicing at their own level in reading, writing, and math.

• Students who compact out (or test out) of a math objective, are able to work on challenge work (or level 4) opportunities.

• I differentiate by how I question my students. I consistently ask my students to think more deeply or to explain their thinking.

Classroom Tidbits

Daily Work

• Daily work is not always immediately visible. We generate charts, fill in information in various ongoing formats (calendars, experiments, books, journals, writing folders, projects, etc.)

• Work will go home in the daily green folder. Please make sure you look for work and take it out.

Classroom Management• We have seven rules in our classroom:

– Listen and follow directions – Raise your hand to speak– Talk quietly– Take care of our things– Use good manners– Will be nice to others– Do our best every day!

• We will spend lots of time discussing what these look like at school to ensure all students understand their meaning.

Classroom Management• The behavior plan used in our classroom revolves around the

use of the colors of a modified rainbow. This plan has been aligned with the school-wide rules posted in the main hallway.

• Every student begins each day on Green. If the student

remains on green for the whole day, they will receive a happy face in their folder on their behavior report. This report is a record of the daily behavior of each student. The students also have the opportunity to come home on Blue or Purple and earn extra “dollars!”

• The goal of this behavior plan is to promote a safe and caring environment where all students are taught the difference between appropriate and inappropriate behavior.

Classroom Management

• Accountability – Think sheets, loss of privileges, discussion/apology

• Privileges– Deans’ Dollars– Positive notes, stickers, free time,

praise, hugs, etc. – Visit to the classroom store on Fridays

Weekly Homework

• Read 20 minutes and complete reading log daily

• Complete one reading response activity, either fiction or nonfiction

• Complete the math activity• Practice spelling words using 2

activities from the Spelling Chart

Newsletter

• To help us communicate about school events and what we are learning in class, I will send home a bi-weekly newsletter. Look for this in your child’s green folder every other Monday.

Outdoor PE

• Our class will have outdoor PE for 30 minutes each day. On days when we have PE for a special, outdoor PE will become an added privilege. If it is wet outside or raining we will have indoor time.

• Students should dress appropriately for the outdoors, especially in the cold weather. (Coats, hats, gloves during the winter months.)

www.signupgenius.com

• Sign-up Genius is a phenomenal website that allows volunteers to sign up for any activities going on in our classroom and school.

• Please be on the look-out for emails inviting you to sign up for classroom and school-wide events.

Interims and Report Cards

• Interims will go home the midpoint of each quarter for every student.

• Report cards will go home at the end of each quarter.

Grading SystemLevel 4 – ExemplaryStudent consistently demonstrates an in-depth understanding of the standards, concepts, and skills taught during this reporting period.

Level 3 – ProficientStudent consistently demonstrates an understanding of the standard, concepts, and skills taught during this reporting period.

Level 2 - Approaching ProficiencyStudent is approaching an understanding of the standards, concepts, and skills taught during this reporting period.

Level 1 - Non-ProficientStudent does not yet demonstrate an understanding of the standards, concepts, and skills taught during this reporting period.

Conduct and Work HabitsStudents will receive grades separate from the content area, for conduct and work habits. • Conduct -Cooperating with others -Respecting others -Observing rules and procedures

• Work Habits -Uses time wisely -Listens carefully - Completes assignments -Writes legibly -Works independently -Seeks help when needed

The following descriptors will be used:3 - meets expectations, 2 - inconsistently meets expectations, and

1 - does not meet expectations

Conferences• Conferences will be held at the end of the

first and third quarters.• In the past Alston Ridge has add a school

wide conference day . • Please be on the look-out for an email

from www.signupgenius.com inviting you to sign up.

• I would be happy to meet for additional conferences as needed throughout the year.

Weekly Transportation• Many students in our class go home

a different way each day. • In order to assist me in making sure

your child goes home the correct way, please notify me in writing of any transportation changes.

Supplies

• Thank you so much for all of the supplies that have been sent in!

• Please keep in mind that we utilize a community supply system and may be requesting replenishment of some items throughout the year.

Wish List

• Thank you so much for all of the items sent in from our classroom wish list.

• Please be on the look out for any wish lists items that may appear on the biweekly newsletter as needed. Thanks!!!

Snack• Please remember to send in healthy

snacks each day as we have snack time every day.

• Students are not allowed to share snacks with each other.

• If they do not bring a snack, they may not be able to eat. I cannot provide snacks to students every day.

Field Trips

• We will go on a few field trips in first grade. Some of these may be in-school field trips.

• The in school field trips are usually through Science is Fun.

• We encourage parents to pay on line for field trips.

• More information will follow.

Q & AQuestions?

Please feel free to email any time at adeans@wcpss.net

I will post the presentation on the class website for

to view if needed.

• Thank you for taking the time to attend our Open House!

Letter to Students

• Please use the stationery provided in your packet to write an encouraging note to your first grader. This will be kept at school all year for your child to read when needed.