STEP UP DAY LETTER

FIRST GRADE NEWS

STEP UP DAY

Hi! I am very excited to be your child’s first grade teacher! We are
going to have lots of fun! We have many great themes in grade one.
Some of them include: super heroes, friends, plants, animals, sound,
light, space, maps, presidents, American symbols, environmental
issues, rainforest, rivers and oceans. We also read many different
types of genre and do author studies.  Some of the authors we focus
on are: Mo Willems, Kevin Henkes, Robert Munsch, Dr. Seuss, Mercer
Mayer, Tracy West, E.B. White and Iza Trapani.

First graders are asked to purchase items to add to our communal
supplies.  We do not use individual pencil boxes in grade one. Stores
usually has these items on sale extremely cheap towards the end of
summer. The items are: Clorox wipes, glue sticks, Crayola markers,
Crayola crayons, one Elmers glue bottle, one box of Ticonderoga
pencils (pre-sharpened if they have them), a pack of thin dry erase
markers, one box of plain, brown bandaids, one watercolor paint set
(the eight circle kind) and a highlighter. Anything you can get from this
list would be greatly appreciated and put to good use throughout the
school year.

Students will also need a backpack, a one inch - three ringed binder
and a plastic homework folder. These help keep the kids organized.
Please write your child’s name in bold print on the cover of the folder
and the binder. I will send homework and notes home in the folder. I
check folders each morning for notes, homework and/or lunch money.
The binder is to keep poetry in. Students will get to take their poetry
book home in June.  It would also be helpful to keep a plastic re-usable
bag in the front pocket of your child’s backpack. This helps when there
are projects to bring home.

Please save any (washed) yogurt containers and styrofoam meat trays.
We use these throughout the year for special projects. Another thing that
would help me a LOT is saving any little trinkets you might want to throw
away. I have a treat box in the room. I’m looking for anything from old happy
meal toys to birthday party souvenir toys. If you see any good deals at stores
or yard sales, those would be great, too :)!

I have attached the site word lists that first graders are assessed on. I’ve
attached the Intro to First Grade Everyday Math letter. This will explain what
we will be doing in math the first two weeks of school. Some ways you can
practice math at home are: skip counting by 2, 5, and 10, card games, board
games, computer games, writing numbers and counting change. Please keep
reading to/with your child all summer. Our library is open on Tuesdays and
Wednesdays if you need books :).

Have a great summer! I look forward to working with you and your child this
upcoming school year!