These are the ABC's of First grade
- A- Animals
- B- Birthdays
- C- Centers
- D- Differentiation
- E- Essential Information and F- Field Trips
- G- General Store
- H- Homework
- I- Independence and J-Jobs
- K- Keys To Success
- L- Language Arts
- M- Math
- N- Newsletters and O- Orders
- P- Pictures
- Q- Questions
- R- Red Folders
- S- Special Friend
- T- Take Home Reading
- U- U.S.A
- V- Volunteers
- W- Writer's Workshop
A- Animals
We have several class pets. We have a rabbit named Contessa, a turtle named
Cruz, a bearded dragon named Lil' Dude, 2 fighting fish, named Las Vegas and
Blondie, and a goldfish named Cleo. Having pets is not only fun,
but it teaches responsibility, caring, and life-science.
B- Birthdays
We do not have class birthday �parties,� however we do recognize birthdays
with a song and a round of applause. I would like to suggest that if you
would like to send a �treat� to school to celebrate, that it not be food, in
order to help everyone feel included in classroom celebrations. We often
have more than one student with severe food allergies. Some suggestions
might be stickers or pencils for each student. We will have class parties at
which food treats will be served as well as our Special Friend snacks*, so I
don�t think the students will feel too deprived. .
C- Centers
We have literacy centers Monday through Thursday from 9:15 to 10:15, and in
order for these centers to go as smoothly as possible I need your help!
Please see VOLUNTEERS for more details on what you do with the kids if you are
one of the volunteers. The students will be learning responsibility and
independence as they work on various literacy jobs in the classroom.
Here�s how it works: each student belongs to 2 groups. One group is made up
of students that are reading and writing at a similar level. The other group
is a mixed bag of all different level readers. This gives everyone the
opportunity to work independently and successfully without an adult always
supervising.
Two days a week a student is with his �reading� group, and two days a week he
is with his �center� group. Groups are not set in stone and will often change
before the year is over.
D- Differentiation
Not all first graders are the same, which is part of why it�s so much fun!
Since not all kids are the same, I don�t expect them all to benefit from
exactly the same work. I use many different assessment tools to find out
where each individual child is starting and use that as a jumping-off point in
my teaching. If a child can already spell CAT pretty consistently I won�t
waste their time teaching it again, I will teach them something new�but of
course there are kids who may not spell CAT yet, in which case it�s my job to
teach them! I try my best to meet each child�s individual needs, and knowing
that they are not all the same, their work may not always be the same. My
expectations, however, are always the same�everyone does his or her own best
at all times! But everyone�s best does not always look the same. Please let
me know if your child seems over- or under-whelmed by the homework, and we can
try to make adjustments.
E- Essential Information and F- Field Trips
We may have a few students in our class with food allergies.
We have several animals in the class. Please let me know if your child is
severely allergic to animal fur so I can remember not to seat him/her too
close to the animal cages.
Your child may bring a water bottle to school to keep at his/her desk. The
bottle must have a �sport cap.�
I rarely have had a problem with students coming to school wearing
inappropriate clothing for cold weather, they have usually been sufficiently
bundled and layered, however, I have had children on the verge of dehydration
due to wearing too many clothes on hot days. Please discuss with your child
that when they start to sweat they should remove jackets and sweatshirts!
We will be going on approximately 5 off-site field trips this year Three for
sure trips are
Sep 25 Johnson�s Farm
Dec 8 Sunnyvale Chidren's Theater Center
Mar ? Saratoga Library
Apr 20 Sunnyvale Children's Theater Center
May ? Vasona Park (science)
Permission slips will be sent approximately 2 weeks before our departure date.
Please return them as soon as possible. They have driver information on them,
and I can know whether I need to canvas for more drivers. The permission slip
will tell you whether or not you should send a lunch with your child. Please
send your children in long pants and closed-toe shoes to all field trips.
G- General Store
We have a competition going between the students and myself. The class is
awarded points for good behavior, quick and quiet transitions or if I break
any class rules. I receive points when the class is disruptive after
warnings, or if students go to the bathroom during a direct instruction time.
If the class receives more points than I do by the end of the month they get
to go shopping at the General Store! This is both an incentive program as well
as an opportunity for your children to learn about money.
H- Homework
Homework is sent home each Friday afternoon in a red folder. It is due the
following Friday morning. It is up to your family how you choose to allot the
time in between to get it done. District policy is that a first grader should
spend no more that 20 focused minutes on homework a night.
I am not strict about FINISHING all the homework. I hope that each child will
do his or her BEST on each part of the homework, so I don�t want them to rush
through anything just to get it done. Please let me know if it is a
particular struggle to get the homework done. I will be glad to help in any
way I can.
I send home many open-ended assignments that can be extended to challenge your
student. I find that if you simply ask your child WHY something is happening
(in writing, spelling, math) they will either be eager to talk to you about
it, or you may realize that they actually aren�t understanding as deeply as
you had at first thought. It is a great opportunity to learn together.
I- Independence and J-Jobs
One of my main goals and philosophies in this class is to teach children to
think and act independently. I encourage students to answer their own
questions, make their own best guesses, and to be responsible for their work
and their choices. At the beginning of the year I am really asking them to
take a leap of faith by trusting themselves in spelling words. I don�t care
if they get the words right, I want them to try! This is particularly
difficult for kids at this stage! So please help me out by accepting their
attempts in their homework! I do not expect perfection from a first grader!
I expect THEIR best. As they learn to take risks they will learn to become
better learners and thinkers!
s part of our movement toward independence, we must also take responsibility.
Each week every student has a classroom job to be completed throughout the
week. These jobs help keep the classroom neat and running smoothly.
K- Keys To Success
Keys To Success:
1) Always do your best!
2) Always try!
3) Make good choices!
4) Think before you act!
5) Be a good example!
6) LISTEN!
7) HAVE FUN!
L- Language Arts
Our language arts curriculum is Houghton Mifflin, but you will rarely see
workbooks or workbook pages used in the classroom. I take their good ideas
and make them work in our classroom environment of responsibility,
independence and differentiation. In addition, we have writer�s workshop, as
defined by Lucy Calkins, author of Teaching Children to Write.
We also do spelling a little differently in that I look at each child�s
writing and note what kinds of language conventions they need more work with
and then design a spelling list and activities around those words. This is a
very individualized way of helping children discover the way words in English
work.
And of course we read every day! We read books and charts and directions and
our own writing!
M- Math
We have adopted a new math curriculum this year, from EnVision, and
Investigations. i am still learning how to use all the components, so the
kids and i will be learning together. Like language
arts we don�t do a lot of workbook work (though more than LA). I like to
supplement lessons with the techniques of Marcy Cook, Kathy Richardson
and Dale Seymour, who have really great ideas about how kids learn math. We
do a lot of talking about the WHY of math�what does math mean. Each week we
have what I call the Math Challenge. This is a timed addition practice in
which children move at their pace through successive addition fact sheets.
There is no penalty for not moving forward. Everybody does eventually. I
only expect each individual�s best!
N- Newsletters and O- Orders
Each Friday you will receive the class newsletter in your child�s red folder.
It contains all kinds of useful information about upcoming events, etc., so
please keep an eye out for it!
I send home book orders about once a month on Friday in the red folder. They
are due on the following Friday. Please consider shopping in these catalogs!
They have great prices on books, which make great birthday and holiday gifts!
Also, whenever you buy, our class gains points and I can add to our classroom
library!
P- Pictures
If you are present at any functions or holidays and get any good pictures of
the class please share them! I know that in the spring we always need more
pictures for our yearbook page!
Q- Questions
Please feel free to contact me any time with questions! My e-mail address is
mclement@saratogausd.org. This is the best way to contact me, because I check
my e-mail twice a day and we don�t� have to play phone tag. I am usually
here at school by 7:00 a.m. and I stay at least until 3:30 p.m. Of course if
you prefer, you can call me! My number here in the classroom ins 867-4773
x215. My home phone number is (831)662-1785.
R- Red Folders
The Red folder is your child�s homework folder. Inside, there are 4
pockets. One is labeled �Homework I have not finished�. This is where the
new homework pages will be. As your child finishes each page, it should be
moved to the pocket that says �Homework I have finished.� The next two pockets
are for sending things home for you to read, check and keep . On one side of
the folder, marked Done and Checked is the work your child completed for the
week, and corrected homework. Unless otherwise noted, that is yours to keep!
On the other side of the folder, marked Family Papers, is parent
communication�newsletters, permission slips, book orders, etc. Please return
any paperwork/orders in the folder by Friday of the next week.
S- Special Friend
Each full week of school one student will be chosen to be the Special Friend.
Each day of the week we will take a moment to learn more about the Special
Friend through interviewing, sharing and studying. Most days of the week the
Special Friend brings something specific to share with the class.
Monday Just themselves. We will interview the special friend to learn more
about him/her.
Tuesday No more than 10 photos to share
Wednesday Treasure (something special for show and tell)
Thursday Story book that I will read to the class
Friday HEALTHY snack for 20
As stated in the Birthdays section, we are trying to avoid junk food, so
please think about fruit, vegetables, juice, popcorn, things that do not
contain too much sugar or fat�and NO NUTS!!!
T- Take Home Reading
Once I have assessed the approximate reading level of your student I will
start sending home one book a week to work on. While for some kids the focus
will be on decoding, the majority of the students will be working on reading
comprehension skills. For this reason the book I send home will be at or
slightly below your child�s decoding level so the concentration can be on the
meaning of the story. Each book has a question sheet with it. On one side of
the sheet is a list of �new� words which may hang your child up in either
pronunciation or definition. Go over this list together first to ease the way
later. Student should follow the directions on the folder as to how the read
the book each day, and answer just one question a day. This is primarily a
reading assignment, not a writing assignment, so I do not expect written
answers to the questions. You can discuss them orally. Your initials on the
folder tell me that your child answered the questions satisfactorily.
U- U.S.A
I love Geography and have been gratified to find that first graders love it
too! Once or twice a week we will be learning and writing about a different
state in the Union. You will be amazed at how your youngster takes to the map!
V- Volunteers
Our centers program really relies upon dependable volunteers! And I love to
have you in the classroom to be part of our learning experience, as do your
children. As a Centers volunteer you will usually be working on art, and
sometimes light writing. We also need volunteers for field trips and parties!
Please do what you can for us! Thank you in advance!
W- Writer's Workshop
We write in our writer�s workshop nearly every day! Our most important focus,
especially at the beginning of the year is to convince kids that yes, they too
can be authors! Yes, six-year-old authors! We make a point of making the
illustrations as important as the words, and the most important thing in their
writing is the message, not what they can and can�t spell! If I allowed them
to write only what they could spell, their writing would be awfully limited
and they would know it, and would not be able to find joy in storytelling!
Our main message is that if you�ve got something to say, you�ve got a story to
tell!
XYZ you around!
