First Grade October NewsletterF I R S T G R A D E N E W S

Here you will find some important dates and reminders for the month of

October. Most of these activities do not involve parent volunteers, but

please feel free to join us. Our door is always open! Please keep your eyes peeled for communication regarding

volunteer opportunities (Mystery Readers, field trips, Halloween).

More detailed information regarding some of these events and November dates will be included in the weekly

“Ask-Me-Abouts” and November newsletter.

Thank you for your continued support! Please let us know if you have any

questions!

Calendar of Events

*Friday, September 27th- SPIRIT DAY - Wear spirit wear (CA sweatshirt, tee-shirt, etc.) and dress down IS permitted below the waist

*October 8th(1C/1D) & 10th(1A/1B)- First Grade field trip to Lynd’s Fruit Farm from 9-11am (dress down attire)

*Monday, October 14th - COLUMBUS DAY - No School

*October 21st- First Grade Concertat Assembly (8:15 in theater)

*Week of October 21st-25th - Campfire with 3rd Grade Buddies (dress down attire)

*Week of October 28th - Canned Food Drive

*October 29th- Early Release

*Thursday, October 31st - Halloween Party and Parade

F I R S T G R A D E T H E M E N E W S

Columbus Academy First Graders are excited to go global!

LYND’S FRUIT FARM OCTOBER 8TH AND 10TH

eginning Monday, September 30th, first graders will begin our “Going Global” unit.

Students will make connections in all areas of the curriculum, reading books related to our theme,researching and writing about children around the world, completing mapping activities , and even solving some math problems connected to this theme.

We hope wrap up the unit with a trip to The North Market. As we get more information we will keep you updated.

Week 1My Place in the WorldWe will learn about maps and our place on the map - our own country/state/city/home. We will think about different activities we can do in the community.

Week 2Global MappingWe will be taking a global view on mapping this week. Our “map skills” book will help guide our global discovery.

Weeks 3Tooth TraditionsWe are using the book “Throw Your Tooth on the Roof” by Selby Beeler to start talking about traditions around the world. We will be discovering similarities and differences among children in the world.

Weeks 4-6Around the WorldWe will use this as an opportunity to broaden our study. We will create essential questions to guide our discovery of food, language, religion, and art around the world.

going global Unit of Study

B

Weekly Events

Going Global

In the classroom... F I R S T G R A D E N E W S

MathWe are currently working in Unit 2 in

our Everyday Math book. This unit focuses on the use of numbers in real-world contexts. Children will practice how to tell time to the hour, how to

count collections of pennies and nickels and other coins as appropriate. The children will also continue to develop

counting skills, solve addition and subtraction problems along with

number stories using a number grid.

Our math program continues to giveyour child rich opportunities to

“make connections between their own knowledge and experiences and learn skills in meaningful contexts so that

mathematics becomes real”(Everyday Mathematics).

Students have been using the Phonics Dance, their Monster Words, new Hunks and Chunks, and the Word Wall for different activities

throughout the day. We feel that all children need many opportunities to work with word

chains, rhyming words, prefixes, suffixes, and vowel/consonant patterns. All of these

activities help in spelling and increase wordrecognition and word decoding skills, even for

our fluent readers.We continue to practice many reading

strategies together as a class, in small groups, with partners, or independently during our independent reading time. Our goal in first grade is to promote fluent readers who can

find enjoyment in just right books!

Literacy

HalloweenThe Halloween Party and Parade will be held on October 31st this year. We ask that you send your child to school on this day in his/her school

uniform and carry his/her costume in a bag. We will give the students time to change into their costumes for the party and parade that afternoon. If you would like to arrive early to help the children get into costumes, please arrive by 1:30. Our classroom party will begin at 2:00 followed by the parade at 2:30. Thank you to those who have volunteered and to our

wonderful room mom for organizing!