Welcome to First Welcome to First Grade Grade

Welcome to First Welcome to First Grade Grade

Mrs. HeeneyMrs. HeeneyMrs. KorenkiewiczMrs. Korenkiewicz

Mrs. Kurtz –Literacy FirstMrs. Kurtz –Literacy FirstMiss Bucci – Learning SupportMiss Bucci – Learning Support

Contact Information• Mrs. Lauren Bucci

– lbucci@boyertownasd.org

• Mrs. Polly Heeney -pheeney@boyertownasd.org

• Mrs. Janette Korenkiewicz – jkorenkiewicz@boyertownasd.org

• Mrs. Marcia Kurtz – mkurtz@boyertownasd.org

What is Literacy First?• First Grade is the only grade level that

incorporates the Literacy First Program

• First Grade Team

• Allows for another professional educator to be involved in the learning process and assisting student achievement

Benefits of the Program• Two first grade homerooms each with

their own homeroom teacher• Literacy First Teacher available to push

in to assist students with instruction, pull students for individual help or instruction, and team teach with the two homeroom teachers

Co Teaching • Regular Education and Learning

Support teachers working hand in hand

• Two professionals instructing students together

• More opportunities for small group and individualized instruction

First Grade Curriculum • First grade demands are much

different now than in years’ past

• You will be amazed at what your first grader is learning and is able to do at the end of the school year

Literacy Block• Guided Reading • Reading Anthology• Writing Workshop• Phonics• Making Words• Reading Workshop

Guided Reading• Differentiated instruction in reading on a

student’s individual level in a small group setting

• Reviews past skills and builds upon them • Provides strategies for reading

unfamiliar text• Occurs daily with assignments sent

home to reread and review the text

• Reading fluency• Reading Comprehension • Vocabulary • Sight Words • Independent reading • Introduces students to a variety of

texts and genres

Reading Anthology • Scott Foresman Reading Street • 5 Themed Books – Each with 6 stories• Each story introduces phonics skills and

comprehension/story structure features• Phonics skills are revisited in additional

stories and build upon each other • Include Guided Reading texts that

connect to the week’s stories • Social Studies or Science relations

Writing Workshop• Follows Lucy Calkins • Builds upon Kid Writing from

Kindergarten • Journal Writing- “Small Moments” –

something that has happened in your own life

• Persuasive, Informative, and Narrative • Includes; Parts of Speech,

• Text to Picture Match • Handwriting (Start your letters at the top)• Spaghetti and Meatball Spaces (word/letter

spacing) • Good Beginning • Talk Across your Hand (planning thoughts)• Transition Words • Juicy Details (Hamburger)• Wrap it Up (Ending)• COPS (Editing; Capitals, Omissions,

Punctuation, Spelling)

Phonics• Instruction follows reading • Differentiated by students’ need level • Small Group Instruction• Skills include vowel sounds long and short• Blends, digraphs, diphthongs, onsets,

rimes, rhymes, word chunks, prefixes, suffixes, contractions, homophones, etc.

• Skills build upon each other and are applied in all other literacy areas

Making Words • Small Group Instruction • Word Making and Breaking • Onsets and rimes, rhymes, word

families• Differentiated to meet students’

needs

Reading Workshop • Independent reading on students’

own level• Conferences with teachers and

strategy lessons for specific skills• Reading Partners for book

discussions

Mathematics • Scott Foresman Investigations • Inquiry-based explorative math

curriculum • Topics spiral across lessons, units, and

grade levels• 80 Minute Math Period• Manipulatives• Open Ended Problems

Science • Kit-Based Inquiry

lessons • Scientific process• One kit per

quarter • Solids and Liquids• Weather

• Astronomy • Organisms

Social Studies • New Topics This Year• Traveling Passport• Studying Canada, Germany, and

China• Self-directed project on a country

Homework• Guided Reading Homework M-Thurs

– Reread story from class, discussion

• Making Words –twice a week, two sentences

• Word Book –vocabulary sight words • Math, Science, Social Studies –

Sparingly as needed• Parent Signature

Classroom Rules • We use language that is quiet, polite,

and not harmful• We keep hands, feet, body, and objects

to ourselves• We follow directions when given.• We care about others’ feelings. We

treat others the way we want to be treated

Behavior Incentive • Cards • Green, Orange, Yellow, Red, Blue • Students receive a stamp on their

daily calendar for keeping a green card for the day

• After 5 stamps, a student can move their token to the next level

• Play Football, Ski Race, and Baseball

• After all students have completed all levels, students vote on behavior incentive

Report Card • Math, Reading, and Writing aligned to

Pennsylvania State Standards• Math and Reading Proficient Skills • 4, 3, 2, 1, scale• Reading Requirement -10 Books • Conferences after First Quarter;

additional conferences available after successive quarters

Work Habits and Social Skills

• List included on Mrs. Korenkiewicz’s website through the BASD homepage

• Students assessed on each descriptor using the criteria listed

Interventions • Literacy First • Remediation• Title One • Speech Therapy • Occupational Therapy • RtI (Response to Intervention)

The First Grade Garden • “First Grade is very much like a

garden….some flowers will be blooming right away at the beginning of the school year and others will progress and bloom in the spring…”

Questions?• Parents are invited and

encouraged to come back to your child’s classroom and visit our learning space

• Teachers will be available to meet and discuss any other concerns

Together we can help make your child’s educational experience positive and

successful