January


Sight Words

January Sight/Spelling Words

back made

because mother

book night

box people

came run

could saw

don't say

first school

girl soon

home stand

house think

into upon

look

Announcement

Dear Parents, We have come to that point in the year when we should have gotten rid of our bad habits of writing numerals and letters backward. We have practiced and practiced writing them the correct way. From this point on, if we slip up on our papers, a point will be taken off our score and backward letters and numerals will be marked wrong. We also have learned that we only use capital letters on proper nouns and at the beginning of sentences. If we write a capital letter where it doesn’t belong, it also will be marked wrong. On our spelling tests I will mark the percent score and then take off those points for incorrect capital letters and reversed letters and numerals. For example, if all the spelling words were spelled correctly and your student scored 100%, but then wrote a capital A in the middle of a word, the score would drop to 99%. If the letters b and d are reversed, such as dog being written bog, making a completely different word, then the entire word would be marked incorrect. Of course, being kind and honest is MUCH more important then the scores on our papers. That will always be true, but we DO want to be able to write things the right way. We hope this will help encourage us to be careful and use what we know to do our work correctly.


NEWSLETTER Mrs. Mac's Contact Information: Grovecrest Elementary 801-785-8714Email: bmclelland@alpinedistrict.orgWebpage: http://my.uen.org/myuen/46643DECEMBER REVIEW/JANUARY NEWSLETTER MANY THANKS! Thank you to our wonderful moms and dad who helped with the Gingerbread House project! It was a fun Christmas party and our houses were spectacular! Moms donated graham crackers, made frosting and came to lend a hand. Thanks especially to Mrs. Steele for making the phone calls and organizing the work force. We couldn’t do these kinds of activities without the help we receive from such suportive parents. Thank you, to all our parents for attending our First Grade Christmas Program. We enjoyed performing for you! We hope we added to your Christmas and holiday cheer. We only had three short weeks in December, but they were packed with lots of learning and holiday projects. LOOKING AHEAD IN JANUARYJanuary 18th is Martin Luther King Day and there will be no school.January Book Order will be due Wednesday, January 13th . I have appreciated those of you who have ordered on line.January 24th DRA Reading Testing January is when I will be evaluating our reading progress so far this year. This is the time when I can spot more clearly any children who may be struggling with the reading process. Reading 15 to 20 minutes each night with your child makes a huge difference in their reading ability. I strongly recommend doing this homework regularly. With winter weather here, please make sure your child is dressed to be able to go outside and play at recess. I believe we all need to get some fresh air and get the “wiggles” out by having some physical exertion a few times during the day. It is district policy to keep children indoors if temperatures are below 20 degrees and if the weather is too stormy to be comfortable but otherwise, I do have the children go out for recess breaks. If your child has a medical reason to stay inside, please send a note.


Curriculum Topics we will be studying in class Language and ReadingWord WorkVowel-Consonant-Silent EOrally manipulate phonemes(Substitute initial, final and vowel sounds)ContractionsDelete syllables, initial and final soundsVowel combinationsConsonant blendsLanguageAdjectives (describing words)SynonymsQuotation marksWritingWriting a descriptionFinding detailsThe writing process reviewedReading StrategiesQuestioningMain IdeaCompare and contrastInferenceRealistic fictionSpellingweek 14: place, plant, plane, black, block, look, aboutweek 15: shine, fine, mine, bone, cone, some, many week 16: toad, load, road, coat, boat, was, growweek 17: step, stand, stage, snap, sniff, make, whichMathUnit 4-Data Analysis/Unit 6-Addition, Subtraction and the Number SystemSorting/attributesCollecting and Representing DataComparing Age DataMoney: quarters and penniesPlace ValueCombinations of tenCharacter Development/Social SkillsCitizenshipReview class and school rulesInterrupting appropriatelyJoining inStressP.E./ArtFitnessSeasonal and holiday art projectsSplatter paintingOther Topics of InterestArctic animals/camouflageWinterPhases of the Sun and MoonForces and MotionLife CyclesDental Hygiene and HealthDiversity/Civil Rights movement/Martin Luther King Jr.China (Chinese New Year)Goals/Resolutions