December
December Newsletter
Mrs. Naase, First Grade, Room 9
Reminder: December 23rd to January 6th: No school for Winter Vacation. Students will return on January 7th.
Thank you to all parents for attending Parent-Teacher Conferences! I enjoyed our conversations about these wonderful first graders. I am very blessed to have such amazing students this year!
Literacy Update: We are working in Unit 5 in Benchmark Advance. Unit 5 is about Technology at Work. In this unit, students will read and compare selections about inventors and their inventions to understand how technology is made and how it works.
Several students are currently ready, or will soon be ready, for chapter books! This is so very exciting! A huge first grade milestone! I will notify you by backpack mail when your child is ready, if I haven’t already done so. Start with easy ones, like the Junie B. Jones or Magic Tree House series. For their homework nightly reading logs, they can record the pages they read or the chapters they read every night. To keep their thoughts fresh on their comprehension, ask them those “W” questions as they read.
Math Update: We are finishing Unit 5 and beginning Unit 6, focusing on the relationship between addition and subtraction. We will learn about fact families. For example:
This is a fact family: 6+8=14, 8+6=14, 14-8=6, 14-6=8
We will also learn how to use subtraction to figure out a missing addend (or part.) To help your child find out the missing part in 9+____=13, teach them to think “13-9=______.” In the second half of the unit, we will learn about fractions. We will look at shapes divided into halves and fourths and talk about equal parts. We will have to continue Unit 6 for the first week or so in January.
The month won’t be all hard work….I’ll be throwing in fun holiday projects as well! We will also have a hot chocolate party and watch The Polar Express sometime during the week before our vacation begins. If you do not want your child to participate in any holiday activities, or in watching the movie, please call me at 821-1810 extension 34128, or email me at naase@aps.edu. I will make alternate arrangements for your child during these activities.
Happy Holidays! Mrs. Naase