WHAT a BUSY WEEK!

It is hard to believe that there are only 8 1/2 days of school left. We have been busy with our end of the year assessments this week and are so proud of our kinder-gators and how hard they have worked and how much growth they have made. We continue to work on addition and subtraction up to 10. Please help your child practice this at home; subtraction is a hard concept for some students. In literacy, we continue to work on reading and writing words that have initial consonant blends. Consonant blends are two (or three) consonants that make a new sound when they are blended together. 

WRITING EXPECTATION

By the end of the school year, students should be able to write between 4 - 6 sentences all on one topic - basically a short story. They should be using capital letters at the beginning of sentences - not in the middle of words, one finger space between words and punctuation at the end. It is appropriate for students to sound out words, however, sight words should be spelled correctly. Sight words need to be practiced often, since most of them cannot be sounded out. Notepads and colored pencils or fun pens are a good way for students to practice writing these words.

Here is some valuable information about what a first grader should look like in August.

Is My Child Ready For First Grade in GCISD?

Please review this list, created by GCISD first grade teachers of the expectations they have for their students at the beginning of a new school year. Students should have these skills after completing a year of Kindergarten in GCISD or any other public school district in Texas.

Academic Factors to Consider

Math

• Has knowledge of shapes, graphs, number sense - zero to 50, identifying numbers in isolation, and different ways to make numbers.

• Has understanding of how to sort/classify objects, more or less, skip counting, and ordering numbers.

Reading/English Language Arts

• Has knowledge of letters/sounds, left to right and top to bottom progression, upper and lower case letters, putting words together, and can identify letters/words in isolation.

• Has understanding of word families, sentence formation, reading comprehension, story elements, and can retell a story.

• Has the ability to write first and last name correctly, reads and writes sight words, uses writing conventions-punctuation and capitals, write and say rhyming words, and write a simple story with at least 4 sentences. First graders at Glenhope typically enter 1st grade reading at least a Text Level 6.

Additional Factors to Consider

Behavior

• Will part from parents, general sense of independence, demonstrates respect for others, has peer to peer communication, and seeks help when needed.

• Follows directions, shares, sits in a group without distracting others, takes turns, and attends to a task until completed.

• Takes care of personal needs, lunch, picks up after self, and keeps up with supplies.

Fine Motor Skills

• Grasps pencil correctly and copies vertical and horizontal line, circle, cross, square, V, and triangle.

• Grasps scissors correctly and cuts out square, triangle, and circle on construction paper.

• Uses appropriate amounts of glue for tasks.

Curriculum Objectives

Language Arts: 

I can identify the medial short vowel sounds in words.

I can spell words with CVC patterns. 

I can read and write my sight words.

I can identify and spell CCVC words. 

Math:                                                                                                                                    

I can count to 100 by 1s starting with any number and count backwards from 20 to 1.  

I can sort objects that are the same and different into groups. 

I can use data to create real-object and picture graphs.

I can draw conclusions from real-object and picture graphs.

Social Studies:

I can describe how technology helps accomplish specific tasks and meet people’s needs.

Science:

I can identify the basic needs of animals.

I can identify the different structures that animals have that allow them to interact with their environment such as seeing, hearing, moving, and grasping objects