Dear First Grade Families,

The Plains school First Grade team has developed a remote learning plan for our students based on the guiding principles and specific recommendations from the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. We have considered social-emotional and mental health needs, equity, and the importance of maintaining the connection between teachers and students. Our goal is to help students engage with resources in their everyday lives.

We feel it is important to balance learning through technology and the remote learning that can happen offline to support curiosity and understanding. The MA Department of Education recommends that students engage in meaningful and productive learning for approximately half the length of the regular school day, which suggests three hours. For half a block of this time, students will be involved in a combination of educator-directed learning and student self-directed learning. The other half of time will include areas such as physical activity, arts-based enrichment, exploring nature, building and being involved in daily life activities. We do not want children to sit and work on worksheets for three hours a day. We know that for our First Grade students, both the educator-directed and self-directed learning will require support in order to be successful.

Teachers will provide resources and ideas for activities on their virtual platform in which they have been using to communicate thus far. The way the direct teaching is delivered will vary by teacher. Teachers will continue to be available to provide support and feedback on the completed work and activities.

What you will expect to see on the Grade 1 plan…

There will be different sections for each content area. ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies.

ELA: This will consist of reading, writing, phonics and spelling. Reading and writing should be done everyday for at least 20 minutes. Please take advantage of the website for additional resources. Phonics and spelling should be completed once a day with any of the listed activities.

Math: Please choose one activity to be completed each day. There are games for practice if needed.

Science/Social Studies: This will be alternated each week. We will begin with science next week. These are for enrichment and can be completed after ELA and Math work.

We want to leave the weekly “assignments” flexible so that you can develop a plan that works best for your family and your child’s needs. Please remember that this is only a suggested plan of action and modifications can be made to meet the needs of each child. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this plan or would like help adapting this plan to fit the needs of your family and schedule, please contact your child’s teacher.

Most importantly, take time for fun activities, challenges, scavenger hunts, outdoor play and overall quality healthy time with each other. We appreciate all that you are doing to balance your daily schedules and support your child through this challenging time!

Sincerely,

Plains First Grade Team