Welcome to Mrs. Urban’s First Grade

2009-2010

Mrs. Urban• Graduated from Kansas State University• Married 9 years• Husband owns granite counter top business• Mother of three: A daughter 6 years old, son 5

years old and a daughter 2 years old• Taught 3 years in a KCK public school• Taught 3 years in a Blue Valley public school• Ran an in-home day care for 5 years

Our Daily Routine

• 8:10-8:30 Morning Work and Calendar• 8:30 -10:00 Open Court Reading• 10:00-10:45 Workshop (Reading/Language Arts)• 10:50-11:15 Lunch• 11:15-11:35 Track Time/Read Aloud• 11:35-12:35 Math• 12:35-1:35 Social Studies/ Science• 1:35- 1:50 Recess• 2:05-3:05 Specials/Social Studies Science Cont.

Open Court Reading

• Open Court reading series involves the systematic teaching of the relationship of individual sounds to our spoken language, sound/spellings, the blending of sounds into words, and applying those skills into daily reading and writing.

Open Court Reading

Whole Group Instruction • 90 minutes of Open Court curriculum

Workshop• 50 minutes, students are working in

small groups and given a set of “must do’s” and may choose a “can do” if they finish early

Math Curriculum

This year students will learn…• number sense• skip counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's• reviewing even and odd numbers• basic addition and subtraction facts, and the various

strategies that may be used to solve these problems• the memorization of basic facts and fractions (1

whole, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4)• measuring length to the nearest inch and

centimeter• using units to measure weight and capacity• adding and subtracting with regrouping

Math Curriculum

• reading and creating a tally chart, bar graph, and picture graph

• calendar basics such as knowing the names of the months and days, as well as writing the date in various ways

• counting money using pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and half dollars

• telling time to the nearest hour, half hour, and five minutes

• identifying solid figures and plane shapes

Science & Social Studies

• Throughout the year we travel through each of the regions of the United States. The regions include the Southeast, Northeast, Midwest, Rocky Mountain, Pacific Coast, and Southwest regions.

• As we visit each of the regions we explore the land of the region, along with the climate and weather, land and landforms, animals, plants, communities, people that have made an impact on our country today, and any other important aspect of that particular region.

Homework

• 15-20 minutes per evening. – Open Court Blending Lists will be sent home

nightly. Please have your child read over it with you. This will help you see their progress in reading throughout the year.

– Sight Words-Students will memorize the 220 Dolch Sight Words at their own pace.

– Baggie Books-Students will take home weekly to complete.

– Take Home folders

Corinth Dragons ROAR

Corinth Dragons are…»Respectful»On Task»Active Learners»Responsible

Daily Behavior

Reinforcing Positive Behavior– Daily behaviors will be recorded daily on a calendar

that will be kept in the “Take Home” folder.– Daily behavior chart will go home each evening and

must be signed in order for students to “trade up” This is part of their nightly homework. It is your child’s responsibility to have the folder signed by an adult and put back into their backpack and brought back to school each day.

How to Earn a “Green Day”

• Each day students begin on blue and their goal is to end up on green at the end of the day.

• They may “trade up” by showing responsibility, respect, that they are on task, and acting safely throughout the day.

• All of the classroom expectations must be shown in order to receive a “green day.”

Recess & Track Time

• There will be no recess outside when…– the temperature is 15 degrees or

below– the wind chill index is 0 degrees or

more– there is falling moisture (more than a

sprinkle or a mist).

Other Important Information

• Please send a note with your child if their dismissal procedure changes.

• Birthday treats may be brought on birthdays. If your child’s birthday occurs during the summer months, then treats may be brought for their half birthday.

Mrs. Urban’s Web Backpack

• Please visit my Web Backpack to see the Back to School Packet and PowerPoint.

• It will be updated often with pictures, weekly newsletters, and other important information.