RISD REPORT
Rockdale Elementary School continues to provide a strong foundation for our students in their early years of education.
This week our first-grade teachers would like to share what is going on in their classes:
(Written by Lorrie Birk-head, Jenae Byrd, Sharon McDaniel, Valarie Willing-ham and Julia Wulff.)
It is hard to believe that our first graders have already completed the first two six weeks.
The year began with reviewing school rules, creating classroom social contracts, and learning to become responsible for our own behavior.
Each class spent time reviewing letters, sounds, and sight words, but now our students are focused on the process of learning to read.
First grade is an exciting year that will show so much growth. Students start out knowing basic sight words, but become reading machines by the time they head to second grade.
First grade is also where students are first introduced to the Accelerated Reading Program.
Students are able to earn points by taking quizzes on their library books and books they have read with their teachers.
The most important thing you can do to help your child is to practice reading every night at home. By meeting their reading goal, students will be able to attend A.R. parties at the end of each six weeks.
This is such a motivator for beginning readers. We will also honor our top readers at the end of the year.
We cannot wait to see who will have the most A.R. points.
Although reading is a very important part of first grade, our students still focus on Math, Science, Social Studies, and Writing.
We learn about place value, skip counting, addition, subtraction, and even money.
Much of this is learned through activities and games in the classroom, but parents can help by practicing weekly math facts at home.
Our students have also participated in several science experiments this year. We enjoyed making homemade playdough and building ice castles and watching them melt.
Our first graders will also be able to attend two field trips near the end of the year. A favorite trip is to the Mayborn Museum in Waco.
The museum offers many exploratory rooms for the children: the sound room, the water room complete with giant bubbles, the weather room, and many more.
This year the special program will be The Lion King Exhibit so the students are in for a day of science and fun.
We will also travel to our city park and meet our community leaders, such as firemen, police officers, and EMS workers.
One of the most memorable highlights of first grade is our “Texas” program.
It has been a long-held tradition for our students to share songs, symbols, and traditions of Texas with our parents and friends at school. It is always a fun time for everyone.
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