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Gray - Room 228

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Look at the Week January 26-30 2026

Hello First Grade Families!
 
Here is a look at our week:
 
Take Home Folders: This red Folder is to be sent between home and school in your First Grader's backpack. You will find our Homework for the week along with a list with the week’s spelling words to practice at home.
 

Homework: Your student’s Homework Packet will be sent home every Monday (Tuesday this week). Your child may work on Homework each night of the week, and then return the Homework Packet on Friday. Please read with your First Grader for twenty minutes, work on sight words, and work on spelling words, every night. Work on Raz Kids and IXL.

Language Arts: We will begin Unit Six in our Benchmark curriculum. Unit Six of the 1st Grade Benchmark curriculum is titled "Stories Have a Message." The unit primarily focuses on exploring tales and lessons to understand how characters' actions lead to consequences.

  • Reading & Comprehension: Students analyze character traits (e.g., sneaky, greedy) and map story elements. The curriculum includes reading strategies, context clues, and folktale features.
  • Writing: The unit includes structured writing lessons, focusing on opinion writing and narrative.
  • Resources: Materials include small group readers, fluency passages, and vocabulary development.
  • Theme: The focus is on learning from mistakes through literature.
Functional Phonics: Functional phonics is a systematic approach to teaching reading that focuses on the relationship between letters and sounds to build decoding and spelling skills. It involves explicit instruction, where children are taught the correlations between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) in a logical, sequential order, starting with simple concepts and moving to more complex ones. Parents can support functional phonics by encouraging phonemic awareness (hearing individual sounds in words), practicing letter-sound correspondence, blending sounds to read words, and making reading a fun, daily activity. 
 

Spelling: We will be reviwewing long vowel i/silent e words. This week's spelling words are: five, hide, nice, smiles, time, hike, ripe, tribe, slide, & bride.  The Spelling Test will be given Friday.

Math: We will continue working on Unit Five in our Everyday Math Curriculum. Unit Five is primarily titled "Place Value and Comparisons". The unit shifts focus from basic counting to understanding how numbers are structured and how they relate to one another.

  • Place Value: Representing numbers as tens and ones (e.g., 18 as 1 ten and 8 ones).
  • Number Comparison: Using >, <, and = to compare numbers, often by comparing tens first, then ones.
  • Adding within 100: Using place value to add two-digit numbers, potentially by making a new ten.
  • Number Representations: Using tools like base-ten blocks and place-value charts.
  • Word Problems: Solving addition and subtraction word problems using all problem types (add to, take from, put together).
Upcoming Events:
    • January 5 - February 6: Friendship Card and Lollipop Fundraiser Sale
    • January 30: Dress Like a Twin-Free Dress Day
    • February 2-5: I Love to Read: Parent Readers
    • February 11 and 12: Parent Teacher Conferences (after school)
    • February 16: No School
Reminders:
  • Send weather appropriate clothing with your child daily as we will go outside for recess daily.
  • Make sure your child has shoes for fitness. We go to fitness on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
  • Please make sure your child is reading, working on sight words, and working on spelling words every night.
  • Communicate with the front office about any end of the day transportation changes by 2:00 pm.
  • Please make sure you are checking your child’s red take home folder nightly. Students should bring their homework folder to school daily.
  • Student login information for RazKids and IXL was sent home. Please help your child login to each site and work for a few minutes each night. These sites will be used as needed if we have to stay home for weather, or other reasons.

The partnership in your child’s education is very valuable... please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Thank you,

Sara Gray

Grade 1 Teacher

Room 228

Phone: (763) 777-8942 ext. 8809

Email: [email protected]

Website: [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

Look at the Week January 19-23 2026

Hello First Grade Families!
 
Here is a look at our week:
 
Take Home Folders: This red Folder is to be sent between home and school in your First Grader's backpack. You will find our Homework for the week along with a list with the week’s spelling words to practice at home.
 

Homework: Your student’s Homework Packet will be sent home every Monday. Your child may work on Homework each night of the week, and then return the Homework Packet on Friday. Please read with your First Grader for twenty minutes, work on sight words, and work on spelling words, every night. Work on Raz Kids and IXL.

Language Arts: We will continue working on Unit Five in our Benchmark Curriculum, titled "Technology at Work." The unit explores how technology and tools are used to solve problems and assist people in their daily jobs.

  • Technology & Innovation: Exploring why we use technology, how it helps at work, and the cycle of invention (problem-solving, brainstorming, impact).
  • Inventors: Learning about creative, persistent individuals who develop new ideas, often using symbols like light bulbs.
  • Impact of Technology: Discussing positive and negative effects on society and daily life. 
Writing: We will work on writing complete sentences using adjectives.
 
Functional Phonics: Functional phonics is a systematic approach to teaching reading that focuses on the relationship between letters and sounds to build decoding and spelling skills. It involves explicit instruction, where children are taught the correlations between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) in a logical, sequential order, starting with simple concepts and moving to more complex ones. Parents can support functional phonics by encouraging phonemic awareness (hearing individual sounds in words), practicing letter-sound correspondence, blending sounds to read words, and making reading a fun, daily activity. 
 

Spelling: We will be working on soft g words words.This week spelling words are: gem, gentle, giant, giraffe, age, page, huge, edge, bridge, &, dodge. Our Spelling Test will be on Friday.

Science: We will learn about simple machines and how they make our lives easier.

Math: We will continue working on Unit Five in our Everyday Math Curriculum. Unit Five is primarily titled "Place Value and Comparisons". The unit shifts focus from basic counting to understanding how numbers are structured and how they relate to one another.

  • Place Value: Representing numbers as tens and ones (e.g., 18 as 1 ten and 8 ones).
  • Number Comparison: Using >, <, and = to compare numbers, often by comparing tens first, then ones.
  • Adding within 100: Using place value to add two-digit numbers, potentially by making a new ten.
  • Number Representations: Using tools like base-ten blocks and place-value charts.
  • Word Problems: Solving addition and subtraction word problems using all problem types (add to, take from, put together). 
Upcoming Events:
  • January 5 - February 6: Friendship Card and Lollipop Fundraiser Sale
  • 11th and 12th Parent Teacher Conferences (after school)
 
Reminders:
  • Send weather appropriate clothing with your child daily as we will go outside for recess daily.
  • Make sure your child has shoes for fitness. We go to fitness on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
  • Please make sure your child is reading, working on sight words, and working on spelling words every night.
  • Communicate with the front office about any end of the day transportation changes by 2:00 pm.
  • Please make sure you are checking your child’s red take home folder nightly. Students should bring their homework folder to school daily.
  • Student login information for RazKids and IXL was sent home. Please help your child login to each site and work for a few minutes each night. These sites will be used as needed if we have to stay home for weather, or other reasons.

The partnership in your child’s education is very valuable... please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Thank you,

Sara Gray

Grade 1 Teacher

Room 228

Phone: (763) 777-8942 ext. 8809

Email: [email protected]

Website: [email protected]

 

K-2 eLearning Choice Board

 

2025-2026 Kindergarten-2nd Grade E-Learning Day Choice Board

●      Your child should complete the work on this eLearning Choice Board when there is a school closure due to inclement weather.

●      Choose and complete at least one activity from each subject area: Math, Reading, Writing, Science/Social Studies, and Specials.

●      Check off each activity you complete. Have a parent/guardian sign at the bottom of the sheet and return it to school. 

Look at the Week January 12-16 2026

Hello First Grade Families!
 
Here is a look at our week:
 
Take Home Folders: This red Folder is to be sent between home and school in your First Grader's backpack. You will find our Homework for the week along with a list with the week’s spelling words to practice at home.
 

Homework: Your student’s Homework Packet will be sent home every Monday. Your child may work on Homework each night of the week, and then return the Homework Packet on Friday. Please read with your First Grader for twenty minutes, work on sight words, and work on spelling words, every night.

Language Arts: We will continue working on Unit Five in our Benchmark Curriculum, titled "Technology at Work." The unit explores how technology and tools are used to solve problems and assist people in their daily jobs.

  • Technology & Innovation: Exploring why we use technology, how it helps at work, and the cycle of invention (problem-solving, brainstorming, impact).
  • Inventors: Learning about creative, persistent individuals who develop new ideas, often using symbols like light bulbs.
  • Impact of Technology: Discussing positive and negative effects on society and daily life. 
Writing: We will work on writing complete sentences using adjectives.
 
Functional Phonics: Functional phonics is a systematic approach to teaching reading that focuses on the relationship between letters and sounds to build decoding and spelling skills. It involves explicit instruction, where children are taught the correlations between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) in a logical, sequential order, starting with simple concepts and moving to more complex ones. Parents can support functional phonics by encouraging phonemic awareness (hearing individual sounds in words), practicing letter-sound correspondence, blending sounds to read words, and making reading a fun, daily activity. 
 

Spelling: We will be reviewing long vowel o/silent e words. This week's spelling words are: broke, stone, poke, close, nose, hope, bone, home, joke, & rope. Our Spelling Test will be on Friday.

Math: We will continue working on Unit Five in our Everyday Math Curriculum. Unit Five is primarily titled "Place Value and Comparisons". The unit shifts focus from basic counting to understanding how numbers are structured and how they relate to one another.

  • Place Value: Representing numbers as tens and ones (e.g., 18 as 1 ten and 8 ones).
  • Number Comparison: Using >, <, and = to compare numbers, often by comparing tens first, then ones.
  • Adding within 100: Using place value to add two-digit numbers, potentially by making a new ten.
  • Number Representations: Using tools like base-ten blocks and place-value charts.
  • Word Problems: Solving addition and subtraction word problems using all problem types (add to, take from, put together). 
Upcoming Events:
  • January 5 - February 6: Friendship Card and Lollipop Fundraiser Sale
  • January 19: Martin Luther King Jr Day- No School
 
Reminders:
  • Send weather appropriate clothing with your child daily as we will go outside for recess daily.
  • Make sure your child has shoes for fitness. We go to fitness on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
  • Please make sure your child is reading, working on sight words, and working on spelling words every night.
  • Communicate with the front office about any end of the day transportation changes by 2:00 pm.
  • Please make sure you are checking your child’s red take home folder nightly. Students should bring their homework folder to school daily.

The partnership in your child’s education is very valuable... please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Thank you,

Sara Gray

Grade 1 Teacher

Room 228

Phone: (763) 777-8942 ext. 8809

Email: [email protected]

Website: [email protected]

 
 

Look at Week January 5-9 2026

Hello First Grade Families!
Happy New Year!
I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing break.
 
Here is a look at our week:
 
Take Home Folders: This red Folder is to be sent between home and school in your First Grader's backpack. This week, you will find our Homework for the week along with a list with the week’s spelling words to practice at home.
 

Homework: Your student’s Homework Packet will be sent home every Monday. Your child may work on Homework each night of the week, and then return the Homework Packet on Friday. Please read with your First Grader for twenty minutes, work on sight words, and work on spelling words, every night.

Language Arts: We will begin Unit Five in our Benchmark Curriculum, titled "Technology at Work." The unit explores how technology and tools are used to solve problems and assist people in their daily jobs.

  • Technology & Innovation: Exploring why we use technology, how it helps at work, and the cycle of invention (problem-solving, brainstorming, impact).
  • Inventors: Learning about creative, persistent individuals who develop new ideas, often using symbols like light bulbs.
  • Impact of Technology: Discussing positive and negative effects on society and daily life. 
Writing: We will work on writing complete sentences using adjectives.
 
Functional Phonics: Functional phonics is a systematic approach to teaching reading that focuses on the relationship between letters and sounds to build decoding and spelling skills. It involves explicit instruction, where children are taught the correlations between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) in a logical, sequential order, starting with simple concepts and moving to more complex ones. Parents can support functional phonics by encouraging phonemic awareness (hearing individual sounds in words), practicing letter-sound correspondence, blending sounds to read words, and making reading a fun, daily activity. 
 

Spelling: We will be reviewing long vowel a/silent e words. This week's spelling words are: came, date, lake, late, make, name, page, save, shade, & take. Our Spelling Test will be on Friday.

Math: We will begin Unit Five in our Everyday Math Curriculum. Unit Five is primarily titled "Place Value and Comparisons". The unit shifts focus from basic counting to understanding how numbers are structured and how they relate to one another.

  • Place Value: Representing numbers as tens and ones (e.g., 18 as 1 ten and 8 ones).
  • Number Comparison: Using >, <, and = to compare numbers, often by comparing tens first, then ones.
  • Adding within 100: Using place value to add two-digit numbers, potentially by making a new ten.
  • Number Representations: Using tools like base-ten blocks and place-value charts.
  • Word Problems: Solving addition and subtraction word problems using all problem types (add to, take from, put together). 
Upcoming Events:
  • January 7: Heggies Fundraiser order forms and money due
  • January 5 - February 6: Flower Fundraiser Sale
  • January 19: Martin Luther King Jr Day- No School
 
Reminders:
  • Send weather appropriate clothing with your child daily as we will go outside for recess daily.
  • Make sure your child has shoes for fitness. We go to fitness on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
  • Please make sure your child is reading, working on sight words, and working on spelling words every night.
  • Communicate with the front office about any end of the day transportation changes by 2:00 pm.
  • Please make sure you are checking your child’s red take home folder nightly. Students should bring their homework folder to school daily.

The partnership in your child’s education is very valuable... please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Thank you,

Sara Gray

Grade 1 Teacher

Room 228

Phone: (763) 777-8942 ext. 8809

Email: [email protected]

Website: [email protected]

Look at the Week December 15-19 2025

Hello First Grade Families!
 
Here is a look at our week:
 
Take Home Folders: This red Folder is to be sent between home and school in your First Grader's backpack. This week, you will find our Homework for the week along with a list with the week’s spelling words to practice at home.
 

Homework: Your student’s Homework Packet will be sent home every Monday. Your child may work on Homework each night of the week, and then return the Homework Packet on Friday. Please read with your First Grader for twenty minutes, work on sight words, and work on spelling words, every night.

Language Arts: We will continue Unit Four in our Benchmark Curriculum. Unit Four is about different perspectives and points of view: Stories Have a Narrator.  We will begin a writing unit and learn how to write a narrative paragraph, andl work on finding the main idea, and retelling the stories we read. 

Functional Phonics: Functional phonics is a systematic approach to teaching reading that focuses on the relationship between letters and sounds to build decoding and spelling skills. It involves explicit instruction, where children are taught the correlations between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) in a logical, sequential order, starting with simple concepts and moving to more complex ones. Parents can support functional phonics by encouraging phonemic awareness (hearing individual sounds in words), practicing letter-sound correspondence, blending sounds to read words, and making reading a fun, daily activity. 

This week's spelling words will feature three letter blends blends. The spelling words are: three, strong, splash, threw, square, scrap, throat, sprain, street, & split. The spelling test will be given on Friday.

Math: We will continue with Unit Four in our Everyday Math Curriculum.  Everyday Math Unit 4, titled "Measurement and Basic Facts", focuses on measurement, place value, and number relationships, as well as addition with 20 using various strategies and facts. Students will learn to solve addition problems by counting on, using doubles and near doubles, making 10, applying properties of operations (like the commutative property), and adding three numbers. The unit also covers finding unknown numbers in addition equations.

Upcoming Events: 
  • December 18: Winter Parade
  • December 19: Pajama Day: Free Dress Day
  • December 22- January 2: Winter Break- No School
Reminders:
  • Send weather appropriate clothing with your child daily as we will go outside for recess daily.
  • Make sure your child has shoes for fitness. We go to fitness on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
  • Please make sure your child is reading, working on sight words, and working on spelling words every night.
  • Communicate with the front office about any end of the day transportation changes by 2:00 pm.
  • Please make sure you are checking your child’s red take home folder nightly. Students should bring their homework folder to school daily.

The partnership in your child’s education is very valuable... please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Thank you,

Sara Gray

Grade 1 Teacher

Room 228

Phone: (763) 777-8942 ext. 8809

Email: [email protected]

Website: [email protected]

Look at the Week December 8-12 2025

Hello First Grade Families!
 
Here is a look at our week:
 
Take Home Folders: This red Folder is to be sent between home and school in your First Grader's backpack. This week, you will find our Homework for the week along with a list with the week’s spelling words to practice at home.
 

Homework: Your student’s Homework Packet will be sent home every Monday. Your child may work on Homework each night of the week, and then return the Homework Packet on Friday. Please read with your First Grader for twenty minutes, work on sight words, and practice our weekly spelling words, each night.

Language Arts: We will continue Unit Four in our Benchmark Curriculum. Unit Four is about different perspectives and points of view: Stories Have a Narrator.  We will begin a writing unit and learn how to write a narrative paragraph, andl work on finding the main idea and retelling the stories we read. 

Functional Phonics: We are beginning a new curriculum called Functional Phonics. Functional phonics is a systematic approach to teaching reading that focuses on the relationship between letters and sounds to build decoding and spelling skills. It involves explicit instruction, where children are taught the correlations between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) in a logical, sequential order, starting with simple concepts and moving to more complex ones. Parents can support functional phonics by encouraging phonemic awareness (hearing individual sounds in words), practicing letter-sound correspondence, blending sounds to read words, and making reading a fun, daily activity.

This week's spelling words will feature consonant blends: ch, tch, and wh. The spelling words are: child, reach, lunch, cheese, children, while, sandwich, check, white, & whisper. The spelling test will be given on Friday.

Math: We will continue with Unit Four in our Everyday Math Curriculum.  Everyday Math Unit 4, titled "Measurement and Basic Facts", focuses on measurement, place value, and number relationships, as well as addition with 20 using various strategies and facts. Students will learn to solve addition problems by counting on, using doubles and near doubles, making 10, applying properties of operations (like the commutative property), and adding three numbers. The unit also covers finding unknown numbers in addition equations.

Upcoming Events: 
  • December 18: Winter Parade
  • December 19: Pajama Day: Free Dress Day
  • December 22- January 2: Winter Break- No School
Reminders:
  • Send weather appropriate clothing with your child daily as we will go outside for recess daily.
  • Make sure your child has shoes for fitness. We go to fitness on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
  • Please make sure your child is reading, working on sight words, and practicing spelling words, every night.
  • Communicate with the front office about any end of the day transportation changes by 2:00 pm.
  • Please make sure you are checking your child’s red take home folder nightly. Students should bring their homework folder to school daily.

The partnership in your child’s education is very valuable... please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Thank you,

Sara Gray

Grade 1 Teacher

Room 228

Phone: (763) 777-8942 ext. 8809

Email: [email protected]

Website: [email protected]

Look at the Week December 1-5 2025

Hello First Grade Families!
 
Here is a look at our week:
 
Take Home Folders: This red Folder is to be sent between home and school in your First Grader's backpack. This week, you will find our Homework for the week along with a list with the week’s spelling words to practice at home.
 

Homework: Your student’s Homework Packet will be sent home every Monday. Your child may work on Homework each night of the week, and then return the Homework Packet on Friday. Please read with your First Grader for twenty minutes each night, and practice our weekly Spelling Words.

Language Arts: We will begin Unit Four in our Benchmark Curriculum. Unit Four is about different perspectives and points of view: Stories Have a Narrator.  We will begin a writing unit and learn how to write a narrative paragraph, andl work on finding the main idea and retelling the stories we read. 

Functional Phonics: We are beginning a new curriculum called Functional Phonics. Functional phonics is a systematic approach to teaching reading that focuses on the relationship between letters and sounds to build decoding and spelling skills. It involves explicit instruction, where children are taught the correlations between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) in a logical, sequential order, starting with simple concepts and moving to more complex ones. Parents can support functional phonics by encouraging phonemic awareness (hearing individual sounds in words), practicing letter-sound correspondence, blending sounds to read words, and making reading a fun, daily activities. Students will have a functional phonics homework activity nightly.

This week's spelling words will be consonant digraphs: th, sh, and ng. The spelling words are: fish, that, king, wish, then, dish, this, moth, wings, &, could (sight word). The spelling test will be given on Friday.

Math: We will begin Unit Four in our Everyday Math Curriculum.  Everyday Math Unit 4, titled "Measurement and Basic Facts" focuses on measurement, place value, and number relationships, as well as addition with 20 using various strategies and facts. Students will learn to solve addition problems by counting on, using doubles and near doubles, making a 10, applying properties of operations (like the commutative property), and adding three numbers. The unit also covers finding unknown numbers in addition equations.

Upcoming Events: 
  • December 18: Winter Parade
  • December 19: Pajama Day
  • December 22- January 2: Winter Break
Reminders:
  • Send weather appropriate clothing with your child daily as we will go outside for recess daily.
  • Make sure your child has shoes for fitness. We go to fitness on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
  • Please make sure your child is reading and working on sight words every night.
  • Communicate with the front office about any end of the day transportation changes by 2:00 pm.
  • Please make sure you are checking your child’s red take home folder nightly. Students should bring their homework folder to school daily.

The partnership in your child’s education is very valuable... please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Thank you,

Sara Gray

Grade 1 Teacher

Room 228

Phone: (763) 777-8942 ext. 8809

Email: [email protected]

Website: [email protected]

Look at the Week November 10-14 2025

Hello First Grade Families!
 
Here is a look at our 11th week of school:
 
Take Home Folders: This red Folder is to be sent between home and school in your First Grader's backpack. This week, you will find our Homework for the week along with a list with the week’s spelling words to practice at home.
 

Homework: Your student’s Homework Packet will be sent home every Monday. Your child may work on Homework each night of the week, and then return the Homework Packet on Friday. Please read with your First Grader for twenty minutes each night, and practice our weekly Spelling Words.

Language Arts: We will complete Unit Three in our Benchmark Curriculum. Unit Three is about being a good community member. We will review punctuation, capital letters, and writing complete sentences. 

Functional Phonics: We are beginning a new curriculum called Functional Phonics. Functional phonics is a systematic approach to teaching reading that focuses on the relationship between letters and sounds to build decoding and spelling skills. It involves explicit instruction, where children are taught the correlations between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) in a logical, sequential order, starting with simple concepts and moving to more complex ones. Parents can support functional phonics by encouraging phonemic awareness (hearing individual sounds in words), practicing letter-sound correspondence, blending sounds to read words, and making reading a fun, daily activities. Students will have a functional phonics homework activity nightly.

This week's spelling words will be final consonant blends. The spelling words are: and, hand, mend, help, fast, must, end, ring, sing, &, thing. The spelling test will be given on Friday.

Math: We will continue Unit Three in our Everyday Math Curriculum.  Everyday Math Unit 3, titled "Number Stories," focuses on solving word problems and includes concepts like using parts and total diagrams, counting on a number line, and working with unknowns. Key topics also involve number grid patterns, using frames and arrows diagrams, and skip counting with 2’s, 5’s and 10’s.

Social Studies: We will continue to learn about voting and elections. 

Science: We will learn about the impact humans have on the earth.

Reminders:
  • Send weather appropriate clothing with your child daily as we will go outside for recess daily.
  • Make sure your child has shoes for fitness. We go to fitness on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
  • Please make sure your child is reading and working on sight words every night.
  • Communicate with the front office about any end of the day transportation changes by 2:00 pm.
  • Please make sure you are checking your child’s red take home folder nightly. Students should bring their homework folder to school daily.

The partnership in your child’s education is very valuable... please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Thank you,

Sara Gray

Grade 1 Teacher

Room 228

Phone: (763) 777-8942 ext. 8809

Email: [email protected]

Website: [email protected]

Week of November 3-7 2025

Hello First Grade Families!

Here is a look at our 10th week of school:

Take Home Folders: This red Folder is to be sent between home and school in your First Grader's backpack. This week, you will find our Homework for the week along with a list with the week’s spelling words to practice at home.

Homework: Your student’s Homework Packet will be sent home every Monday. Your child may work on Homework each night of the week, and then return the Homework Packet on Friday. Please read with your First Grader for twenty minutes each night, and practice our weekly Spelling Words.

Language Arts: We will continue Unit Three in our Benchmark curriculum. Unit Three is about being a good community member. We will review punctuation, capital letters, and writing complete sentences. 

Functional Phonics: We are beginning a new curriculum called Functional Phonics. Functional phonics is a systematic approach to teaching reading that focuses on the relationship between letters and sounds to build decoding and spelling skills. It involves explicit instruction, where children are taught the correlations between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) in a logical, sequential order, starting with simple concepts and moving to more complex ones. Parents can support functional phonics by encouraging phonemic awareness (hearing individual sounds in words), practicing letter-sound correspondence, blending sounds to read words, and making reading a fun, daily activities. Students will have a functional phonics homework activity nightly.

This week's spelling words are words with ‘S’ blends. The spelling words are: scan, scout, sleep, slow, smile, smart, snow, sport, spot and star. The spelling test will be given on Friday.

Math: This week we will continue Unit Three in our Everyday Math curriculum.  Everyday Math Unit 3, titled "Number Stories," focuses on solving word problems and includes concepts like using parts and total diagrams, counting on a number line, and working with unknowns. Key topics also involve number grid patterns, using frame and arrow diagrams, and skip counting with 2’s, 5’s and 10’s.

Social Studies: This week we will continue a social studies lesson on voting and elections. 

Science: This week we will focus on the impact humans have on the earth.

Reminders:
  • Send weather appropriate clothing with your child daily, we will go outside for recess daily.
  • Make sure your child has shoes for fitness. We go to fitness on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
  • Please make sure your child is reading and working on sight words every night.
  • Communicate with the front office about any end of the day transportation changes by 2:00 pm.
  • Please make sure you are checking your child’s red take home folder nightly. Students should bring their homework folder to school daily.
 
 

The partnership in your child’s education is very valuable... please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Thank you,

Sara Gray

Grade 1 Teacher

Room 228

Phone: (763) 777-8942 ext. 8809

Email: [email protected]

Website: [email protected]

Book Fair October 27-30 2025

Our fall Book Fair is scheduled for October 27-30 in the Library.
 
The scheduled time for our class is Tuesday, October 28th from 11:00 to 11:30. If you would like your First Grader to shop at the Book Fair, please have your student's money in a Ziploc bag or envelope labeled with their name and amount of money. 
 
The fair will also be open during our Bingo for Books event on 10/28 and Parent Conferences on 10/29-30.
 
If you prefer:

Shop Online/E-Wallet: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/athlosleadershipacademy

 

 

Look at the Week October 27-31 2025

Hello First Grade Families!

Here is a look at our 9th week of school:

Take Home Folders: This red Folder is to be sent between home and school in your First Grader's backpack. This week, you will find our Homework for the week along with a list with the week’s spelling words to practice at home.

Homework: Your student’s Homework Packet will be sent home every Monday. Your child may work on Homework each night of the week, and then return the Homework Packet on Friday. Please read with your First Grader for twenty minutes each night, and practice the weekly Spelling Words.

Language Arts: We will begin Unit Three in our Benchmark curriculum. Unit Three is about being a good community member. We will review punctuation, capital letters, and writing complete sentences. 

This week's spelling words are words with ‘R’ blends. The spelling words are: trip, trap, brag, drop, frog, grass, prod, drag, tree, &, truck. The spelling test will be given on Friday.

Functional Phonics: We are beginning a new curriculum called Functional Phonics. Functional phonics is a systematic approach to teaching reading that focuses on the relationship between letters and sounds to build decoding and spelling skills. It involves explicit instruction, where children are taught the correlations between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) in a logical, sequential order, starting with simple concepts and moving to more complex ones. Parents can support functional phonics by encouraging phonemic awareness (hearing individual sounds in words), practicing letter-sound correspondence, blending sounds to read words, and making reading a fun, daily activities. Students will have a functional phonics homework activity nightly.

Math: This week we will begin Unit Three in our Everyday Math curriculum. Unit Three, titled "Number Stories," focuses on solving word problems and includes concepts like using parts and total diagrams, counting on a number line, and working with unknowns. Key topics also involve number grid patterns, using frames and arrows diagrams, and skip counting with 2s, 5s and 10s.

Social Studies: This week we will begin a social studies lesson on voting and elections. 

Nightly student homework:

Homework Packet, spelling words, practice sight words, and reading for twenty minutes each night.

Upcoming Events:

  • October 27-30: Book Fair
  • October 28: Bingo for Books
  • October 29-30: Parent Teacher Conferences 3:30-6:30
 

Reminders:

  • Please sign up for a conference ASAP.
  • Send weather appropriate clothing with your child daily, we will go outside for recess daily.
  • Make sure your child has shoes for fitness. We go to fitness on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
  • Please make sure your child is reading and working on sight words every night.
  • Communicate with the front office about any end of the day transportation changes by 2:00 pm.
  • Please make sure you are checking your child’s red take home folder nightly. Students should bring their homework folder to school daily.

The partnership in your child’s education is very valuable... please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Thank you,

Sara Gray

Grade 1 Teacher

Room 228

Phone: (763) 777-8942 ext. 8809

Email: [email protected]

Website: [email protected]

Look at the Week October 20-24 2025

Hello First Grade Families!

Here is a look at our 8th week of school:

Take Home Folders: This red Folder is to be sent between home and school in your First Grader's backpack. This week, you will find our Homework for the week along with a list with the week’s spelling words to practice at home.

Homework: Your student’s Homework Packet will be sent home every Monday. Your child may work on Homework each night of the week, and then return the Homework Packet on Friday. Please read with your First Grader for twenty minutes each night, and practice the weekly Spelling Words.

Language Arts: This week we will work on characters, settings and the main idea of the stories we read. We will complete unit three in our Benchmark curriculum.

This week's spelling words are ‘L’ blends. The week’s spelling words are; clock, sled, flip, flop, flat, glad, plan, class, black, &, slip. Our spelling test will be given on Friday.

Math: This week we will complete Unit Two in our Everyday Math Curriculum. Unit two focuses on counting and number models, reviewing skills like counting on, making pairs to 10, using ten-frames, and basic addition and subtraction within 20. It also includes topics such as writing numbers, tally marks, and telling time by the hour. The curriculum builds a conceptual understanding of addition and subtraction while reinforcing number patterns and place value.

Social Studies: This week we will continue a unit on how cultures change over time. We will learn how human culture changes in the past, present and future.

Science: We will review life cycles and study the Life Cycle of Pumpkins. We will cut open a pumpkin and make observations about what is inside.

Nightly student homework:

Homework Packet, spelling words, practice sight words, and reading for twenty minutes each night.

Upcoming Events:

  • October 22: Unity Day
  • October 27-30: Book Fair
  • October 28: Bingo for Books
  • October 29-30:Parent Teacher Conferences 3:30-6:30

 

Reminders:

  • Please sign up for a conference ASAP.
  • Send weather appropriate clothing with your child daily, we will go outside for recess daily.
  • Make sure your child has shoes for fitness. We go to fitness on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
  • Please make sure your child is reading and working on sight words every night.
  • Please communicate with the front office about any end of the day transportation changes by 2:00 o’clock PM.
  • Please make sure you are checking your child’s red take home folder nightly. Please take out student work nightly and remember to help your student complete and return their math homework daily. Students should bring their homework folder to school daily.

The partnership in your child’s education is very valuable... please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Thank you,

Sara Gray

Grade 1 Teacher

Room 228

Phone: (763) 777-8942 ext. 8809

Email: [email protected]

Website: [email protected]

Look at the Week October 13-15 2025

Hello First Grade Families!

Here is a look at our 7th week of school:

Language Arts: We will work on characters, settings, and the main idea of the stories we read.

This week's spelling words will be reviewing words we have already learned this year. The review spelling words are; you, sell, neck, frog, kids, with, pick, kicks, pack, ask, stuck, & must. No Spelling Test this week.

Math: This week we will continue unit two in our Everyday Math Curriculum. Unit Two focuses on counting and number models, reviewing skills like counting on, making pairs to 10, using ten-frames, and basic addition and subtraction within 20. It also includes topics such as writing numbers, tally marks, and telling time by the hour. The curriculum builds a conceptual understanding of addition and subtraction while reinforcing number patterns and place value.

Social Studies: This week we will continue a unit on how cultures change over time. We will learn how human culture changes in the past, present and future.

Science: We will review life cycles. 

Upcoming Events:

  • October 16th and 17th MEA Break-No school for students
  • October 22, 2025 Unity Day
  • October 27-30, 2025 Book Fair
  • October 28, 2025 Bingo for Books

 

Reminders:

  • Send a healthy snack with your student daily.
  • Make sure your child has shoes for fitness. We go to fitness on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
  • Send weather appropriate clothing with your child daily, we will go outside for recess daily.
  • Please make sure your child is reading and working on sight words every night.
  • Please communicate with the front office about any end of the day transportation changes by 2:00 o’clock PM.
  • Please make sure you are checking your child’s red take home folder nightly. Please take out student work nightly. Students should bring their homework folder to school daily.
 

The partnership in your child’s education is very valuable... please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Thank you,

Sara Gray

Grade 1 Teacher

Room 228

Phone: (763) 777-8942 ext. 8809

Email: [email protected]

Website: [email protected]

  • nts should bring their homework folder to school daily.
 

Look at the Week October 3-10 2025

Hello First Grade Families!

Here is a look at our 6th week of school:

Take Home Folders: This Folder is to be sent between home and school in your First Grader's backpack. This week, you will find our Homework for the week along with a list with the week’s spelling words to practice at home.

Homework: Your student’s Homework Packet will be sent home every Monday. Your child may work on Homework each night of the week, and then return the Homework Packet on Friday. Please read with your First Grader for twenty minutes each night, and practice the weekly Spelling Words.

Language Arts: We will continue Unit Two in our Benchmark Curriculum. Unit Two focuses on characters and story elements. We will be working on short “U” words. We will work on writing complete sentences, using all punctuations and when to capitalize. We will be describing the characters and the settings in the stories we read. We will take a reading comprehension assessment on Friday.

This week's spelling words are; run, must, stuck, tug, mud, huff, duck, plus, yum & shut. Spelling test will be on Friday. Please practice these spelling words with your child nightly.

Math: We begin Unit Two in our Everyday Math curriculum. Unit Two focuses on counting and number models, reviewing skills like counting on, making pairs to 10, using ten-frames, and basic addition and subtraction within 20. It also includes topics such as writing numbers, tally marks, and potentially telling time by the hour. The curriculum builds a conceptual understanding of addition and subtraction while reinforcing number patterns and place value.

Social Studies: This week we will continue a unit on how cultures change over time.

Upcoming Events:

  • October 7, 2025 Grandparents Breakfast
  • October 16th and 17th MEA Break-No school for students
  • October 22, 2025 Unity Day
  • October 27-30, 2025 Book Fair
  • October 28, 2025 Bingo for Books

 

Reminders:

  • Send a healthy snack with your student daily.
  • Make sure your child has shoes for fitness. We go to fitness on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
  • Send weather appropriate clothing with your child daily as we will go outside for recess daily.
  • Please make sure your child is reading and working on sight words every night.
  • Please communicate with the front office about any end of the day transportation changes by 2:00 o’clock PM.
  • Please make sure you are checking your child’s red take home folder nightly. Please take out student work nightly and remember to help your student complete their work for the day.

    The partnership in your child’s education is very valuable... please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

    Thank you,

    Sara Gray

    Grade 1 Teacher

    Room 228

    Phone: (763) 777-8942 ext. 8809

    Email: [email protected]

    Website: [email protected]

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