Mrs. Papamarcos and Mrs. Matessa's First Grade Class

Homework

Homework is an opportunity to develop responsibility and to practice first grade skills. We hope that your child will begin to establish good study habits that will last a lifetime! There are three components to our homework program.

1. A math or language arts worksheet is assigned Monday through Thursday. This worksheet is due the following day.

2. A Decodable Book is sent home for further practice on most days. Each book reinforces a sound/spelling pattern we've learned in class. To develop fluency, your child should read this book aloud five times or more. Your child may read the Decodable to anyone at home: mom, dad, sister, brother, the cat, or a stuffed animal! Reading aloud will help your child's decoding ability, and comprehension, too. Encourage your child to "sound out" or "blend across" words she does not know. Please keep the Decodable Books at home in a shoebox or other special place.

3. A picture book in a blue bag, and a green journal, are sent home on Mondays (beginning in January). These are due back at school on Thursdays. Unlike the Decodable Books, these picture books are for the parent to read aloud and enjoy with the child. Your child will benefit from being read to, even as he/she becomes a reader. We hope that these picture books will interest both of you! After sharing the book together, please encourage your child to write a response to the story. Using the green journal, your child should write the title of the book, draw a picture, and write several sentences about the story. Although the content of their writing is most important, please help your child develop writing conventions. Your child is learning to capitalize the beginning of a sentence and names of people, use punctuation, spell high frequency words correctly, and write neatly. (A list of high-frequency words is in your child's homework folder.)