Homework
Please remove and review the contents of your student’s Friday Folder when he/she brings it home on Fridays. Encourage your student to work on the items listed on the homework sheet over the course of the week and sign off on completed items. Please have your student write his/her name atop the homework sheet, staple the homework assignments to that sheet, and return the packet in the Friday Folder by Thursday.
Please read with your child daily. This is the most important support you can provide to your 1st grade student. Read to him/her to build vocabulary, comprehension, as a fluency model – and for fun! Have him/her read to you – ask him/her about the 5-finger rule for picking a “just right” book. Have your student read words he/she knows, sound out words/letter sounds he/she can try, and provide words he/she cannot attack at this time.
Although the extent to which your family decides to address each subject assignment listed on the front of the homework sheet is up to you, it is expected that students do their homework and turn it in on time. This not only supports their learning, it helps develop a good work habit necessary for upper grades. I suggest parents read directions twice to/with their student, to help support comprehension and to develop that as an independent strategy. We often do such in class. Some struggle is part of the learning process; providing a quiet space without distractions, patient help if needed, and a routine time will help, too.
When supporting writing, some helpful strategies are: provide an alphabet card or sheet for reference; don’t over-correct, but provide tips when your student asks about sounds or blends; when they finish a written piece, ask them to read over it, as good writers do, and to look for any words they think need to be changed. This helps support their phonemic awareness and phonics development.