Amelia Earhart

The best way to contact Mrs. Elkins is through e-mail.  kelkins@goddardusd.com  This would be the quickest way for you to get a response.

If you prefer to call, our school hours are 8:45 AM- 4:01 PM.  If you call during these times you will be connected to my answering machine since I do not answer the phone while teaching.  If you leave a message, I will try and call back during my break or before/after school.

You may also send a note with your child.  I check our work folders daily, so I will see your note and respond.

However you choose to contact me, I will do my best to respond within a timely manner.  

For Reading and Language Arts we have adopted Benchmark Advance.  This reading program focuses the first 20 days on routines and establishing our daily expectations when at workstations.  It is based on a 5 day lesson plan.  With this being said-some of our reading and spelling tests may be on Fridays while other weeks it may end up being on a Tuesday.  It all depends on our school calendar.  Please be aware of the date marked on the spelling lists to when the tests may be.  This is also true for our Math Series-Pearson Success.  Each chapter has a different amount of lessons within it, so math tests will vary from week to week.

As a first grade student, your child is expected to spend about 10 minutes of homework each night.  Mrs. Elkins tries to send homework home each night.  It may be a reading book or a math worksheet and spelling homework is always expected.

Reading books with your child may save on time.  Please have your child read the book as they are able.  Parent or siblings help is welcomed if your child is having difficulty with words.  Suggestions:  give your child two choices of a word if they are struggling.  For example, "is that word elephant or each?"  If your child is a slower reader-you read a page and they read the next.  If both of you are frustrated, put the book down and come back to it later.  If your child is memorizing the story and not looking at the words, have them read the words backwards.  For example if the sentence reads, I see a cat in the box.  They can read it as, box, the in cat a see I.  Write down all the books that your child is reading on their reading log.

Spelling practice is also expected to help your child succeed on their tests.  Please check the spelling download-ables page for wonderful spelling practice ideas and work pages.

Math pages are usually placed within your childs' Work Folder.  Please encourage your child to do the worksheet and return it the next school day. 

Several of the worksheets that we use can be found on the Download-ables page.  Check under the specific subject title; reading, math, handwritng or spelling.  If you don't see what you are looking for, just ask Mrs. Elkins for a copy.

I try to grade papers and input them into Skyward Family Access on a weekly basis. Please understand that because of changing schedules, school functions or extra activities this may vary. If a child is missing an assignment, the system does not count that against their overall grade. Only if there is a number inserted does that effect their grade. If you have any questions regarding your child's grades, please email or call Mrs. Elkins.  If you would like to see the grading scale, please log onto Skyward Family Access.

There are several ways in which your child can be challenged:

I have student and family projects throughout the school year that relate with our Reading Story for that weekly which you may have your child create.  For example, we have a story about dinosaurs.  This project asks that your child create a scene within a shoe box relating to dinosaurs.  Go to the local library in your area and check books out of their particular interests.  I have also listed many sight words within my reading download-ables webpage that could be used for challenging reading.  Click here to go to my reading download-ables webpage.

Have your child do a research project:  choose a topic, find information on that topic by book or internet.  Write a short report, draw a picture and have them share their project with us on show and tell day.

Other ways to challenge your student is my Spelling Tic-Tac-Toe and Monthly Spelling Choices.  These are extra ways in which your child can earn Star Store tickets and get extra practice with spelling words.  Click here to go to my spelling download-ables webpage.

I also have writing paper as a download-able within my website which you can use to have your child to be a writer and illustrator.  Encourage them to write a short story, remembering to have a beginning, middle and end to their story.  Click here to go to my writing download-ables webpage.

As for math, there are worksheets that come home as homework, you may also encourage your child to create new math problems or story questions.  It also may be a challenge for your child to get quicker on their math facts.  Purchase flash cards both addition and subtraction and quiz your child by holding up the card and putting it down within 5 seconds.  See if they can give you the correct answer before you put the card down.  If they start to master their facts, put the cards down quicker or even mix together addition and subtraction flash cards.

There are plenty of websites that are interactive and ones that you can use as resources and print off worksheets for your child.  Check out my websites page.

I have also listed several apps that are free and/or can be purchased.  May of these apps have multiple levels or challenges within the activity to challenge your child.  These can be found on my wonderful apps webpage.

The Daily Folder is a way to communicate. Please check your child's backpack each night!  Notes will be sent home and there may be a homework assignment.  Students turn in their Work Folders everyday when they come into the classroom.  I usually checks the folders during our morning TV announcements.  She checks for written notes, lunch money and/or homework assignments needing to be turned in.

Please tell your child about any special notes/money that you are putting in their Daily Folder.  By having your child be aware of the notes that you are sending to school; if I ask for any special notes-they may remember that they need to give me the information.

It depends on the day of the week, and if there are any school activities planned.  Please contact Mrs. Elkins to schedule your child's first grade classroom birthday party.

Yes, we love extra helpers and eyes within the classroom.  Parent Volunteers would be working with a small group of students on reading, spelling practice and math skills that we are currently learning.  If you are interested please email Mrs. Elkins' to see if your available times would work with our schedule.

Show and Tell will coordinate with your student being the Star Student of the Week.  This will more than likely happen during the week of your child’s birthday.  If your student has a summer birthday-we will celebrate them during their half birthday.  Your child will bring home a backpack with the information in it when it is their turn.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please contact Mrs. Elkins!