First Grade

Mr. Dusty Drosche

My name is Dusty Drosche and this is my first year teaching here at Memorial, but my second year teaching First Grade. The most important thing we do in First Grade is reading. It is an essential part of our learning and therefore is integrated into every subject area. We will be doing so many great things this year and I am very excited.

In Religion we will be learning the foundations of Lutheran Doctrine. We will learn the 10 Commandments, the Articles of the Creed, and The Lord's Prayer. We will also read Bible stories which will teach us God's will and love for us. In Spelling we will study the sounds of all the letters and work on combining these sounds to spell many new and familiar words. We will use Saxon Phonics to teach us phonics rules and how to code words which will allow the students to easily sound out and read new words. Our Reading time will focus on learning and practicing some key strategies of good readers. We will also learn the steps of the writing process as we publish a variety of written works. For Language Arts we will study the Shurly Method which will teach us the basics of sentence structure and parts of speech. In Math we will use Saxon Math to graph, count, sort, measure, and learn basic addition and subtraction facts. Science will include the study of a variety of topics including weather, plants, animals, sound, and the human body. And in Social Studies we will learn about school, our families, teamwork, American heroes, and map skills. We will also have center time each day where the students will be able to explore learning in a hands-on approach both individually and in small groups.

I look forward to the many adventures that First Grade brings. Children are such a joy at this age as they are constantly learning and exploring new ideas, concepts, and social skills. It is so exciting to be able to share this learning with them. I am also very pleased to be able to help them to grow in their faith as they see and experience all the love God has for them each and every day. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at ddrosche@mlchouston.org.