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Upcoming Dates:
February 7- PTA meeting at 6pm
February 8- Corvette Diner Fundraiser
February 17 & 20- No School, Presidents Day
February 24- Tell-o-Thon
February 24- In class field trip- Dental Care by our very own parent,
Katy Pinon, and her partners
Here's where we are headed:
Reading: The kids are well on their way to reading books. Some are still working on letter identification and individual sounds, but they are still reading books too.
The emergent reader tends to memorize text before they truly read a text on their own. This is totally normal. This will help them build their skills and recognize words with patterns, i.e. word families (hat, cat, sat, etc.). Also, continuing to practice the sight words that go home weekly will also help them build their reading repertoire.
In shared reading we have begun to talk about characters
and setting of a text. The setting isn't just where but also when. I know
that in first grade this will be a big standard and they will be required
to write about it. So if we can get the students to recognize the story
elements and verbally present a response in K, then they will be well
on their way. We've also begun to talk about predictions based on a title
and the picture on the cover. These are things you can talk about with
your child as well.
Part of reading isn't just reading, but also talking about the text. I've
noticed that the kids are decoding text/memorizing and reading but when
asked about the content, they stare at me. Have conversations with your
child about the text when you read. This will transfer to them when they
read on their own. Ask questions such as: What do you predict this book
will be about?, Was your prediction correct?, What was the book about?,
Who are the characters?, Where did the story take place?, When did the
story take place? How do you know?, How do the characters feel?, How do
you know?, etc.
In shared reading we continue to focus on Concepts of Print. Books have titles. Books are written by authors and pictures are done by illustrators. We read print left to right(so the focus is directionality) and words in a text are separated by a space indicating words not just letters.
Continue to work on rhymes on your own. We've moved away from poetry but we still identify the rimes in text.
Writing: We are now writing pieces that should have two supporting sentences that are related. Some kids rush to be done, while others take their time, or sit and avoid. Those that avoid are still struggling with letter identification. Please continue to work with your child on their sounds.
The focus is to get the students to try and sound out
their words without my help. I'm not looking for total accuracy obviously
but their ability to stretch out the words and write down the sounds they
hear. What is evident in this process, is that some students are still
not 100% sure of what letter goes with what sound. Also, some want it
to be perfect and I will not tell them how to spell it. I also don't provide
them with erasers. I have them put an X on it and move on when they make
a mistake. When practicing writing at home, please don't spell the words
for them when they are writing. Help them sound out the words and have
them write what they hear. If afterwards, you need to write it correctly,
you may do so above their writing.
We are still working on capital letters in the proper place(at the beginning
of a sentence and not in the middle of a word) and spaces between words.
Continue to work on proper pencil grip and letter formation (head line
to foot line strokes).
Math: We have completed an introductory chapter of addition and subtraction. In looking at test scores, some of my friends struggled with this concept. Please take a look at the Pearson site and review the videos. They were topics 6 and 7.
We move ahead to Topic 8 which is identifying numbers 11-18.
Science: OMGosh! The kids and I have been having a blast with science. We've been looking at all sorts of wood and paper activities. We've made our own particle board and paper. Although it's been messy, the kids have enjoyed the hands on experiences.
Social Studies: We are on hiatus from SS until the science unit is done.
WISH
LIST
Thank you to everyone who has brought in their wish list item. We are
already using the ones that have been brought in. Thank you.
