* MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT THE PHOTO GALLERY TO SEE OUR THANKSGIVING FUN!
SUPER READERS for November:
Reading Log due Tuesday December 1st
Many thanks to dedicated parents who
monitor the 20 minutes per night reading
required to produce super readers!!!
The Reading Log is a school-wide requirement.
CONGRATULATIONS to our STUDENT of the MONTH
for November: Coleson Kavouras !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mrs. Smith's
Weekly News &
Curriculum
11/30-12/4
Sweetie News:
We LOVE our wonderful volunteers: Many, many thanks to Cullen Hetzel's dad who was our only volunteer for the school Fall Festival!!! And our only volunteer for the *Thanksgiving Festival and Feast... Coleson Kavouras' mom. You made a difference!!!! Thank you for taking time from your jobs and lives to help us!!!!
Don't Forget the Field Trip this Friday!!!
Curriculum Notes:
Reading: “Land of Ice”; Sid Scores and My Father's Feet...... Be sure to answer the questions after the story as well as make up some of your own to monitor if your student is paying attention to the story or just reading words. (rereading is a researched way to become better readers)
We are working on Compare/Contrast and Monitor Comprehension so help your student with these by noticing the details in each story they read (including the Saxon decodables and any other stories they may be reading).
Fluency Skill: phrasing (Reading groups of words rather than sounding out each word)
Vocabulary (High Frequency):
animals cold fish from their under very
I am now sending home a timed vocabulary sheet to help you with getting these vocabulary words fluently read. Thank you to those who worked on this last week!!!
Book 2 Vocabulary Words Already Learned:
day eat first said time was don't her line Mr. new says water be does grow food many way your arms every feet head school useway your arms every feet head school use (don't stop checking to see if they can read these with automaticity) Unless your student can already read these words without hesitation, please use index cards to make "flash" cards and use them until the words are recognized automatically.
Robust Vocabulary:
Nuzzled - If an animal
nuzzled against you, it would be rubbing you with its face or nose.
Pranced - If you
pranced around, you would be walking in a bouncy, springy way, like a horse.
Raging - When something
is raging, it is happening in a strong or out - of - control way.
Adapt - If an animal
adapts to a place, it has body parts or ways of acting that help it live there.
Intriguing - If you
think that something is intriguing, you are curious about it and very
interested in it.
Inhabit - If you
inhabit a place, you live there.
Grammar: special names and titles
Writing: interview question and organization
Spelling: If you go to my “Neat Web Sites” and click on “Spelling City” (if you need my class log on name its- smithtr1), you will find ALL the Saxon lists for First Grade. Your student can practice, take a test or you can run off fun activities to practice your words. The words reflect whatever rules or elements we’ve learned in Phonics and eventually, sight words. the test also includes the two dictation sentences below.
Spelling List:
sat dog glad cost milk sock street thank needed resting color friend
Dictation: These two sentences must be written with capitals, ending marks, all words spelled correctly and a finger space between each word.
The green frog jumped.
Are you going to the party.
Phonics:
Saxon Vocabulary Words Covered from Lessons 1-45:
(make flash cards for these as they cannot be sounded out using our phonics rules )
put does some come there their friend what color your of the said who do into to you are from been goes two done sure don't won't bought brought thought fought could would should
New Saxon Vocabulary:
says give have live
Make sure your student memorizes and can recognize these rules:
A vowel followed by a consonant is short. Code it with a breve. (looks like a smile) examples: big sad up
An open accented vowel is long. Code it with a macron. (a straight line) examples: no so go
Should I use a "K" or a "C" Rule?:
This rule helps you decide when to use a "c" and when to use a "k" when spelling a word in which you hear the /K/ sound:
-use a "k" before "e", "i", or "y"
-use a "c" before "a", "o", "u" or any consonant
Which letter(s) do I use to spell the "k" sound at the end of a word:
-use a "k" after a consonant (milk) or a vowel digraph (took, beak, week)
-use a "ck" after a short vowel (back, deck, sick, sock, truck)
-use a "ke" after a long vowel (bake, hike, poke, duke)
We are learning the two sounds of "y": it says long I at the end of a one syllable word (by, cry, my, fry) and it says long "e" at the end of a two syllable word (happy, silly jumpy); also learning the two sounds of digraph "oo" (hook, tooth).
FLOSS Rule: A one syllable word with one short vowel in the middle will double the final letter of "f", "L" or "S" examples: cuff bill miss
Math: Please don't stop using the "doubles" flash cards as these will continue to show up on future Fact Assessments. Also the "+1's", "-1's", "+0" and "-0". Saxon uses a different strategy to help 1st graders master their addition and subtraction facts. Each time we add a new strategy, you will receive a set of fact cards to keep. Put the answer on the back and keep them where you can quickly flash them (in the car or at home). Mastery of these will enable your student to "zoom" in 2nd grade!!!
Make sure your student can skip count by 10's to 100, by 5's to 100 and by 2's to 20. They need to know even and odd numbers to 20. They also need to be able to identify numbers out of sequence on the 100"s board. We will be using these concepts for telling time and counting nickels and dimes and reading thermometers and evens/odds and counting tally marks. Skip counting is essential for mastering these concepts. we will also be learning how to take a number away from itself, subtracting "0" from a number and telling time to the hour on an analog clock.