Phonics
One skill we are practicing in phonics is making a silent e word (VCe syllable pattern) plural by adding a "s" to the baseword. For example, cake becomes cakes.
Ask your child to identify the baseword and then read the whole word to you:
cubes bakes bites
lines hopes globes
robes flakes holes
The past two weeks the students have been learning about the -ng and -nk nasal sounds. When -ng and -nk attach to a, i, o, or u, they create a glued sound. For example, -ang, fang, /ang/. Since the /n/ sound is a voiced, nasal sound (i.e. the sound is created by vibrating our vocal cords while pushing air through our nose), the consonant "n" can change the way a vowel sounds. Although we can hear each individual sound in a glued sound, since the letters are glued very closely together it's difficult to separate them.
Ask your child to identify the baseword and then read the whole word to you:
cubes bakes bites
lines hopes globes
robes flakes holes
The past two weeks the students have been learning about the -ng and -nk nasal sounds. When -ng and -nk attach to a, i, o, or u, they create a glued sound. For example, -ang, fang, /ang/. Since the /n/ sound is a voiced, nasal sound (i.e. the sound is created by vibrating our vocal cords while pushing air through our nose), the consonant "n" can change the way a vowel sounds. Although we can hear each individual sound in a glued sound, since the letters are glued very closely together it's difficult to separate them.
This week the students will practice making singular words plural by adding -s or -es. Most singular words can be made plural by just adding an -s to the end. However, words ending in x, z, s, sh and ch form the plural by adding an -es to the end.
Ask your child to tell you the plural of the following words:
box splash girl stamp
rock buzz bench dress
Ask your child to tell you the plural of the following words:
box splash girl stamp
rock buzz bench dress
Social Studies and Reading Workshop
In social studies we have been learning about maps! The students are encouraged to see maps as a source of information about their world. We worked from general to specific by locating - our planet, our continent, our country, our state, our town and, lastly, our street. Students must be able to organize information about people, places, and environments in appropriate spatial contexts. Maps provide students with an essential means of making sense of the world, and of storing and recalling information.
After viewing maps in text and on the computer, we worked with partners to create maps of our classroom. Our maps included a title, the four cardinal directions, shapes to represent furniture, and labels. Prior to creating our maps, we discussed the importance of working together and cooperating with one another to accomplish the same goal. The students did a wonderful job!
After viewing maps in text and on the computer, we worked with partners to create maps of our classroom. Our maps included a title, the four cardinal directions, shapes to represent furniture, and labels. Prior to creating our maps, we discussed the importance of working together and cooperating with one another to accomplish the same goal. The students did a wonderful job!
We also studied American symbols! We began this unit by discussing what symbols are (i.e. something that represents or stands for something else). We then discussed which symbols represent our country. The students selected the American symbols they were most interested in researching and I placed them in groups based on their selections. The students utilized the nonfiction reading strategies we previously learned and practiced (taking a sneak peek, studying the pages, chatting about their learning and thinking, and searching for keywords) with text about the symbols they researched. The students recorded facts and information about their symbols and created a poster or brochure to display their learning. Stay tuned for the finished products! |
Writer's Workshop
Last week we began our next writing unit: Nonfiction Chapter Books. This is a very exciting unit for students as they get to share with others information about the topics they are most passionate about. The first part of this unit is focused on writing teaching books with independence. Our goal is to write a giant folder full of information texts, revisit many of those texts repeatedly, and revise them independently. These first books will resemble nonfiction picture books. We will spotlight using a teaching voice and writing a lot, so that each page teaches new and interesting information. Writers will also learn how to answer readers' questions and to use those questions to add and subtract information.
Math
Last week we wrapped up Topic 5: Addition Facts to 20. The work in this topic was a continuation of basic fact strategies started in Topic 4. In primary grades, there is a big emphasis on mastering the basic addition facts. This is no small task! Although the greatest addition fact is 10 + 10 = 20, there are 100 plus possible combinations of addends 0 through 10. Since it is rather difficult to quickly memorize all these facts, there are addition strategies we can use as an aid. We continued to practice using addition strategies such as doubles, doubles plus 1 and doubles plus 2, and making 10. We also reviewed vocabulary the students learned earlier such as addition, addend, sum, part, and whole. We will continue to practice using these words and symbols throughout the year.
This week we will begin Topic 6: Subtraction Facts to 20. In Topic 4, students used the relationship between addition and subtraction to solve problems. In this topic, children extend their understanding of this relationship to larger numbers. For example, to find 13 - 5, children can think "5 plus what number equals 13?" This thinking is possible because of the inverse relationship of addition and subtraction. If a + b = c, then c - b = a and c - a = b. Think addition is a powerful way to recall subtraction facts. If the relationship between parts and wholes is understood, subtraction facts will be much easier to master.
Science
In science, we have begun our unit focusing on sound and light! First up is sound. We began with a sound walk around our school to make ourselves more aware of all the sounds around us. We then experimented with a tongue depressor, a cup, and rubber band. The kids soon discovered that sounds are caused by vibrations. By using a tuning fork and a spoon gong, the children were also able to determine that vibrations can move from one object to another. They were able to conclude from the two activities that vibrations can be made from plucking and hitting. On Monday the students added to their learning by discovering that sound travels better through solids than the air (sound travels differently through different materials). We have one more sound activity planned for next week and then we'll begin to study light!