Welcome back!!!! I hope that you had a restful Thanksgiving break and that you are reminded daily of all the blessings we have to be thankful for.
We have two busy weeks of school before Christmas break! On Thursday, December 12th we will have a book exchange in our class. I ask that you bring a new or gently used wrapped, classically appropriate, gender neutral book. Please explain to your child in advance, as I will also, that an exchange means that they will be giving this book away to a friend and they will be going home with a new book to enjoy. :)
Important Dates:
11/25-11/29: Thanksgiving Break
12/3 - Planets Project due
12/5 - Hymn of Joy due
12/12 - Last day of the first semester of kindergarten!
12/16-1/10: Christmas Break
1/13: First Day back to school!
Objectives:
1. To compare sets (using different strategies) to determine which set has more or less
2. To compare numbers and quantities.
3. To be able to identify "how many more/less" a group has compared to the reference set.
3. To be able to identify "how many more/less" a group has compared to the reference set.
- This week we are comparing quantities and numbers. Make sure that you are using the terms greater and less as well as synonyms for these words, such as more, not as many, fewer, etc. Proper vocabulary with lots of discussions will help your child understand the concepts. Mid-week we move into the introduction to comparison operations (How many more? How many less?). This can be a very difficult concept for students to understand, so go into these lessons knowing that. Manipulatives and hands-on experiences are especially important for these lessons. Pair items and see how many are left over. In first grade this will lead into understanding that we can solve these problems with subtraction - but not yet! :)
Reading
Objectives:
1. To read and accurately blend words that end with consonant blend "nk".
2. To begin reading and accurately blending words with beginning blends.- You will note that we are spending this whole week on lesson 52. Beginning blends, especially r blends, can take a little longer for students to master. Please make sure that you give this lesson full attention each day, even though we are spending a whole week on it. It can be quite common for students (and adults!) to miss the pronunciation of r blends. A common mistake that we will be working on clarifying is the tr blend. This blend is often mistakenly pronounced as chr. It is especially important to pay attention to mouth and tongue placement during this lesson!
- Here is a helpful video for parents to help correct these common errors: http://www.rachelsenglish.com/videos/tr-dr-and-str
- This video will help parents help students practice and fix any errors they might encounter with the r: http://www.rachelsenglish.com/videos/holding-out-r
***You will notice that in addition to the OPG lesson each day you will be adding 15 minutes of reading from a leveled reader. The leveled reader can be the paper books that I send home in the manilla folder or any book that your child can pretty much decode on their own. These can be hard to find for the current reading level, but will get much easier to find at the library and book stores once we add long vowels to our reading skills in the spring. For now, make sure that your child is bringing their manilla folder back for a new book as soon as they have read the book 3 times. This will help with fluency as hopefully by the third time that they read the book they will not need to sound out each word. If your child has lost his/her folder just send me an email and I can make a new folder for you. Here is a link to additional books that your child can read from the computer screen or you can print them out for them to read. If 15 minutes is too long for your child's current attention span, start with a shorter reading time and slowly increase it over the next few weeks. I have found that setting a timer helps some kids stay focused...other kids it will stress them out, so do what works best for your child. Give lots of encouragement and have fun reading together!
Writing
Objectives:
1. To be able to form all upper case letters properly on handwriting lines.
2. To be able to form all lower case letters properly on handwriting lines.
3. To be able to write name properly using only 1 capital letter.
4. To begin writing last name properly on handwriting lines.- Continue to work on first and last name with proper capitalization as well as writing upper and lowercase alphabet correctly on lined paper.
Spelling
Objectives:
1. To be able to write short vowel a, i, and o (CVC) words from dictation.
- We are introducing key card 5 this week.
- Begin each lesson by going over yellow phonogram cards and blue key cards!
- FRIDAY- Introduce "Step" and do lesson up to and including "Spell with Tiles."
MONDAY: Finish the lesson including "Spell on Paper"- Have your child number their page (1-10) then dictate the 10 words for your child to write in Spelling Journal, finally have student correct handwriting and spelling errors in pen or with colored pencils. Practice "More Words" at home on dry erase board or journal. Please make sure to reinforce proper letter formation and writing correctly on the lined pages in the journal. - ****Spelling Journals will need to come to school every school day. (Bring every day- Blue folder, Math book, Math Journal, Spelling Journal)
Science
Planets Projects are due on Monday!
1. To be able to name all 8 planets in order. (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune)
2. To be able to give characteristics of each planetPlanets Projects are due on Monday!
Geography
Objectives:
1. To be able to point to and say the eastern states of the US on a map.
2. To begin learning to draw the world map by drawing a compass rose, equator, and prime meridian.- Due 1/16. Students will be required to sing the names of the States only. However, we will be pointing at them on the US map at school and you are welcome to print the map and do so as well.
Memory Work
Objectives:
1. To memorize "true, good, and beautiful" pieces and recite to the class.- Please take a few minutes each homeschool day to review memory work! (Poem, Geography song)
- Our poem, Hymn Of Joy will be assessed this week! 12/5
