Fortis 1st Grade (T/Th)

1st Grade T/Th- Week 33- May 5-11

1st Grade Week 33	Tue, May 5	Wed, May 6	Thu, May 7	Fri, May 8	Mon, May 11	Co-Teacher Notes
Virtue	Temperence- "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." -Romans 13:14
Bible	GP Week 12, pg 182-185	GP Week 12, pg 182 & 186-188	GP Week 12, pg 189-191	GP Week 12, pg 192-194	GP Week 12, Optional Fun Day, pg 195-196	Big Picture Question: Who is our King? Jesus is our King forever, and He rules over the world.
Math	HIG pg 98; TB pg 93; WB Ex 69 pg 162-163	Parent read HIG pg 99, HIG pg 100; TB pg 94-96; WB Exercise 70 pg 164-166; MM 27 (first 10 problems)	Review 6/7	Go over Review 6/7 and reteach any missed concepts; Extra Practice Book pg 92 and 94 MM 27 (last 10 problems)	Extra Practice Book pg 95-96; Solidify any concepts that are still confusing for your student; we will have our final math assessment on Tuesday Basic Math Facts one-minuted timed drill; return to school on Tuesday
Spelling	Lesson 30: Review Sound Cards; Review OW and OU; Dictate last three sentences on pg 257 in spelling journal	Review/correct dictation from Tuesday; Review a selection of Sound, Rule, and Word Cards from your card box; Student read Word Bank for OW and OU (pg 187 in activity book) Use Whooo, Whooo! activity (see Teacher's Manual pg 256) to review OW and OU	Lesson 30 written assessment	Lesson 31 Putting It All Together: Parent read pg 259-260; Complete Pizza Party activity, pg 191 in activity book	Lesson 31 Putting it All Together: Parent read pg 260; Complete 6 Great Reasons to Have a Spyglass, pg 193-195 in activity book	Check assessment from Thursday and add missed Word Cards to Review tab of card box; file Word Cards that your student has mastered in Mastered tab
Grammar		FLL Final Grammar Reivew, pg 166; Return both pages tomorrow for grading				For Final Grammar Review, students respond orally to the questions and parents write their answers on the hard copy provided. Return both pages on Thursday for grading
Writing	Lowercase alphabet- neatness and speed	Copybook pg 87- Copying (step 4); Write neatly and accurately.	Lowercase alphabet- neatness and speed	Copybook pg 88- Copying (step 4); Write neatly and accurately.
Reading	Review all phonograms; SF Grade 2, Week 7, Day 1 Review R-Changed Vowels: OUR as /ôr/, (OPG L159)	Review all phonograms; Complete Phonogram Assessment #6 (see below); OPG L160: R-Changed Vowels: OAR and OOR as /ôr/, pg 252; Dictation: oar, roar, soar, door, poor "Love God When You Hurt" from The Early Reader's Bible, pg 251-257 (see decodable words below)	Review all phonograms; SF Grade 2, Week 7, Day 3 Review R-Changed Vowels: OAR and OOR as /ôr/ (OPG L160)	Review all phonograms; OPG L161: R-Changed Vowels: WAR as /wôr/, pg 253; Dictation: war, warm, wart "A Happy King" from The Early Reader's Bible, pg 259-265 (see decodable words below) Note: Return The Early Reader's Bible to class on Tuesday	Review all phonograms; OPG L162: R-Changed Vowels: Review /ôr/ Words, pg 254	All sight words that should be learned and reviewed thus far: the, I, a, of, have, give, to, two, too, was, said, do, who, friend, eye, buy, shoe, could, would, should. one, once, build, built, laugh, what, does, gone, are
Read Aloud	Baby Island, pg 143-148; Aesop's Fables pg 41- The Birds, the Beasts, and the Bat	Baby Island, pg 149-154; Aesop's Fables pg 58- The Heron	Baby Island, pg 155-160; Aesop's Fables pg 59- The Dog in the Manger
History	Catacombs			SotW Ch. 39: Rome and the Christians, pg 299-306; Discussion questions below; Journal sentence: Christians in Rome were persecuted until Emperor Constantine put an end to it.		Note: We will cover the "Christians in the Catacombs" section in class; you may choose to read it again along with the rest of the chapter, or just briefly review that section
Science		Ocean Animal Report - Pick any animal from G&B/MB and write a report on the form that was sent home last week; please see guidelines below; due tomorrow	Ocean Animal Report due; Draw a Blue Whale
Geography	Map review					Click here for an interactive online practice map
Memory Work	SCRIPTURE: John 15:1-17 ESV (ongoing); MATH: Fact Flashcards (Ongoing)

*Note anything underlined in the table above or in the notes below is a clickable link for your convenience*

Key to Abbreviations:
GP- The Gospel Project- Home Edition
HIG- Singapore Math Home Instructor's Guide (click to print addition or subtraction cards)
TB- Singapore Math Textbook
WB- Singapore Math Workbook
EP- Singapore Math Extra Practice
MM- Mental Math (see appendix in HIG)
AAS- All About Spelling teacher manual (click here to print any missing phonogram cards)
FLL- First Language Lessons
SF- Sounds First Phonemic Awareness Program (click here and scroll down to Grade 1)
OPG- The Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading (click here to print OPG sight words)
SotW- Story of the World
G&B/A- The Good and The Beautiful, Arthropods
G&B/MB- The Good and The Beautiful, Marine Biology

COMING SOON...

Tuesday, May 5- Field Trip Registration Due (Click here to register and pay)

Tuesday, May 12- Field Trip @ 12:30-2:30pm

Thursday, May 14- Last day of school, Spirit Day (No pizza)

Dear Parents:

It's been a full year, yet a quick year as well. The finish line is definitely in sight! We still have a lot of fun learning ahead this week, and we will squeeze every moment out of the time we have remaining!

"Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize?

Run in such a way to win the prize." -1 Corinthians 9:24

Striving for excellence with you,

Mrs. Kuhn

Bible:

This will be our last week of The Gospel Project lessons, but I encourage you to finish the final six weeks of the book with your children this summer!

Please return your borrowed copy of The Early Reader's Bible on Tuesday, May 12!

Math:

We will finish our Singapore 1B books this week! What an accomplishment! I'm so proud of all of the hard work and growth I've witnessed in math this year. I hope you and your student are too!

Reading:
It's time for the last Phonogram Assessment of the year! Please complete Phonogram Assessment #6 and leave it in the Language Arts section of your child's binder. I will look for it there on Thursday, May 7th.

This week we'll work through the last of the 1st grade OPG lessons, finishing up with phonograms that spell /ôr/. The rest of OPG will be covered in 2nd grade.

Decodable words in "Love God When You Hurt" from the Early Reader's Bible (sight words in parenthesis): Love, God, When, You, (was), a, good, man, who, so, gave, him, things, (one), day, something, sad, to, man, ran, up, to, and, (said), bad, took, some, (of), your, then, too, then, all, so, these, them, from, me, but, they, sick, (would), not, I, will, at, times, He, told, stop, made, well, new

Decodable words in "A Happy King" from the Early Reader's Bible (sight words in parenthesis): A, King, I, had, dream, (said), the, but, do, not, know, (what), it, means, tell, me, he, to, his, men, then, will, come, from, how, can, we, you, if, my, (have), someone, kill, but, (was), your, God, help, is, so, the, thank, for, telling, me, then, told, his, kind, gave, good, things

Please return The Early Reader's Bible to school on Tuesday, May 12th!

Phonogram Game Ideas
Practice App

Composition:
Custom Handwriting Practice Sheets

Spelling:

Lesson 31 is called "Putting It All Together," and your student will be playing several games that will allow you to assess their mastery of the topics we covered this year. Use the information you gather to plan some personalized spelling practice for your student over the summer.

Grammar:

For the Final Grammar Review, students will respond orally to the questions and parents will write their answers. I am providing a hard copy so that you won't need to write in your FLL book and so that you can turn the Final Review in to me when it's complete.

Return both pages of the Final Grammar Review to school for grading by Thursday, May 7th.

Geography:
Since we have successfully learned the names of each African country, now students can use this interactive online map to review all the countries of Africa (click the "learn" button to have the country names read out loud). Have the maps and songs ready to help students as they play!

History:

Questions for discussion for SotW Ch. 39: Our book says that Nero was the worst Roman emperor of all. Do you agree or disagree with that statement? Use examples to tell why. Why did Christians refuse to worship the Roman emperors? What choice would you have made? What idea did Christians have so that they could keep meeting without anyone knowing? Constantine at first worshipped Apollo, but later decided to follow the true God. What was the turning point in his life?

Journal sentence: Christians in Rome were persecuted until Emperor Constantine put an end to it.

Science:

Ocean Animal Report: Students may choose any animal from G&B/MB to research and complete all sections of the form. Students should use neat handwriting and write all answers in complete sentences, including proper capitalization and punctuation. All words should be spelled correctly. If your child needs to spell a word that has not been taught, please have them copy the correct spelling. Extra handwriting lines are provided for students who wish to use those instead of or in addition to the lines on the form. There will not be an oral component to this assignment. The report is due by Thursday, May 7th.

Memory Work:

I'm proud of every child's dedication to their memory work. My hope is that the verses, poems, hymns, and books of the Bible would pop back into their minds as the Spirit leads. I pray that the students would internalize in their hearts the truth, beauty, and goodness their minds have memorized.

1st Grade T/Th- Week 32- April 28 - May 4

1st Grade Week 32	Tue, Apr 28	Wed, Apr 29	Thu, Apr 30	Fri, May 1	Mon, May 4	Co-Teacher Notes
Virtue	Justice- "Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him." -Isaiah 30:18
Bible	GP Week 11, pg 166-169	GP Week 11, pg 166 & 170-172	GP Week 11, pg 173-175	GP Week 11, pg 176-178	GP Week 11, Optional Fun Day, pg 179-180	Big Picture Question: Who is our King? Jesus is our King forever, and He rules over the world.
Math	HIG pg 92; TB pg 87 Tasks 5-6; WB Ex 66 pg 152-153	HIG pg 92; TB pg 87 Tasks 5-6; Check your student's work on WB Ex 66 pg 152-153; Extra Practice book pg 90 Task D, pg 91 Tasks E and F	HIG pg 94 - pg 95 through the sentence that says "Discuss textbook pages 88 and 89;" TB pg 88-89; My Coins booklet	Parent read HIG pg 94; Start today's lesson on HIG pg 95 with the sentence that says, "Have your student look at textbook task 1, p. 90" and continue on from there through pg 96; TB pg 90 Task 1, pg 91 Task 3; WB Exercise 67 pg 158-159; MM 25 (last 10 problems)	HIG pg 97; TB pg 90 Task 2, pg 92 Task 4; WB Exercise 68 pg 160-161; MM 26 (last 10 problems) MM 10 one-minute timed drill; return to school on Tuesday
Spelling	Lesson 29: Review Sound Cards; Review AW and AU; Dictate last three sentences on pg 249 in spelling journal	Review/correct dictation from Tuesday; Review a selection of Sound, Rule, and Word Cards from your card box; Student read Word Bank for AW and AU (pg 179 in activity book) Use Don't Yawn! activity (see Teacher's Manual pg 248) to review AW and AU	Lesson 29 assessment	Lesson 30 OW and OU: Parent read pg 251-252; Review a selection of Sound, Rule, and Word Cards from your card box; read through Word Bank for OY/OI and AW/AU (pg 173 and pg 179 in activity book); Use letter tiles for New Teaching, pg 253-255	Lesson 30 OW and OU: Review a selection of Sound, Rule, and Word Cards from your card box; Student use tiles to spell several words you select from "Practice More Words" section, pg 256; Dictate Word Cards 244-253 in spelling journal; Dictate first three sentences on pg 257 in spelling journal	Check assessment from Thursday and add missed Word Cards to Review tab of card box; file Word Cards that your student has mastered in Mastered tab
Grammar	(Agora Presentations)	FLL Lesson 52 Enrichment Activity, pg 81; students may write the list, illustrate the list, or both		FLL Final Grammar Reivew, pg 165 (please use hard copy provided)		For Final Grammar Review, students respond orally to the questions and parents write their answers on the hard copy provided. Note- Final Grammar Review pg 166 is assigned next week, but you may complete it this week along with pg 165 if you prefer. Return both pages together for grading next Thursday.
Writing	(Agora Presentations)	Copybook pg 85- Copying (step 4); Write neatly and accurately.	Lowercase alphabet- neatness and speed	Copybook pg 86- Copying (step 4); Write neatly and accurately.
Reading	Review all phonograms; SF Grade 2, Week 6, Day 1 Introduce R-Changed Vowels: OR and ORE as /ôr/ (OPG L157)	Review all phonograms (Add OR); OPG L157: R-Changed Vowels: OR and ORE as /ôr/, pg 248-249; Dictation: port, sport, short "Building New Walls" from The Early Reader's Bible, pg 235-241 (see decodable words below)	Review all phonograms; SF Grade 2, Week 6, Day 3 Introduce R-Changed Vowels: OR and ORE as /ôr/ (OPG L158)	Review all phonograms; OPG L158: R-Changed Vowels: OR and ORE as /ôr/, pg 250; Dictation: or, corn, fork, north "Esther is a Brave Queen" from The Early Reader's Bible, pg 243-249 (see decodable words below)	Review all phonograms (Add OUR); OPG L159: R-Changed Vowels: OUR as /ôr/, pg 251; Dictation: your, four, court (explicitly tell your student to use OUR for the /ôr/ in these words) Flyleaf reader, "Junk?" (please see note below)	All sight words that should be learned and reviewed thus far: the, I, a, of, have, give, to, two, too, was, said, do, who, friend, eye, buy, shoe, could, would, should, one, once, build, built, laugh, what, does, gone, are
Read Aloud	Baby Island, pg 119-124; Aesop's Fables pg 17 - The Kid and the Wolf	Baby Island, pg 125-130; Aesop's Fables pg 25- The Plane Tree	Baby Island, pg 131-136; Aesop's Fables pg 21- The Wolf and the Crane	Baby Island, pg 137-142; Aesop's Fables pg 39- The Cock and the Jewel
History	Agora Presentations			SotW Ch 37-38: The Beginning of Christianity and The End of the Ancient Jewish Nation, pg 289-297; Discussion questions below; Journal sentence: When their temple was destroyed, the Jews were forced out of Jerusalem.
Science		Looking ahead: Ocean Animal Report - Pick any animal from G&B/MB and write a report on the form that was sent home (guidelines below); due NEXT Thursday	Read "Narwhal: A Day in the Life" Whale color by code
Geography	Map review					Click here for an interactive online practice map
Memory Work	SCRIPTURE: John 15:1-17 ESV (ongoing); MATH: Fact Flashcards (Ongoing) QUARTER 4 POEM: Rock of Ages- Due 4/30 GEOGRAPHY: review

*Note anything underlined in the table above or in the notes below is a clickable link for your convenience*

COMING SOON...

Tuesday, April 28- Agora Project Due

Tuesday, May 5- Field Trip Registration Due (See details below)

Tuesday, May 12- Field Trip @ 12:30-2:30pm

Thursday, May 14- Last day of school, Spirit Day (No pizza)

Dear Parents:

As I reflect on the quickly-approaching end of this year, I want to thank you for all of your amazing support! It has been a priviledge and an honor to partner with you!

Love,

Mrs. Kuhn

Math:
This week we will finish our current unit with subtracting double digit numbers. Take your time. Allow your child to use manipulatives to build and rearrange numbers to visualize what is happening when working these subtraction problems. Don't gloss over this step! Their concrete understanding is KEY to them being able to move on to mentally manipulating numbers confidently rather than simply following a procedure as many of us were taught to do as children. Continue to check over WB pages covered in class for completion and understanding.

For the remainder of the school year, our lessons will cover money. Pay close attention to the assigned page numbers this week, as I have split one of the lessons into two days to cover it more thoroughly. Let the students experience using physical money (either real or play coins & bills) for TB and WB exercises whenever possible! You may find that using a 100 chart to add values of coins can be helpful (click here for a video showing this method).

Spelling:

In Lesson 30 we will teach the spelling of the /ou/ sound with either OU or OW. Just as in previous lessons with OY/OI and AU/AW, deciding whether to use OU or OW at the end of a word is straightforward. English words don't end in U, so OW will be used at the end of words (except in the word thou). At the beginning of words or in the middle, there is less consistency because OU or OW can both be used. Again, lots of exposure to the word bank (pg 187 in the activity book) and word sorts (like this one and this one) will help.

Grammar:

Note- Final Grammar Review pg 166 is assigned next week, but you may complete it this week along with pg 165 if you prefer. Return both pages together for grading by next Thursday, May 7th.

Writing:
Custom Handwriting Practice Sheets

Reading:
This week we'll continue in OPG with r-controlled (bossy R) vowels, moving on to the /ôr/ sound. Remember that with dictation for reading lessons, we are aiming to make a multisensory connection in the brain between the sounds and the letters in the words. We are not expecting the students to know the rules yet for when to use OR vs OUR for the /ôr/ sound, so it is absolutely fine and even necessary to tell your student, "Spell 'court,' and use the OUR phonogram when you spell the /ôr/ sound."

Also note, when you teach OUR in OPG Lesson 159, the phonogram card only lists one sound, the sound of /er/ as in journey. Go ahead and pencil in /or/ as in four as another sound for OUR.

In the Flyleaf reader "Junk?", you will need to guide your student in decoding "collect" using the 4th sound of o instead of its short sound as they would expect in a closed syllable. Also, since we have not taught the "sure" ending, you will need to give that sound to your student when they decode "treasure."

Decodable words in "Building New Walls" from the Early Reader's Bible (sight words in parenthesis): New, walls, for, the, king, but, (one), day, sad, why, (are), you, so, long, tore, down, my, (said), they, (what), do, want, me, to, do, please, let, go, home, (build), may, went, he, found, some, did, not, like, this, his, (have), (was), something, that, God, him, came, see, helping

Decodable words in "Esther is a Brave Queen" from the Early Reader's Bible (sight words in parenthesis): Is, a, brave, queen, a, man, came, to, see, Queen, someone, wants, kill, the, man, (said), what, can, I, do, ask, king, to, help, us, but, (could), not, this, she, time, must, me, him, be, want, her, went, did, he, (what), for, please, help, my, bad, them, will, too, not, like, so, now, they, that

Phonogram Game Ideas
Practice App

History:
Here are some questions for discussion as you teach SotW Chapter 37-38: How was Jesus different from all of the other religious leaders we've learned about in our history lessons? Why was Jerusalem such a special place for Jewish people? What happened to the Jewish temple when the Romans attacked it? Why did the Romans choose to destroy the temple?

Journal sentence: When their temple was destroyed, the Jews were forced out of Jerusalem.

Science:

**Looking ahead**

This week students will be bringing home a "My Ocean Animal Report" page. The report will not be due until NEXT Thursday, and working on it will be the only assignment for science next Wednesday. I don't want anyone to feel rushed, so I'm assigning it now to allow plenty of time for students to complete it. It will be graded based on the following guidelines:

Students may choose any animal from G&B/MB to research and complete all sections of the form. Students should use neat handwriting and write all answers in complete sentences, including proper capitalization and punctuation. All words should be spelled correctly. If your child needs to spell a word that has not been taught, please have them copy the correct spelling. Extra handwriting lines are provided for students who wish to use those instead of or in addition to the lines on the form. There will not be an oral component to this assignment. The report is due by Thursday, May 7th.

Field Trip to Austin Aquarium!

Details:

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Depart Fortis 12:30pm

Return to Fortis 2:30pm; students may be checked out early to go home after the trip

Cost: $11.95 students, $24.95 parent chaperones

Registration due by May 5th

Click here to register!

I will need parents to help transport students, so if you are able to drive, please let me know!

Also, indicate that you can be a driver on the registration form.

Geography:
Since we have successfully learned the names of each African country, now students can use this interactive online map to review all the countries of Africa. Have the maps and songs ready to help them as they play!

Memory Work:

Quarter 4 poem: Rock of Ages will be due this week, 4/30. Here is a link to the song that we practice in class. This artist does substitute "commands" for "demands" in the 2nd stanza, so I will accept either of those words as correct.

1st Grade T/Th- Week 31- April 21-27

1st Grade Week 31	Tue, Apr 21	Wed, Apr 22	Thu, Apr 23	Fri, Apr 24	Mon, Apr 27	Co-Teacher Notes
Virtue	Justice- "Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him." -Isaiah 30:18
Bible	GP Week 10, pg 150-153	GP Week 10, pg 154-156	GP Week 10, pg 157-159	GP Week 10, pg 160-162	GP Week 10, Optional Fun Day, pg 163-164	Big Picture Question: How does God accomplish His plan? God uses people for His glory and our good.
Math	HIG pg 84-85; TB pg 81; WB Ex 61 pg 142-143	Parent read HIG pg 86-87, Make sure your child is proficient at recalling or calculating the math facts on HIG pg 87; Do MM21 (first 10 problems) before you begin today's new lesson; HIG pg 88; TB pg 82-83 Task #1; WB Ex 62 pg 144-145;	HIG pg 89; TB Task #2, pg 83-84; WB Ex 63 pg 146-147	HIG pg 89; TB Task #2, pg 83-84; check your student's work on WB Ex 63 pg 146-147; HIG pg 90 Reinforcement MM 23 (first 10 problems)	HIG pg 91; TB pg 85-86 Tasks 3-4; WB Ex 64-65 pg 148-151; MM 7 one-minute drill (return to school on Tuesday)	Use additional problems from MM 18-24 as needed for extra practice
Spelling	Lesson 28: Review Sound Cards; Review OY and OI; Dictate last three sentences on pg 240 in spelling journal	Review/correct dictation from Tuesday; Review a selection of Sound, Rule, and Word Cards from your card box; Student read Word Bank for OY and OI (pg 173 in activity book) Use What's in the Bank? activity (see Teacher's Manual pg 239) to review OY and OI	Lesson 28 written assessment	Lesson 29 AW and AU: Parent read pg 243-244; Review a selection of Sound, Rule, and Word Cards from your card box; read through Word Bank for Soft C and OY/OI (pg 147 and pg 173 in activity book); review "Previous Concepts," pg 244 Use letter tiles for New Teaching, pg 244-248; Teach a Rule Breaker: aunt, pg 247-248	Lesson 29 AW and AU: Review a selection of Sound, Rule, and Word Cards from your card box; Student use tiles to spell several words you select from "Practice More Words" section, pg 248; Dictate Word Cards 234-243 in spelling journal; Dictate first three sentences on pg 249 in spelling journal	Check assessment from Thursday and add missed Word Cards to Review tab of card box; file Word Cards that your student has mastered in Mastered tab
Grammar		Lesson 45 in Grammar Booklet: have your student add one common and one proper noun for each section		Review FLL Lesson 50, pg 77-78 orally, specifically the definition of a prounoun and all of the pronouns
Writing	Lowercase alphabet- neatness and speed	Copybook pg 83- Copying (step 4); Write neatly and accurately.	Lowercase alphabet- neatness and speed	Copybook pg 84- Copying (step 4); Write neatly and accurately.
Reading	Review all phonograms; SF Grade 2, Week 5, Day 1; Review The Silent Letter U After G (OPG 152)	Review all phonograms; OPG L153: Silent Letter Review, pg 241; "God Helps a Sick Man" from The Early Reader's Bible, pg 219-225 (see decodable words below)	Review all phonograms; SF Grade 2, Week 5, Day 2 OPG L154: R-Changed Vowels: AR as /är/, pg 242-243	Review all phonograms (Add AR); OPG L155: R-Changed Vowels: AR as /är/, pg 245 (NOTE- skip pg 244 and start with the AR words on the top of pg 245); Dictation: harm, barn, chart "Money to Fix God's House" from The Early Reader's Bible, pg 227-233 (see decodable words below)	Review all phonograms; OPG L156: R-Changed Vowels: AR as /är/, Sight Word: are, pg 246-247; Dictation: large, barge, charge SPIRE reader, 'The Humpback Whale" (please see note below)	Add "are" to review box. All sight words that should be learned and reviewed thus far: the, I, a, of, have, give, to, two, too, was, said, do, who, friend, eye, buy, shoe, could, would, should, one, once, build, built, laugh, what, does, gone, are
Read Aloud	The Boy and tne Ocean	Baby Island, pg 101-106; Aesop's Fables pg 98 - The Bees and Wasps, and the Hornet	Baby Island, pg 107-112; Aesop's Fables pg 11 - The Wolf and the Kid	Baby Island, pg 113-118; Aesop's Fables pg 16 - The Eagle and the Jackdaw
History	Roman mosaics			SotW Ch. 36- The First Roman Prince, pg 285-287; discussion questions below; Journal sentence: Augustus Caesar became Rome's "First Citizen."
Science		Sea birds: Penguins View the video Penguins for Kids with your student; see discussion questions below Journal sentence: Penguins swim easily through the water, but they waddle upright on land.	Sea birds: Puffins
Geography	Review all African countries					Click here for an interactive online practice map
Memory Work	SCRIPTURE: John 15:1-17 ESV (ongoing); Books of the Old Testament Psalms - Malachi in order - Due 4/23 MATH: Fact Flashcards (Ongoing) QUARTER 4 POEM: Rock of Ages- Due 4/30 GEOGRAPHY: review

*Note anything underlined in the table above or in the notes below is a clickable link for your convenience*

COMING SOON...

Thursday, April 23- Spirit/Pizza/DOGS Day

Tuesday, April 28- Agora Project Due

Tuesday, May 5th- Field Trip Registration Due (See details below)

Dear Families,

When the weather is behaving like it's summer, it can be tempting to become restless after working so hard all year. Allow me encourage all of us to "not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord." -Romans 12:11

It is a privilege to partner with you to educate your child in wisdom, virtue, and faith.

Math:
I know you and your students have been so diligently working through the mental math problems at home, and here is where we see the fruit of our labor. Hopefully the transition to subtraction with renaming with numbers larger than 40 will be seamless! Always start out using manipulatives- base ten materials, in this case. Some students will only need to see them once; others will need to see the concrete step many times.

I have found that the "helpful" equations given in the workbook for Ex 61 are actually more confusing than useful for students. Therefore, I'll be providing each student with a modified copy of Ex 61 where I've deleted the top equation in each box. Using this version of the exercise, I'll instruct students to write a slightly different equation for each box on pg 142. For example, in the first box where the exercise is to solve 45+13, the workbook provides a "help" equation of 45+10+3. Instead, on the modified copy of Ex 61, I will ask the students to write 40+5+10+3. This corresponds more directly with what students are thinking mentally when they solve this double digit addition problem. When they move on to pg 143, they can choose to continue writing the equation in expanded form first, or they can just solve it mentally.

We will spend two days on subtracting with renaming on HIG pg 89- one at school, one at home. Remember there is another method we have taught students to use other than the two listed on that page. In their example of 73-5, they teach: 1) break 73 into 60 and 13, then subtract 13-5 and add the difference (8) to the 6 tens for a total of 68; or 2) break 73 into 70 and 3, then subtract 70-5 and add the difference (65) to the 3 ones for a total of 68. The 3rd strategy is to break the 5 into 3 and 2, then subtract 73-3 to get down to 70, then subtract 70-2 for a total of 68. ANY of these strategies is just as good as the others! Whichever makes the most sense to your student's way of thinking is the one they should use.

Flashcard Games for math facts (or phonograms!)

Spelling:

Similar to the generalization for OY/OI, this week in Lesson 29 we will teach that AW must be used at the end of words, but either AW or AU may be used at the beginning or in the middle. It boils down to familiarity with the words, which comes through spelling practice and visual memory. Utilize the Word Bank in the activity book as well as word sorts like this one.

Phonogram Game Ideas
Practice App

Handwriting:
Custom Handwriting Practice Sheets

Reading:

I'm excited for the students to read this week's SPIRE decodable reader, "The Humpback Whale." It will be mostly decodable for the students. There are several multisyllable words that will enable them to practice dividing the word into syllables, identifying the syllable type, decoding each syllable, and finally blending the syllables together to decode the entire word. If you need a refresher on how to guide your student through that process, consult the syllable reference sheets in the Language Arts tab of your binder. Students will encounter r-controlled (Bossy-R) vowels in this reader, which we have covered in AAS and are just introducing in OPG. There are also several inflectional endings and suffixes (es, ed, ly, ful) that we have not taught the students, so please monitor your student's reading and if needed, give them the sounds for those endings that they will be learning about next year.

Decodable words in "God Helps a Sick Man" from the Early Reader's Bible (sight words in parenthesis): went, (to), see, a, (friend), with, him, (was), sick, had, help, he, did, not, talk, tell, wash, in, (the), told, (do), big, want, wash, so, stop, (said), (what), back, and, you, think, God, made, well, his

Decodable words in "Money to Fix God's House" from the Early Reader's Bible (sight words in parenthesis): King, God, he, his, (to), love, too, go, house, but, (was), not, the, it, (should), be, did, not, take, good, (of), it, we, must, fix, (said), (have), (do), that, put, a, big, box, by, soon, had, they, (could), help, is, (what), be

History:
Here are some questions for discussion as you teach SotW Chapter 36: Why was Caesar's nephew Octavian so popular with the people? How was he similar to his uncle? How were they different? Which months on our calendar remind us of Caesar and his nephew? If a new month was named after you, what would it be called?

Journal sentence: Augustus Caesar became Rome's "First Citizen."

Science:

The Good and the Beautiful has inexplicably omitted sea birds from their latest version of the Marine Biology unit! Therefore, we'll be using sources outside of the text to discover interesting facts about these feathered friends. Please view the video Penguins for Kids with your student and ask them to orally narrate as you go. You can use these questions to aid in your discussion: How does the coloring of a penguin help keep it safe? In what ways is a penguin's body suited for swimming? What kind of fish do penguins think tastes the best (trick question!)? How do you think a group of penguins got the names "raft" and "waddle"? If you were a penguin, would you think it more fun to glide through the water or slide on the ice?

Journal sentence: Penguins swim easily through water, but they waddle upright on land.

Field Trip to Austin Aquarium!

We’ve been discovering so much about the interesting, beautiful, and sometimes mysterious life that flourishes under the sea. Now we are going to get up close and hands-on by taking a trip to the Austin Aquarium! We’ll get to interact with sharks, stingrays, sea jellies, octopuses, birds, reptiles, amphibians, tropical and cold water fish, and more!

Details:

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Depart Fortis 12:30pm

Return to Fortis 2:30pm; students may be checked out early to go home after the trip

Cost: $11.95 students, $24.95 parent chaperones

Registration due by May 5th

Click here to register!

I will need parents to help transport students, so if you are able to drive, please let me know!

Also, indicate that you can be a driver on the registration form.

Field Trip to Austin Aquarium!

Details:

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Depart Fortis 12:30pm

Return to Fortis 2:30pm; students may be checked out early to go home after the trip

Cost: $11.95 students, $24.95 parent chaperones

Registration due by May 5th

Click here to register!

I will need parents to help transport students, so if you are able to drive, please let me know!

Also, indicate that you can be a driver on the registration form.

Memory Work:

Books of the Old Testament: Psalms - Malachi due this Wednesday, 4/23. Here is a link to the song we practice

in class. As always, if you or your child are already familiar with a different song, I'll assess

that no problem, as long as the books are said in order.

Quarter 4 poem: Rock of Ages will be due 4/30. This is a lengthy poem/hymn, and the due date is approaching quickly. Please practice often with your student so that they are prepared! Here is a link to the song that we practice in class. This artist does substitute "commands" for "demands" in the 2nd stanza, so I will accept either of those words as correct.