* 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
TB- Singapore Math Textbook
WB- Singapore Math Workbook
MM- Mental Math (see appendix in HIG)
CCC- Complete, check, correct
AAS- All About Spelling (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, September 27- Grammar Play Date, 3-4pm
Thursday, September 29- Spirit/Pizza/DOGS Day
Tuesday, October 11- Parent/Teacher Conferences (no class for students)
Saturday, October 15- Fortis Lap-a-thon, 9am-1pm
Tuesday, October 25- Picture retakes
** Faithful Parents **
Our classroom rhythym is settling in and the kids are growing so much already. I hope you're seeing that at home as well! I'm blessed to be a part of what God is doing in 1st grade this year. Keep up the great work!
With love, Mrs. Kuhn
Math:
Last week we introduced the subtraction strategy of Counting Back. This is an effective strategy for subtracting 1, 2, and 3 from a number (ex. 8-1, 7-3). However, if the numbers are close together (ex. 9-8, 7-5), counting back is less effective and prone to errors. In those cases, we want the students to use the Counting Up strategy where they will start with the smaller number and count up to the larger number to find the difference.
On Friday, MM8 is assigned. See if your student can distinguish when to Count Back (when subtracting 1, 2, or 3 from a number) or when to Count Up (when the numbers are close together, ie. 9-8, 7-5). This will give you a good idea of whether they are catching on to these strategies and the proper times to use them. MM8 also includes a couple of problems that review math facts within 10 (10-5, 10-10), but the main idea of MM8 is to reinforce Count Back and especially Count Up strategies.
Toward the end of the week the students will work on interpreting whether addition or subtraction is the correct operation in different scenarios.
I believe by now you are probably noticing the need for the math facts to be right on the tip of their tongues and ready to use in a math problem. Keep working really hard with those flashcards!
Reading:
Last week we introduced the subtraction strategy of Counting Back. This is an effective strategy for subtracting 1, 2, and 3 from a number (ex. 8-1, 7-3). However, if the numbers are close together (ex. 9-8, 7-5), counting back is less effective and prone to errors. In those cases, we want the students to use the Counting Up strategy where they will start with the smaller number and count up to the larger number to find the difference.
On Friday, MM8 is assigned. See if your student can distinguish when to Count Back (when subtracting 1, 2, or 3 from a number) or when to Count Up (when the numbers are close together, ie. 9-8, 7-5). This will give you a good idea of whether they are catching on to these strategies and the proper times to use them. MM8 also includes a couple of problems that review math facts within 10 (10-5, 10-10), but the main idea of MM8 is to reinforce Count Back and especially Count Up strategies.
Toward the end of the week the students will work on interpreting whether addition or subtraction is the correct operation in different scenarios.
I believe by now you are probably noticing the need for the math facts to be right on the tip of their tongues and ready to use in a math problem. Keep working really hard with those flashcards!
A note about the AI/AY sorting game I've assigned on Monday: Don't skip the first part of the game where you read the word to your child and they listen to see if they hear /ā/ in the middle or at the end of the word. Depending on where they hear it, that should inform their "guess" about whether it is AI or AY. THEN show them the card, have them read it, and have them sort it into the correct category (AI or AY). This is an exercise in listening and in understanding when AI is used as opposed to AY, not a visual game to collect AI or AY words into a stack.
With OPG L87, we will now introduce graphemes (written letters) that spell more than one phononeme (sound). EA, EI, and EY can all spell the /ā/ and /ē/ sounds. EA can also spell a third sound, /ĕ/. While only one sound is taught at a time in OPG, we will still teach the students from the outset to recite all sounds for each phonogram when they see the phonogram card. For example, when your child sees the EA phonogram, they should remember that the sounds are /ē/ , /ĕ/ , /ā/. The order of the sounds is also important, as they are listed in order they are most frequently found in English words. Thus, when your child comes across EA in a word, they would first try the /ē/ sound. If that sound makes it a word that they recognize, then that is the one they use for that word. If not, they would go on to try the next sound, /ĕ/, and so forth. Sometimes two sounds for the same phonogram could work in a word, and in that case your student may need to choose one and read the rest of the sentence to determine if it works in context. If not, they would go back and choose the other sound(s) for that phonogram.
Spelling:
Continuing our usual procedure for spelling journals, on Friday this week write the heading "Step 4 Words" on the page in the spelling journal where your student will write words 21-30 (AAS pg 33). On the following Monday, write the heading "Step 4 Sentences" on a new page and dictate sentences 1-3 (AAS pg 34). We will add sentences 4-6 to this section next Tuesday, and assess Step 4 on Thursday.
History:
Continuing our usual procedure for spelling journals, on Friday this week write the heading "Step 4 Words" on the page in the spelling journal where your student will write words 21-30 (AAS pg 33). On the following Monday, write the heading "Step 4 Sentences" on a new page and dictate sentences 1-3 (AAS pg 34). We will add sentences 4-6 to this section next Tuesday, and assess Step 4 on Thursday.
History:
On Tuesday, we'll enjoy a fun, hands-on project where we will "build bricks" out of clay as the Isrealites did for Pharoah when they were enslaved in Egypt. The activity wasn't nearly as fun for the Isrealites! At home, you'll read with your child about the First Cities of India and compare those to cities in other areas we have learned about. There is a bit of mystery and intrigue involved in wondering what happened to these ancient Indian inhabitants. The students will have fun working those imagination muscles to think about their theory!
Questions for discussion: Compare and contrast the cities and farm life of the Indus Valley vs Mesopotamia; Would you have chosen to live near the Indus River? Why do you think the people stopped living in the citadel cities of India?
Science:
Look over the insects we've studied so far this quarter: termites, fireflies, mosquitoes, silkworms, bees, and wasps. Help your child prepare a short oral narration to share with us in class next week answering 3 questions: which insect they found most interesting, what about that insect intrigued them, and why they think God chose to make that insect that way. This can be as short as two sentences! For example: "I think the firefly is the most interesting insect because it makes cold light. God made them light up so they can send messages to each other." Students should memorize their presentation and speak in complete sentences when presenting. Reading the presentation is not allowed.
Oral presentation due date: Thursday, September 29
Geography:
If the Northern Central Africa song hasn't gotten stuck in your head yet, I envy you! This catchy tune has been running through my head for weeks now; I can only assume the tune- and the names of the countries- are going to be stuck in mine and the students' heads forever! These two maps will be due 10/13.
Map & Songs and Northern Africa Game and Central Africa Game
Map & Songs and Northern Africa Game and Central Africa Game
Memory Work:
"Persevere" due 9/27
