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:
Thursday, September 14- Spirit Day (no pizza)- Students may wear Fortis t-shirts along with jeans or shorts (see handbook for length and color requirements).
Thursday, September 28- Spirit/Pizza/DOGS Day
Lovely, hard-working parents,
This week we're 1/3 of the way through this semester! It's amazing how these weeks have flown by! All your hard work is evident in the progress I see in the classroom with growth spurts in reading, good habits taking root in handwriting, and friendships blossoming too.
With Love, Mrs. Kuhn
A note about 9/11- I will be reading "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers" by Mordicai Gerstein to the students in class. This Caldecott winner tells the true story of Philippe Petit, a French aerialist who walked, danced and did tricks upon a tight rope strung between the Twin Towers in 1974. Here is an interview with Petit if you're interested in watching. The last words of the book allude in a poignant way to the loss of the towers:
"Now the towers are gone.
But in memory, as if imprinted on the sky, the towers are still there.
And part of that memory is the joyful morning, August 7, 1974,
when Philippe Petit walked between them in the air."
I plan for our discussion of this day to emphasize the heroes who gave their lives to help those in need on 9/11.
Math:
Part of our work this week will be to relate addition and subtraction equations, sometimes known as fact families. Using and exploring addition and subtraction within fact families should be a tool and a visual to help kids connect concrete ideas (for example, building it out with blocks) to visuals (such as fact family houses or number bonds) to abstract equations. Don’t worry so much about “mastering” fact families, but use them as a way to challenge the children to make connections.
Part of our work this week will be to relate addition and subtraction equations, sometimes known as fact families. Using and exploring addition and subtraction within fact families should be a tool and a visual to help kids connect concrete ideas (for example, building it out with blocks) to visuals (such as fact family houses or number bonds) to abstract equations. Don’t worry so much about “mastering” fact families, but use them as a way to challenge the children to make connections.
We will move rather quickly from "counting back to subtract" to the next subtraction strategy. Make sure your child has a strong grasp on counting back to subtract during the course of these lessons.
Reading:
This week we get started on our first two vowel pairs (AI and AY) with OPG lessons 84-86. The very general structure of our weeks will be that I will introduce a new vowel pair in class and then you will teach the corresponding OPG lesson the next day at home. This will allow us to spend roughly two days on each vowel pair before adding the next new one. I've also incorporated review lessons every few weeks, so be sure to take advantage of those to go back through lessons that your child could use more practice with.
OPG introduces the "sight word" said in Lesson 126, but I find it makes much more sense to teach it along with Lesson 84/85, so we will go over it in class on Tuesday using the Irregular Words/Heart Words method in your binder. Make sure to review it at home and add the flash card to the stack you're continuously reviewing. (See links below the spreadsheet if you need to print any cards.)
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.
When your child practices the AI and AY phonogram cards, do have them include everything on the back of the card except the sample words. For example, for AI, they should say, "/ā/ (making the sound), two-letter /ā/ (again, making the sound), that we may not use at the end of English words."
Remember (as if you had not noticed), OPG is not rich literature, so make a point to include several hours a week of reading aloud to your child from living books (living books make the subject “come alive.” They can be contrasted to dry writing, like what is found in most encyclopedias or textbooks, which basically lists informational facts in summary form). This is important for your child's brain development, reading and listening skills, vocabulary, and for pure enjoyment! Read, read, read!
When you read "Little Bear's Wish" with your child, encourage them to decode words that contain phonograms they know, such as: yes, not, no, wish, that, sit, on, and, we, go, then, the, way, back, with, had, big, red, fast, cake, me, say, like, well, can, just, thank, time, tell, me, did, in, on, fun, so, made, came, make, will, end. They can also read sight words: I, a, have, to, too, was, said.
Writing:
I hope you are noticing at home, as I am in class, that the students CAN produce beautiful handwriting! It is a matter of taking care to do it the right way and doing all things- even handwriting!- to the glory of God. Please watch them at home and encourage correct formation and placement of each letter. Again, here is a link if you'd like to provide extra practice: Custom handwriting practice sheets Grammar:
We're introducing place nouns this week, both common and proper.
Spelling:
Our kindergarten review is complete, and we have our first test over Step/Lesson 2 on Thursday. We'll now fall into the pattern of beginning the next Step/Lesson on Friday and finishing on the following Thursday with a test in class. Remember that our goal is to teach a spelling pattern, not to have our students memorize just the 10 words given in the lesson. Therefore, the weekly assessment may include any word that follows the spelling pattern that was taught. Throwing in a few of the "More Words" from each lesson is a good way to practice.
The procedure for grading the spelling tests will be similar to how I grade math tests. The students will do their spelling tests on a loose sheet of paper, and I will make a copy of each student's completed test. I will send the original home for you to go over with them the following day, and I will take the copy home to grade. Generally the grades will be input into Alma the same night as the test was taken.
History:
For your study at home, read and discuss chapter 8 with your student. This is a time in history when many nations were following false gods, and unfortunately even God's chosen people, the Isrealites, eventually fell into those same practices. But God's rescue plan of sending His Son for the salvation of the world was already in process!
Questions to discuss: Contrast Hammurabi's method of ruling (ch. 7) vs that of Shamshi-Adad; Discuss with your child how Gilgamesh was seeking the "secret" of eternal life. How did he try to get eternal life? Gilgamesh is a pretend character. Do real people seek eternal life? What would you tell Gilgamesh- or a real person- about how to find eternal life?
Journal Sentence: Shamshi-Adad was a ruthless king of Assyria.
Science:
It's easy to lump bees and wasps into the same general category, but there are some interesting and important differences! This week we'll examine those in detail.
Journal Sentence: A wasp can sting many times, but a bee cannot.
Geography:
Week 6 means it's time for a new map! For the next several weeks we'll be learning the countries of Northern Central Africa and Northern Africa. These will be due October 12th.
Memory Work:
"Persevere" will be due 9/26
