* 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 (click here for textbook)
COMING SOON...
Thursday, February 15- Spirit Day- (no pizza)
Thursday, February 15- Valentine's Day party; see note below
Thursday, February 29- Spirit/Pizza/DOGS day
Saturday, March 23- Fortis Lap-A-Thon
** Dear lovely parents**
We'll be celebrating Valentine's Day with a small party on February 15.
Students may bring valentines from home to be passed out to each classmate. We have 14 students in our class; their names are below. Students are welcome to write who each valentine is for if they wish. They do not have to leave the "to" section blank unless they prefer not to write each name.
Class list: Micah, Jacob, Spencer, Bexley, Jack, Ulysses, Gavin, Everett, Laz, Harris, Lane, Luke, Andrew, Brynley
Students will need to bring TWO containers. One is for carrying the valentines they are going to hand out. A ziploc or plastic bag is fine. The second container is for collecting valentines from others. Be as simple or creative as you wish! Please try to create a large opening rather than a small slit for valentines to be delivered into.
We'll have a short and sweet party at the end of the day where we'll exchange Valentines, read a Valentine book, and enjoy a special treat.
Math:
This is an important week for math. Remember, completing the workbook is only a small portion of our curriculum. Applying strategies with hands-on manipulatives is a key component and very important this week especially. Allow your student to use manipulatives (even for mental math exercises) for as long as it takes these strategies to sink in and become fluid. Ask lots of questions to coach your child through explaining their thought process until they are able to explain this process to you on their own.
Looking ahead: I HIGHLY encourage you to look ahead to HIG pg 40-41 and study it for yourself before teaching it next week (Week 23, Feb 13-19).
The second half of MM exercises are always great to utilize for extra practice!
Keep practicing math facts!
Flashcard Games for math facts (or phonograms!)
Reading:
OPG L127 is covering short vowel words that end with silent e. It is important to note that while the silent e is not making the vowel sound long, and thus the vowel is being "disobedient" in these words, the silent e is still doing at least one of its jobs. Make sure to ask your student what the job of silent e is in each of the words! See All About Spelling Appendix D (B&W) or Appendix G (Color) for The Jobs of Silent E.
It is also worth emphasizing to your student that the vast majority of the time, silent e DOES make the vowel long. They would be clued in to use the short vowel sound if they were reading a word like "twelve," and using the normal long vowel sound did not make sense. Then they could recall, "Aha! The vowel must have it's short sound and the silent e is there to keep the word from ending in v."
Side note: OPG is finally teaching "said" in Lesson 126. We taught it way back with Lesson 85, so you should already have it in your review (or likely in your mastered) cards.
You might be noticing that the short story your student is reading for their OPG lesson is getting quite a bit longer! Also take note of how your child's stamina has increased since the beginning of the year! The OPG stories incorporate the new concept for that lesson, but along with that are words containing many other phonograms and phonics rules we've taught. If your child is struggling with decoding any of the words, be sure to take out your flashcards and remind them of the sounds they need to know to successfully read those words.
It's phonogram assessment time again! To indicate your child's progress, you may print new assessments from the link below or use dry/wet erase marker on the sheet protectors in your child's binder. Please give Assessments #3 AND #4 (give #3 again, even though we've done it before, to assess retention), and I will check for completion on Thursday, February 8. If your student is still missing some phonograms, consider going over those missed phonogram flash cards multiple times throughout your homeschool day. We want all of our first graders to master these before second grade, and some will need more practice than others, hence the beauty of your one-on-one time with your individual child at home.
Decodable words in "God Talks to Moses" (sight words in parenthesis): God, talks, to, the, princess, found, a, in, basket, she, him, (was), now, man, he, but, king, kill, him, so, ran, took, (of), sheep, home, at, his, my, (said), not, they, slaves, then, saw, bush, it, did, up, go, back, lead, must, king, to, do, this, went, (would)
Decodable words in "A King Who Said No" (sight words in parenthesis): let, God's, go, (said), stop, them, do, no, the, king, you, must, but, I, not, tells, me, time, (would), made, all, his, they, did, get, much, rest, to, eat, then, told, back, him, my, go, bad, things, will, so, (was), take, and, went, new, home
Read Aloud:
This week we'll get to read about the miraculous deliverance of Kaboo from the Grebu. When you reach pg 44-45, you will notice that it seems like a whipping is about to be described and you may feel that you should skip that passage. However, I want to give you a spoiler and ask you to keep reading: Kaboo does not get beaten. In fact, this passage is one of the most important in the book because it describes how Kaboo was rescued from the hands of his tormentors in an amazing way. You and your student will rejoice with Jova and Kaboo when you find out what happens!
Spelling:
In Step 17 / Lesson 22 we finish off r-controlled sounds with /or/. Sometimes students forget to spell r-controlled words using a vowel paired with the r. Remind them of the key card / rule that says "Every syllable has a _____ (vowel)." After they've finished spelling a word, have them read it back to themselves, checking that they do have a vowel in every syllable. I also recommend going back to the token activity if your student is missing letters when spelling words. It's important that the children listen to each sound and then represent it with a letter or letters. Remind them that the r-controlled sound is one sound but we use two letters to spell it.
Once you think your student has a good grasp on the concept, challenge them with some of the "More Words" at the end of the lesson. This is a good way to check on whether they know the concept or are only memorizing the spelling list.
In Lesson 73, the idea behind your student telling the story and you writing it is that we don't want the vocabulary in their story to be limited to what they can spell. If your student is eager to write their own story, start by having them dictate it while you write it down. Then, use this link to enter the text of their story into the worksheet creator. You can then print out the story with handwriting lines underneath and your child can write their story by seeing, reading, and copying words that are correct.
Geography:
Equatorial Africa Map and Song due 2/29. With only 8 countries in this section, we will be back to our usual procedure where students point to the countries on the map as they sing/recite the names.
History:
We take a quick jaunt over to the Americas this week in history. While there are fascinating artifacts left behind by these civilizations, there is very little written word for us to study. This leaves us with questions about some of the more mysterious discoveries like the Nazca lines and the heads of the Olmecs. Have an imagination adventure with your child where you picture yourselves as explorers trying to figure out how those clever people managed these amazing feats with so few resources.
Questions for discussion: What were some of the drawings that were discovered in Peru? How did the drawings last so long? What are some guesses about how the Nazca people made these drawings? Why do you think they made the drawings if they could not see the finished picture? Why did the rabbit decide to shoot the sun? What happened when he shot the sun? How did rabbit change from the beginning of the story to the end? Do you think this is the real reason rabbits are timid? If you could create a story about why rabbits are timid, what would your story be?
Journal sentence: Ancient American tribes left behind the mystery of the Nazca drawings in South America.
Science:
If ever God's amazing array of dazzling colors were on display, surely a coral reef is the place. But did you know that coral are naturally colorless? A beautiful example of teamwork (or symbiosis) is taking place which results in the fabulous colors we associate with coral.
Journal sentence: Coral is made up of hundreds of tiny animals called coral polyps.
Memory Work:
Quarter 3 poem: A Child's Prayer will be due 2/22.
Books of the Old Testament: Genesis- Job due 2/29. Here is a link to the song we practice in class. The Old Testament will take the rest of the school year to master. This quarter we will focus on Genesis through Job. 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.
