*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...
Tuesday, February 20- President's Day- School is IN SESSION
Thursday, February 29- Spirit/Pizza/DOGS day
Tuesday - Monday, March 12-18- Spring Break
Saturday, March 23- Fortis Lap-A-Thon
Dearest Parents,
Can you believe we have just three weeks of school until Spring Break?! The time has FLOWN by this semester. With that, the end of the year is already in sight. I need to inform you now that I don't think I can bear to let any of my students leave me and go on to second grade! I'm working on it...
Love, Mrs. Kuhn
Math:
We have just finished teaching a tricky unit, and we've been working hard! Subtraction with renaming is one of the most challenging concepts in 1st grade math, so we will keep reviewing in class and I will ask you to do the same at home, even as we move on to other units.
We have just finished teaching a tricky unit, and we've been working hard! Subtraction with renaming is one of the most challenging concepts in 1st grade math, so we will keep reviewing in class and I will ask you to do the same at home, even as we move on to other units.
Subtraction reinforcement games (choose one or both to play on Wednesday):
Build a Number, then Subtract: Use two sets of number cards with numbers 0-9 (UNO cards, Phase 10 cards, playing cards with face cards removed, etc). From the first set, use only numbers 1, 2, and 3. Keeping the sets separated into two piles, turn all cards face down. Draw one card from the 1,2,3 pile- this is the tens number in a 2-digit number. Draw one card from the 0-9 pile- this is the ones number in a 2-digit number. Write down the 2-digit number. (Ex: 2 is turned over from the 1,2,3 pile and 9 is turned over from the 0-9 pile; the 2-digit number is 29). Turn over one more card from the 0-9 pile. Have your student subtract the number they turned over from the number they wrote down.
0 or Bust: Use a 10-sided die or 4 sets of number cards with numbers 0-9. Players start with 40 points. Roll the die or draw a card and subtract that number from the start number. That difference is the new start number. Continue until one person hits 0 exactly. If a player's roll doesn't hit 0 exactly, they "go bust" and their turn is over.
Our next unit is multiplication- so fun! At this level, we will be introducing it as repeated addition. Please note, as it says in the HIG: "Students should use mental math to do the repeated addition, not simply count on." We want them to be able to manipulate the numbers easily in their heads so that for 4+4+4+4 they are thinking "I know 4+4 is 8, adding another 4 gets me to 12, and the last 4 brings me to 16," or "I see there are two 4+4's. I know 4+4 is 8, so two 4+4's is the same as 8+8, and 8+8 is 16." This way of thinking about math, rather than simply counting, is so powerful! It opens up many opportunities for higher math functioning when children can manipulate numbers with ease, freeing up brain power for more complex computations.
Keep practicing math facts...yes, still! Again, less effort required in the recall of facts means more "brain power" available to use the facts in more complex calculations.
Flashcard Games for math facts (or phonograms!)
Reading:
Remember when teaching a new sight word, before showing your student the word, say it to them and ask them to think about and write down what sounds they would use to spell the word. For "build," they will likely spell b-i-l-d. Then discuss which parts of the word are regular (b, l, d) and identify the part that is irregular (the /ĭ/ sound is spelled with UI; this is a rule breaker because UI makes the /oo/ sound). Direct your student to underline, highlight, or use a different color to replace the i they originally wrote with ui, and remind them that this is the part of the word they will need to memorize.
Decodable words in "God's Good Rules" (sight words in parenthesis): God's, good, (what), is, it, some, (said), the, a, big, they, but, (was), with, them, had, lead, take, them, to, this, place, told, go, up, on, he, (would), say, gave, tell, my, do, not, make, think, name, bad, way, rest, day, love, and, kill, wife, steal, lie, want, (have)
Decodable words in "A Calf of Gold" (sight words in parenthesis): A, (of), gold, will, you, do, (what), God, yes, (said), the, we, went, he, to, (was), long, time, come, back, some, must, (have), help, us, so, the, made, from, this, they, it, be, now, but, not, (one), day, came, did, like, please, came, (would), then, bad, died, sad, who, no
Spelling:
Keep up the great work on spelling lessons! As usual, once your child seems to be understanding the concept, challenge them with the "More Words" section to make sure they can apply their knowledge to words beyond the spelling list.
For your reference when correcting dictation with your student, the sentences given in class for Step 18 / Lesson 23 are:
The tank is full of gas.
It is fun to do crafts.
Pull the bull into the shed.
Grammar:
For FLL Lesson 82, which covers capitalization in poetry, use "A Child's Prayer" instead of "Mr. Nobody" as your example as you teach through the lesson. Use "A Child's Prayer" for the copywork in that lesson as well.
Geography:
Equatorial Africa map and song due 2/29; Students should be able to point to each country as they sing/recite the names.
History:
This semester's at-home project will allow students to tap into their inner entrepreneur as they set up shop in a recreation of the central Greek gathering place and marketplace, the Agora. Project guidelines can be found here. This project will be presented by the students on April 23rd.
SotW Ch. 28 Discussion questions: How were the Roman roads different from most roads in the ancient world? Compare how ancient Romans took a bath with how you take a bath. Why do you think the Romans liked to watch men fighting? What is your opinon about a gladiator fight? Can you think of a different game that people today enjoy watching?
Journal sentence: Ancient Romans built durable roads, many of which are still standing today.
Here is an idea for making an edible Roman road, if you're feeling adventurous!
Science:
Lessons 6 and 7 cover marine invertebrates. We will split each of those by covering half of a lesson at home, then finishing the other half at school. This week, you'll teach symmetry and the cnidarians page of the "My Marine Invertebrates" booklet at home, then we'll study echinoderms and sponges in class. Copies of the booklet will be sent home with your student on Tuesday, Feb. 20th. Please complete only the Cnidarians page of the Marine Invertebrates Booklet on Wednesday at home. Send the booklet to school on Thursday so we can continue with Echinoderms and Sponges. The process will repeat for Lesson 7 next week.
Memory Work:
The Quarter 3 poem is due this Thursday, 2/22. Each child will present "A Child's Prayer" in front of the class. Let your child practice in front of an audience of stuffed animals to boost their confidence!
The books of the Old Testament (Genesis-Job) as well as the Equatorial Africa map will be due next week.
