* 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 29- Spirit/Pizza/DOGS day
Thursday, February 29- Moms In Prayer, 9am @ Fortis
Tuesday - Monday, March 12-18- Spring Break
Saturday, March 23- Fortis Lap-A-Thon
Dear Parents:
When you stop to consider that a few short months ago, your children entered first grade understanding just the very basics of arithmetic and language arts, it's actually incredible how quickly they have soaked up all manner of new information! Even more gratifying is to see them growing deeper in their understanding of God, His character, and His desires for their lives. Sometimes it's good to step back from the day-to-day grind and recalibrate our perspectives. The days are long, but the years are short.
Seeking the Lord alongside you,
Mrs. Kuhn
Math:
Multiplication...wow!! These kids are getting so smart!
A cumulative math assessment is coming the week after this one (March 5). Please use the flexibility of your home days to ensure the objectives of each lesson are being met. Sometimes this will call for more practice than the minimum requirements noted in the lesson plan, as well as continued practice of past concepts not yet mastered.
I am sending home a practice packet for students to work on at home, which includes 3 word problems. I'd like the students to first build the numbers with cubes (Build it!), then color the cubes they built onto the worksheet (Show it!).This should help reinforce that one number is larger, and the difference between the two is what they're looking for. Then have them write the number sentence (start with the larger number and take away the amount that is the same, which is always equivalent to the smaller number; the result is the difference). Lastly, ask them to explain to you what information they've just found by solving the number sentence. See HIG 1B pg 7-8 if your student needs a refresher.
Flashcard Games for math facts (or phonograms!)
Reading:
We're beginning a new section of our OPG book this week- silent letters! Some of these can be tricky, but students usually enjoy this section. Here's a fun article that shares some interesting background about the silent pair GH.
OPG introduces the sight word "laugh" in Lesson 141, but it really fits better with Lesson 136, so we are going to include it with that lesson this week. AUGH spells the sound /aw/, so the only part of "laugh" that is following the rules is the l. The entire rest of the word is the rule-breaker part that will have to be memorized by heart.
Decodable words in "God's People are Sorry" (sight words in parenthesis): God's, (are), why, did, you, lead, us, some, (said), to, we, do, not, like, food, help, (was), sad, these, things, slaves, in, now, had, his, them, good, but, the, and, a, place, they, please, so, sent, snakes, run, (could), from, came, to, this, make, big, brass, told, put, it, high, for, see, who, look, at, will, die, did, him, who, that, way, say, then, (would), He
Decodable words in "God Helps Joshua" (sight words in parenthesis): God, helps, look, at, those, walls, (said), how, can, we, fight, the, (of), get, will, help, us, did, he, told, to, then, this, is, way, they, it, and, went, home, next, day, each, why, us, (one), times, (would), now, and, shout, fell, down, ran, took, do
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 19 / Lesson 24 are:
I like hot rice and beets.
My mice prance when it is cold.
The troll under the spruce tree has a bad temper.
Geography:
Equatorial Africa Map and Song DUE this week- Feb. 29; Students should be able to point to each country as they sing/recite the names.
History:
We'll be discussing the great state of Texas this week! In conjunction with Texas Week, we will seek to "exalt and extol the highest and the best cultural and spiritual values of Texas throughout Texas Week" (Texas Civil Statutes Title 106 Art. 6144a). "Remember the Alamo!" was the motto of the Republic of Texas from 1836-1845, but do you know what the official state motto is today?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. Students will create a product they wish to sell, a price point, and a sales pitch to entice their friends to visit their stall in the marketplace. Fortis students from other grades will be "window shopping" in our Agora before we buy and sell amongst our class (currency provided)! Project guidelines can also be found here. This project will be presented by the students on April 23rd. They are encouraged to wear Greek attire/costume to school that day to lend authenticity to their project.
Science:
The second half of Marine Invertebrates will be covered this week in lesson 7: mollusks and bivalve mollusks at home, cephalopods and crustaceans at school. Complete only the mollusk and bivalve mollusk page of the booklet at home. Then send the booklet to school on Thursday so we can finish with cephalopoda mollusks and crustaceans.
Memory Work:
Quarter 4 poem: Rock of Ages will be due 4/30. This final poem of the year is long with lots of unfamiliar language that we will try to cover in class. However, students will definitely need to practice early and often at home in order to perfect this piece for presentation. 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.
Books of the Old Testament: Psalms - Malachi due 4/25. When we finish this section, we'll have memorized the order of all the books in the entire Bible! 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.
