*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
EP- Singapore Math Extra Practice
MM- Mental Math (see appendix in HIG)
AAS- All About Spelling teacher manual (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 26- Spirit/Pizza/DOGS Day- Students may wear Fortis t-shirts along with jeans or shorts (see handbook for length and color requirements).
Tuesday, October 15- Teacher/Co-Teacher conferences; no school for students
Tuesday, October 22- Picture retakes
Our classroom rhythm 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.
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 math facts to be right on the tip of the tongue and ready to use in a math problem. Keep working really hard with those flashcards, and remember to have students build each fact on a ten frame rather than going straight to rote memory!
It's phonogram assessment time again! The assessment is found in the binder behind the Language Arts tab in a page protector. First, erase old marker or use a different color. Then re-administer assessment #1 and also administer assessment #2 by writing on the plastic page protector with a wet/dry erase marker. Please leave the completed assessment in the page protector behind the Language Arts tab. I will check for completion and progress on Tuesday (October 1).
Speaking of phonograms... With OPG L87, we will now introduce graphemes (written letters) that spell more than one phoneme (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 using that sound makes it a real word that makes sense in the sentence, then that is the sound they use for EA in that word. If not, they would go on to try the next sound of EA (which is /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:
Please check assignments carefully since we are teaching two lessons this week.
Please check assignments carefully since we are teaching two lessons this week.
Students will begin spelling multisyllabic words as we cover Lesson 4 and Lesson 5. Lesson 4 introduces compound words, which are made up of two smaller words that each maintain their original spelling. Lesson 5 continues the same idea of breaking words into syllables, but extends the concept to syllables that are not words in and of themselves. It's very important for students to understand that every syllable has at least one vowel (Rule Card 10). In fact, "a part of a word that contains a vowel sound" is the very definition of a syllable. Knowing this rule will help students check themselves and avoid mistakes like spelling belong as "blong" or scar as "scr."
A fun note about syllables: Because every syllable contains a vowel sound, and you must open your mouth to properly make a vowel sound, you can teach your student to count syllables by putting their hand flat under their chin and feeling how many times their mouth opens to say a vowel sound. Clapping the syllables is also fine (and fun), but this method emphasizes the connection between vowel sounds and syllables.
History:
On Tuesday, we'll enjoy a fun, hands-on project where we will "build bricks" out of clay as the Isrealites did for Pharaoh 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 what happened to these ancient Indian inhabitants. The students will have fun working their imaginations 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?
Journal sentence: People left the Indus Valley for reasons unknown.
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 the 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 permitted.
Oral presentation due date: Thursday, October 3.
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 our heads forever! These two maps will be due 10/15.
Map & Songs and Northern Africa Game and Central Africa Game
Map & Songs and Northern Africa Game and Central Africa Game
Memory Work:
"Persevere" due 10/1
