*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...
Tuesday, March 11- Q3 poem, A Child's Prayer due
Thursday, March 13- Spirit day (no pizza)
Thursday, March 13- Books of the Bible (Genesis - Job) due
Tuesday- Monday, March 18-24- Spring Break
Thursday, March 27- Spirit/pizza/DOGS day
Tuesday, April 1- Field trip payment and permission slip due (see below)
Thursday, April 10- Fortis Lap-a-thon
Dear Parents,
We are already wrapping up the third quarter of the year! There is always a temptation after Spring Break to start winding down our efforts before we've actually reached the finish line. I encourage you to take time to rest and refresh over the break and then be ready to take on the next few weeks with determination and purpose!
Math:
This week we introduce the concept of division as sharing and grouping. At this level, we will not use the division sign or write division equations.
Play some fun math fact games over Spring Break to keep those facts fresh! Students love playing War (face cards removed, except for the ace which equals 1). Turn over two cards per turn and add them together for the total; whoever has a higher total wins the cards. This is a great way to practice subtraction facts as well (subtract the smaller number from the larger number).
Shut the Box is another fantastic game for addition facts within 12. Players roll two dice and add the numbers. Then they must decide which numbers on the board between 1-12 they can use to make that sum. Even the adults in my house enjoy this game!
Play some fun math fact games over Spring Break to keep those facts fresh! Students love playing War (face cards removed, except for the ace which equals 1). Turn over two cards per turn and add them together for the total; whoever has a higher total wins the cards. This is a great way to practice subtraction facts as well (subtract the smaller number from the larger number).
Shut the Box is another fantastic game for addition facts within 12. Players roll two dice and add the numbers. Then they must decide which numbers on the board between 1-12 they can use to make that sum. Even the adults in my house enjoy this game!
Extra Practice book pg 69 is optional- but recommended!- to complete over the break. Solving a couple of problems each day will help the students keep their skills sharp!
Flashcard Games for math facts (or phonograms!)
Reading:
I'm thrilled with the reading progress this year. It's so fun to witness!
This week we will begin teaching the phonogram with the most sounds- OUGH, with a whopping 6 sounds! It is a fun one to practice because all the various sounds are reminiscent of a boxing match. Give your child plenty of repetition with these words as we go through the lessons, and be sure to explain the meaning of any words they don't know.
This week we will begin teaching the phonogram with the most sounds- OUGH, with a whopping 6 sounds! It is a fun one to practice because all the various sounds are reminiscent of a boxing match. Give your child plenty of repetition with these words as we go through the lessons, and be sure to explain the meaning of any words they don't know.
In the decodable book "Meg and Jim's Sled Trip," there are a couple of opportunities to practice dividing multisyllabic words.
On the first page, for the word "fantastic," students would use syllable division rule #2, which is: Locate the vowels. If there are two consonants between them, we usually divide between the consonants (see AAS). Thus, "fantastic" would be divided as fan/tas/tic. Then ask your student to label each syllable and ask them what kind of vowel sound (long or short) the vowel makes in each syllable. In this case, these are all closed syllables which have short vowel sounds, so we have făn/tăs/tĭc. You will hopefully get the question, "Why does fantastic end with c instead of ck?" Remind students that the Rule Card which says ck is only used right after a short vowel applies to one-syllable words. In multisyllable words ending with the /k/ sound, /k/ is often spelled with c. Examples include: frantic, fantastic, maniac and zodiac.
The word "until" on pg 15 would be divided in a similar way using syllable division rule #2 again.
The word "their" is a word we haven't taught the students to decode yet, so just give your child that word and tell them they will learn it later!
Review lessons your child might need to read again using their 3rd Quarter OPG assessment as a guide.
Keep reading over Spring Break!!
Decodable words in "A Man Made Strong by God" (sight words in parenthesis): A, man, made, strong, by, God, (was), the, man, (of), all, had, him, that, way, so, that, he, did, it, with, his, hands, some, to, kill, they, not, like, but, too, strong, for, them, then, bad, things, that, please, and, (said), now, will, be, took, (could), stop, see, sad, had, much, (what), do, you, think, (should), (have)
Decodable words in "A New Family" (sight words in parenthesis): A, new, I, am, home, (said), back, to, my, things, had, sons, now, she, go, will, with, you, so, went, in, new, (was), no, (one), get, food, for, and, look, day, saw, good, man, his, name, may, be, she, (have), take, (of), me, he, love, too, time, boy, they
After our Lesson 25 assessment on Thursday, we'll take a short break from new AAS lessons for review. On Thursday, March 27th, we'll have a fun and friendly Spelling Bee! We will have 10 rounds where all the students will spell (in writing) the word from each round. No one will get "out." Whoever spells the most words correctly will be the winner! All the words from every lesson are fair game. This should be a fun activity for the kids.
Geography:
Southern Africa Map and Song will be due 4/17. Students should be able to point to each country as they sing/recite the names. This is the final remaining part of Africa that we have yet to memorize!
History:
Discussion questions for SotW Chapter 31: What caused Emperor Asoka to change his mind about fighting with an army? What other changes did he make? Do you agree with the hare's decision to offer himself as food? Read 2 Corinthians 9:13 and discuss why it is important for followers of Christ to be generous.Journal sentence: Asoka gave up violence and sought to be kind.
Reminder: 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 29th. They are encouraged to wear Greek attire/costume to school that day to lend authenticity to their project.
Science:
This week's journal sentence: Adult sea turtles live to be between 60 and 100 years old.
Field Trip to Austin Aquarium!
We’ve been discovering so much about the interesting, beautiful, and sometimes mysterious life that flourishes under the sea. Now we are going to get up close and hands-on by taking a trip to the Austin Aquarium! We’ll get to interact with sharks, stingrays, sea jellies, octopuses, birds, reptiles, amphibians, tropical and cold water fish, and more!
Details:
Tuesday, April 8th, 2025
Depart Fortis 10:30am
Payment and permission slip due by April 1st
Please click HERE to register and pay for the field trip!
Tuesday, April 8th, 2025
Depart Fortis 10:30am
Return to Fortis between 12:45-1:00pm; students may be checked out of school for the day after the trip
Cost: $11.95 per student, $24.95 per chaperonePayment and permission slip due by April 1st
Please click HERE to register and pay for the field trip!
I will need parents to help drive, so if you plan to attend as a chaperone and are able to transport additional students, please let me know!
We will bring sack lunches to eat at the picnic area inside the aquarium after our tour.
Memory Work:
Quarter 4 poem: Rock of Ages will be due 5/1. This final poem of the year is long with lots of unfamiliar language which 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 4/24. 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.
