*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, April 23- Spirit/Pizza/DOGS Day
Tuesday, April 28- Agora Project Due
Tuesday, May 5th- Field Trip Registration Due (See details below)
Dear Families,
When the weather is behaving like it's summer, it can be tempting to become restless after working so hard all year. Allow me encourage all of us to "not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord." -Romans 12:11
It is a privilege to partner with you to educate your child in wisdom, virtue, and faith.
I know you and your students have been so diligently working through the mental math problems at home, and here is where we see the fruit of our labor. Hopefully the transition to subtraction with renaming with numbers larger than 40 will be seamless! Always start out using manipulatives- base ten materials, in this case. Some students will only need to see them once; others will need to see the concrete step many times.
I have found that the "helpful" equations given in the workbook for Ex 61 are actually more confusing than useful for students. Therefore, I'll be providing each student with a modified copy of Ex 61 where I've deleted the top equation in each box. Using this version of the exercise, I'll instruct students to write a slightly different equation for each box on pg 142. For example, in the first box where the exercise is to solve 45+13, the workbook provides a "help" equation of 45+10+3. Instead, on the modified copy of Ex 61, I will ask the students to write 40+5+10+3. This corresponds more directly with what students are thinking mentally when they solve this double digit addition problem. When they move on to pg 143, they can choose to continue writing the equation in expanded form first, or they can just solve it mentally.
We will spend two days on subtracting with renaming on HIG pg 89- one at school, one at home. Remember there is another method we have taught students to use other than the two listed on that page. In their example of 73-5, they teach: 1) break 73 into 60 and 13, then subtract 13-5 and add the difference (8) to the 6 tens for a total of 68; or 2) break 73 into 70 and 3, then subtract 70-5 and add the difference (65) to the 3 ones for a total of 68. The 3rd strategy is to break the 5 into 3 and 2, then subtract 73-3 to get down to 70, then subtract 70-2 for a total of 68. ANY of these strategies is just as good as the others! Whichever makes the most sense to your student's way of thinking is the one they should use.
Flashcard Games for math facts (or phonograms!)
Reading:
Decodable words in "God Helps a Sick Man" from the Early Reader's Bible (sight words in parenthesis): went, (to), see, a, (friend), with, him, (was), sick, had, help, he, did, not, talk, tell, wash, in, (the), told, (do), big, want, wash, so, stop, (said), (what), back, and, you, think, God, made, well, his
Decodable words in "Money to Fix God's House" from the Early Reader's Bible (sight words in parenthesis): King, God, he, his, (to), love, too, go, house, but, (was), not, the, it, (should), be, did, not, take, good, (of), it, we, must, fix, (said), (have), (do), that, put, a, big, box, by, soon, had, they, (could), help, is, (what), be
Flashcard Games for math facts (or phonograms!)
Spelling:
Similar to the generalization for OY/OI, this week in Lesson 29 we will teach that AW must be used at the end of words, but either AW or AU may be used at the beginning or in the middle. It boils down to familiarity with the words, which comes through spelling practice and visual memory. Utilize the Word Bank in the activity book as well as word sorts like this one.
Reading:
I'm excited for the students to read this week's SPIRE decodable reader, "The Humpback Whale." It will be mostly decodable for the students. There are several multisyllable words that will enable them to practice dividing the word into syllables, identifying the syllable type, decoding each syllable, and finally blending the syllables together to decode the entire word. If you need a refresher on how to guide your student through that process, consult the syllable reference sheets in the Language Arts tab of your binder. Students will encounter r-controlled (Bossy-R) vowels in this reader, which we have covered in AAS and are just introducing in OPG. There are also several inflectional endings and suffixes (es, ed, ly, ful) that we have not taught the students, so please monitor your student's reading and if needed, give them the sounds for those endings that they will be learning about next year.
Decodable words in "Money to Fix God's House" from the Early Reader's Bible (sight words in parenthesis): King, God, he, his, (to), love, too, go, house, but, (was), not, the, it, (should), be, did, not, take, good, (of), it, we, must, fix, (said), (have), (do), that, put, a, big, box, by, soon, had, they, (could), help, is, (what), be
History:
Here are some questions for discussion as you teach SotW Chapter 36: Why was Caesar's nephew Octavian so popular with the people? How was he similar to his uncle? How were they different? Which months on our calendar remind us of Caesar and his nephew? If a new month was named after you, what would it be called?
Journal sentence: Augustus Caesar became Rome's "First Citizen."
Science:
Memory Work:
Science:
The Good and the Beautiful has inexplicably omitted sea birds from their latest version of the Marine Biology unit! Therefore, we'll be using sources outside of the text to discover interesting facts about these feathered friends. Please view the video Penguins for Kids with your student and ask them to orally narrate as you go. You can use these questions to aid in your discussion: How does the coloring of a penguin help keep it safe? In what ways is a penguin's body suited for swimming? What kind of fish do penguins think tastes the best (trick question!)? How do you think a group of penguins got the names "raft" and "waddle"? If you were a penguin, would you think it more fun to glide through the water or slide on the ice?
Journal sentence: Penguins swim easily through water, but they waddle upright on land.
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, May 12, 2026
Depart Fortis 12:30pm
Return to Fortis 2:30pm; students may be checked out early to go home after the trip
Cost: $11.95 students, $24.95 parent chaperones
Registration due by May 5th
I will need parents to help transport students, so if you are able to drive, please let me know!
Also, indicate that you can be a driver on the registration form.
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, May 12, 2026
Depart Fortis 12:30pm
Return to Fortis 2:30pm; students may be checked out early to go home after the trip
Cost: $11.95 students, $24.95 parent chaperones
Registration due by May 5th
I will need parents to help transport students, so if you are able to drive, please let me know!
Also, indicate that you can be a driver on the registration form.
Geography:
Since we have successfully learned the names of each African country, now students can use this interactive online map to review all the countries of Africa. Have the maps and songs ready to help them as they play!
Since we have successfully learned the names of each African country, now students can use this interactive online map to review all the countries of Africa. Have the maps and songs ready to help them as they play!
Memory Work:
Books of the Old Testament: Psalms - Malachi due this Wednesday, 4/23. 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.
Quarter 4 poem: Rock of Ages will be due 4/30. This is a lengthy poem/hymn, and the due date is approaching quickly. Please practice often with your student so that they are prepared! 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.
