* Note- anything underlined in the table above or highlighted below is a link *
Key to Abbreviations:
GP- The Gospel Project- Home Edition
HIG- Singapore Math Home Instructor's Guide
TB- Singapore Math Textbook
WB- Singapore Math Workbook
MM- Mental Math (see appendix in HIG)
CCC- Complete, check, correct
AAS- All About Spelling
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
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, January 27- Spirit day, Pizza day, DOGS day
Thursday, February 10- Spirit day- Fortis t-shirts and jeans are allowed
Tuesday, 2/15- Class Valentine's party; We have 16 students in our class. I will send out a class list at the beginning of February.
Tuesday, 2/22- Teacher training- No School
Dear Parents,
I want to encourage you this week to meditate on the limitlessness of God. There is no way to measure Him or contain Him. His love, His mercy, His goodness, His patience...every attribute He has is never-ending. As humans, we have all sorts of limitations! We can stop expecting ourselves and others to be perfect, and instead let our shortcomings remind us to glorify our infinitely amazing Heavenly Father.
Love, Mrs. Kuhn
I want to encourage you this week to meditate on the limitlessness of God. There is no way to measure Him or contain Him. His love, His mercy, His goodness, His patience...every attribute He has is never-ending. As humans, we have all sorts of limitations! We can stop expecting ourselves and others to be perfect, and instead let our shortcomings remind us to glorify our infinitely amazing Heavenly Father.
Love, Mrs. Kuhn
Math:
We'll spend this week focusing on place value and order of 2 digit numbers through 40 using many different manipulatives and charts. Your child's binder contains a number chart through 110 as well as a place value mat, both of which will come in very handy!
Looking ahead and seeing 2nd grade approaching in the distance, students that know their math facts fluently are going to have the easiest transition and the greatest success! Here are some ideas for flash card games for math facts (and phonograms, too).
As you continue practicing math facts at home, we will begin doing low pressure one-minute timed drills in class this semester. We will start with addition facts through ten, and eventually move to subtraction facts through 10 as well. We will drill on the same Mental Math section all week at school. Then I will send the same one home on Thursday for you to do with them on Monday and return to school on Tuesday. I'll be encouraging them to do their best, and challenging them to beat their prior speed by just one problem each time.
Flashcard Games for math facts (or phonograms!)
Reading:
The students are growing so much and I'm seeing several of them really start to click with reading. Be encouraged to keep up the hard work at home- it is paying off!
Students will read a decodable book called "Bad Luck?" on Monday (click on link in the chart). This should be easy for them to decode, so work with them on fluency: accuracy, speed, natural tone, and expression.
Check your phonogram review box as well as your sight word review box to make sure you're covering all the newly introduced cards as well as reviewing older ones. For phonograms, your child should practice and know all phonograms from assessments 1-4 (found in their binder), plus AW and AU. Sight words up to this point include: the, I, a, of, have, give, to, two, too, do, who, friend, eye, buy, was, shoe, could, would, & should.
This week you will give your student the same Phonological Awareness Assessment you gave at the beginning of first grade. The document you'll use is located behind the Language Arts tab in your child's binder. This will be the mid-year assessment, so make your marks in the middle column of each section. When complete, please file the assessment in the "Return to School" side of your student's folder. I will replace them behind the Language Arts tab after I've had a chance to look at the mid-year results.
Continue to read the stories in The Early Reader's Bible along with your student, filling in the words we have not taught them to decode yet.
Decodable words in "Jacob Sees a Ladder" (sight words in parenthesis): Sees, a, (was), sad, he, had, to, go, home, so, all, day, when, it, dream, saw, went, the, way, up, and, on, then, God, I, will, with, you, (said), help, sat, me, him
Decodable words in "God Takes Care of Joseph" (sight words in parenthesis): God, takes, (of), did, not, like, him, they, to, kill, (said), no, sell, he, will, be, a, slave, (have), did, but, took, then, a, man, put, in, jail, king, had, dream, mean, (could), tell, can, you, [been- we learned that "been" is a rule-breaker in AAS, but it's not officially a sight word from OPG], with, sent, will, so, told, (was), good, put, my, all
Writing:
Spelling:
Step 15 introduces another new syllable type: R-controlled. The image of the R "lassoing" the vowels is a great visual to remind the children that when a vowel is followed directly by an R, the R changes the sound of the vowel (more on this in future OPG lessons). Once you think your student has a good grasp on the concept, challenge them with some of the "More Words" at the end of the lesson. This is a good way to check on whether they know the concept or are only memorizing the spelling list.
Geography:
West Africa Due 1/27- this Thursday! For this assessment, I would like the students to be able to sing or say the names of the countries in front of the class. They do not need to point to each individual country.
History:
We continue this week through Greek history. As we discuss Greek gods, we'll contrast Greek mythology with the one true God. In several weeks we'll begin reading through "Greek Myths for Young Children" so that the students will start to have an understanding of this part of Greek culture, as it is the basis for much art and literature that they will study in the future.
Discussion questions for Ch. 24: After fighting against each other for so long, why did Athens and Sparta decide to become friends? Do you think the Spartans should have helped the Athenians in the Battle of Marathon? Why is a 26-mile race called a marathon today? What kind of art did the Greeks become known for? Do you agree with the Athenians strategy to stay safe inside the city walls instead of fighting? Why didn't their strategy work? Why do you think Alcibiades decided to become a traitor?
Journal sentence: The Peloponnesian War left Greece in a weakened state.
Science:
Moving on from general ocean information, this week we'll take an overview of marine life, discover how and why scientists group- or classify- marine animals, and how the marine food chain operates. The ocean is teeming with extraordinarily beautiful and mysterious creatures!
How countless are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Here is the sea, vast and wide,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.
Psalm 104:24-25 CSB
Memory Work:
Quarter 3 poem: A Child's Prayer will be due 2/24. This poem is a great starting point for a dialogue with our Heavenly Father, and a handy reminder of His gentle care.
Books of the Old Testament: Genesis- Job due 3/1. Here is a link to the song we practice in class. The Old Testament will take the rest of the school year to master. This quarter we will focus on Genesis through Job. 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.
