Dear Parents, February 6, 2012
February is here! My, the time is flying by!
Our reading strategy this week is questioning. A good reader stops while reading and asks themselves questions about the story. The comprehension skill that helps us in understanding what we read is noting details. Paying close attention to the details given in a story will help us remember and understand what happens. Our phonics focus is the long /e/ sound spelled with the CVCe pattern, CV (as is me) and with the vowel pairs ee (feet) and ea (seat). Please take time to point out these spelling patterns when reading with your child. Please don’t “jump in” and tell your child the word – point out the final, silent e and that because of the e, the first vowel uses the long sound. Point out the vowel pair and that in those words, the first vowel uses the long sound and the second vowel is silent (when two vowels go “a walkin, the first one does the “talkin”). Reading will take just a bit longer, but taking the time to “see” the patterns while reading will benefit your child greatly. We will also review the final clusters of ft, lk, and nt. Our spelling words are from unit 28 and all have the long /e/ sound. Our grammar focus is on naming words for places and things.
Math this week, finds us working on ordering numbers and introducing the greater than and less than symbols. By the end of first grade our students should know their facts to 20 by heart! In order to practice, please visit www.learninggamesforkids.com and play Math Lines. Enjoy! In religion, we are learning how we grow, learn and care for ourselves through our Family Life series. In social studies we are wrapping up our study of America and will begin our unit on what makes a community. In Science we will be finishing our discussion on different structures of animals and will begin our chapter on weather!
Announcements for the Week:
- Please remind your child to bring their library book to school on Tuesday so that they may check out a new one.
- Water bottle sales continue on Tuesday and Thursday. Thank you for your support!
- Valentine’s Day is next Tuesday. We will have a party in the afternoon and I am asking that your child bring in a valentine for each child. I have included a list of the children. Please have your child sign their own name on the card and address the card with the names of his or her classmates. Although this takes some time, it will help with penmanship and name recognition.
Have a wonderful week. If you have any questions or concerns please let me know.
Miss. Manning
