Hi Families,

This week Literacy and Science will focus on the phases of the moon. When the moon is growing like a 'D' it is moving from the New Moon to Full Moon. When the moon is closing into a 'C' it is moving from Full Moon to New Moon. Ah, the wonderful connections of Literacy and Science.

During class we will work with:

• Big Idea: Our main focus from our readings will continue to answer the question: How do you experience light and sound?  
• This week’s reading selection: “Ben's Bright Idea".  Ben Franklin was a leader, scientist, and inventor. His invention of the lightning rod kept buildings from catching on fire. 
• Essential Questions:  
• When do you see the moon? 
• Is it always in the same place?
• How can observations lead to new discoveries?
• Phonics: Your student will learn the following sounds and spellings: 
• /Ǝ/; /Ǝl/ spelled -al, -el, -il, and le
• /nk/ spelled ■nk
• /kw/ spelled qu_
• Words to practice include ahead, happen, person, metal, camel, fossil, puzzle, link, thank, quiz, and squint 
• High-Frequency Words: are, the, up, in, little, that, from, is, of, see.  
• Writing: Students will complete each step of the writing process as he or she writes instructions to tell someone how to get dressed for the current weather in your area. 
• Grammar: Our amazing learners will learn that an imperative sentence gives a command or makes a request. It ends with a period or an exclamation point.

We are looking forward to another exciting week in literacy 🙂

This week we will continue our literacy and science lessons rolled up together. We will build on our phonics, reading, and writing while making connections to our physical science and observing changes in time.

Big Idea: How do you experience light and sound?  Your child should think about the ways each reading selection can answer this question

This week’s reading selection: “Me and My Shadow" You can learn a lot about Earth and the Sun by looking at shadows.

Essential Question:  Where have you seen a shadow? When do you see your shadow?

Phonics: Your student will learn the following sounds and spellings:

/er/ spelled ir, ur, ear, and

/ng/ spelled ■ng

High-Frequency Words: are, for, little, out, went, when, will 

Words to practice blending with your child include sir, bird, fur, turn, learn, earth, sing, and searching.

Writing: Your child will complete each step of the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and presenting) to write a description of a kind person he or she knows

Grammar: Your child will learn that an exclamatory sentence shows strong emotion and ends with an exclamation point. (Great job!)

This week we will continue our literacy and science lessons rolled up together. We will build on our phonics, reading, and writing while making connections to our physical science and observing changes in time.

Big Idea: What is a cycle? Ask your child how this week’s reading selections help him or her answer this question.  

This week’s reading selection: “From Seed to Flower" What is the process of a flower's growth?

Essential Question: What changes do you see when watching a flower grow?   

Phonics: Your student will learn the following sounds and spellings:

/or/ spelled or, ore

/ar/ spelled ar 

/w/ spelled w_, wh_

Words to practice blending with your child include storm, snor, bark, mark, when, why, we, web

High-Frequency Words: are, for, little, out, went, when, will 

Writing: Your amazing 1st Grade learner will prewrite and begin writing a description of a person.

Grammar: Your child will learn that an interrogative sentence asks a question and ends with a question mark. (What time is it?)

This week we will have some literacy and science lessons rolled up together. We will continue to build on our phonics, reading, and writing while making connections to our physical science and observing changes in time.

• Big Idea: What is a cycle? We will look into ways that things happen in repetitive time sections. 
• This week’s reading selection: “Jake's Tree" - Jake writes a poem as he observes the changes of a big tree in his yard during the year.  
• Essential Question: What changes in nature can you see? 
• Phonics: Your student will learn the following sounds and spellings: 
• /e/ spelled _ea_ 
• /sh/ spelled sh
• /th/ spelled th
• /ch/ spelled ch, ■tch. 
• Words to practice blending with your child include head, shell, brush, math, thread, check, and catch.
• High-Frequency Words: there, to, up, was, what  
• Writing: Your amazing 1^st Grade learner will complete each step of the writing process as he or she writes a description of an animal. 
• Grammar: Your child will learn that a declarative sentence is a sentence that tells something and ends with a period (The giraffe eats leaves.).

We are preparing for some fun time in Literacy as this week we will talk about time, the powerful/ed/, and the three interesting sounds that are made. 

• Big Idea: What is a cycle? We will think about things that happen in repetitive time sections.
• This week’s reading selection: “Time Is When" 
• Essential Question: What measurements of time can you think of?
• Phonics: Your child will learn the following sounds and spellings: 
• /ks/ spelled ■x, 
• /e/ spelled e, /ed/ spelled -ed, /d/ spelled -ed, and /t/ spelled -ed. 
• Words to practice blending with your child include ax, six, text, melted, spelled, and hopped.

• High-Frequency Words: down, help, its, red, six  
• Writing: Your child will revise, edit, and publish a narrative regarding a small moment.

Your child will complete each step of the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and presenting) as they write a description of a small moment at school.

 Grammar: Your child will learn to identify and write simple sentences using a subject and verb and capitalizing the first word. (The dog buried its bone.) 

This week we will continue to have fun with our phonics, word creation, reading, and writing about our small moment.

• Big Idea: What can others teach you about friendship? Ask your child how this week’s reading selection helps him or her answer this question.
• This week’s reading selection: “No Wolves Allowed” 

Essential Question: What can others teach you about friendship?

• Phonics: Your child will learn the following sounds and spellings: /j/ spelled ■dge; /u/ spelled u; /z/ spelled z, zz, and _s.
• Students will write a word that contains each new sound/spelling and draw a picture of it.
• High-Frequency Words: as, ask, get, he, his, just, of, to
• Writing: Your child will revise, edit, and publish a narrative regarding a small moment.

Grammar: Your child will learn what action verbs (jumps, eats, reads) and helping verbs (is, are, has, have, was, were) are. 

We are off to another week of Literacy fun. I wonder what new connections we will be able to make?

Big Idea: What does it take to be a good friend?

This week’s reading selection: Chicken Chickens Go to School

Summary: On their first day of school, two little chickens are scared about making friends, but their teacher, Mrs. Heron, helps the chickens make friends and enjoy their first day of school.

Essential Question: How do you make new friends?

DISCUSS with your child a time when he or she wanted to make new friends. 

Phonics

Focus: Your child will learn the following sounds and spellings: /k/ spelled c; /aw/ spelled al, all; /k/ spelled k, ■ck; and /r/ spelled r.

Words to practice blending with your child include can’t, calm, call, kid, clock, and rock. HAVE your child identify objects at home that have the /k/, /aw/, and /r/ sounds.

High-Frequency Words: Have your child review and practice reading the word call.

Writing: Your child will prewrite, draft, revise, edit, and present a description of an event in which someone acts like a responsible friend.

Grammar: Your child will learn to identify adjectives and add them to sentences. Adjectives are describing words that tell more about a person, place, or thing.

HAVE your child choose two nouns and use them in sentences. Then have your child add adjectives to the sentences to tell more about the nouns.

Open Court Reading: 

Big Idea: Why do we go to school? Ask your child how this week’s reading selections help him or her answer this question. 

This week’s reading selections: The Little School Bus

Summary: In this rhyming fiction story, several animals are picked up by the school bus on the way to school. They go to school, and then they get back on the bus for the ride home.

Essential Questions: Have you ever ridden in a school bus? What did you like about it?

Phonics Focus: Your child will learn the following sounds and spellings: /p/ spelled p; /l/ spelled l, ll; /o/ spelled o; and /b/ spelled b.

HAVE your child write a word that contains each new sound and spelling.

High-Frequency Words: Have your child review and practice reading the following words: at has

Writing: Your child will start learning about autobiographies and the difference between an autobiography and a personal narrative.  An autobiography is written from their earliest memory to present and a personal narrative is about a small moment of their lives. 

Grammar: Your child will learn what singular and plural nouns are and how to form plural nouns.

Open Court Reading: 

Big Idea: Why do we go to school? Ask your child how this week’s reading selections help him or her answer this question.

This week’s reading selection: A New Friend at School. Summary: A student makes a friend when she gives a new student in the class a tour of the school.

Essential Question: Why is helping a new student a responsible thing to do?

Phonics Focus: Your child will learn the following sounds and spellings: /d/ spelled d, /n/ spelled n, /i/ spelled i, and /h/ spelled h_. Our pattern this week will be short /e/ words.

Words to practice blending with your child include at, sat, mat, and Matt

Writing:    

Last week, we worked on drafting our personal narratives.  This week, we will go through the editing process and work on the final copy of our narratives.

Grammar: Your child will learn about common and proper nouns.

Open Court Reading: 

Big Idea: Why do we go to school? There is one Big Idea question for every three weeks of instruction. Your child should think about the ways each reading selection can answer this question.

This week’s reading selection: First Grade Stinks! Summary: The beginning of Haley’s first day of first grade makes her wish she were back in kindergarten. As the day progresses, she learns about the wonderful things they will do in first grade.

Essential Question: Why do the things we do at school change each year?

Phonics Focus: Your child will learn the following sounds and spellings: /s/ spelled s /m/ spelled m /a/ spelled a /t/ spelled t, tt.  

Words to practice blending with your child include at, sat, mat, and Matt

Writing:    

Your child will learn several steps of the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, and presenting) by drawing a self-portrait and writing a sentence to describe his or her picture

Grammar: Your child will learn the differences among letters, words, and sentences. He or she will also learn to track text from left to right and top to bottom.

Literacy: 

Welcome to my literacy class!!

Open Court Reading:  We have completed our first week of literacy! We have had a lot of fun reviewing sounds, discussing where sounds are made in our mouths, and rhyming.   This week, we will continue our review of sounds, practice our handwriting, and start editing our narrative writing on our “All About Me” stories.

Review:  Over the next couple of weeks, we will be reviewing our letters and sounds, working on proper grip and letter formation, understanding rhyme, and practicing blending and segmenting sounds.   

Spelling: This year, students will be learning the rules behind each of the spelling patterns through a wonderful program called, “Secret Stories”.  Spelling isn’t about memorizing a list of words, but more about understanding the pattern of those words and secret stories accomplish this by using a multi-sensory approach.

Journal Writing: Students will be writing to a prompt, using sentence stems and drawing pictures that represent what they are writing about.   

Reading: Over the next couple of weeks, we will be doing more whole-group reading working on fluency, understanding rhyme, and developing vocabulary.