Foundational Skills (Phonics, Decoding, and Spelling) 

Last week, students focused on reading and spelling words that follow the –ar pattern. For example: jar, car, start, bark, march, harsh, etc. 

This week, students will learn about –er pattern (for example: her, term, after, faster, river) and that it is the first choice for spelling. After –er, we will learn less common /er/ patterns, including –ir (for example bird, first, shirt, girl, etc.) and – ur (for example: burn, curl, fur, etc). Our syllabication lesson will focus on R-Controlled Syllables.

Reading  

Last week, we finished up our study of two versions of the folktale, “Stone Soup,” called, “The Stranger and the Soup.” In this story, a mysterious stranger appears in a village that is suffering from a food shortage due to drought. Although he is not welcomed at first, the stranger has a secret ingredient (a stone) to help the hungry villagers survive a harsh winter. We also started on the study of a version of the folktale, “1001 Arabian Nights: Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp.” In this story, Heartbroken King Shahryar has resolved to marry a different woman each day, and then banish her from the kingdom forever. The clever Scheherazade manages to escape this fate by telling the king an intriguing tale about a boy named Aladdin and a genie who grants wishes. Discuss with your child what things he or she would wish for if any wish could be granted. 

This week, we will continue our study of Aladdin, and will learn about inferring as we read. When readers make inferences, they use the information provided in the text along with their own knowledge to understand details the author does not include in the story. Readers make inferences about characters and events to gain a deeper understanding of the text. 

Please continue to read to your child each night and have them read to you! It is all beneficial. 

Writing 

We are currently in the middle of our unit on writing Friendly/Personal letters. Last week, your child learned about proper use of capitalization and commas when writing greetings, closings, and dates in letters. Your child also planned and began writing a personal letter to a friend or relative.  

This week, students will either finish drafting their letter, or will begin proofreading, editing, and writing a final draft of the letter.  Ask your child to identify some closings that are appropriate for a personal letter to a friend
or relative. Ask him or her to practice writing a closing with correct capitalization and a comma.

Grammar  

Last week, your child learned about subject/ verb agreement. If the subject of a sentence is singular, the verb must also be singular; if the subject is plural, the verb must also be plural. 

This week, your child will learn about contractions. A contraction is a shortened form of two words, in which an apostrophe takes the place of some letters. Examples include can’t, we’ve, and I’ll. Ask your child to name several contractions, and then identify the two words that form each contraction.