This week we will be starting Unit 9 of our literacy curriculum. This unit is called “Rules We Follow”. We will be reading stories, both fiction and non-fiction, about why we have rules and why it is important to follow them. We will continue our work with identifying key story elements, as well as talking about why it is important to follow the rules. 

In phonics, we will continue our work with our long vowels by learning the long /u/ sound. We will be listening for it at the beginning of words, as well in the middle of words. We will also be working on substituting sounds in words, in the beginning, middle, and end of the words. 

This week marks the conclusion of Unit 8, where we’ve been exploring animal habitats. Our focus questions are: How do habitats help animals meet their needs? and Why do people protect animal habitats? We’ll investigate these questions by reading stories such as Turtle Beach and Day and Night in the Desert. Students will also work on identifying key story elements, including plot, main idea, key details, and summarizing.

In phonics, we'll review the long /o/ sound—listening for it at the beginning and middle of words, blending it into new words, and matching words that share the same sound.

Please continue practicing the April sight words at home! You can find some fun practice ideas here.

Hi families! We will continue to dive into unit 8 with students. Remember that unit 8 is all about animal homes or habitats. This week, we will discuss animals who live in the desert, forest, and ocean through stories and poems. We will be reviewing our long A and introducing long I. Don’t forget to practice those April sight words at home! Here are a few ideas on how to practice them with some joy! 

Hi families! We will continue to dive into unit 8 with students. Remember that unit 8 is all about animal homes or habitats. This week, we will discuss animals who live in the desert, forest, and ocean through stories and poems. We will be reviewing our long A and introducing long I. Don’t forget to practice those April sight words at home! Here are a few ideas on how to practice them with some joy! 

This week in Literacy we will be starting our 8th unit, which talks all about Animal Homes.This week specifically we will be focusing on how animals are different, and where different animals live. We will also continue to read and write words and sentences, as well as make the connection between the letter a, and its long sound (heard in words like: April, make, sale). 

This week we will focus on phonological review. We will practice final sound deletion (ex: the word is cat now delete the /t/ → the word becomes ca) and practicing initial sound deletion (ex: the word is stop now delete the /s/ → the word becomes top). We also will read some spring themed stories to get everyone excited for the spring season. 

We will be finishing Unit 7 in our Literacy Curriculum. Students will continue to explore what plants (living things) need to survive and grow, and how plants are able to get what they need from their environment.

For phonemic awareness, students will practice blending CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words. We will introduce the letters “Yy” and “Vv,” as well as review the letters “Ww” “Kk” “Qq” and “Ee.”

Because of the short week this week, we will be taking a break from our normal curriculum, and working on an Author Study with our students. We are going to be taking a look at books that are written by the author Mo Willems, and looking for similarities and differences in books that are written by him. We will be looking at the writing style, as well as the illustration style in these different books. Of course we will still be working on our core literacy components such as phonemic awareness practice, making sure we know our letters and sounds, and making sure we know all of our sight words. 

We will be introducing unit 7! Time is going by so quickly! In unit 7, students explore what living things, mostly plants, need to survive and grow. In addition to this, they will learn how these living things get what they need to survive from their environment. 

For phonemic awareness, students will continue to work on blending CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words and will work with the letters ‘Kk’ and ‘Ww’. We will dive deeper into what are digraphs (a combination of 2 letters that make 1 sound - example: ‘sh’).

This week in literacy, we will be on our 3rd and final week of talking about What is a Culture? We will be introducing the /z/ sound. We will also be looking at the z sound as it occurs at the end of the word, where it is spelled as an S (ex. Chins, his, is). For our phonemic awareness, we will be working on matching words by their beginning sounds, and matching words by their ending sounds. We will also be working to identify the beginning and ending sounds of different words. We will be reading more about different cultures around the world, by reading My Dadima Wears a Sari and A Collection of Cultures.

Please continue working on the February sight words at home.

This week, we will continue our unit theme of culture and traditions. We will explore this theme through our investigation questions of: How do we prepare for a celebration? What makes a culture unique? We will introduce the letters Uu and Xx this week. During phonemic awareness we will practice final sound deletion (ex: say the word rat, and now take away the /t/, what’s the new word: ra). During writing we will write explanatory text using first and then for our guide. We will write how to wash our hands, how to brush our teeth, and more. Please practice the February sight words at home. 

This week we are going to explore culture with two stories: Pass it Down and Cultures and Holidays around the World. In these two stories, we will learn about how traditions are continued through families and take a closer look at how specific holidays are celebrated like Kwanza and Harvest festivals. Alongside this learning, we will also be practicing our letter sounds J and F. We will also continue to practice blending cvc words with vowels o, i, u, and a. Lastly, please continue to work with your kindergarten on their sight words. We will be sending home the February sight words this Friday in their Friday folders. 

This week we are going to be diving into a new Unit, and in this unit, we will be taking a look at what is a culture. We will be talking to the students about different cultures around the world, and how different traditions are celebrated. Alongside this learning, we will also be introducing the sounds for letters J and F. We will also continue to work on blending words, and reading sight words as well! 

This week we are going to continue our previous explorations of homes! This week, we will read a book about the steps of constructing a house and pondering the essential question, ‘What makes a home?”. We will be introducing the sounds of /Gg/ and reviewing the sound of /Rr/, and /Oo/. The goal is for your students to isolate those sounds at the beginning of a word, in the end of a word, and eventually in the middle of a word. Please practice sight words at home with your student.

This week in literacy, we will be reading some winter classics including The Mitten and The Polar Express. Accompanying these read-alouds, we will be working on our fine motor and comprehension skills with some crafts! Don’t worry, we will be continuing our work with phonemic and phonetic awareness through poems, letter work, songs, and more!