Happy New Year

The first week of the new year has been outstanding. We transitioned back to school with ease. The kids were excited to share stories and were happy to see one and other. They came back focused and ready. Thank you!

The new year brings new routines. Last week we finished learning all of the lowercase letters, discussed spelling and set goals for reading. This week your child will begin learning and practicing sight words both in school and at home. Please remember to return your child's green Fundations' folder on Thursday. We will return it with Fundation's  Unit 2 Newsletter and resources for you to keep at home for the remainder of the year. Your new job is to support your child in the process of acquiring sight vocabulary. Each student will have a self paced folder that should be returned weekly, by Thursday. There will be a detailed note enclosed. Finally, as our class moves from focusing on phonological awareness and letter knowledge to phonics and reading your child will get weekly homework.

Last Week: 

In Reading and Comprehension: 
Students reviewed story elements and independently practiced retelling the story, The Mitten by Jan Brett.
We also compared two versions of the book. The differences were wonderfully articulated by students. Ask your child to retell the story including; character names, sequence, problem and outcome. You are sure to be impressed. Maybe you will come across another version of the story.

We also studied the features of Jan Brett's books. We discussed the ways authors engage readers and make their books unique.  Jan Brett books include; The Gingerbread Baby, Gingerbread Friends, The Mitten and The Hat. She has published many others.

In Phonemic Awareness: 
We are learning to "TAP" words sound by sound to hear each phoneme. Specifically, listening for final sounds.  We completed the second half of the phonological screener discussed at conferences. You will be notified this week if there are additional skills your child should focus on.

In Phonics:
We completed the alphabet. We learned the lowercase letters, sound and formation for all 26 letters. Children often mix up vowel sounds and visually similar letters. It doesn't hurt to keep the Fundations folder handy for review.

In Writing: 
Each child finished and published an opinion piece titled, "Which is the best Gingerbread story?
Next will be revisiting narrative. We will follow the classic writer's workshop model.  Students write a personal story including; a beginning, middle and end.

In Math: 
Unit 6 went quickly. Identifying numbers to 100 and counting by 10's. This was a very challenging unit for many students. Please keep practicing counting orally to 100 from any number. I am going to send a laminated 100's chart to use at home. Play games and ask your child to guess the number that comes before or after, ten more or ten less than a number on the chart. I am going to continue to reinforce teen numbers in class.
Our new objective is: telling addition stories and writing addition sentences.

Science: 
Categorizing the animals from The Mitten story.
Exploring non-fiction to learn animal facts.

Social Studies: 
Fair and unfair.
Understanding the that laws keep citizens safe.
Martin Luther King Jr.