Phonics skills are the skills used to decode or sound out words. Without phonics skills, it is nearly impossible, especially for children, to learn to read new words. Any practice that is done at home can help your child become a better reader. My advice would be to keep it fun, and easy with simple games and activities.
0 Comments
Mrs. Owl is our class mascot and she is very loved. Each weekend, one of the children will have the opportunity to take Mrs. Owl home and participate in weekend activities. The student taking her home must record a journal entry in our class journal and can include photos or drawings. By the end of the school year, everyone should have had the opportunity to take Mrs. Owl home and record events in the journal.
So where has she been during her weekend activities? You name it, she's been there! From soccer practice to grocery shopping, to the beach, to grandma's house. She has even climbed trees and taken a ride on the skateboard - we have photographic evidence! On Mondays the lucky student that took home Mrs. Owl will get to share his or her journal entry with the class. Spelling groups are set according to the pretest that I administered earlier on in 1st grade. The pretest comes from a teacher manual called 'Words Their Way'. This pretest helps to inform me of the spelling and sound patterns that my students are able to recall and demonstrate that they can spell. More importantly, it gives me information on who needs help, and in which areas that help is needed.
Over the past few weeks I have been conducting Running Reading Records with my students. This enables me to determine at which level each student is reading. It also shows me if any progress has been made since Kindergarten. Once I have the information about levels, I will be able to place students in reading groups and in their groups, the students will receive reading material and instruction at their specific reading level. We are hoping to get Guided Reading groups underway by the beginning of October. Parents, this week we have welcomed our new assistant, Mrs. Kosin, who is working with both first grade classes. Please say 'hi' to her if you see her at dismissal. She is a wonderful addition to our team and she is very much enjoying getting to know the children.
Parents, if you completed a Parent Task Force form and turned it in to the office, we are now ready to have you come and volunteer! You can contact me directly with what you would like to help with. The areas where I need the most support are:
Lunch Duty (10.50-11.20am) Reading Fluency (One-on-one reading) Stuffing 'Take Home' Folders (Friday afternoons) Class Celebrations (arising a few times throughout the school year) Compiling 'Decodables' (this can be done from home!) A media assistant (to accompany the class to their Library time/media lesson) Please bear in mind that the school has asked for a background check to be carried out - you must provide the business office with your driver's license and Social Security card. This has to happen if you are going to be taking individual students or groups to work outside of the classroom...even if you will be reading with them in the hallway! Volunteering has to be pre-arranged beteen us, it cannot be a sporadic 'drop in' process. This week we welcomed our new assistant, Mrs. Kosin. She will be working with both first grade classes and we are so happy to have her! Feel free to contact me directly with any questions: [email protected] I'm looking forward to working with you! Check out our new page, 'Students Blog' for entries written by the students themselves. Any time a student wants to tell about what we are doing in class, they are allowed to come to the computer and write about it.
Parents, we now have three spelling groups: A, B and C. Please now check the homework packet for your child's list each Monday.
Parents, as you know, reading at home is an essential component of growing reading skills. Hopefully you are allowing time for your child to read aloud to you, each day. As this is happening, pause from time to time to check for your child's understanding. You may wish to refer to the list of questions below, which can be used with any fictional story. It is important that children develop not just the essential decoding skills, but the skills that enable them to more fully comprehend the story and make connections between reading and with real life experiences.
This week we are starting clubs and tutoring. My tutoring days are Monday and Thursday and by now you should know if your child has been invited to stay for tutoring. I will take two separate groups for each day, so that I can provide the children with the necessary one-to-one help that they need and keep the numbers in each group lower.
I have received a few questions about clubs! There are NO clubs on Wednesdays and Fridays. If your child has been registered for a club, you should have received a phone call from Mrs. Burke. If you are unsure about whether your child has been registered, but you know that you returned the form last Friday, please contact Mrs. Burke with your questions and she should be able to provide clarification. Her email address is [email protected]. Please note that we have been experiencing some technical problems this week with our email system and as a result, some emails that were sent on Monday are only just being delivered to our in-boxes today. Therefore if you are wondering why you haven't heard from me yet, please know that I am not ignoring you! Clubs and tutoring start at 3.25 and end at around 4.15pm, therefore we will be doing a first and a second dismissal. This morning we attended a special assembly presented by Mrs. Burke and some high school students. They spoke about the significance of this date in history, and how we should be thankful to those who serve our country and keep us safe. We watched an animation that used an interview with a victim's wife, as she spoke about that awful day and how it has changed her and her family's life. She also spoke fondly of her husband and how he lives on in the personalities of her children. It was very moving. In class we had a very good discussion about people we know and love, that keep us safe - from our family, to men and women in the police force and in the military, and fire-fighters. We watched a Reading Rainbow special that included the story 'The Tin Forest' and followed that with some very interesting discussions in small groups. We even spoke about how much we value kindness (one our class expectations), and saying thank you which can be as important as our growing math and literacy skills.
|
AuthorMrs. Wagner CategoriesArchives
August 2016
|