Week of November 1st

• Please get out and vote on Tuesday, November 2nd!  
• This is a shortened week, so my plan is to continue instruction from last week.

Week Review:  In reading groups this week, we will continue to focus on building words.  Just a reminder that: Level B will continue to focus on practicing sight words.  Level C will be focusing on changing the beginning letter or sound to create a new word. Our endings will have the short and long "a" sound (sat, cat, rat, hat, bat, OR make, take, bake, rake). Levels D and E will focus on adding the -ed ending to words (looked, cried, baked) and make them aware of the "unusual" rules (change the y to i and then add -ed OR drop the silent e and then add -ed).  Level F will be practicing breaking/chunking up words into parts and looking for little words that we already know (sh/out).  Level G will be building words in a pattern or sequence as found in Patricia Cunningham's book Making Words, 1st Grade.  Levels H and higher will be introducing new vocabulary through our books.  We will be discussing the unknown words in our story. (the pronunciation, the meaning)

Book/Author Suggestion:  Students had the opportunity last week to vote in an age-appropriate election.  Parents have the opportunity to vote on   Prop L, this Tuesday, November 2nd.  It is a wonderful opportunity to discuss our right to be heard and make changes to better our community.  Try checking out:
                 Voting in Elections* by Terri DeGezelle.  It is a nonfiction book with a Reading Level of 3.7. This book describes how people vote and elect government leaders and examines the history of voting in America, who can vote, and how the votes are counted.  It is a great place to start discussions with your child.
                  Duck for President* by Doreen Cronin.  This is the author of Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type She brings humor to the electoral process through her fictional story.  Students will laugh and get an idea of how important a few votes can be! 
* indicates if it can be found in the Sappington Library. 

Parent Tip:  As Election Day approaches, we may be overwhelmed with the TV commercials and countless ads in our mailbox, but I encourage you to remember that it is an awesome responsibility to be able to vote.  Try to share the importance of voting with your child by taking time to read up on the facts that you will be voting on this Tuesday.  The South County Times included a sample ballot in their paper today.  It includes the candidates and the language that will be used on your local ballot.  I think it is important to share with our students that even as adults, we can have trouble with the language of something and how we use the resources we have to help educate ourselves.  If you are interested, take some time to stop by the website that your child visited and exercised their right to vote: www.kidsvotingmissouri.org