Looking forward to seeing some of the parents at conferences this week! Please bring any questions you have. I hope to help shed some light :)
Week Review: In reading groups this week, we will focus on building words. 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 will be going to Powell Hall this week and celebrating at our Fall/Halloween party.
The Carnival of the Animals by Jack Prelutsky can be found in the St. Louis County Library. They describe this book-and-CD set as "a great way to introduce children to classical music. America's first Children's Poet Laureate has written all-new verses to accompany the composer Camille Saint-Saens's "The Carnival of the Animals." This is the music that the first graders will be hearing when they visit Powell Hall.
J is for Jack-O'-Lantern: A Halloween Alphabet* by Denise Brennan-Nelson. This story is adorable! I encourage you not to avoid "alphabet" or "counting" books, because you think your child has conquered A-Z or counting 1-10. Some of these books have rich, new vocabulary. This book is an example of that. There are words or concepts that you can explain when sitting down and reading this book together. For example, witches brew, or snazzy, dangle, or kooky, crooked grin and disguise. Have fun and enjoy the beautiful illustrations by Donald Wu.
* indicates if it can be found in the Sappington Library.
Parent Tip: As the weather continues to get colder and we spend less time outdoors, keep an eye out for fun, educational ways to spend time together as a family. Pick a night (Wacky Wednesdays, for example) that the TV stays off and family games are a must. Try visiting www.itsamadlibsworld.com where there are over 250 Mad Libs to fill out with your family. If you aren't familiar with Mad Libs, they are a "funny, often ridiculous story created when you fill in the blanks with the part of speech that is requested." Most likely you will have to help them with some examples of a noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc. but giving them a few examples (the wackier, the better) will help expand their own vocabulary. The end result is a funny story that most first graders want to hear over and over again!
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