04/17/2021
Edited to Add: Summer Session will begin June 23rd (if there is enough interest) and will be approx. 8 weeks. Please send a private message for more details! 😄
Hello! I haven’t sent an update in a while and wanted to fill you in on some of the things we have been working on. (It’s a little longer than some, but wanted to include all that I could!) Each kiddo has been progressing well and I love seeing the growth! Thanks for ALL you do at home as well. 🙂
Schedule Changes
-(See private email with these dates)
Read Aloud & Word Study Block
• During our morning read aloud, we cover a variety of skills. We have discussed author’s purpose, point of view, problem/solution, main vs. minor characters and much more!
• Sight Words!! We do this each week, even though it’s just a few. I try to mix a couple review words with a couple new ones. Other than flash cards, we use magnetic letters to pull down the correct letters on some occasions and during other sessions, use shaving cream or playdough to “draw” the words. We also do this with our word study sorts for the week.
• Word Study: We just finished a sort with “d, r, dr.” Beginning blends and diagraphs have been our focus and that transfers over to words that end with these sounds during writing, reading groups, etc... Within the next few weeks, we will begin “studying” word families such as -og, -ig, -ag and -ug.
Guided Reading
• Initially the kids do a quiet picture walk and then they form/share predictions based on observations. I then either introduce a new concept or strategy, or remind them of one or two that I have seen them struggling with.
• Independent reading comes next, as I monitor and assist as needed. As words begin to get more complex, I have to remind the students not to stay on an unknown word for too long. They need to remember to skip it for the moment, then come back to it in order to figure out what would make sense in that sentence. However, I also encourage them to attempt unknown words and not simply skip it without using the known strategies.
• After reading, I sometimes ask if they can retell or summarize the story. We have started using a graphic organizer to tell the key details (sometimes organized by beginning, middle and end). For the younger readers, illustrations can be used to put the events in order.
• Ideally, I would love for the book they receive to be read over and over in order to practice the skills, fluency, accuracy and comprehension. We have been talking about understanding what we’re reading, quotation marks, commas, bold print, compound words, breaking larger words into chunks or sections, using expressions and becoming a more fluent reader who “reads like they speak.”
Writing
I have noticed that it’s much easier for the students to write lengthier stories (with juicier details) during free write days. However, they also need to be able to respond to a given prompt as well. This has chosen to be a more difficult task for each of them, so I plan to incorporate prompts more for the remainder of the year. I will still continue to do a modeled/interactive writing during many sessions as well. We look for correct punctuation, proper uppercase and lowercase, discuss how to form/spell words correctly and also collaborate on which details to include or leave out. This is also a time to (again) review phonetic spelling and sight words. At the end of our writing, I model accurate and fluent re-reading to check my work. Illustration is never done during this part due to time, but I do give the kids a few minutes to complete an illustration as it’s an important piece in connecting the author to the illustrator.
Handwriting
We don’t spend a lot of time on “handwriting,” but I do want the kids to be able to use lined paper correctly and know the correct formation of each letter. As writing matures, their handwriting will branch out and will become unique to them. I can easily tell (already) who’s writing it is, even if they’ve forgotten to write their name. J Also, at this age, it is still very normal to see the occasional backwards letter/number, so please don’t let this worry you. I haven’t noticed anything concerning at this point regarding handwriting.
Math
I’ve put a lot of focus into the following areas the past few weeks and have been building upon it each session:
• Skip Counting by 5s (quite a bit) and 2s
• Counting “on” (forward) from a given number and backwards
• Measurement with different objects (chain links and cubes); using the terms smallest to largest; modeling how to accurately measure (putting the measuring tool at the exact beginning and end of the thing they are measuring)
• Capacity: Compare objects using terms like heavier, lighter, greater than, less than, equal to
• Time to the hour and half hour; we have discussed (and practiced) counting by 5s around the clock, but it’s still a bit difficult. We’ll continue doing it as a whole group, but not independently
• Addition Facts (flashcards): We’ll be starting this and playing it as a game. Math and subtraction facts (10 and under) should also become “fluent.”
• Place Value: We continue to talk about this frequently but aren’t doing activities with it currently.
