December 18-22

Happy Martin Luther King day!  Here is what we will be working on in English class this week:

• phonics: adding a suffix to phonetic skill #5 words - to add a suffix to a word that has adjacent vowels, just add the suffix
• phonics: review spelling with /k/, digraph blends, and adding suffixes to phonetic skill #5 words - then test
• phonics: words with /gh/
• phonics: the many jobs of Y
• writing: final write of the personal narrative we started last week
• writing: begin new narrative - this one will be an assessment (meaning they will need to do it on their own - without my help).  Prompt is "write a short narrative about a character who makes a decision about money."
• STAR (reading & reading comprehension) testing this week
• reading: continue reading Money Matters! - (objective: identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text, ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, use various text features to locate key facts or information in the text efficiently, explain how specific images contribute to and clarify a text, describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in the text)

District Flyers

Here are some flyers from the district that you may be interested in:

January 11-15

I'm sorry I didn't get the blog done for last week.  Here is what we will be working on this week in English class:

• phonics - review final spelling of /k/ (short vowels words end with -ck, long vowel words end with -ke, and words with vowel digraphs end with -k)
• phonics - digraph blends (a digraph followed or preceded by a consonant: thr, nch, shr, etc.)
• phonics - sentence structure: complete, simple, compound, declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, and imperative 
• phonics - adding a suffix to a phonetic skill 5 word (a word that has a vowel digraph)
• writing - begin working on a narrative paragraph (prompt: children will write a short narrative about a character who makes a decision about what to eat for an after-school snack)
• reading - begin reading Money Matters! (objective 1: identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author want to answer, explain, or describe.  Objective 2: ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.)

December 14-18

Here is what we will be working on in English class this week:

• phonics: phonetic skill #5 (two vowels walking, the first one does the talking)
• phonics: assessment (soft c & g, adding suffixes, adverbs, and phonetic skill #5)
• phonics: spelling with -k
• reading: continuing to close read A Chair for my Mother (objectives: describe the overall structure of a story, describe how characters respond to major events and challenges, use information gained from the words in a print text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, identify and understand the central message in a text)
• writing: continue with narrative writing
• Holiday sing-along - Friday @ 8:30 AM.
• Holiday rotations - Friday 12:45-2:25.  We will be learning about holiday customs in Italy, Germany, Israel, and Mexico.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

December 7-11

I am so sorry for neglecting the blog!  Things have been very hectic lately, and to make matters worse I have been a bit under the weather.  Cold and flu season has definitely arrived!  Here is what we will be working on in English class this week:

• phonics: soft c & g
• phonics: adding suffixes to CVCe (consonant-vowel-consonant-e) and CV words
• phonics: adverbs
• reading: begin A Chair for my Mother (objective: identify and understand story structure)
• reading: compare A Chair for my Mother with Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday.
• writing: begin working on narrative writing (objective: write a narrative that clearly describes the order of story events)
• power hour: continued practice becoming better readers, spellers, and comprehenders.

We will have our annual holiday music program on Monday @ 1:30 (for grades 1 & 2 - grades 3, 4, & 5 will be on Tuesday, and K will be next week).  Hope to see you there!

November 16 - 20

On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I will be in Salt Lake at the Professional Learning Community conference.  Mrs. Navarro will still be at school.  Please remind your child about your expectations for their behavior when we have a substitute.  Here is what we will be working on this week in English class:

• phonics: adjectives
• phonics: spelling with -ke
• phonics: phonetic skills 3 & 4 (phonetic skill 3 is the 'sneaky e rule' and 4 is 'two vowels walking')
• math: review of standard, expanded, and pictorial forms of numbers
• writing: writing sentences that compare and contrast two different things
• writing: beginning work on a narrative that outlines the process of making a choice
• reading: begin reading Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday (objective - identify how characters respond to major events or challenges)
• power hour: continued practice in reading, spelling, and comprehension

November 9-13

Here is what we will be working on in English class this week:

• phonics: linking verbs
• phonics: subject/verb agreement
• phonics: vowel families o & i (-old, -olt, -ost, -ind, -ild) - these are single vowel words in which the vowel sound is long
• phonics: phonetic skill #3 (when a vowel stands alone, the vowel sound is long - for example, in the word 'she' or 'go')
• writing: writing sentences that compare and contrast two different things
• reading: The House on Maple Street (objective: to describe the overall structure of a story, and to use information from words and pictures in a text to show understanding of setting)
• power hour - continuing to practice reading, spelling, and comprehending

There is no school on Friday.  It is a professional development day for teachers.