Learning To Go Mr. Avery's Class on the Web 

Spelling homework begins this week! Memorization is an important part of learning to read and to write, and to that end there is value in practicing words for mastery. But which words should kids learn? In first grade, the word lists to study each week will come from our phonics focus for the week, and from the Nifty Fifty sight word list, for a total of 10 words. Because reading and writing are differentiated activities where kids work at their individual levels, the spelling lists will reflect this.

Each week students will be assigned 5 words that use a particular phonics rule. For example, this week we are learning to use the blends sl-, bl-, and pl-. One word list will have words like “sled; plan; etc.”, while another will have words like “bleed; plane; etc.”, and a third list will have words like “blueberry; planning; etc.”.

The second group of 5 words will be sight words. I have given an assessment to each student that tests which of the Nifty Fifty they know and do not know how to write. Students will be studying words not mastered until done. For students that master all 50 words, they will be choosing from Dolch sight word lists for first, second, and then third grade for the rest of the year.

For many students, this work represents the first time these youngsters are systematically trying to memorize words. Just as with math facts, each student may progress at a different rate. For some, this means it may take more than one week to learn sight words or to show improvements with memory. Frequent practice with a  variety of strategies is the key! Spelling quizzes will be on Friday of each week.

Last week I explained the Make and Break strategy for learning to memorize words. Another strategy to develop memory is Mental Writing. Students should look at a word and trace it with their fingers. Then they close their eyes and picture the letters that make up the word, spelling it as they mentally write it in their minds. Then they write it a few times on paper, doing the same.

Here is a link to more ideas for memorizing spelling words: http://voices.yahoo.com/10-ways-help-children-learn-their-spelling-words-7147210.html

And this link will lead you to the Dolch sight word lists mentioned earlier: http://www.spellingcity.com/dolch-words.html

This week we will finish unit 3 in Everyday Math. We will continue to use coins to add and to count by 10s, 5s, and 1s. In addition, we will continue to target skills being graded on the report card (i.e. counting backwards and trading in pennies for nickels) since marks close this Friday for Trimester One. Can you believe how fast this year is flying by?

Wednesday and Thursday of this week there is no homework in the math packet, since we will be spending time reviewing and practicing concepts in advance of the unit test on Friday and report card assessments. I urge you to spend the extra time practicing math facts and spelling words! Also, please read the Family Letter for unit 4 in the math homework packet. It gives a good overview of the skills and concepts expected to be learned, along with the purpose behind instruction. We will begin unit 4 on Monday.

In social studies, we will use a variety of media (books, video, internet) to learn about the history of the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving and the ways it is celebrated today (Long ago/Today comparing and contrasting; informational writing based on research).

In Science, we will go out in the field (literally and figuratively!) to collect soil samples from our nature trail. Using our developed understanding of earth materials, we will investigate the composition of this soil (from a wetlands area). What did we expect to find? Which earth materials were most prevalent in the sample? Were any missing that we expected to see? Was there anything there we didn’t expect (for example organic material such as leaves, feathers, etc., that haven’t yet decomposed)? Why might it be there?

Next week our blog will be taking a break for Thanksgiving. I hope you and your family have much to be thankful for this year, and I wish you the happiest of holidays!

 

Our CAFE focus this week comes from the “E” for Extending Vocabulary: Tune into interesting words when reading, speaking, and writing. This is a necessary part of learning to read. Writers write in a narrative style that differs from spoken speech, including words that make the writing interesting. Now is the perfect time for kids to pay attention to those new words they encounter in reading, especially when they don’t use them normally when speaking. It’s one more tool we can add to our treasure chest of strategies we use to figure out unknown words.

This week we introduce the Narrative Writing Diamond. It is a visual tool to help us remember how stories (both real accounts from life, and fiction) are structured. When kids write personal narrative of their life events, there is a tendency to start a story in the morning, tell about events during the day, and end with going to bed. This year we’ll work to develop a sense of telling about “one slice in time,” or telling about one event only, with detail. The story therefore should start near the event; the middle should relate the event with details so the reader understands; and the end should include thoughts or feelings about the event in a way that wraps things up and leaves the reader with thoughts or feelings of their own.

Spelling homework begins next week. Students will come home Monday with 10 words: 5 representing the phonics focus for the week, and 5 sight words from our Nifty Fifty and beyond. For 5-10 minutes per night, M-Th, students should practice spelling and writing the words until they are learned. One strategy for learning them is to “make and break”: write the letters of a word on paper; read it; mix up the letters and remake the word a few times; write the whole word. I’ll post a new strategy here in each of the next few weeks! Quizzes will be on Fridays.

In math we will extend our use of finding and recording patterns in number. We will learn how to create functions using calculators to count/add/subtract by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s. Patterns are important to understanding numbers and computation. For example, if I add 12 + 30, I know my answer will fall in the 40-50 range, with a “2” in the ones place. Playing the games from Everyday Math can help: https://emgames.everydaymathonline.com/g_chooser.html?gradelevel=1&PHPSESSID=2972ba09fe68bbf6e4e8233ff7e907d4

We will also learn about dimes and use them to add/count by 10s. Keep working your child’s number memory at red lights and during commercials: Count by 10s to ____. Stop. Count on by 5s…….Stop. Count on by ones…….Stop. Try showing the counts you do with dimes, nickels, and pennies. Our new favorite dimes video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glGTuowt2Ko

If you haven’t yet, please send in some dimes for us to use in class. Real currency is exciting for kids, and there may be a tendency for them to want to take some home from our classroom. If you see “unexpected” change, consider sending that in as well!

In science we will learn through exploration about another earth material: humus. We will combine it with the other materials we have examined and sorted (gravel, sand, silt, pebbles) to make soil. We will learn the importance and scale of soil, as it covers nearly all of earth’s land surface.

In social studies we will share stories from Veteran’s Day, and learn how people in our armed services served their country long ago and in present times.

Yee Haw! Our Fall Festival and Hoedown were a blast! Kids were treated to Fall fun in the classroom and worked off their energy by square dancing and country line dancing in the gym. A big thank you to Bethany Pyro, Sarah Hansen, Kerrie Milani, and Yihong Xu for helping make the day a big hit!