Skills to Keep in Practice
by Barb McLaughlin
May 01, 2010
Reading - We have just finished the theme, Special Friends. Our final theme for the year will be We Can Do It!
High Frequency Words (to be learned):
SEPT. : go, on, the, and, here, jump, not, too, we, a, find, have, one, to, who
OCT. : five, four, in, once, three, two, upon, what, do, for, I, is, me, my, said, you, are, away, does, he, live, pull, they, where, animal, bird, cold, fall, flower, full, look, of, see
NOV.: all, call, eat, every, first, never, paper, shall, why, also, blue, brown, color, funny, like, green, many, some
DEC. 1-4: children, come, family, father, loves, mother, people, picture, your, black, block, Fluff, plan
DEC. 7 - 11: friends, girl, know, play, read, she, sing, today, write, best, knelt, rest, sign, snack
DEC. 14 - 18: car, down, hear, hold, hurt, learn, their, walk, would, just, must, scrub
JAN. 4 - 8: grow, light, long, more, other, right, small
JAN. 11 - 15: world, house, over, own, so , how, could
JAN. 18 - 22: fly, give, good, her, little, our, try, was
JAN. 25 - 29:: by, climb, found, morning, out, shout, show
FEB. 1 - 5: cow, door, horse, now, table, there, through, wall
FEB. 6 - 12: been, evening, far, forest, goes, hungry, near, soon
FEB. 15 - 19: want, are, hard, or, turn, both,again, gone
FEB. 22 - 26: tall, afraid, bear, most, follow, any, idea, water
MAR. 1 - 5: build, old, shoes, piece, under, shoe, wear, start, very
MAR. 8 - 12: teacher, tiny, because, happy, about, draw, part
MAR. 15 - 19: ready, seven, arms, always, eight, body, warm
MAR. 22 - 26: around, dance, ocean, else, ever, open, talk, through
APR. 14 - 17: after, before, buy, done, off, pretty, school, wash
APR. 20 - 24: baby, edge, enough, garden, only, sharp, together, watched
MAY 1 - 8: began, break, divide, head, laugh, second, sure
MAY 11 - 15: above, against, already, begin, caught, minute
MAY 18 - 22: able, eye, present, thoughts
Although it is best to use these words in context (stories and writings), some students will benefit from extra practice reading the words individually.
THOSE WHO GO OUT OF THE CLASS FOR GUIDED READING GROUPS SHOULD BE READING THE READING SHEETS NIGHTLY. THEY INCLUDE ALL OF THE ABOVE WORDS. THE READING SHEETS ARE COPIES OF THE TRANSPARENCIES THAT I SEND HOME APPROXIMATELY ONCE A WEEK. THE READING SHEETS ALSO CONTAIN NEW VOCABULARY WORDS.
For those who struggle:
Play a game with the vocabulary cards that your child brought home. Make it fun and offer a small reward, or praise, upon successful completion. One game is called the Bean Bag Toss. Place 10 -12 vocabulary cards in rows and columns on the floor. Your child will toss a bean bag onto a card, then read that card. If correct, turn the card over. When all cards have been read, play the game again. This time the cards are already face-down. Toss the bean bag onto a card. Pick it up and if it is read correctly, remove it from the game. Do this until all cards are removed. Don't forget to reward/praise when the game is over. Because this game is active, it is a motivating way to practice.
For enrichment:
Ask your child to write a paragraph about the theme, using as many vocabulary and high frequency words as possible. Remind him/her of good paragraph writing. Start with an opening (focus) sentence, include at least three detail, and write a good closing (wrap-up). Your child may want to use the computer. Illustrate using various art mediums. These may be shared at school.
Phonics - This unit covered vowels, blends, and slides:
SEPT. : two-letterslides (a consonant, followed by a short vowel) ba, be, bo, etc.; spell consonant-vowel-consonant words: leg, man, ham; use a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence and correct punctuation at the end of the sentence. Students should be able to write simple dictated sentences.
OCT. : two-letter slides (see Sept.) including the short u, and short i vowels; contractions, write correct sentences and spell CVC words.
NOV. : determine if words begin with a c or k by looking at the vowel
DEC. 1-5: clusters with l (gl, bl, cl, etc.), blending with short o (flock, block, drop,
etc.), spell short o words (hot, on, not, etc.), clusters with r (cr, br, dr, etc.),
contractions with 's (he's, she's, it's, etc.)
DEC. 7 - 11: clusters with s (sk, sn, sl, etc.), blending with short e words (stem, neck,
dress, etc.), silent letters (gn, kn, wr), spell short e words (pet, bed, ten, etc.).
DEC. 14 - 18: triple clusters (split,strap,spread, etc.), blending with short u words
(truck, snug, club, etc.), spell short u words (up, fun, but, etc.).
JAN. 4 - 8:digraphs sh, th, wh (ship,whale,thank)
JAN. 11 - 15: long a words with silent e (game), ce- and ci- words, ge-, gi- and -dge words
JAN. 18 - 22: long i words with silent e (like), contractions
FEB. 1 - 5: words with -all, -ell, -oll, -ull, and -ill endings; final -ng, and -nk; s-blends
FEB. 8 - 12: short and long vowel sounds (CVCe)
MAR. : -ed and -ing endings to short vowel words; use of a, an; vowel
pairs: oa, ow, ai, ay, ee, ea, oo, ie, igh, ew, ue, ou, ou and ow as in cloud and cow.
APRIL: sounds for "y" at the end of words (long i, e), base words with endings -es, and -ies, prefixes un-, and re-, rainbow s, and rainbow j.
MAY: aw, au, or, ore, ir, ur, er
To practice:
Those who struggle: Practice each of the short vowel sounds in isolation, then in words. Make sure your child knows each of the sounds of the letters of the alphabet well.
For enrichment: Build as many words as possible starting with the clusters and blends. Reading Rods, Scrabble pieces, and small individual letter cards are fun to use. The computer may be fun as well.
Grammar - Decide if a group of words is a sentence, or not. Write sentences that start with a capital, and use ending punctuation (. ? !) Use I and me correctly in sentences.
Math -
(SEPT) Add to sums of 10, count by 2s, 5s, 10s to 100, tell ordinal number (first, second, third, etc.), tell if a number is even or odd.
(OCT) Complete patterns and name the pattern unit. Name shapes and tell the number of sides and corners. Name solid shapes, and tell the number of flat surfaces and if the shape stack, roll, or slide.
(NOV) Add to sums of 10 using various strategies: add on, doubles plus one; problem solve.
(DEC) Numeration. Read, write, and count to 1000. Count by 2's 5's and 10's as high as possible. Compare numbers: 45>23 "forty five is greater than twenty three", and 17<71 "seventeen is less than seventy one", for example. Use the equal sign: 76=76 "seventy six is equal to seventy six". Tell the number that comes before, between and after a given number (s).
(JAN) Review addition to 10. Tell the number that is one more, or less; or ten more or less than a given number. Do calendar work.
(FEB) All of the above, and name coins and tell their value. Count pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Tell time to the hour and half-hour.
(MAR) Subtraction from 10 and word problems, both addition and subtraction.
(APR) All of the above, and addition and subtraction to 12, problem-solving with addition and subtraction, two column addition and subtraction, calendar skills, problem-solving with time.
(MAY) All of the above, plus fractions - 1/2, 1/4, 1/3, using a ruler to measure and other measurement, geometric and solid shapes, patterns and graphing.
For those who struggle: Be sure to use visuals. Unifix cubes can be assembled into groups of tens and ones to show two groups of two-digit numbers. Tell which group is greater, which is less.
For enrichment: Do mental math as you travel in the car, at meal time, etc. Ask your child which is greater 85, or 39? Also use words less and equal.
For all: Do mental math. Given addition and subtraction facts, have your child quickly give the answer. Given a three digit number, have your child give a number that is 5 more than the given number, or ten less, or one hundred more, etc. These exercises work well while traveling.
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