Spring 2007-2008
Reading
Each child is now in a "guided reading group" at school. When you read with him/her at home, please remember to do a “picture walk” first—your child should know what this means… During the introduction of each new book, look at and follow the pictures throughout the story first, so that these clues can be used to help read the text later. Relate concepts in the story to your child’s prior knowledge of similar things in his/her life as this will help in understanding the text. Review all of the current Refrigerator Words. Use these words in a variety of sentences. You should add various words (on cards) and physically move them around on the table to form sentences that make sense. Students only become better readers when they practice reading at their own individual levels. The link below demonstrates what happens in a guided reading session. Although these are first graders reading at a third grade level, the example is still demonstrative of the concept.
Listening Center and Library Center
At these centers, students are:
Learning and enhancing pre-reading skills
Developing language skills
Learning to take care of books
Recognizing that letters have meaning
Gathering information
Connecting stories to their pictures
Developing a love for books
Math Center
Throughout the Investigations Curriculum, students have been focusing on patters, sequencing, shapes, and thinking strategies. Our current unit deals with collecting items, counting, and measuring. During our math sessions, students are:
Learning new ideas
Increasing language and cognitive skills
Enhancing eye-hand coordination
Exercising the fine motor muscles
Learning to estimate
Classifying and sorting
Counting and comparing
Recognizing patterns and shapes (hexagon, trapezoid, square, triangle, rhombus, rectangle, and circle.)
Fine Motor Centers
Students are:
Exercising fine motor muscles
Enhancing eye-hand coordination
Recognizing and creating patterns
Practicing dressing skills
Classifying and sorting
Increasing language development
Writing Center
Students are:
Using fine motor skills
Increasing language development
Learning eye-hand coordination
Putting thoughts into words
Learning that print has meaning
Home Center/Dramatic Play
Students are:
Learning cooperation
Using language skills
Verbalizing ideas and concepts
Understanding emotions
Communicating with others
Observing others
Using fine and gross motor muscles
Understanding feelings of others
Acting out real life situations
Block/Construction Center
Students are:
Using fine and gross motor muscles
Classifying by shape, size, and color
Experimenting with balance and forms
Using their imaginations
Testing ideas
Recognizing quantity and number concepts
Discovering modes of transportation
Art Center
Students are:
Expanding their creativity
Increasing language development
Learning cooperation and sharing
Enhancing eye-hand coordination
Exercising fine motor skills
Showing their view of things
Bringing ideas to life
Puzzle Center
Students are:
Exercising small motor muscles
Advancing eye-hand coordination
Focusing on spatial concepts
Developing language skills
Enhancing cognitive development
Playdough Center
Students are:
Toning manipulative skills
Focusing on creativity
Advancing fine motor muscles
Using their imagination
Phonics/Language Arts
We’ve studied about one letter per week since school started. We usually read a story together that focuses on that particular letter. Then we talk about what sound the letter makes and create a word poster with tons of words and pictures that start with that sound. Often times students will be given a sheet of writing paper to copy some of their favorite words listed and then draw a picture to help them remember what the word is or means. Each student has an ABC booklet with the various letters and their songs to demonstrate the sound it makes. Every week they need to find the current letter, color the picture, sing the song, and then add at least one other picture/word that starts with that letter. At home, you could even help him/her make a collage using magazine pictures to help his/her understanding. Please always use the words that describe the pictures—not just the pictures. Have them do as much of the writing as possible—helping them to sound the words out so they get most of the letters down. (Remember that we use “best guess spelling” and it should be reinforced at home…ie. Monke=monkey and jeraf=giraffe). They need to understand that we don’t always have to spell everything the correct way…like dictionaries do.
Students should always be practicing their "best guess spelling" habits at home in daily life. I believe that students only get better at writing by continuing to write so, they will be getting lots of practice at school!
Science
Our "tree" unit should be arriving from the NorthShore district very soon.
Social Studies
We will begin our unit on "community" by studying our classroom first and then moving out to the communities of Duvall and Carnation--which will also include the study of community helpers.
Each unit will involve the making of a book to integrate reading and writing. Please make sure you have your child practice these mini-books with you as often as possible. (Have them point to the words and use good reading skills.)
