Week 22

Our story this week is "Me on the Map." It is a non-fiction story. The sound this week is long a as in cape. The new vocabulary words are:

country

Earth

over

special

town

world

Questions of the Week:

Monday - Tomorrow will start a new month. Which one is it? How many days in it? Any other special things about the month?

Tuesday - List 5 words that rhyme with lake.

Wednesday - Use the word special in a sentence.

Thursday - Use the word country in a sentence.

Friday - List 5 words with the long a sound.

Friday will be Monster Sandwich Day. Your child will not need a lunch that day. We earned the reward two weeks ago but because of Early Release and the fact that I have to notify the cafeteria a week in advance, we have to wait to have it. The kids seem to like it and they eat so much better.

Math kinda got put on the back burner this week as far as the math book is concerned. I found a new way for the kids to learn to count money. Let's see if I can explain it. A nickel gets one dot and a dime gets two. Then the children count by fives. It makes it so they don't have to count by 10's then count by 5's and then by 1's. When we get the quarter, it will get 5 dots and they will continue to count by 5's. When your child is developmentally ready to not use that method they will give it up. For now it makes it so much easier. Everyone caught on to it in about twenty minutes. WHAT AN EXCITING THING!!!

This week we will finally get to "What's My Rule?" and will begin a new math book. It starts with probability and turn around facts. We are studying the facts of 10 and taking timed tests on them daily.

Spelling is getting better. Most are catching up. This week your child needs to be on List 15. They have worked hard to get there.

Have a great week!!!

Week 21

Monday is the 100th day of school. We will be doing activities that deal with 100 all day long. It should be a fun day.

We are starting a new reading book this week. It is hard to believe that we are starting book four already. This is only one more left when we finish this one. You will notice a jump in reading level in this book. It seems much harder than the last one and the stories are longer.

The book is called Time Together. Our story this week is "A Bed Full of Cats." The phonics sound is long e, made by e, ea, and ee. The new vocabulary words are:

also

anything

know

moved

only

room

should

those

write

Questions of the Week

Monday - What did you like best about the 100th Day?

Tuesday - List 5 nouns.

Wednesday - List 5 words that rhyme with me.

Thursday - List 5 words that have the long e sound.

Friday - What is your favorite TV program?

In math we will be doing the "What's My Rule?" routine. We didn't get there last week. We will continue to work on math facts daily.

Spelling is still a problem. Some are starting to catch up. This week they must be on List 14. If not, we will spend morning recess on spelling. You should have the book, I gave you with the words in it and they are also on the blog. www.thesassclass.blogspot.com.

AR has become important. I am so glad. I think we will see reading fluency improve as they spend more time reading. Congratulations to Caden and Race for earning zipper pulls this week.

Remember that Friday is an Early Release Day.

Have a great week!

Congratulations AR Stars

Addie has passed 100 tests to earn a watch.

Jessica has passed 50 tests to earn a shirt.

Week 20

We are reading the last story in this book. It is a fable called "The Fox and the Stork." A fable is a story that teaches a lesson. The new sound this week is the long o sound made by ow or oa. The new vocabulary words are:

door

kind

made

who

would

Questions of the Week

Tuesday - List 5 words with the long o sound.

Wednesday - List 5 words that rhyme with low.

Thursday - What would you do with $20?

Friday - List the people in your family

In math this week, we will continue working on building speed with math facts. We will also be doing work with probability and learning the "What's My Rule" routine.

Spelling isn't progressing as I had hoped. Many just aren't remembering to go to the computer to take a test. Your child should have passed at least one test per week. This week he/she should be on List 13. If your child is not on that list, there will be no morning recess until he/she catches up. Please have your child practice spelling words at home. We have practice time every morning for at least 10 minutes.

Reading fluency is still our main objective for the rest of the year. There will be a progress monitoring session on Tuesday to see if we are building speed. Your child will be expected to read 40 WPM by May to reach first grade benchmark.

AR seems to have taken off. The kids seem to be more interested now. I am hoping that the reading necessary to take the tests will also help us build fluency. Congratulations to Addie for earning a watch. She has really been working hard to earn as many awards as she can before she moves in February. Congratulations to Jessica for earning her AR shirt. Also Congratulations to Taelynn for earning a zipper pull.

Have a good week!!

Week 19

We are continuing to work on reading fluency. The story for this week is called "Friends Forever." It is a non-fiction story. The phonics sound for the week is "le" as in the word middle. The new vocabulary words are:

each

great

other

place

school

talk

together

Questions of the Week

Monday - What things let you know that winter is here?

Tuesday - What activities do you like to do in winter?

Wednesday - What is your favorite sport?

Thursday - Use the word 'together' in a sentence.

Friday - Write 3 words that have 'le' at the end.

In math, we will be working on greater than and less than and then moving into how much greater than or less than. We will continue to do timed tests to build automaticity in math facts.

I am pushing spelling. I am trying to get those that are behind caught up. I hope you will help your child practice the spelling lists at home. They are on the blog and also in the book I sent home with you.

I have changed our Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders games. I have put words on the cards to be used. They must read the sight or vocabulary word to be able to move. I am hoping this will help us practice those words that are so important to fluent reading. If any of you are interested in doing this at home, let me know. I have the word lists typed up and would be willing to print you a set of labels to put on the cards.

I am also having the kids spend more time on self selected reading. They are starting to work on AR. My goal is for them to become fluent readers and they will only do that by reading.

Have a good week.

Week 18

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I hope 2011 is kind to everyone.

The resolution in our room is going to be to build reading fluency. The previous skills have been mastered very well. Now we need to build speed. We will be working on it daily. Your child will be expected to read 40 words per minute on unseen text with no picture clues by May to reach benchmark. Please remember that the new state law says that any third grader not reading on grade level by whatever standard they choose can and will be retained. I find that pretty frightening so we will really be working hard.

The story this week is "On the Way to the Pond." The phonics skill is the /er/ sound made by er, ir, ur. The new vocabulary words are:

find

follow

found

four

full

these

way

were

This group of words is pretty hard because you have 5 words that start with the letter f.

Questions of the Week:

Monday - What was your favorite Christmas gift?

Tuesday - First roller skates, 1884. Is roller skating good exercise? Why?

Wednesday - It is Flower Day. What is your mom's favorite flower?

Thursday - Use the word full in a sentence.

Friday - Write 5 words with the /er/ sound.

In math we will continue with place value. Math facts are an emphasis. We will continue to work on getting them to automaticity.

Spelling is not going as well as I had hoped. Many are just not taking the time to get to the computer to test. We have practice time every morning as a part of our morning routine.

We will start having AR Day a week from Thursday. We will have lunch in the room if you have earned a zipper pull, a shirt, or have passed 3 tests in the previous week. If you have a shirt you need to wear it on Thursday. It is the ticket to lunch.

We did win a pizza lunch on Friday. Then they told me it would be ice cream. We will have pizza in the room as promised even if I have to buy it. The kids did well and deserve what they were promised. Do not plan on sending a lunch on Friday. We will have a pizza party in the room.

Thanks for all the help and support you give me and our class. Have a great week.