Lea Elementary

In April, Lea students will be planting seeds and flower plants in our patios. Each class has their own planter box. Students will learn how to water and take care of their plants while learning about plants and flowers in the classroom.

Every month each teacher will choose a student from their class, that has shown good character, follows the rules, and who is a good friend to others, as the Lea Little Cat of the month. Each Lea Little Cat will receive a Blue Lea Little Cat shirt, they will have their picture taken, and it will be placed on the "Super Lea Little Cat Wall" for the month.

Students complete an average of 45 minutes a week on i-Ready Reading. Each student needs to make an 80% on the lesson. For every ten lessons, the teacher puts up a heart. The goal of the contest is 250 Lessons passed. When the contest is over, the Top 3 Classes will be recognized.

On April 10th and April 24th, students will have the opportunity to purchase pickles and popcorn. 1/2 a pickle will be 50 cents and a bag of popcorn will be 50 cents.

These four phases of Alphabetic Principle help us understand the emergence of word reading and spelling skills and identify what type of instruction is needed. Here’s a quick summary of the key skills to reinforce at home:

In the pre-alphabetic phase, help your child learn letters and build their spoken vocabulary.

• To move into the partial phase, help your child hear the small sounds in words and learn how letters represent sounds in words.
• To move into the full phase, develop your child’s knowledge of the major letter-sound relations and their use to decode new words to build a reading-by-sight vocabulary and to spell words.
• To move into the consolidated phase, support your child’s growing knowledge of multi-letter units in the spelling system (like -ing, -tion, -ed) to read and write words.

In school, children benefit most from systematic phonics instruction to acquire these skills. One great way to support your child’s growth at home is to create lots of opportunities for them to practice reading—and to talk about what you’ve read together to boost their comprehension. And if your child is not progressing through the four phases, be sure to go to their school to ask for additional supports.

Vocabulary is knowing what words mean and how to say and use them correctly.

There are four types of vocabulary:

Listening Vocabulary – the words that we hear in spoken language.

Speaking Vocabulary – the words that we use when we speak.

Reading Vocabulary – the words that we read.

Writing vocabulary – the words that we use when writing.

Vocabulary development starts early, before children learn to read. Young children who hear more words spoken at home and in their community, and engage in more conversations with adults, enter school with more word knowledge.

Differences in children’s vocabulary knowledge are usually due to relative economic advantage, not race, ethnicity, gender, or birth order. The gap between the growth of children with less exposure to rich vocabulary and that of their peers often widens over time. So, it’s essential that vocabulary development is a fundamental goal for all students in the early grades (National Research Council, 1998).

Why is vocabulary important?

Vocabulary knowledge is important to school success. Learning, as a language-based activity, is dependent on vocabulary knowledge. To learn, students must have access to the meanings of words that teachers use (Baker, Simmons, & Kame’enui, 1998).

Vocabulary knowledge is also important for comprehension. Vocabulary is the glue that holds stories, ideas, and content together to make reading comprehension possible for children (Rupley, Logan, & Nichols, 1999).

Comprehension depends on knowing word meanings.

• If a word is decoded and pronounced but the meaning is not recognized, comprehension will likely be impaired.
• If a word is not recognized automatically, comprehension may also be affected.
• Knowledge of a word’s meaning facilitates accurate word recognition.

What it means to “know” a word can vary. For example:

• I never saw it before.
• I’ve heard of it, but I don’t know what it means.
• I recognize it in context – it has something to do with…
• I know it (Dale & O’Rourke, 1986).

April 10, 2024 Popcorn and Pickle Sales

April 18, 2024 Spring Program at Pannell Auditorium

April 19, 2024 Earth Day around the World Activities

April 24, 2024 Popcorn and Pickle Sales

April 27, 2024 Light it up Blue

• Please call the Lea Elementary Office if your child is sick or will not be in school.
• Please send a doctor's note upon their return to school or if they leave for an appointment during the day.
• Remember to label your child's belongings to avoid any mix-ups or lost items.
• Stay updated with school news and announcements by regularly checking the Lovington School Website and Parent Square.