Mrs. Shields' Weekly Update

Wow! What a beautiful weekend! Hope you were able to get outside and take advantage of the perfect fall weather! Now that it's not 100 degrees everyday, I hope to get the kids outside more to enjoy the weather for snacks, story-time, and outside learning.

Thank you for returning the sign and return assessment packet. Most weeks you will receive a sign and return packet. Please take the time to go over the packet completely with your child discussing all incorrect answers and a return the whole packet. In addition, please look at all the papers I grade and return daily to your child. Go over anything your child missed. I may write "fix" or "do" on a page ,and I ask that page be completed and returned.

A WORD ABOUT STUDENT PROGRESS

Some of you have reached out concerned about your child's performance and how they are progressing in school especially given the amount of time missed last spring. I promise we will discuss this in more detail as it applies specifically to your student at conferences. For now, here is my take on student progress at this point.

Yes, most kids have come in a little behind where entering 1st grade students have been in the past traditionally. This is not unexpected given the school closure. However, this is what I know and what I want you to know.

We are working harder than ever together to get caught up. I would never expect them to magically know everything they missed last spring and will only hold them accountable for the skills that I repeatedly cover with them in class, and those that we have been working on since August.

We are teaching phonics more slowly and thoroughly than ever before. Here are some of the phonics routines that we do daily in class:

• We review all letter sounds with corresponding picture cards and CVC words daily
• We review each vowel both long and short sounds every day.
• We review the rules on every word that we code on the front side of the phonics worksheet every day.
• We sound out every word by segmenting the sounds first and then blending them to make the word.
• We go over all current and past high frequency words from Wonders and Saxon series daily.
• We use the high frequency words in sentences.

Based on what we are doing in class, at this point your child should be able to do the following:

• Recognize and read the high frequency words each week from the homework/focus sheet.
• Know the sounds for the following letters: n, o, t, p, i, l, a, z, s, d, f, h, g, r,
• Be able to easily blend any combination of any of those sounds.
• know that vowels have a least 2 sounds (long and short)
• code short vowels with a breve.
• code open accented vowels with a macron
• know how to read the words that they are coding. (ie., Make the connection that the purpose of coding is to be able to read the word.)

In Math: your child should be able to:

• create a number bond using a given number sentence, and find a missing number in a number bond.
• write a subtraction and an addition sentence using a number bond.
• be able to tell you the number one rule for creating a subtraction sentence that we chant every, single day! :)

These are all things we do every day in math.

I hope this information is helpful for you to have a clearer picture of my expectations for what your child should be able to do at this point. Please note that I do not expect your child to have all 100 of the Fry Sight Words memorized at this point. Although the quicker they learn these the easier reading will be, they need only master them by end of the first semester. We are reviewing and introducing new words each week.

ALSO, please do not drill your child over all or even half of the list of 100 sight words each night. Pick a row or a group of 10 or less to work on until they are mastered and then add new words as needed. You should not be spending more than 10 minutes per day memorizing these words. A quick flip or two through flash cards or a memory game each night is adequate. Repeated exposure is key.

I look forward to talking to each of you more in depth during our parent teacher conferences. If you have not yet signed up for a time please do so as soon as possible.

The new list will come home Monday. The spelling test and dictation test will be on Friday. Your child should be able to read and spell these words. Also, they are expected to use correct punctuation and beginning capital when writing the sentences.

When practicing please make sure to check for beginning capital and punctuation mark.

Please refer to the parent help letter at the bottom of the homework and help your child by checking to see if the coding is correct.

This Week: Letters K, C, and B

NEW RULE: K and C Spelling Rules:

• k before e, i, or y
• c before a, o, u, and any consonant

The students will have to be able to draw an example like below. We will practice this daily.

Please refer to the parent help letter at the bottom of the homework and help your child by checking to see if the coding is correct,

At this time they should be able to tell you how to code:

1. A vowel followed by a consonant is short; code it with a breve.

2. An open accented vowel is long; code it with a macron.

3. Suffix -s at the end of the word is coded with a box around the s. We do not code every s only those that change the meaning of the word to mean more than one.

4. A voiced s or voiced suffix -s \z\ is coded with a line through the s.

5. Twin consonants (double ll, ss, ff, zz) is coded by marking out the last consonant.

It is so important to practice this at home because the rules will add up so keeping up will help them become proficient readers. Also, when they are reading and come across a word they don't know please refer to the rules and have them use them to figure out a word.

• On the top, the new letter will be introduced. Your child will need to write 5 of the capital letters and 5 of the lowercase letter. I ask that you sit down with your child and make sure he/she is forming the letter correctly according to the Zaner-Bloser printing guide I included in your open house folder. You can also use the button below to see the correct way to form the letters. All letters start from the top and your child should put a space between each letter. The circle letters like a, d, g, o, q are tricky so please help your child get the correct starting point. These letters DO NOT start at the bottom. Letters b & p start by making the stick first.

Saxon Rules covered

The more you practice the new rules with your child the easier it will be when new rules are added. They will have their 1st assessment on Friday. Your child will have to code words to show an understanding of the rules below:

• Vowel Rule 1: A vowel followed by a consonant is short; code it with a breve.

Examples: căt, lŏg, tŭg, wĕt, sĭt

• Vowel Rule 2: An open, accented vowel is long; code it with a macron.

Examples: mē’, hē’, gō’, sō’

1st Quarter Skills

Math:

• ordinal numbers
• Addition and subtraction facts 0-6
• Solve real-world problems using facts.

Reading:

• Recognize the components on a sentence (starts with a capital, complete thought, and ends with a punctuation mark)
• Blending Sounds to make words
• Add/delete or substitute sounds to change words. Change the i in pig to e and write the new word. pig = peg
• Distinguish beginning, middle, and ending sounds.
• Segment sounds pig /p/ /i/ /g/
• Read common word families cap, gap, map, sap, trap, clap, etc
• Read accurately and fluently supporting comprehension. Books have levels of difficulty from A-Z. Level C is considered on level 1st quarter. I will be adding level C books to Raz kids for your child to practice.
• Ask and answer key details about the main idea and details in a fiction text.
• Plot, Character, and setting
• Ask and answer questions in a non-fiction text.
• Use context clues and text features for unknown words.
• Sort words into categories.
• Write upper and lower case letters legibly.