Spelling - The focus of our weekly words was the long a sound made by using final, bossy or helpful e (a-e). We also looked at other ways to make the same long a sound using different spelling - ai, -ay and -eigh. Students were also divided into Spelling groups to work on different spelling components such as long vowels,vowel combinations, blends and word endings. We hope that by working in small groups children will not only build spelling skills but also the ability to work together in small groups. Parents can continue to support their child's spelling efforts in their weekly spelling word sentences.
Writing - This week we reviewed adjectives which we used to complete a descriptive writing task. Every student chose one topic such as a food, toy or animal and wrote details using all senses. Students are becoming familiar with the Writing Process through such practice.
Reading - In Reader's Workshop this week we looked at how knowing "snap words" (sight words)can really help build up fluency in reading. Children also learned to check their own reading. Good readers check their own reading to know if its right by asking themselves questions such as "Does this make sense in the story?" "Does this sound right?" and "Are the words I am saying match the letters and sounds I see written?" While reading at home parents can encourage children to stop and ask these kind of questions when they notice something is not right.
We looked at comparing numbers the see which number was greater or less than the other. Children compared sets and found how many more or how many fewer. They used strategies such as counting out objects, jumping along the number line and using tens and ones place value charts. We also used connecting cubes to make and understand number patterns by counting up or back by ones, twos or threes.
We continued to talk about where things are located and how we can find them using globes and maps. Students learnt parts of a map such as the key and compass rose and after practising drawing objects to the north,east, south and west of objects they tried to draw their own maps of their neighbourhood.
Last week we started discussion about Objects in the Sky. This week we looked more closely at how the sun, moon and stars seem to move through the sky. Understanding how the moon goes through it's phases was interesting to many students. Next week our science investigation will take us outside to measure the movement of the sun so let's hope for sunny days!
Thank you to Yuta's dad, Steven who was our mystery reader this week. He read the book "The Fire Cat" by Esther Averill. This was a story that Yuta's dad enjoyed as a child and one both Grade 1 classes enjoyed.
Thank you to Mischa's mother and father, Maya's mother and Alexis' mother for coming and sharing a little about the jobs they do. I think it was a great opportunity for our students to hear first hand about some of the jobs people in our community do.
Students were excited to talk about what they did in the Winter break and show us momentos from their holidays. We had many presenters today so a few will present on Monday and that will complete the topic of Winter Break. We will take a break next Friday and let you know the topic and schedule for the next Show and Tell.
Larissa