Weekly Update ~ 1/22/12

-We began our 3^rd Unit in Language Arts.  The students read a rhyming fantasy story, On My Way to School, about a boy who tells his teacher a bizarre story about why he is late for school.  Ask your child to retell the story.  What animal made him late in the beginning, middle, and end of the story?  If you could add one more animal to the story, what would it be?

-In Spelling, we introduced the Magic E, which is used with the /vcv/ pattern, while making long a words.  We had tons of fun as we practiced building words in the –ake, -ate, and –ame word families.  For more practice, visit the following websites:

http://www.starfall.com/n/skills/silent-e/load.htm

http://www.starfall.com/n/long-a/la/load.htm?f

http://www.starfall.com/n/make-a-word/silent-e/load.htm?f

http://www.literactive.com/Download/live.asp?swf=story_files/Magic_E_Machine_US.swf

http://www.sadlier-oxford.com/phonics/grade_k_1/longa.htm

http://www.starfall.com/n/picture-hunt/long-a/load.htm?f

http://www.thinkfinity.org/prankster-cam-manny-silent-e-video

-In our Grammar lessons, we learned about verbs this week.  A verb is an action word, such as jump, play, and go.  We played verb charades, identified action words in text, and used verbs to complete sentences.  We practiced adding –ed,-ing, and -s endings to verbs.

-We also read and wrote letters paying attention to accurately adding commas in our greeting and closing.  The students had a wonderful time writing letters of appreciation to various staff members in the school while practicing this new skill! 

*BONUS CHALLENGE*:  Write a letter to Mrs. Swisher.  Include 2 statement sentences telling about things you like.  Write 1 question sentence.  Don’t forget to include commas in your greeting and closing!   J

Check out the following websites for additional practice:

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/flip/

http://www.funbrain.com/brain/ReadingBrain/Games/Game.html?GameName=MadLibsOnceUponA&Brain=reading&GameNumber=2&Color=FFFFFF

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/grammar/verbs.htm

http://pbskids.org/lions/games/wordplay.html

http://www.abcya.com/friendly_letter_maker.htm

-In Math, we continued to work on Chapter 10 – Place Value to 100.  We learned how to write numbers in different ways.  The children are now able to write numbers 1-100 in standard form, using base-ten blocks, and in expanded form.  As a new addition to our Candy Land Adventures hallway, we completed a sweet project showing numbers in different way using different kinds of candy.  Ask your child what number they showed, and which kind of candy they used to represent tens and ones. 

For more math fun, click on these links:

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/match2_4/

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/numbers_to_100_b/

http://www.ictgames.com/partition.html

http://www.ictgames.com/sharknumbers.html

http://www.ictgames.com/sharkNumbers_v2.html

http://www.ixl.com/math/grade-1/count-tens-and-ones-up-to-30

http://www.ixl.com/math/grade-1/counting-up-to-100

http://www.ixl.com/math/grade-1/counting-tens-and-ones-up-to-99

-We began a new unit in Social Studies called Work! Work! Work!  Throughout the unit, the students will learn about different jobs, services, and goods.  This week we discussed needs and wants, and also identified how toys have changed from past to present.