Beginning our Language (English) Studies
Word Study
We are reviewing basic sounds in words to start the year. many students find the short vowel sounds tricky to differentiate: Is it sit, set, sat? Is it pen, pin, pun? Our word study dictations and word review will focus on these short vowel sounds. Students will have a list of words to learn on Wednesdays to prepare for the following Tuesday. Word wall words will be added to the pattern words. When I dictate the words I will ask students to study "band" for example. They should then be able to transfer that pattern to stand and brand by using listening skill during the dictation.
Sentence writing will include when to use capital letters and end punctuation.
We are exploring WHY people read and WHAT people read. Students generated this list.
Reading
Research suggests that the best way for children to improve their reading is to read a book at their "just right level" of difficulty. If a book is too difficult, the child will not only feel discouraged, they simply will not understand enough to grasp the meaning. If a book is easy or familiar, it may provide practice for becoming fluent, but it needs to balanced with books that have enough challenge to help the reader improve their skill. We call it the "Goldilocks" rule where the reading level should be "just right".
Students will learn to figure out themselves if a book is easy, just right, or too hard. They can count the number of mistakes made on a page using the 5 finger rule. 5+ mistakes, the book may be too hard. 2 or less may mean the book is too easy.
Parents as Partners