Look here to see updates on skills and concepts we are focusing on in class, including key vocabulary terms used in each subject.
English/Language Arts (September 2014)
*We will be focusing on our reading "tool box". These are strategies that your child can use when facing unknown words. These tools include:
-look at the picture
-get your mouth ready for the first letter of the word
-sound it out
-break the word into chunks
-think about what makes sense
-re-read from the beginning of the sentence
-skip the word and read to the end of the sentence
Whenever your child tries to figure out an unknown word, he or she should ask, "Does it look right? Does it sound right? Does it make sense?"
*We will be focusing on the different types of fiction, including realistic fiction, fables, mysteries, and tall tales. Students should recognize that most fictional stories have a common story structure or story elements (characters, setting, problem, and solution). It is important to be able to re-tell a fictional story sequentially and to be able to discuss how the character's feelings change throughout the story.
*We will look at basic sentence structure and will practice answering comprehension questions in complete sentences, always referring back to the text to prove where our answers came from.
*Editing writing for capitalization, punctuation and spelling of basic sight words
*During the first few weeks of school, I will be doing some basic assessments to determine what your child remembers from last year and what his/her current levels are. I will use these assessments to help make decisions about instruction.
Math (September 2014)
Part of our daily math instruction is something I call "Math Meeting". During this time, we practice functional life skills including time, money, patterns, shapes, and calendar. Students retain these skills better through daily, repetitive practice, and we build on the skills throughout the year. We also will work in large and small groups to focus on concepts, computation, and problem-solving skills that are at an appropriate level for each student. For example, all students will review the concept of addition, however some students may need to work with single digit numbers, while others need only a brief review of addition of larger numbers before moving on to other concepts.
*Time
-analog vs. digital clocks
-60 minutes in an hour
-24 hours in a day
-telling time to the hour and half hour
*Money
-identify penny, nickel, dime, and quarter and their values
-use "touch points" to start counting small groups of coins
*Geometry
-identify basic plane shapes (circle, triangle, square, rectangle)
*Place value
-Students will practice skip counting by 2,5, and 10.
-comparing numbers using <,>
-writing numbers in standard, expanded, and word form (some students will work with 2-digit numbers while others will be able to work with much larger numbers)
*Addition
-strategies for solving addition facts quickly (please make flashcard practice part of your daily routine at home)
-strategies for solving word problems using addition (i.e. draw a picture, make a bar model, write an equation)
-addend, sum
*Addition properties
-Commutative
-Associative
-Identity
*Fractions
-fractions are part of a whole
-fractions are equal sizes
-numerator, denominator
-1/2
Social Studies: (September 2014)
We will be starting our "Communities" unit. We learn about concepts such as wants vs. needs, goods and services, and budgets. More information will follow.
English/Language Arts (September 2014)
*We will be focusing on our reading "tool box". These are strategies that your child can use when facing unknown words. These tools include:
-look at the picture
-get your mouth ready for the first letter of the word
-sound it out
-break the word into chunks
-think about what makes sense
-re-read from the beginning of the sentence
-skip the word and read to the end of the sentence
Whenever your child tries to figure out an unknown word, he or she should ask, "Does it look right? Does it sound right? Does it make sense?"
*We will be focusing on the different types of fiction, including realistic fiction, fables, mysteries, and tall tales. Students should recognize that most fictional stories have a common story structure or story elements (characters, setting, problem, and solution). It is important to be able to re-tell a fictional story sequentially and to be able to discuss how the character's feelings change throughout the story.
*We will look at basic sentence structure and will practice answering comprehension questions in complete sentences, always referring back to the text to prove where our answers came from.
*Editing writing for capitalization, punctuation and spelling of basic sight words
*During the first few weeks of school, I will be doing some basic assessments to determine what your child remembers from last year and what his/her current levels are. I will use these assessments to help make decisions about instruction.
Math (September 2014)
Part of our daily math instruction is something I call "Math Meeting". During this time, we practice functional life skills including time, money, patterns, shapes, and calendar. Students retain these skills better through daily, repetitive practice, and we build on the skills throughout the year. We also will work in large and small groups to focus on concepts, computation, and problem-solving skills that are at an appropriate level for each student. For example, all students will review the concept of addition, however some students may need to work with single digit numbers, while others need only a brief review of addition of larger numbers before moving on to other concepts.
*Time
-analog vs. digital clocks
-60 minutes in an hour
-24 hours in a day
-telling time to the hour and half hour
*Money
-identify penny, nickel, dime, and quarter and their values
-use "touch points" to start counting small groups of coins
*Geometry
-identify basic plane shapes (circle, triangle, square, rectangle)
*Place value
-Students will practice skip counting by 2,5, and 10.
-comparing numbers using <,>
-writing numbers in standard, expanded, and word form (some students will work with 2-digit numbers while others will be able to work with much larger numbers)
*Addition
-strategies for solving addition facts quickly (please make flashcard practice part of your daily routine at home)
-strategies for solving word problems using addition (i.e. draw a picture, make a bar model, write an equation)
-addend, sum
*Addition properties
-Commutative
-Associative
-Identity
*Fractions
-fractions are part of a whole
-fractions are equal sizes
-numerator, denominator
-1/2
Social Studies: (September 2014)
We will be starting our "Communities" unit. We learn about concepts such as wants vs. needs, goods and services, and budgets. More information will follow.