October

October News

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**Literacy**

We will continue Readers and Writers Workshops, where the routines and rituals of both workshops will be practiced.  Some of the skills we will work on for Readers Workshop in our “Building Good Reading Habits” are:  using the pictures to help figure out an unknown word, looking at all parts of a word to figure it out, making sure that the word we say makes sense and looks right, using meaning to figure out unknown words, double-checking our reading, trying different strategies to figure out unknown words, remembering to sound out unknown words two ways if needed (with a short vowel and long vowel sound), and working with a partner.  We will also continue our “Small Moments” writing unit, in which the focus is writing “small moment” stories.  (For example, writing about a time he/she got across the monkey bars at the park, instead of writing about a whole entire day.)  The children will be working on the writing process with the following steps:

  1. Think of an idea (something that happened already)
  2. Plan (touch and tell the story across the pages, then sketch each page)
  3. Write
  4. Revise

Some of the skills we will work on for Writers Workshop are: bringing our stories to life by making our characters move and speak by using speech bubbles and quotation marks,  writing our stories in itsy-bitsy steps,   bringing stories to life by making characters think and feel, using words we know to spell new and challenging words, editing our writing for correct capitalization and punctuation, studying other authors’ craft, writing with exact action, using ellipses to build excitement, using onomatopoeia for sound words, using “POP OUT” words for important words, rereading for clarity and completeness, and working with a partner.  In addition, we will begin Unit 2 in Fundations, our phonics program, with sound manipulation (initial, final, medial), blending and reading three-sound short vowel words, segmenting and spelling three-sound short vowel words, and sentence dictation procedures: capitalization, punctuation (period) and proofreading procedures.  In addition, we will begin Unit 3 in phonics with learning the concept of consonant digraphs, keywords, and sounds: sh, ch, th, wh, and ck, spelling of ck at the end of words, and  sentence dictation procedures using a question mark.

    

**Math**

We will continue to do the calendar as part of our daily routine, which includes the date, the days of the week, the months of the year, patterns, and counting the days using hundreds, tens, and ones.  Also, we will continue to work on the addition concepts taught previously and introduce subtraction concepts.  We will practice using pictures to show “taking from” and finding the differences, using concrete objects to show “taking from” and “taking apart” subtraction problems, and solving taking from and taking apart subtraction problems using the strategy of “make a model.”  We will also compare pictorial groups to understand subtraction, model and compare to show the meaning of subtraction, identify how many are left when subtracting all or zero, model and record all of the ways to take apart a number within 10 and build fluency for subtraction within 10.  After that, we will work on understanding and applying the Commutative Property for Addition (add in any order) for sums within 20, counting on 1, 2, or 3 as a strategy to find sums within 20, using doubles as a strategy to solve addition facts with sums within 20, using doubles to create equivalent but easier sums, and using doubles plus 1 and doubles minus 1 as a strategy to find sums within 20.  We will also use a ten frame to add 10 and an addend less than 10, use make a ten as a strategy to find sums within 20, use numbers to show how to use the make a ten strategy to add, use the Associative Property of Addition and/or the Commutative Property of Addition to add three addends, and solve adding to and putting together situations using the strategy of “draw a picture.”

 

**Science / Social Studies**

-Respect

- Fire Safety

- Patterns in the Sky 

-Holidays: Columbus Day & Halloween

            Please practice the mentioned skills and the sight words at home with your child.  Please read with your child daily, as well.  Thank you for your help!  Feel free to email me with any questions or concerns –[email protected]. :)