More Mental Math Strategies...

   

We are learning more addition and subtraction mental math strategies!! We have been reviewing the 12 we have learned up until this week! An updated collection of these will come home on Monday to replace any old sheets. The collection is also posted below for reference. Please use these at home to help with our math work that comes home and to practice these strategies when you get a chance to build our skills of our math facts! Students are loving the math challenges that are presented and should be proud of all they are learning! 

This week we are diving into an addition strategy called Doubles Plus One! We recognize this is when two numbers are neighbours and we can think of them like our doubles fact and then just add one more! We have been really focusing on doubles lately with our strategies and how they can quickly help us with several different math facts (doubles, monkey in the middle and now doubles plus one). 

Next week, we will focus on a new subtraction strategy called Subtraction as Think Addition! We have really been learning about how addition and subtraction are related and the numbers can be rearranged to to make addition or subtraction sentences. So if addition is easier (and is for most), we can take subtraction sentences to really be addition sentences to help us solve math problems! 

Count On and Count Back are really used if no other strategy is available but still need a plan B! 

Again, we will be focusing on one per week (sometimes two if we need some extra time with learning), then we will review all strategies on Thursday and then on Fridays we will have our 5 question quiz to see how we are doing as we continue to learn and apply these strategies.

We are becoming math whizzes!! 

More About Our Word Work...

We are now into our next focus of our phonological and phonemic awareness! Students are really showing a lot of growth in understanding word knowledge as we complete these daily activities! 

The focus of this next newsletter below and is all about isolating, adding, deleting and substituting sounds within words. This will be our focus for the next while in our class oral activities to really build our strengths in letter sound knowledge within words. Included below is some information and activities to work on at home to compliment our learning in the classroom.  

Winter Carnival

Some of these special days make the best memories! We were so lucky to be able to enjoy Winter Carnival today, especially after all the winter weather this past week!! Turned out to be a perfect day for it! 

All students were assigned a multi-age group team with our 6/7's as the team leaders and the 7/8's as the event organizers. Thanks to Madame Charette and Mrs. Stemmler for all their organizing with the students to make this fantastic event for the students to enjoy! 

We even got to indulge in some hot chocolate as a special treat to 'warm up' with during our event today! Another day that EVERYONE was full of smiles and full hearts to get to have a great experience with one special winter activity. 

 

Snowy Fun

 

Responsibility Counts

Our character trait focus for this past month has been all about responsibility. What does that look like and sound like for Grade 1/2's? We have read different books, watched some videos demonstrating the trait and even learned a little rap. Mrs. Stemmler had also been teaching all about responsibility in her Social Studies lessons.  

From all of this learning, we came up with our own brainstorm to post in our classroom to help us if we forget.

These are some of the books we have been reading to help us with our understanding:

Here are some videos we have been watching:

This is just the start of our learning! We know this is something we need to be doing consistently to build good character traits. Thanks to the families for helping instill this trait into their wee ones to help them take responsibility for themselves, their actions and choices. We are in charge of ourselves! 

Phonics Lesson 69 tch /ch/: Feb 2-6 (Reading Practice Book)

Phonics Lessons - Feb 2-6

Lesson 69: tch /ch/

We have learned that the consonant digraph ch spells /ch/ like at the beginning of the word chin. It can come at the beginning of words or can came at the end of words, like in such and rich. 

The grapheme tch is another way to spell /ch/. This is a trigraph which means it is three letters that make one sound. The trigraph tch only comes at the end of the word and follows after a short vowel sound, as in the words catch and pitch. 

We spent some time realizing the difference of when to use tch and ch. That gets confusing when there are choices to spell the same sound. We found that tch is used only at the end of words and only after short vowel sounds. However, ch can come at the beginning or the end of the word where it follows other vowel sounds that are not short or other consonants. 

However, there are exceptions to this rule when ch is used when tch should have been used. We found the acronym WoRMS that stands for 

which

rich

much

such 

The English language is a tricky one but we are learning with these lessons! 

In this week's text called, Catching Fish, students are looking for those words that follow the tch spelling pattern. They are looking to highlight the whole word. Students are also looking to illustrate the story to demonstrate their understanding of the text.

Heart (Irregular) Words of the Week

Heart words are words that do not decode or follow the spelling rules that we have been learning. We have to know them by 'heart'. However, once we learn more spelling rules, they may be only temporary heart words and the rules will come along later! In the meantime, we have been focusing on reviewing and learning the words below with focused in class practice. These will eventually (if not already) be on spelling word lists or word rings. 

This week we are reviewing:

• been
• into
• friend
• because

This week's new words:

• woman
• women

Fluency Grids
With each lesson, there is a fluency grid with the lesson focus that is intended to help students recognize the phonics rule and assist in reading it with accuracy and automaticity. At home, challenge your young reader to read the word (aim is to decode/read each word within 3 seconds) and then recall it each time they see it within the grid of mixed up, repeated words. A couple minutes of practice is all they need. This acts as a warm up before reading the text that also applies the same skill while building on all the previous skills as well. Each week we are building on the previous week to become more fluent readers so we can focus on what the text is sharing rather than spending all the time decoding the words.

Homework Reminders
Students have been working on the story in their Reading Practice book that will come home each weekend. At school, they work with a partner to complete their fluency grid, read with someone their story and highlight the focus words. Following, they are illustrating a picture for the text to show their understanding. 

At home, students are to finish the above tasks and read to an expert the week's lesson(s). After completing, parents are to initial at the indicated spot at the top. 

This week, we are have completed one lesson so there will be one story to complete in their white Reading Practice booklet after the clip. Please see the information letter in the front of the book for more, detailed information about this weekend practice book coming home. Please return on Monday (or Tuesday if there is a no school day on Monday).

Happy reading!

Groundhog Day Fun

With Groundhog Day popping up this week, we worked on conducting our very own surveys. We asked 10 of our friends a survey question about Groundhog's Day; 'Do you want the groundhog to see his shadow?' Once we collected our data with tallies, we graphed our results. They really enjoyed being able to socialize and organize! After review the results, the data says that most do NOT want the groundhog to see his shadow to bring on some spring type weather (although we already know the calendar doesn't start the Spring season for six weeks regardless)! We found out that most of the Canadian Spring predictors (even the lobster) said yes to an early spring. However the west coast critters said they are having more winter! Who knows! But we do know that groundhogs, nor people, can control the weather so we just are going with the flow!