The Alphabet and Names

Poem: Down By the Station
Sight Words: the, see

Reading: This week we worked at recognizing letters and the sounds they make. We did a class favorite called "Who Let the Letters Out". This is a song we love to sing to practice the letter sounds. We always start by singing the song, then we slow it down and say it as the kids put the magnetic letters in the "house".

Who Let The Letters Out

We also talked about Good Fit Books. I started by showing the kids shoes. I told the kids that I wanted to go for a run and I held up Beau's tennis shoe and asked if this shoe would be a good choice. They all laughed and said no, that it was too small. Then I help up Mr. Keller's shoe. They told me they were too big! I used this example to explain how we all have books that are just right for us too. Chapter books would be too hard because there are no pictures to read. We are all different and are all at different levels. After the lesson, students were able to choose 2 good fit books to put in their book box. They loved finding books that they could choose!

This week we also introduced another reading choice; Work on Writing. We started by brainstorming things to put on the I-chart. These are things that we need to make sure we do when at that choice. Mrs. Keller also modeled the correct way to do work on writing. We discussed as a whole class before and after the modeled example that it is important that we use a book from our book box to draw a picture of our favorite part. Then we should try to write letters and words from the page. We all practiced and built stamina so by the end of the week each student was able to choose which rotation they would read to self and do work on writing. They were rock stars!

Writing: This week we worked on the following letters: Dd, Cc, Ee, Ff, and Gg. We always start with our chart, then watch our letter video, practice writing the capital and lowercase letter and finish with a fun activity. This week we made D necklaces, practiced writing C on the dry erase board, made an Ellie Elephant Puppet, made a paper fan, and colored a picture of a goldfish. Here is an example of the videos that we watch each day!

Math: This week we worked on recognizing numbers 1-10. We played a game called "SWAT IT". Students used a flyswatter to "swat" the number said aloud. They did awesome and loved the anticipation!

We also worked on 1:1 correspondence. We practiced this by using math tools to count out the number written on the board.

For fun we also practiced recognizing numbers with the app "123Ninja". This is fun for kids to practice finding the number said aloud. This was great practice for when we introduce ipads into our day!

Content: This week we spent time exploring the letters of the alphabet and looking at what letters are in our own names! One day we used water color paints to paint our names and another day we used paper that we tore and glued around the letters of our names. We also used the letters that were mixed up and had to put them in order to make our name. We then drew a self portrait to go with our name. We finished the week with our Chicka Chicka Boom Boom craft. We read the story earlier in the week and finished with the our craft with the letters in our name.

NEXT WEEK:
Reading: Students will...
-learn print concepts (parts of a book).
-recognize and recall letter names and sounds.
-learn how to do word work.

Writing: Students will...
-learn how to write the letters Jj, Qq, Uu, Ss.

Math: Students will...
-spend time recognizing numbers 1-10 by counting objects 1:1 and representing the number on a number line, tens frame, and through pictures.

Content: Students will be sharing pictures of their families. Throughout the week, students will take turns showing the class a picture of their family. We will end the week with a family craft that we will put in the hallway!