Primer January Newsletter
December 28, 2014
Notes from the classroom
First, I hope everyone is having a great holiday break. I was delighted to see the Primer students play the bells during the holiday service. Check out the video below to see their performance.
Also, we are just about at the mid-year mark. Please take a moment to fill out the mid-year review. The reviews are anonymous and allow me to adjust things for the remainder of the year.
Finally, while students will not return on Monday, January 5, I will be at work. For those wanting to get a jump on homework, I will leave the homework bin with the homework folders outside of the Primer classroom from 8 AM-4 PM. Feel free to pick up your folder.
Academic Objectives
- Reading: Non fiction features ( table of contents, headings, captions, photographs, index and glossary)
- Writing: Report writing on a Dallas World Aquarium Animal
- Phonics: Long vowel A ( AY, AI and A-E)
- Math: Story Problems addition and subtraction
- Social Studies: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. & Justice
- Science: Aquarium animals
Repeated Readings
Repeated reading schedule
First read- focus on power words ( vocabulary)- Each passage or poem will have three power words marked in a box near the top of the page. You can clap the syllables and go over the pronunciation as well as discuss the meaning. Vocabulary can be pre taught, before reading the passage, or taught when students come across the word during reading.
Second read- focus on fluency- Does your child pause at periods and raise their voice at exclamation points and question marks? Does their reading sound like their normal talking pace? Do they include express when characters speak?
Third read- focus on comprehension- Complete the activity on the back of the page after reading the story a third time. Parents can also discuss: What's happening in story?, What kind of story is it fiction or non fiction?, If fiction, what is the problem and solution? and If non fiction, what are two facts from the story?
Primer students carry the cross starting January 23
Nerdy Book Club
Save an adult shoebox
Save the Dates
- School Resumes Tuesday, January 6 ( Library books are also due.)
- Marathon Kids Family Run Thursday, January 8 at 7:15
- Dallas World Aquarium Field Trip Thursday, January 15
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day- No School Monday, January 19