January Newsletter
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break and enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather.
The theme for this month will focus around: Animal Adaptations/ Winter/Snow .
Our second round of alphabet learning will focus on phonics. Your child will decode real and made-up words using the Orton Gillingham Reading Method, used in many of the Grade One classes. Using letter cards from this program, we will begin to blend and de-code words on the Blending Board. We will also practice the method of tapping and pounding out sounds in words and then spell these words in a variety of writing activities. Ask your child to show you this at home! Choose words that follow a Consonant/Vowel/Consonant pattern like: mat, pup, cot. hit. jet.
Happy Spelling!
We continue to study a Focus Story each week. The Focus Story is read and re-told throughout the week to encourage the development of comprehension skills and promote vocabulary development. The children practice retelling the story in a variety of ways: using the names of the main characters, describing some details of the setting and relaying the main events in order.
In order to facilitate small group and individual teaching opportunities, we continue to have Literacy/Math Centres several times a week. During this time, I aim to provide differentiated instruction to groups of students. This includes reading groups for students who are ready to learn advanced reading skills and strategies: in addition to, games and activities that target the specific needs of students who need more learning time.
In Math, we will finish up patterns and sorting and move on to Geometry. Counting and exploring number continues to be a central focus for our Math learning. The children will work on building and comparing amounts up to 8.
Science Mondays
Beginning next week, we will have Science Mondays! Most Mondays we will participate in a Science Experiment. The children engage in a variety of simple experiments that require prediction and the creation of a hypothesis. My intention is to spark an interest in Science and provoke curiosity. Why did that happen? What would happen if………? Is this the same as….? Simple questions can lead to big discoveries!
100 Nights Of Reading
Well done Yellow team! Many of the students in our class have read 100 nights and have brought in their Green Reading Log for Mr. Muller. All 100 night readers are awarded a shirt and a goodie bag. There is still time for your child to be recognized for 100 nights of reading. Let me know if you need another Reading Log.
Outdoor Education
The children have enjoyed our outdoor adventures during our weekly Outdoor Exploration time. We will continue to go outside on Wednesdays throughout the Winter months. You might consider buying your child a pair of Splash Pants (or something similar) to keep your child dry. 😊
Sincerely,
S. Johnston
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break and enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather.
The theme for this month will focus around: Animal Adaptations/ Winter/Snow .
Our second round of alphabet learning will focus on phonics. Your child will decode real and made-up words using the Orton Gillingham Reading Method, used in many of the Grade One classes. Using letter cards from this program, we will begin to blend and de-code words on the Blending Board. We will also practice the method of tapping and pounding out sounds in words and then spell these words in a variety of writing activities. Ask your child to show you this at home! Choose words that follow a Consonant/Vowel/Consonant pattern like: mat, pup, cot. hit. jet.
Happy Spelling!
We continue to study a Focus Story each week. The Focus Story is read and re-told throughout the week to encourage the development of comprehension skills and promote vocabulary development. The children practice retelling the story in a variety of ways: using the names of the main characters, describing some details of the setting and relaying the main events in order.
In order to facilitate small group and individual teaching opportunities, we continue to have Literacy/Math Centres several times a week. During this time, I aim to provide differentiated instruction to groups of students. This includes reading groups for students who are ready to learn advanced reading skills and strategies: in addition to, games and activities that target the specific needs of students who need more learning time.
In Math, we will finish up patterns and sorting and move on to Geometry. Counting and exploring number continues to be a central focus for our Math learning. The children will work on building and comparing amounts up to 8.
Science Mondays
Beginning next week, we will have Science Mondays! Most Mondays we will participate in a Science Experiment. The children engage in a variety of simple experiments that require prediction and the creation of a hypothesis. My intention is to spark an interest in Science and provoke curiosity. Why did that happen? What would happen if………? Is this the same as….? Simple questions can lead to big discoveries!
100 Nights Of Reading
Well done Yellow team! Many of the students in our class have read 100 nights and have brought in their Green Reading Log for Mr. Muller. All 100 night readers are awarded a shirt and a goodie bag. There is still time for your child to be recognized for 100 nights of reading. Let me know if you need another Reading Log.
Outdoor Education
The children have enjoyed our outdoor adventures during our weekly Outdoor Exploration time. We will continue to go outside on Wednesdays throughout the Winter months. You might consider buying your child a pair of Splash Pants (or something similar) to keep your child dry. 😊
Sincerely,
S. Johnston