Spelling and Vocabulary

The spelling list is for both classes, AM and PM; however, the vocabulary portion is for the AM II/III and PM classes. These words were already discussed with a substitute teacher last week, but I will test them on their knowledge this Friday. It's alright if they can't get them all. This will be their first test.

AM I
1. bunch
2. repair
3. pond
4. fade
5. search
6. yell
7. scream
8. sketch
9. pretty
10. summer

AM II/III and PM
1. bunch: to group together
2. repair: to fix
3. pond: a small body of still water
4. fade: to become lighter; slowly disappear; lose color
5. search: to look for something or someone
6. yell: to shout
7. scream: loud piercing cry
8. sketch: to draw lightly and quickly
9. pretty: to have beauty
10. summer: the warmest season between spring and fall

FYI, the children in both classes came up with the definition. We are so very proud of them!

Throughout this week practice tests will be administered to prepare the children for the ITBS. These words will be included in the test as part of my own assessment.

Good luck!

Spelling List for 3.24-3.28

This week AM III and PM classes will be concentrating on more dictionary skills, while AM I and II will concentrate on sentence correction and capitalization.

Here are the students' new spelling list.

AM I

1. back

2. stack

3. pack

4. dock

5. lock

6. quack

7. sack

8. snack

9. quick

10. neck

11. check

12. circle

13. square 

AM II/III

1.      softness

2.      uplifting

3.      adrift

4.      gifted

5.      crafted

6.      swiftly

7.      sifted

8.      informational

9.      rearrangement

10.  geometrically

11.  built

12.  wilted

13.  facial

14.  edging

15.  future

16.  tally

 

PM I

1.       winter

2.       cactus

3.       cellar

4.       garden

5.       market

6.       basket

7.       welcome

8.       until

9.       always

10.   cowboy

11.   lasso

12.   logically

13.   continuity

14.   estimation

15.   reasonable

16.   complex

 

 

PM II

1.       cabin

2.       future

3.       musically

4.       tiger

5.       behind

6.       rewind

7.       focus

8.       belongings

9.       families

10.   beginning

11.   motel

12.   connections

13.   locally

14.   strategies

15.   interchangeable

16.   diagram

March 21, 2014

This will be very short...

I have assigned homework for the children to do over the weekend. They are to write at least three sentences on what they think spring is all about. The PM class had time to write this in their homework notebooks. Unfortunately, the AM class did not as we didn't have time today at all to do it, but I did verbalize it to them before I left the school.  If you are reading this, please look in your child's backpack or assignment notebook for the manuscript paper that I provided for them to write on. If you are seeing this at the very last minute, it's okay if your child does not have time to do the homework, especially the AM groups. We can save that assignment for Monday.

Happy weekend!

March 20, 2014

Today's work was pretty simple. The children worked on their printing skills and wrote their spelling words three times, while others worked on the cursive, "t". It seems to be a bit challenging. They've already learned "i" and pre-cursive skills, however, they seem to have a tough time with "t". We'll keep practicing. Other than that, we finished our American flags and they were all able to think of a few things that are important about the flag. It was also all about working on workbooks today: Comprehension, Spectrum, Sight Words, etc. Our goal is to get these done before the end of the year. Tomorrow the spelling test will be at 9:20 am. After that, we'll be going to the library.

As a side note: Ms. Anna, the children's music teacher, is requesting that they practice their recorders as much as they can. They are preparing for the end of the school year concert. The recorders they have at school stays in school, per Ms. Anna's instructions. She would much prefer if another one could be purchased to be kept at home.

Please email me if you have any questions. Thank you :)

Have a good weekend!

March 19, 2014

I wanted to thank those who helped their children remember to do their homework and to bring it back the next day. Those who did received stickers! After turning in their homework, I wanted to see if they understood the lesson on our US flag and not just answering true-false questions:  I’m proud to say that they all understood the US flag! As a little “reward” they each colored their own USA flag; the PM class had enough time to write down two specific details about what they learned about the flag.  If there is time tomorrow, AM class will do so, too. 

With the AM I group, I’ve worked on more capitalization and punctuation by dictating sentences for them to which spelling did not count, however, I did help them spell a few words. A lot of work still needs to be done. As such, I will briefly touch base on the nouns-to-pronouns lesson, and concentrate more on caps/punc.  

AM II/III and PM worked on finishing their Journals on Eric Carle. As part of the unit, all classes are working on a few springtime/Eric Carle art projects. Please pardon the mess as we attempt to finish this before March is over.  The Eric Carle unit ties in really well with our springtime theme. In so doing, we’re making ladybug, bumblebee, and perhaps strawberry rocks for our rock garden. Because our garden is next to the construction site, the rocks will be placed in the small garden by yours truly over the weekend when the site is closed. I will take pictures for the children to see their results. Journal-wise, they’re getting better and better at adding more details, and making less grammatical and technical mistakes. I’m really impressed with their work.

Tonight’s homework is to write five complete sentences using five of their words from their spelling lists. I’ve provided manuscript paper to each of the children. For those who needed more practice with their penmanship, I’ve instructed them to use the wider lines (top line, broken line, and bottom line); for the rest, I’ve explained to them to write on each line as if they’re writing in their composition notebooks.

 

 

 

 

March 18, 2014

Capitalization, AM I
Alphabetizing, AM II/III and PM
Looking for definitions, PM II

As we’ll be looking at the American Flag this week, I have provided a reading comprehension worksheet for the children to do for tonight’s homework.  For today’s class assignment, AM I worked with Ms. Florence in capitalization and punctuation. So far, they’re getting it, but there is still some work to be done. Please continue to discuss with your children that no matter what, the FIRST letter at the beginning of a sentence will always be a capital/uppercase letter, and at the end, a punctuation. For AM II/III I have briefly explained to them that titles are uppercase and there is never a period at the end; for the PM I told them that there are some titles that do have other punctuation marks such as the “?” or “!”, but never a period, “.”   

Both classes in AM II/III and PM have worked on alphabetizing their list of words. PM II worked on looking for words in the dictionary. At this point, I feel that it is important that your household owns a dictionary. I know that the internet is the quickest way to look up words, but it is beneficial for the kids to attain knowledge in learning how to use a dictionary just in case they do not have access to a computer. 

For both classes the children will continue to work on extra workbooks they have owned ever since coming from Ms. Monet’s class.  It’s okay to take them home daily; they will continue to work on them in class as well, so please be sure that they do bring them into school.

 

One thing I want to keep teaching is handwriting skills. Although the children are writing in wide-ruled tablets/composition notebooks, they still have to keep in mind that neatness counts. Once in a while they will practice handwriting skills on manuscript paper even if it's included in an in-class assignment (such as geography). 

 

 

 

 

 

March 17 Grammar and Syntax; Spelling

Today's Agenda and This Week's Spelling List

 

 

For AM I and II, we went over different punctuations and their function. We discussed how a period is used for a "telling sentence"; a question mark for a "question sentence"; and an exclamation point for an exclamatory sentence. I also briefly explained proper capitalization: ALWAYS capitalize at the beginning of a sentence; ALWAYS capitalize names of special places and people, and most importantly, the personal "I" (pronoun -- which I will not go into just yet). I, then, assessed their newly learned knowledge by dictating simple sentences to which they are required to write correctly by using the appropriate punctuation, and capitalization in the correct places. Spelling did not count. "Oh, my goodness, that's a huge tree!", "Do you like pie?" and "Meg and I went to the mall" (period at the end) are a few examples I've used. In assessing the children in groups (AM) I and II, they still need more practice. If the children can understand the basic structure of a sentence and know how to correctly write sentences, grammar will be added, such as conjunctions.

Speaking of which...

AM III and PM both have learned how to build complete, and grammatically correct sentences using a conjunction by looking at spelling words. For example: "I like blue, but red is my favorite." Here's my personal favorite by one of my students: "Handwriting has curls and curves." The children were to "check" their sentences by splitting them into two parts and each part has to sound like a "real" sentence. Here's how to "check":

I like blue but red is my favorite.

Now split them into two separate parts without the conjunction:

I like blue. Red is my favorite.

Handwriting has curls and curves.

Now split them apart, turning them into two sentences, and eliminating the conjunction and:

Handwriting has curls. Handwriting has curves.

 

Both groups had a fun time doing this. We'll have more practice.

A few of the children in AM and all of the PM children also worked on alphabetizing their spelling words. As we didn't have enough time today, we'll continue tomorrow. Please make sure they all have their spelling words.

 

AM I:

1. volume

2. produce

3. consume

4. blue

5. true

6. clue

7. glue

8. due

9. argue

10. influence

11. nurse

12. curve

13. turn

14. burn

15. curl

16. purse

 

AM II and III

1. compare

2. contrast

3. timeline

4. country

5. ocean

6. motion

7. ancestor

8. urban

9. suburban

10. rural

11. little

12. services

13. system

14. resources

15. offspring

16. action

 

PM I

1. next

2. checked

3. father

4. grade

5. reach

6. thought

7. along

8. something

9. laugh

10. between

11. earth

12. flight

13. write

14. knock

15. value

 

 

PM II

1. giraffe

2. behavior

3. choice

4. voice

5. royal

6. extinct

7. resemble

8. disappear

9. polygon

10. integer

11. idea

12. enough

13. cycle

14. appearance

15. octagon