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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



March 10, 2014 New Spelling Lists

 

 

 

 

 

There are a few children that I've shuffled around to accommodate their needs at certain levels to help out with their scores. The appropriate "level" -- AM I, AM II, PM I, PM II -- is noted above their spelling words or in their notebooks. This does not mean that they moved to that particular level. This only applies to spelling and to those who need a challenge or who needs help improving their spelling skills. Should you have any questions, please email me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the most part, we have continued with Dictionary Skills and have attempted to look up words. Both classes were given lessons on how to look words up in a dictionary. We used "guide words" and used clues -- such as looking at each letter in those guide words -- to help us look for a word. The AM class will need more practice; however, the PM class seemed to have caught on.  We will have more practice this week. Both classes, except AM I, will be putting words in alphabetical order. AM II and PM I will put the FIRST 10 WORDS on their spelling lists in order. PM II will do the entire list. :)

 

Sometime this week, I will have the students define words from their spelling list and use them in sentences. We will also do in-class work/exercises where they will continue to use guide words as a way to look up a word.

 

AM I have done a couple of exercises on identifying pronouns. They did wonderful on their weekend homework. Tonight's homework involves changing a noun into a pronoun. The word "it" was introduced as a way to replace a thing or animal. He/him/his, she/her, they/them/their (NOT "there", which defines "location") will replace a person(s).

 

 

One of my main focus this morning on ALL of the students was their mechanics in writing. At this time, they should be able to write appropriately within the lines. Once in a while, I will assign certain students writing homework where they will have to strictly concentrate on their penmanship. A couple letters I've often found erroneous are lower case "k" and "p". For some odd reason, the vast majority of the children are writing them as uppercase letters no matter where the letters are placed in a word or in a sentence! Please have them practice the letters at home and discuss the difference (I've been doing this for several weeks now).  

 

 

 

 

 

March 6, 2014

Today I decided that the AM children concentrate on any one of their Comprehension workbooks. I looked them over last night and found that they were in need of making corrections. We reviewed the "who, what, when, and where" when answering questions. Most of the children are now in Gr. 2 Non-Fiction Reading Comprehension which makes the workbook assignments a bit more complex. We worked on looking for "clue" words/sentences to help answer questions they were stuck on.

We went over last night's homework on alphabetizing, and the children did a fabulous job. Although I devised a "system" to help them alphabetize, I had made them aware that whatever method you -- the parents -- are using, it is totally okay. :)

With AM I, we worked a bit on capitalization and recognizing nouns. Time permitting, I will introduce pronouns to AM I group.

~Ms. Lani

March 5, 2014 Dictionary Skills

It was a day full of dictionary games and skills. There is still a need to practice (AM I and II), but the children are catching on to using a dictionary as a reference when looking up words. Our first step is to alphabetize. The PM class played a game where they were given words to put in order and see if they can find them using the GUIDE WORDS.
Click here for a sample of GUIDE WORDS

They practiced looking for those word on consecutive pages for easier viewing. The AM class looked into putting words in order by looking at words that have the same first and second letters. I gave them two words (e.g.):

bark ----------- bat (base, back) 

We crossed out each letter -- "b", "a" -- until the letters are "different". In the sample above, the "r" in "bark", the "t" in "bat", the "s" in "base", and the "c" in "back" helped the children easily determine which word fits best between "bark" and "bat". In this case, "base" is the correct answer.

Both classes have the same homework: to circle the word that goes in the middle, alphabetically.

Tomorrow we will take a break from dictionary skills and continue with adverbs (AM II and PM), and nouns/pronouns/capitalization (AM I).

March 4, 2014

Homework:
AM I (a few), AM II, and PM -- Sorting Words worksheet (alphabetizing)
AM I (and some of AM II) -- Proofreading sentences

Today we worked on alphabetizing words up to the second letter. The kids are getting the hang of it, and are having fun doing it! For homework, it's just first-letter alphabetizing; however, today we worked on second and (some) third letters. These exercises will lead them to dictionary-research, which will be discussed tomorrow with PM I and II.

March 3, 2014

Today the children copied their new list of spelling words. For HOMEWORK, they are to put the first five words in alphabetical order. For in-class work, we've put some of the spelling words in alphabetical order. For the AM class, they worked on first-second-letters alphabetizing; PM worked on first-second-third-letters alphabetizing.

Tomorrow, I will be looking at their homework to see how they did, and we will do a few more exercises. Each group will be given exercises that will help them toward dictionary-skills; and each group will have different sets of work according to their level of skills in alphabetizing.

Spelling list
AM I: some are -igh words, some are -ou words

AM II:  the list contains some common misspelled words that I have found in their writings (highlighted)

PM I and II: please have your child look over AM II's list as the highlighted words are often misspelled in their writings

AM I:
1. name
2. sentence
3. right
4. might
5. high
6. tight
7. flight
8. bright
9. because
10. straw
11. think
12. sound
13. found
14. mouth
15. count
16. friend

AM II:
1. paint
2. volume
3. history
4. system
5. produce
6. cycle
7. paid
8. because
9. believe
10. without
11. through
12. where
13. argue
14. friend
15. things
16. stages
17. again
18. tomorrow
19. manuscript
20. alphabetical

PM I:
1. same
2. through
3. because
4. weight
5. standard
6. liquid
7. texture
8. temperature
9. science
10. magnify
11. again
12. tomorrow
13. picture
14. rhyme
15. poetic
16. search
17. enough
18. change

PM II:
1. country
2. convert
3. motion
4. calculate
5. expand
6. theme
7. batteries
8. solution
9. difference
10. because
11. believe
12. evaporate
13. photograph
14. enough
15. rough
16. graph
17. example
18. source
19. direction
20. digit

February 25, 2014

     Thanks to huge words on this week's spelling list, the children were more than likely asking you what some of those words mean. It is okay to answer as best as you can. I have been doing the same thing. One parent asked where the word list came from. It's a combination of things: language books (such as textbooks from my professors when I attended the elementary program at Western Washington a few years ago), my own children's language books from when they were in the 1st-2nd grade (they have always been a year ahead of their classmates in ELA), the children's Word Builder, and the internet. Previous spelling lists were words that came from either their Word Builder binders (both classes), or their Spellwell (PM class). This time, I'm upping the ante.

 

     In looking at where the children were at in their spelling, and in looking at previous words that they needed the most help in, I decided to comprise a list of words with double consonant letters this week.  There are three different levels: AM I, AM II, and PM. 

     As the word list contains challenging vocabulary we launched preparations for dictionary skills which have just begun today. The children started looking at learning how to look at letters alphabetically, which has been brought home for tonight’s homework (AM and PM classes). For the PM class, they have brought home the second part of the exercise -- putting words in alphabetical order, numerically. The PM class will go over that with my substitute, or will have to wait until Thursday. I told the PM class that they don't have to do it for homework, but if they wanted something challenging they can have a head start on it. I won't be surprised if they do: those kids are very competitive with themselves!  For both classes, they are to figure out what letters are "before" or "after" a given letter. They had fun going it over with the entire class today. The rest of the exercise should be done at home.

     If there are any questions, you may hold them off until Thursday, or email me. Thanks!

 

February 24, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

For AM I and PM classes, they have worked on respective levels on capitalization. With the PM class, I'm still seeing errors, though very minor.

Spelling words for this week. Please be wary of the double consonants.
 
AM I:

1.       fatter

2.       ladder

3.       ribbon

4.       accurate

5.       glasses

6.       swelling

7.       canned

8.       bottle

9.       caffeine

10.   magically

11.   assurance

12.   giraffe

13.   passport

14.   illegal

15.   awfully

16.   abbreviate

17.   according

18.   aggression

19.   aggravate

20.   irritate

 

AM II:

1.       parallel

2.       occurrence

3.       recommend

4.       labeled

5.       successful

6.       misspell

7.       embarrass

8.       magically

9.       apparel

10.   mattresses

11.   appointment

12.   missing

13.   critically

14.   guarantee

15.   communication

16.   summary

17.   community

18.   accuracy

19.   balloon

20.   giggle

 

PM I:

1.       beginning

2.       committed

3.       business

4.       broccoli

5.       cellophane

6.       Cincinnati

7.       decaffeinated

8.       dessert

9.       desert

10.   difference

11.   disappear

12.   exaggerate

13.   excelling

14.   misspelled

15.   generally

16.   harassing

17.   ideally

18.   immediately

19.   intelligent

20.   magically