March 3, 2017

Dear Parents,

Next week our class will study occupations. Talk to your child about where you work, what your job involves, and how you were trained. Then discuss with him/her the types of work other family members do. How were they trained?

_____The homework for this week is writing a book about jobs. Your child should write a sentence on every blank sheet inside the book. (Front and back) Each page should have a sentence about a job and an illustration to go with it. For instance, “A policeman helps people.” or “A nurse uses a thermometer.” In other words, I want a sentence instead of just one word that names the occupation. Have your child illustrate each sentence. Remind your child to put hair and clothes on their people! Have him/her to use lots of color also. Not just blue, or even worse, just orange! Have your child write his/her name on the book. (Your child should be able to name seven occupations without assistance for the report card. Review this because many of the children have difficulty with this objective.)

____New words “where” and “he.” The book, On the Farm, is enclosed. This puts the words back into text.

_____Math Focus: Please continue to review the addition and subtraction flashcards that I sent home last week.This is a third nine-weeks skill where the children have to add and subtract through 5 fluently (quickly). I am noticing that some of the children are having trouble just adding or subtracting 1. I remind them that +1 will be the next number up when they are counting and that -1 will be the next number down when they are counting. (I hope that makes sense!)

_____Thank you for listening to your child read the books I am sending home. This expands your child’s reading vocabulary and allows him/her to use the reading strategies that I have taught him/her to use. These strategies are: 1. Check the picture. (This is very important. Sounding out each letter should not be the first strategy used.) 2. Reread and get your mouth ready. (This is the beginning letter sound.) 3. What makes sense?

4. Check for chunks. This is where your child looks for other letters and letter combinations (sh, ch, th, or, ar, ow, aw,etc.). He/she can run his/her finger under the word and make the sounds as his/her finger slides under the letters. 5. Make a guess. I want the children to be able to figure out an unknown word when an adult is not around to help. This will make him/her more independent and self-confident.

_____ I read the following books with my child this week.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

____My child and I read at least 5 books (50 minutes) this week.

_____Handwriting: During the third nineweeks, I find that many of the children become more comfortable with writing letters; and their handwriting then becomes messy. Please encourage your child to take his/her time and to make his/her handwriting neat.

______Please have your child read the _ing words. After your child reads the words and the sentence, please sign and return the paper to me.

_____Remindyour child that the title is the name of the story or book. The author is the person who writes the words and the illustrator is the person who draws the pictures.

_____Review: letters, letter sounds, chunks (th, sh, ow, ou, ing, oo, ew, ink, ar, igh, oa,

ee, ea, er, ir, ur, unk, or, ay, ai, aw, au, ch, oy, oi), words, rhyming words, four seasons, five senses, body parts, writing first and last name neatly, recognizing numbers to 20, counting to 100 by 1’s, 5’s, 10’s, counting to 20 by 2’s, counting sets to 20, writing numbers in order to 30 (without a pattern or reversals), and writing letters without a pattern. Look at your child’s last report card. Any skills for which your child received a “1” or “2” will need to be reviewed.This review section is very important. Some of the children are forgetting things that they knew previously.

Don’t forget to have your child read and write the sight words and read books on Raz-Kids. First grade is just around the corner and the children need to be reading on a level 4 (D) by the end of kindergarten. Knowing the words and reading a lot will help your child be where he/she needs to be.

Thank you! I sincerely appreciate your continued support. The children are benefiting from our combined efforts!

Your Partner in Education,

Alyson Fricks

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