In school, we've learned two ways that good readers use their schema during reading. One way, is to help them figure out tricky words. The other, is to help the reader understand the story even better. The students know that they will understand a story about a topic that they have schema about much better than a topic that they know nothing about.
Writing: This week, we're going to continue tackling the list we made about easy-to-read writing. Last week we discussed leaving spaces between words and spelling word wall words correctly. This week we'll work on sounding out words and using neat handwriting.
Math: This week we're going to continue investigating various kinds of number stories - comparison number stories and difference number stories. The students love writing comparison number stories, because they get to use the new symbols that they learned, < and >.
Theme Study: We've been learning various things about weather for the past couple of weeks. This week, we will focus on the water cycle. We learned a neat song to help us learn it! You should ask your child to sing it to you. (A copy of it is in your child's binder.)
Extras: Friday is Half-Way Day, the 90th day of school! To celebrate, the first graders will get a chance to do a special activity with each of the other first grade teachers. Don't forget that your child may wear a special Half-Way Day outfit on Friday!