WHAT ARE WE LEARNING IN ELA?
Unit 11 Spelling Test will be Thursday, December 4th
Unit 11 Spelling Words: mess, kiss, toss, boss, less, bill, pill, huff, cuff, grass
12/1/2025
Hi first grade families,
Most of our work in class is done in a whole group setting, with a lot of class participation and opportunities for discussion. There are a few times during the week that students do individual work, mainly so that I can see if they are learning what they need to learn, or if we need to keep working on whatever our focus is for the week. With that being said, many times the only grade for the day is a participation grade. Each student automatically receives 3 points for being in class, one point is given for particiation in phonics and handwriting, the other point is given for participation during the knowledge curriculum part of class...for a total of 5 points per class on days they do not have individual work. Students who miss class will be exempt--it will not count against them. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Here is what we are learning this week in ELA:
Phonics Curriculum Learning Objectives for the Week:
To identify the letters all together as a chunk that always spell the sounds /ol/ - short o.
To learn "Double Trouble" spelling rule.
To build real words with all, ff, ll, and ss.
Detective Work: To identify the graphemes in printed words and produce the proper phonemes for each grapheme; to blend the graphemes together to produce real words.
Word Sort: To read real words, identify whether or not the words follow the , and categorize "Double Trouble" spelling rule, the vowel phoneme.
Phrases to read: To read phrases with a controlled set of Heart Words words and grapheme-phoneme combinations.
To accurately articulate the phonemes and Heart Words taught in this unit and previous units.
To accurately read phrases and sentences that contain the concepts, words, and phonemes taught in this unit and previous units.
To accurately spell words with a controlled set of previously taught concepts and phonemes.
To build automatic recognition of some grapheme-phoneme combinations.
To build automatic recognition of some Heart Words.
Knowledge Curriculum Learning Goals for the Week:
Module 2 Essential Question: "What do people learn by studying animals?"
Learning Goals:
Wonder about Dear Treefrog.
LEARNING TASK: Write one question about something you notice about Dear Treefrog.
Identify the function of evidence in an informative paragraph.
Retell Dear Treefrog.
LEARNING TASK: Retell Dear Treefrog, including the characters, setting, problem, and solution.
For Module Task 1, collect evidence about features that help keep a treefrog safe.
LEARNING TASK: For Module Task 1, write two pieces of evidence on an informative writing planner.
Examine the captions in Dear Treefrog to describe how a treefrog adapts to its surroundings.
LEARNING TASK: Write one sentence to explain how a treefrog adapts to its surroundings.
For Module Task 1, draft evidence sentences to complete an informative paragraph.
LEARNING TASK: For Module Task 1, write two evidence sentences about features that help keep a treefrog safe.
Determine what the main character in Dear Treefrog learns while observing the treefrog.
LEARNING TASK: During a small group discussion, share one example that demonstrates what the girl learns while observing the treefrog.
In the Module Task 1 response, use complete sentences.
LEARNING TASK: Review the Module Task 1 response for complete sentences.
Expand a sentence to form a knowledge statement about where treefrogs live.
LEARNING TASK: Form a knowledge statement that includes a preposition about where treefrogs live. Build knowledge about determiners.
LEARNING TASK: Use a determiner to modify a noun in a sentence.
Handwriting: Students are learning and are applying the "3 P's of Handwriting": Pencil, Posture, and Paper. We will begin to learn and practice new letters and their sounds, along with their proper formation each week.
Research points to the importance of teaching handwriting and the benefits of learning proper handwriting techniques. According to a July 2019 article on the Edutopia website, MacKenzie states, "Research has demonstrated a correlation between letter-naming and letter-writing fluency, and a relationship between letter-naming fluency and successful reading development." In other words, teaching handwriting is an important part of teaching students to become fluent readers!
1st Grade Families:
Reading regularly with your child will help them to become more fluent readers themselves. Additionally, practicing sight words with your child will greatly benefit them. A sight word is defined by Julie Rawe (Understood, n.d.) as,"...a common word that kids recognize instantly without sounding them out. Recognizing words by sight helps kids become faster, more fluent readers. Many sight words are tricky to read and spell - they aren't spelled the way they sound."
Here are a couple of lists for you to get started with that, if you are interested:
Kindergarten Sight Words (Dolch):
all, am, are, at, ate, be, black, brown, but, came, did, do, ear, four, get, good, have, he, into, like, must, new, no, now, on, our, out, please, pretty, ran, ride, saw, say, she, so, soon, that, there, they, this, too, under, want, was, well, went, what, white, who, will, with, yes
First Grade Sight Words (Dolch):
after, again, an, any, as, ask, by, could, every, fly, from, give, going, had, has, her, him, his, how, just, know, let, live, may, of, old, once, open, over, put, round, some, stop, take, thank, them, then, think, walk, were, when
HEART WORD LISTS: At fall conferences, you received the first heart word list for your child to begin practicing at home with you. We call these words "heart words" because there are parts of these words that students need to learn "by heart" since they are irregular (they do not follow the traditional phonics generalizations). These lists are meant to be done at each students' own pace...when they can independently read the words, sign the page with the parent signature space and send it back to school with them. I will listen to them read it and get them the next list. This will be of great help with their reading fluency. I appreciate your help with this!! Students who have consistently worked on these lists at home with their families have made great gains in their reading fluency.