Students will have a reading book at school that we will read.  Each week we will work on two different stories.  One story is a phonics story and the other one is a vocabulary story.  I will send home a typed copy of the vocabulary story.  Please practice these stories with your child.  There will be a vocabulary and comprehension test each Thursday on our story for that week.  Our spelling words, sights words, and phonics are all connected. 

Some of the reading activities that your child will be participating in:

• Read Alouds
• Reading Responses
• Reading Groups
• Listening to Reading
• Partner Reading
• Independent Reading
• Computers- reading games
• Poetry
• Making Words
• Phonics Dance
• Phonics Markings
• Reading Mini-Lessons (comprehension and reading strategies)

Comprehension Strategies

posters by April Schilb

Reading Strategies

Stuck on a Word?

                by April Schilb/modified by C.Houpe

Some of the Writing Activities your child will be participating in:

• Morning Message
• Daily 6 Trait Writing
• Journals
• Shared Writing
• Stories, Letters, How-To, & Research Report
• Class Books
• Mini-Lessons (writing traits and writing process)

Traits of Good Writing

Ideas- what the story is about and using relevant details to make the content clear

Organization- bold beginnings that grab the reader's attention, mighty middles that are in a logical sequence with good transitions, and excellent endings that sum up the main ideas

Conventions- proper punctuation, capitals, and stretch out words so they are readable

Sentence Fluency- sentences begin differently, have different lengths of sentences, and move with ease from one sentence to the next.

Word Choice- creating detailed pictures in reader's minds by using strong precise language

Voice- clearly expressing your thoughts with a personal touch

Idea from Writingfix

Created by C.Houpe

Writing Process

Students will begin writing by learning how to use the step of prewriting.  They will use graphic organizers to help them plan out their writing.  In the beginning, students will only write rough drafts.  As the year goes on and they are more comfortable with writing simple stories, they will learn to revise their writing.  Students will sign up to have an edit conference with me, so I can help them with their writing.  Then they will write a final copy, which means publish their writing.  Students will share writing with partners, small groups, and/or the whole class. 

Created by C.Houpe

Overview of Content Standards

1st Quarter

• Authors/Illustrators
• Beginning Sounds
• Final Consonants
• Short Vowels
• Word Families
• Classifying words
• Predictable patterns in stories and poems
• Beginning/Middle/End
• Characters, Setting, and Events
• Reading Strategies
• Sentences-naming part & action part
• Handwriting

2nd Quarter

• Ending Sounds
• Short Vowels
• Blends
• Word Families
• Visualize
• Making Connections
• Synonyms/Antonyms
• Contractions
• Prewriting- graphic organizers
• Reading Responses

3rd Quarter

• Short Vowels
• Blends
• Context Clues
• Synonyms and Antonyms
• Endings- ed & ing
• Abbreviations
• Author's Purpose
• Synthesizing and Retelling
• Asking Questions
• Making Predictions
• Revising/Editing
• Publishing

4th Quarter

• Long Vowels
• Word Families
• Homophones
• Contractions & Abbreviations
• Compound Words
• Non-fiction
• Main Idea
• Dictionary Skills
• Descriptive words
• Letters
• Research

Handwriting

We use a program called Handwriting Without Tears.  If your child attended kindergarten at Whitewater Valley, then your child has learned how to do the program.  The main difference from the manuscript writing is the paper we use.  It only has two lines.  Here is an alphabet chart to see how the letters are formed.