Independence Day

Here are a few shots of the kiddos at work, independently, during the week before the Fall Break.

They are learning how to listen to directions and then work on the task all by themselves, trusting that they can do it!  This week the reading strategy of looking at the letters in a word and using the sounds of those letters to read the word was being practised.  Some might call it 'sounding out' but in our classroom. we use the stretchy snake to pull the letters apart slowly the first time, a little quicker the second time and then saying the word the third time.  It might sound like this:

llllllll - iiiiiiii - ppppppp

ll-ii-pp

lip

There were small drawings of pictures that had the consonant-vowel-consonant pattern taped up onto the walls in the hallways of the area near our classroom, and in small groups, students went out to practise the Stretchy Snake strategy.  When these papers come home, you may notice that your child was printing the first sound or maybe the first two sounds, that he or she could identify.  This means that your child is successful at that level and may not yet be ready to put three sounds together just yet.  Please see me if you have any concerns.

While the students were outside of the room, some students were working in small groups with me,

and others were 'listening to reading' using my iPads.

Still others were practising spelling the words for this week using the rolling the die game,

and printing the word that was attached to the number that was rolled.

There are many, many 'games' that the students work on, to practise the new learning

that is taking place.

This coming week, November 20 to 25, the students will be practising the last five weeks of spelling words.  The words that they have been working on are considered sight words.

Here are some very interesting statistics about sight words and why so much emphasis is placed on them.  Knowing sight words will set the foundation for reading!

12 sight words make up about 25% of those we read and write.

100 sight words make up about 50% of those we read and write.

About 300 sight words account for 75% of those we read and write.

When we teach sight words strategically, specifically and consistently, we build readers who are confident and fluent!

At this point, the 'pre-primer' Dolch list has been introduced to your child and I believe that means that if your child can read them all, they have got around 40 sight words under their belt.  HOORAY!

Be careful though!

Sight words are just that...words that the child will know by sight....they pop up in their books in every sentence they are reading, so sometimes we call them popcorn words....they keep popping up!

MANY of the sight words are not decodable with early phonics skills.  

For example, sounding out the for a child, t/h/e does not work.

Beginning and struggling readers may not understand how to use the th digraph and the schwa sound to sound out the word the.

To clarify, we sound out other words like CVC words, but we do not sound out sight words.  In addition, students need repetition and practice reading the word in context to help them master the word.  That is why the students are given books with these sight words 'popping up' all the time.

Within a week or two, the students will be introduced to some of the sounds of digraphs and blends and other groups of letters.  They will be learning these sound groups with more movement and song....phonics dance style!