Curriculum Update

This week, we reviewed the following sound cards (building on what was learned in kindergarten): short a, s, and m. In class, we talk a lot about whether we are using our voices or just air to articulate sounds. This helps make sure that kids are consistently pronouncing sounds correctly. Correct pronunciation assists in correct phonetic spelling (sounding out to spell).

Along with saying, writing, and reading these sounds, we are reading various stories and completing comprehension activities. We often discuss that the reason we read is to remember what we’ve read (at this level, it’s important that the kids take ownership in their learning).

We also did a lesson on writing in order (following steps or directions). The kids helped me brainstorm how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They then helped me form sentences and put them in order. The kids did a great job creating this paragraph and writing it out too. At this point, we are practicing using correct punctuation, using finger spaces, writing a capital letter in the beginning of the sentence, and that every sound has a symbol.