Language Arts:
We focus on several reading comprehension strategies and skills through the year, such as:
Text vs. Illustrations
Informative vs. Literary Text
Main Idea and Supporting Details
Asking and Answering Questions
Story Elements
Author's Purpose
Nonfiction Text Features
Central Message
Character Development
Thick and Thin Questions
Poetry Elements
Making Connections
Compare and Contrast
Cause and Effect
We will explore writing in the following formats and genres:
Informative
Personal Narrative
How-To Writing
Opinion of a Topic
Opinion of a Book
Research
Poetry
Letter Writing
Sight Words and Phonics:
We will be getting weekly sight words and phonics/word family practice several weeks after the school year begins. Stay tuned for more information about these topics once we receive our word lists! To begin the year, we will focus on the sounds of short vowels, beginning with the sound of short "a."
Reading:
In addition to large group shared stories, your child will also be reading on an individual basis according to his or her reading level. These levels are designated by letters of the alphabet and your child will progress through several as the year moves on. Students work with classmates who are reading on the same or a similar level during our small group reading time. There we meet to discuss stories and learn how to use reading fluency (how we sound when we read) and comprehension (how we understand what we read) strategies. We will also work on phonics practice and other reading strategies at centers during this time.