Friday Footnotes
January 27, 2012
THIS WEEK…
All kindergarten teachers introduced students to some new friends – the Hh Brothers! This is a creative way to teach five digraph blends commonly seen in kindergarten texts – wh, sh, ch, th, and ph. Each letter combination was represented by a different character in an effort for students to better remember its rule. These letter/sound combinations are found in many words used in shared reading and independent reading texts (ex: when, shoes, children, this, and phone), and some are found in the words on our word wall! It is important for students to be introduced to these combinations because they must sound out these letters as though they are one, as opposed to pronouncing each letter separately. Kindergarten teachers hope students will add these five new sounds to their developing knowledge of letter sounds! We will continue to learn and practice more with the Hh brothers in the coming weeks. During guided reading this week, students read Oh, No! – a book where holes were everywhere, even in the book itself! This text developed rhyming skills, and also encouraged students to think critically about what items caused the holes in the girl’s belongings throughout the book. We even found some of the Hh brothers in the story! During math this week, we returned to math stations to develop more math skills independently. At each station, students reinforced a critical kindergarten math concept. Students wrote and identified numbers to 15, used shapes to make pictures, practiced the terms part, part, and whole in reference to the story of 7, and worked with dice and other manipulative items to develop one-to-one correspondence. The use of tangible objects to develop counting skills is paramount for kindergarten students, and we encourage hands-on learning to teach number readiness both in school and at home.
ASK YOUR CHILD ABOUT…
Talking with your child about what happened at school this week is a great way to enhance their speaking and listening skills. It also helps maintain the connection between home and school! This week, ask him or her about:
- His/her work at math stations
- The Hh brothers
- The book Oh, No!
PLEASE PRACTICE AT HOME….
- Writing and identifying numbers 10 through 15
- Sight words (see reverse side for up-to-date practice)
- Student knowledge of his/her birthday, address, and phone number
- Identifying all letter sounds of the alphabet
IMPORTANT NOTES…
- If you are participating in the Books-In-A-Bag program, please return last week’s books on Monday, January 30th with your child. S/he cannot take home a new bag until the old set of books has been returned. Thank you for your cooperation!
- RPES is holding the annual Pennies for Patients drive during the month of January. Please collect pennies and other loose change and return them to school by Tuesday, January 31st. All proceeds benefit the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. The class who collects the most change earns a party!
- Wednesday, February 8th will be a half-day of school for students to accommodate parent-teacher conferences. Kindegarten students will be dismissed beginning at 11:35; lunch will be provided. If your child’s teacher requests a conference at this time, an appointment was sent home with your child earlier this week. If you did not receive a request but still wish to have a conference, please send a note with a phone number where you can be reached to schedule an appropriate time.
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All kindergarten teachers introduced students to some new friends – the Hh Brothers! This is a creative way to teach five digraph blends commonly seen in kindergarten texts – wh, sh, ch, th, and ph. Each letter combination was represented by a different character in an effort for students to better remember its rule. These letter/sound combinations are found in many words used in shared reading and independent reading texts (ex: when, shoes, children, this, and phone), and some are found in the words on our word wall! It is important for students to be introduced to these combinations because they must sound out these letters as though they are one, as opposed to pronouncing each letter separately. Kindergarten teachers hope students will add these five new sounds to their developing knowledge of letter sounds! We will continue to learn and practice more with the Hh brothers in the coming weeks. During guided reading this week, students read Oh, No! – a book where holes were everywhere, even in the book itself! This text developed rhyming skills, and also encouraged students to think critically about what items caused the holes in the girl’s belongings throughout the book. We even found some of the Hh brothers in the story! During math this week, we returned to math stations to develop more math skills independently. At each station, students reinforced a critical kindergarten math concept. Students wrote and identified numbers to 15, used shapes to make pictures, practiced the terms part, part, and whole in reference to the story of 7, and worked with dice and other manipulative items to develop one-to-one correspondence. The use of tangible objects to develop counting skills is paramount for kindergarten students, and we encourage hands-on learning to teach number readiness both in school and at home.
ASK YOUR CHILD ABOUT…
Talking with your child about what happened at school this week is a great way to enhance their speaking and listening skills. It also helps maintain the connection between home and school! This week, ask him or her about:
- His/her work at math stations
- The Hh brothers
- The book Oh, No!
PLEASE PRACTICE AT HOME….
- Writing and identifying numbers 10 through 15
- Sight words (see reverse side for up-to-date practice)
- Student knowledge of his/her birthday, address, and phone number
- Identifying all letter sounds of the alphabet
IMPORTANT NOTES…
- If you are participating in the Books-In-A-Bag program, please return last week’s books on Monday, January 30th with your child. S/he cannot take home a new bag until the old set of books has been returned. Thank you for your cooperation!
- RPES is holding the annual Pennies for Patients drive during the month of January. Please collect pennies and other loose change and return them to school by Tuesday, January 31st. All proceeds benefit the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. The class who collects the most change earns a party!
- Wednesday, February 8th will be a half-day of school for students to accommodate parent-teacher conferences. Kindegarten students will be dismissed beginning at 11:35; lunch will be provided. If your child’s teacher requests a conference at this time, an appointment was sent home with your child earlier this week. If you did not receive a request but still wish to have a conference, please send a note with a phone number where you can be reached to schedule an appropriate time.
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