Word Families and Rhyming Words
The grade 1 students have been learning about word families and rhyming words. Learning about them helps improve students reading ability and awareness. Here are some examples of how it helps them:

• It helps them break down words into small parts and recognize those smaller parts of larger words.
  
• It teaches them to recognize patterns and structure of words in both spoken and written words.
  
• It helps students to make predictions while learning words and learn crucial decoding skills.
  At home IDEAS
  Rhyming is a fun activity that the whole family can do. Here are a few
  

ideas that you can incorporate into your evening.

1. Read nursery Rhymes (free online http://nursery.zelo.com )
   
2. Makeupnurseryrhymesorpoemswithrhymingwords
   
3. Play a game, Rhyme that Object- one person chooses an
   object and the others have to come up with words that rhyme
   with it.
   
4. Online games – parents and kids can play together some
   online games (http://pbskids.org/games/rhyming/) , (http://pbskids.org/wordworld/characters/game_frm.html)
   

Word families and rhyming are a FUN and EASY way to help increase your child’s reading skills. 

Sight Words

Public Library Information

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Happy New Year! 

Here is a brief outline of what we are doing in grade 1 this month. 

Language Arts

Blends( sh, ch, th, wh) – students recognize and use these blends in their writing. 

*Use a light colored marker to find these blends in magazines, newspapers, on food boxes, etc.

Writing Strategies – stretching out the word and writing down the sounds they hear and spelling word wall words correctly.

*Practice writing in a journal at home

*Print the weekly words multiple time on a whiteboard, scrap paper, or a word document

Reading Strategies – look at the pictures before reading the words as well as predict what the story is about before reading.  
*Read books together every night
*Predict what the story will be about
*Do a book walk before reading the story

Science

Seasonal Changes

•How do plants and animals change and adapt in winter?

•What do humans do to prepare and stay active in winter?

Math

Students have finished up a unit of patterning.  They are now 

learning about measurement.

Terms for measurement

•length (shorter, shortest, taller, tallest, longer, longest)

•width (wider, narrower)

•mass (heavier, lighter) 

On November 13^th, we went for a community walk to kick-start our new unit about communities.  We walked around the see the different areas that are in our own community. We saw a variety of places that helped the students build a beginning understanding of what things make up a community.  

Since out walk, the students have learned about different kinds of communities (urban and rural), why landmarks are important for communities and where their community is on a map.

Bank and Subway

Canada post vehicle 

Outside the pool and recreation center 

Seeing where the pool is located

Walking through the library 

Taking some time to play at the park

Playing at Mushroom Park