Open Syllables

Quick question... Doe's anyone know when the letter "y" makes the long "i" sound?

Answer- When it is at the end of a single-syllable word. ex. "my"

Today we learned all about the open syllable type, and how the letter "y" can be used as a vowel. There is so much to the English language, but learning the reason why words are pronounced the way they are can really be exciting! 

This is the key-word sound chart for closed, v-e, and open syllables. Attaching sounds to a keyword is an excellent way to self-correct reading and writing. 

Wilson 4.4

This week the Tigers have been working on long vowels and their relationship with the silent "e."

This concept is introduced by changing CVC words to CVC-e words like cap-cape, mat- mate, etc. The exception to this rule was introduced yesterday, and that is the "ive" exception. words that end with an i-consonant- e do not follow the regular cvc-e rule. 

The Thunderbolts have been working on the five exceptions to closed syllables- ost, olt, ind, ild, and ang. 

These sounds are presented on green cards in the WRS, and are boxed when writing. This helps us remember that they do not follow the rules. 

In this example the word "olive" contains two syllables, an open syllable, ol, and the v-e syllable exception "ive." because this is an exception to the rule the "ive" is written under the word with a slash through it. 

Math this week was all about fractions, fair shares, parts of a whole, and division. We are also starting to think about and plan our end of CAMP party! I hope that all of the families will be able to join us for the last Thursday 7/31 at 12:00. We will share some Wilson tips and our very special class book we have been working on! 

Addition with Regrouping

This week the Tigers are working on book 4 in the WRS which means long vowels, and the Thunderbolts are continuing with book 2 which is all about blends. We are also using this week to teach/review addition and subtraction with regrouping.

For many of the students this is a review, but it is such a key concept to understand before moving on in math I thought it would be worth a review. The reason for the "house" or the "castle" is to keep our work neat and lined up properly. For more information on the castle algorithm click here. 

Money and Syllables

I hope that everyone had a nice 4th of July holiday! I was so glad to see the kids excited about coming back to camp on Monday. 

This is a sight word recognition game on ABCYA.com 

 We have been very busy looking at how words are formed into syllables. Both the Tigers and the Thunderbolts are segmenting words into syllables; this makes it much easier to tap and decode unknown words. My post from last year linked here gives a little bit more information about syllable type, and the power of syllable segmentation. However, some words do not always follow the rules, or are a syllable type that has not yet been introduced. These are sight words or "trick' words. There is no perfect way to learn or memorize sight words, but there are some fun games on abcya.com that are helpful.



We have also been building our number and money sense through a variety of lessons, games and crafts. Last week each student created their own penny, nickel, dime and quarter. Mrs. Romero then had the class create this money tree. I was very impressed with their work!

On the back of each coin is a catchy poem to aid in the remembering of each coin's value.

Our Money Tree

Homework?

It seems like every school year the homework debate is brought up. Some believe that more homework makes smarter children, while others believe that time at home should be spent with family and work should be kept at school. Personally, I think the answer is somewhere in the middle. Research is split with evidence supporting both sides. CAMP is set up in blocks; between each block we have some kind of activity or movement. This is by no means an earth-shattering idea, but I thought I would bring it up because it can so easily be applied to homework. For example, spelling 10 minutes, jumping jacks 3 minutes, and math 10 minutes; that is how a typical 2nd grader's homework should go, anything more than that is usually not appropriate. Of course 3rd graders would work a little longer, and 1st graders would work a little less. 

Recess time and being outdoors is an important part of CAMP. Children (and adults) need a break from seat work and being indoors for too long.  On especially hot days we will have calisthenics and movement activities indoors. 

I'm curious, how many parents would like homework over the summer? I hadn't planned on it, but I can certainly add that component if families want to work at home. Post thoughts below.  

Primary CAMP!

Hi, Everyone!

I'm so glad we are back for the summer and Primary CAMP is in full swing! I will be using our class blog as a way to communicate, and hopefully we can use this as a forum to bounce ideas off each other. Also, when you ask "What did you do at camp today?" you will already know! 

A typical day starts in the book nook, and we have a quick morning meeting. During this time we share and encourage one another. This is also a great time to bring in any "show and tell" items. We have already been graced by the presence of a hermit crab, rubber spiders, and a karate belt! 

After sharing time we have calendar time. During this time we review days of the week, months of the year, patterns, money, odd and even numbers, graphing, money, etc. This is our prime time to sing and do some simple calisthenics. 

Each day also starts with a read aloud and reading comprehension skills. This is such a great way to start the day, and it's a fun way to "sneak" in some reading skills! 

The campers are divided into two groups for reading and math instruction. The groups are the "Thunderbolts" and the "Tigers," and yes they came up with those names on their own. The focus of math this week has been coins and money. All of the campers really enjoyed making their own coins! In reading, both groups have started at book 1 in the Wilson Reading System (WRS). Basically, that means CVC words,

digraphs, and the "am," "an," & "all" word families.  We have also discussed bonus letters. Bonus letters are added to the end of single syllable words that end in "f" "l" or "s." For example "hil" is spelled "hill" because there is only one vowel in the word and it ends in an "l," so we add a bonus "l" to the end of the word. 

However, we do not tap bonus letters, so we put a star over them to remind us not to tap out those letters. 

Next week the Thunderbolts will get more in depth with book one in the WRS, and the Tigers will move on to book 2. Math next week will be all about place value, number sense and time. 

Be sure to check the blog regularly over the summer for details about what we are doing, and also for tips on how to help your students at home. I'm looking forward to a great summer in CAMP! 

Last Days of School!

We have grown so much this year!