Word Study

 

Our Literacy Block starts with Word Study.  We use three programs, Fundations, Words Their Way, and our weekly sight words. 

 

Sight Words

All First Grade students at Champlain will learn weekly "sight words," which are chosen by the First Grade Team based on high frequency and usage.  Words will be introduced early in the week, practiced, and sent home for reinforcement.  Once our learned sight words go on our word wall, they are students' responsibility to read, write, and spell correctly.  Practicing at home makes a huge difference in students' ability to learn and retain our sight words.

 

Our Word Wall

 
This week's words are:

best   him   nice   talk   out   two

review: house   tell  new   from

Here are some suggestions for home practice:

1.  Write each word saying each letter aloud.

2.  Practice letter formation.

3.  Mix up the letters and have your child put them in the right order.

4.  Go on a word hunt to find the week's words in a book.

5.  Dictate simple sentences with the words included and have them write.

 

Fundations

Fundations helps us practice our letters and the sounds they make.  This review is useful for readers of all levels, as it enables us to build and decode tricky words later on as well as simple words now.  Fundations also helps us practice our proper letter formation and handwriting.  We have been focusing on vowels.  Echo is our class owl who helps us practice with Miss Smith.

                                              

                                             

  We are learning how to "Phoneme Graph", or isolate which letters make which sounds.  This kind of phonemic awareness will help our students make sense of some of the tricks of our language.  For example, they can see and practice the concepts of double consonants at the end of words, blends like "th" making only one sound, and vowel teams like "ai" making new sounds.

                                       

            Words Their Way

Students will also be working in small groups to identify and learn spelling patterns, vowel sounds, and consonant blends.  This concept and pattern based program allows students to learn the decoding and building skills necessary for independent application.  

 
Our weekly Word Work activities include sorting, reading new words, writing, gluing our sorts, and finding words that fit the patterns in our books.  Sometimes we blend and build new words that fit our patterns.  

Here's a sample of some Words Their Way lessons:

  • Words that make the "long e" sound spelled with "ea", "ee",  and "ie"
  • Words that start with blends and digraphs like "th", "wh", and "sh"
  • Words with short vowels like "spent", "apple", "pig", "dog", and "under"
  • Contractions and their matching words, like "can't, can, not" and "they'll, they, will"

Because this program is pattern based, students are assessed on the pattern featured in the lesson.  They are also expected to be able to apply the spelling pattern to unfamiliar words in their reading and writing.  Of course, the exceptions to our "spelling rules" often pose problems.  Consider these "teachable moments", and help your child understand these exceptions.

Triangles Trapezoids Ovals

 

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