Week 19 First Grade
The Alphabet Game (Fiction, Level I) by Joy Cowley
Quack, Quack, Quack! (Fiction, Level I) by Joy Cowley
Art Around the World (Non-fiction, Level I) by Margie Burton
Asia (Non-fiction, Level I) by Leila Merrell Foster
How Many Are Left? (Non-fiction, Level I) by Margie Burton
My first grader loved every single book this week! There were magical letters that taught spelling, a super funny Dad with practical jokes, art and culture appreciation, geography and anthropology, as well as subtraction with apples, carrots, cookies, pizza and popcicles. What’s not to love?! Our absolute favorite book was Quack, Quack, Quack! because it tells the story of a family with a funny Dad who plays a joke on the kids only to be repaid with a practical joke from Mom and the kids. I certainly didn’t have to beg my first grader to read this one! He couldn’t wait to tell me all about it after the silent reading step, which makes our work on comprehension that much easier.
The skill I want to highlight this week comes from Step 2 in the Read with Sarah model, featured on each lesson plan. This step is where I am able to spend a few minutes with Malachi teaching word analysis, phonics, structural analysis, punctuation, and grammar skills that he will see featured in the book as he reads. Thankfully the lesson plans come with everything we need to teach these concepts because otherwise we would be lacking since this isn’t exactly my strong point. For our favorite book Quack, Quack, Quack! we reviewed the “qu” sound with the words quack, quit, quail, queen, quake, and quote; and we talked about the “ou/ow” dipthong with the words out, about, shower, towel, around, and house. We then talked about the prepositions to, in, out, across, around, and through; and we reviewed dialogue words said, replied, laughed, yelled, and yelling. What a great way to incorporate grammar and phonics into something he loves!
Each teacher and parent has a strength and a preference, that is for sure. What I love about using the AlphaSkills resources is that I can pass along my passions to my children while drawing on the expertise of the AlphaSkills author that ensures each lesson plan meets technical requirements as well. And we also are able to explore content that allows my child to find his own passions as well! Truly endless possibilities! For more information about the AlphaSkills Read with Sarah curriculum and our family, see the AlphaSkills Blog Introduction.