Hi Everyone!  Happy Friday!

It's about to be my favorite week of the entire school year!  The anticipation for the upcoming Holiday is palpable, everyone is in a festive mood, and everyone is even kinder than normal.  We have some fun events planned this week to mark the Holiday, and will be finishing up some of our academic units too.  

Here's a quick weekly update...

Next Week's Homework:
There is no written homework next week, and we will not have new sight words. Please read!

Holiday Travel:If you are traveling over the Holidays, and your child will be absent from school, please kindly notify the school in advance.  You can send a message or note to me, which I will forward to the office.  You may also submit your notification to the office directly by using the "online absence excuse", which is found on the Pinebrook home page.

 

Reflex Math:We are coming to a close on our addition and subtraction unit.  Now that the kids have learned the strategies for solving addition and subtraction facts, it's time to practice fact fluency!  Fact fluency is the "fancy way" to describe the ability to quickly recall addition and subtraction facts.  I cannot teach fact fluency.  You cannot teach fact fluency.  As with reading, it's about practice, practice, practice.  To promote practice, our school subscribes to an on-line program called Reflex Math. The program's aim is to help kids build fact fluency.  Your child can now begin to log in to practice fact fluency via fun, arcade style games.  The log on information is in the "online resources" section of this blog.

 

Focus Areas for the Upcoming Short Week:

• Reading:  We will read the Holiday Classic The Polar Express, and review many of the good reader strategies we have learned this year, such as predicting, retelling, making connections, and story mapping.  
• Math:  We will review addition and subtraction strategies.  We will begin our place value unit in January.
• Writing:  We will complete some Holiday writing projects.
• Science / Social Studies:  We will talk about Holiday traditions around the world with our annual Holidays Around the World on Tuesday morning. During this time, the 1st grade teachers take turns rotating through each other's classrooms teaching the students about a holiday tradition from a particular country or culture.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!  The Mercer Band and Chorus will come Tuesday afternoon for a Holiday concert, and on Wednesday, the entire school will pile into the gym for our annual Holiday Sing Along.  We sing Holiday songs from the many faith and cultural traditions represented at Pinebrook while the teachers and staff all take turns leading the songs.  Seriously....I CAN'T EVEN CONTAIN MYSELF.  I am 35 years old, but at this time of year, I am a 6 year old.  It's one reason why YOUR children are "MY PEOPLE"!  (It's also the reason I am typing in so many CAPITAL letters.)

Have a great weekend!  I am looking forward to baking more cookies, wrapping gifts, watching "It's a Wonderful Life" with my kids.

 3 days....3 days....3 days.....

A Few Reminders

Timeline Projects Due December 9th:
Your child's "Look At Me Now" timeline project is due next Friday, December 9th.  (I sent this assignment home on November 15th.)  If your child has his/her project done early, feel free too send it in.

Candy Grams on Sale:
I am proud to be a member of Our Teachers Makin' Tracks Relay for Life Team!  We participate in Relay for Life to raise money in the fight against cancer.  We walk both in honor and in memory of loved ones and co-workers who have waged a battle with cancer.  This Holiday season, we are selling candy grams as a fundraiser.   If you'd like to order a candy gram for your child, you can fill out the order form, and send it to school in a sealed envelope along with the $2 payment.  One of our Teachers Makin' Tracks "elves" (we team members!) will deliver the candy gram to your child. Here's a photo of the Candy Grams, and the order form.  

 

Candy Gram Order Form

I would like to order_______ candy grams.

To: _______________________________________________________________________________________

Message: _______________________________________________________________________________________

To: _______________________________________________________________________________________

Message: _______________________________________________________________________________________

To: _______________________________________________________________________________________

Message: _______________________________________________________________________________________

_____candy grams X $2.00 each =________________________ (checks can be made payable to The American Cancer Society) or 6 for $10.00

Weekly update

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the late post. I wasn't feeling well late Friday/ this weekend I had to take some much needed R & R to recoup before the busy holiday weekend.

 Many thanks to those of you able to attend our ABC's of Thanksgiving last week. The kids love having you visit the classroom, and I appreciate the time you take from your busy schedule to validate their efforts by attending our programs.  
Report Card Signature Slips and Envelopes:If you haven't done so, please return your child's report card envelope.  Please also return the signed report card acknowledgement.  This is the slip at the bottom of the last page of the report card.  I  only need the small slip at the bottom; you should keep the rest of the report card.

Read-a-Thon Update:
Please be sure to log your child's at-home reading on his/her Read-a-Thon page! The Read-a-Thon ends Tuesday, and we are looking forward to a big finish as we raise money to purchase materials for our Guided Reading Library!

Thanksgiving Travel:
If your child will be absent tomorrow, and / or leaving early, please kindly notify both the office and me in advance.  For absences, you may use the online absence excuse found on the Pinebrook homepage.  For early dismissal, you may use the early dismissal form found on the Pinebrook homepage.

No Written Homework Next Week:
There will be no written homework next week due to our short week.  PLEASE READ!  Remember...reading isn't homework...reading is LIFE.  :)
Timeline Project:I sent home your child's "Look At Me Now" Timeline Projectlast week.  Please review the information in the letter and let me know if you have any questions.  Timeline projects are due no later than Friday, December 9th. If your child has his/her Timeline project completed before that date, feel free to send it in early. One kiddo has already turned it in! WOW! I have yet to start on my son's...yikes!

Focus Areas for the Coming Short Week (11/21-11/22) AND the Week of 11/28 - 12/2:

• Reading:  We will summarize stories using the summary frame known as "Somebody-Wanted-But-So".  You can use this summary frame with your child at home too!  After your child reads a book, ask:  "Who is the Somebody in the story?"  (it's usually the main character);  "What did he/she want?";  "But what happened?" (this is the problem);  "So what did he/she do?"  (this is the solution).  We will also talk about the Author's Message in stories we read...what life lesson does the author want us to learn from this story?
• Math:  We will review our addition strategies as we finish our addition unit. We will begin our subtraction unit, in which we explore subtraction as the reverse of addition, and learn strategies for quickly solving subtraction facts.
• Social Studies:  We will finish our Long Ago and Today unit.
• Science:  We will begin talking about how people, plants, and animals prepare for winter, and how they adapt to winter.

As always, I welcome your questions, comments, and feedback!

Kristen

Veteran's Day and Weekly Update

Hi Everyone,

We celebrated Veteran's Day at school today.  Please ask your child about it! Veterans came to speak with us about their time in the service, and we celebrated them with our own Pinebrook Veteran's Day parade.  My parents and in-laws, all retired from the Air Force.  As a teacher and a daughter of veterans, I am so thankful to our Pinebrook community for honoring our veterans.  Please take a moment today to be thankful for the veterans who keep our country the Land of the Free.  
Report Cards:
Quarter 1 report cards will go home next Wednesday, November 16th.  I will put your child's report card in the front clear pocket of his/her homework folder.  After you review your child's report card, please sign the bottom of the last page, detach the signature slip, and return it in the original envelope.  You keep the report card; I keep the signature slip and envelope. I do reuse your child's report card envelope all year, so please be sure to return it.
American Education Week:
I hope you will join us in our classroom next Tuesday, November 15th from 9:45 - 10:40 am to celebrate American Education Week.  Students will present the ABC's of Thanksgiving.  Our lunch is immediately following the ABC's of Thanksgiving, and you may stay to have lunch with your child.  Our lunch is from 10:40 - 11:10.  If you're staying for lunch, please plan to say goodbye to your child in the cafeteria at the end of our lunch period.  Our regular instructional day will resume right after lunch.  I sent home specific information about American Education Week, including a copy of your child's speaking part(s), on Tuesday.  Please review this information.  Please send back the form to let me know if you're staying for lunch, and please help your child practice reading his/her speaking part with a clear, confident voice.
Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will talk about visualizing.  When good readers read and/or listen to stories, they must sometimes visualize.  When we visualize, we make a picture in our brains to accompany the words in the story.
• Writing:  We will respond to writing prompts and self-chosen topics as we continue to practice capitalization, punctuation, spacing, and letter formation. We will complete a Thanksgiving writing project.
• Math:  We will begin to close our addition unit.  We will finish learning strategies for quickly solving addition facts.
• Social Studies:  We will continue our Long Ago and Today unit as we make our final preparations for American Education Week, and the ABC's of Thanksgiving.

Our first quarter is in the books!  Thank you for all you've done to help your child adjust to 1st grade.  I am blessed by their sweet presence each day.  Please remember...your feedback is welcomed and appreciated.  

Enjoy the weekend!  I'm going to start our family's Thanksgiving preparations!  I should probably start with a 10 mile run, and by ensuring all my elastic waist pants are ready to go!  *gobble*

Weekly Update

Happy Friday Everyone!
Yay! We have made it through the first quarter. I cannot believe how fast that went. I am looking forward to all the fun and exciting things we have planned in the second quarter. I am hopeful that the next quarter will be as fun as this first one was.

I wanted to quickly say thank you to everyone who volunteered and helped out at our Fall Party on Monday. The kids had such a fun time. Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Norman who planned and prepped the entire party. I know what a huge that task was. It was the most organized party anyone has ever planned for my class. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all your hard work!

Conferences:
Thank you for attending your parent teacher conference!  I enjoy visiting with you during this time to discuss your child's progress and behavior, and I learn so much about your student through your eyes. 

Pinebrook Read-a-Thon:
Monday, November 7th will mark the start of our Pinebrook Read-a-Thon.  All money raised will be used to purchase materials for our new Guided Reading Library.  This is the library we teachers access for resources and materials when we plan our reading instruction. Please refer to the flyer I sent home in last week's Thursday folder for more information.  

Family Reading Night:
Our Family Reading Night will be Thursday, November 10th at 6:30 at school. Isabelle, Darius and I will be there, and we hope to see you too!

American Education Week:
Please mark your calendar for our American Education Week celebration on Tuesday, November 15th from 9:45 - 10:30 am in our classroom.  Students will present the ABC's of Thanksgiving.  Our lunch is immediately following the ABC's of Thanksgiving, and you may stay to have lunch with your child after our event.  For your planning purposes, our lunch is from 10:40 - 11:10.  If you're staying for lunch, please plan to say goodbye to your child in the cafeteria at the end of our lunch period.  Our regular instructional day will resume right after lunch.  Please watch next week's Thursday folder for the specific details you'll need about this event.

Next Week's Sight Words:
Due to our short week next week, we will not have new sight words.  We will review previously learned sight words.




Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will talk about the reasons authors write books:  to persuade, to inform, and to entertain.  This is called the "author's purpose".  
• Writing:  We will respond to writing prompts and self-chosen topics as we continue to practice capitalization, punctuation, spacing, and letter formation.
• Math:  We will continue our addition unit.  We will learn strategies for quickly solving addition facts.
• Social Studies:  We will finish learning about Veteran's Day.  We will begin our Long Ago and Today unit, in which we compare and contrast life long ago and today.

Don't forget...the kids don't have school Monday or Tuesday due to  Teacher Work Days. Enjoy the long weekend! 

Party Update

Mrs. Rivera's Fall Class Party

 

October 31, 2016 

 

1:00 pm

 
** Please note that children are not permitted to wear their Halloween costumes to school on Monday, per the school policy. 

 
Our class party is sure to be a fun time with games, projects and snacks. 

We will play Fall Bingo (with candy corn as markers) , pin the spider in the spider web,  create a fall beaded necklace and craft a bookmark. 

 
You will receive a permission slip on Monday to select the snack items that you are ok with your child having. If your child has allergies and cannot enjoy the snacks that we are providing, please consider  sending in a snack with them. All permission slips must be received by Friday October 28, 2016. For safety concerns, if your child has not returned their permission slip, they will be unable to participate in the snack portion of our party. 

 
The items that we will have are: 

   Fresh Apple Slices, Fresh Seedless Grapes, Krispy Kreme Glazed Donut, Branch’s Candy Corn (used in game), Popped Corn – Pre popped & packaged,  Capri Sun Roaring Water Juice,               

 Pepperidge Farm Cheddar Gold Fish Crackers, Kirklands Apple Sauce Pouch, & Harris Teeter String Cheese. 

 
Your child will bring home a Jack-O-Lantern bag to use for trick-or-treating or as a library bag, the bag will contain several treats - the only edible item is a Ring Pop which you can remove if not appropriate for your child. 

 If you're interested in volunteering during the party, please reach out to Heather Norman, Heather.Norman@hotmail.com . 

 

Party set up will happen while the class is at recess and the party will start at 1:00pm when the children return to the classroom. 

 

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the classroom fund, your donations helped to ensure a great party for our class. 

Thank you!
Mr. and Mrs. Norman

Weekly Update

Check Out Our 1st Grade Symbaloo Page:
Our Technology Resource Teacher, Mrs. Clark, compiled a Symbaloo page for us! Symbaloo is a visual bookmarking tool that makes it simple and fun to organize multiple websites.  Our 1st Grade Symbaloo has links to a variety of sites that cover multiple disciplines...everything from Mouse Skills (check out "Bees and Honey"...I played it last night!), to science, to math, and holidays.  Our Symbaloo sites are a perfect "something more" to supplement your child's weekly homework.  You can access it via the "online resources" page of this blog.  You can also access it by going to the Pinebrook Homepage.  Once there, click "First Grade" under the "Classrooms" tab.  Look to the left under the heading "First Grade".  At the bottom of that list, you'll see "First Grade Symbaloo."  

Field Trip:
Our 1st grade field trip to Claude Moore Park and Heritage Farm Museum will be Wednesday, November 2nd.  If you haven't done so, please return the permission slip and payment as soon as possible.   I'll post some information next week about dress and lunch, and send a reminder or two home before the trip.

Fall Party:
Please mark your calendar for our Fall party on Monday, October 31st from 1 - 2:15 pm in our classroom.  All families are welcome to attend!  (NO costumes, please.) A food permission slip will be going home this week.  Please sign and return it as soon as possible.  Your child will not be able to eat any of the party food unless I have his/her signed permission slip.  

  Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will talk about characters in fiction stories.  We will discuss character traits, different types of characters (humans, animals, non-living things), and how characters evolve in stories.
• Writing:  We will respond to various writing prompts and self-chosen topics.  We will continue to work on letter formation, capital letters, punctuation, and spacing.
• Math:  We will finish our patterns and sorting unit.
• Science:  We will finish our pumpkin investigations.

Thank you for all you do!  As always, comments, questions, and feedback are welcome.

Enjoy the crisp Fall weekend!  (Crisp.  I love that word.)  

Weekly Update

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for the well wishes regarding my son.  He is feeling much better.  It's amazing what antibiotics can do. 

Remind:
Thanks to the 18 of you who have signed up for my Remind messaging service.  I'm loving it!  It's so easy to send you a text when I need to send along a quick note.  FYI: You can send me a message via the Remind app too!  When you click on my class, you'll see "Send a message, photo, or voice clip" at the bottom of your screen.  Touch there, type your message, and hit send.  I'll receive the message on my phone (just like a text) and can easily respond.  The only drawback to Remind?  Each message is allowed a limited number of characters, which means I have to choose my words (and emoticons) carefully!  I know you'll be surprised to hear, but brevity in writing has never been my strong point.

Field Trip:
Our 1st grade field trip to Claude Moore Park and Heritage Farm Museum will be Wednesday, November 2nd.  Information letters, permission slips and chaperone interest forms went home in yesterday's folder.  Please kindly return the permission slip and payment as soon as possible.  If you are interested in chaperoning this trip, please kindly return the chaperone interest form as soon as possible.  Please contact me with any questions.

Pumpkins:
If you haven't yet sent your child's small ("pie-sized") pumpkin for our pumpkin investigation, please send it Monday...we will be using our pumpkins that day.

 Fall Party:
Please mark your calendar for our Fall party on Monday, October 31st in our classroom.  All families are welcome to attend!  (NO costumes, please.)  I will send a food permission slip home before the party.  My awesome room family and I thank you for the party donations.  Your funds will be put to good use, they plan for our class celebrations.  :)

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will explore setting in the books we read.  The setting is where a story takes place.  We will identify settings, and talk about how settings can enhance stories.
• Writing:  We are changing gears in writing.  We will take a break from focusing on one type of writing for several weeks and instead, we will explore grammar, punctuation, and the elements of a top-notch "1st grade" sentence.
• Math:  We will continue our patterns and sorting unit.
• Science:  We will learn the life cycle of a pumpkin, and we will begin our pumpkin investigation.  During our pumpkin investigation, we will observe, measure, and experiment with our pumpkins.

As always, your support is appreciated and your feedback is welcomed.  

Just a few notes

Good Evening!
I just wanted to remind everyone to send in a small pumpkin by Friday for next week. Next week is sure to be a fun week. We will be beginning our Pumpkin Investigations Unit.

Also, Please check your child's backpack tomorrow for their RAZ information. They will need it to log in from home. I have updated the information on my resource page as well in case you need it and misplace the form.
I will also be sending home field trip information tomorrow. Please make sure you are on the look out for those forms as well.

Finally, thanks to those of you who signed up for my Remind.  If you didn't sign up on Sunday, please do so now.  You can find all the information by scrolling to the post below.  I gave 5 paws to all students with a parent who already signed up.

Thank you!
Kristen

Calling All Volunteers!

Happy Monday!

Now that we are finally in the swing of things and the reading assessments are complete (Phew!), we are ready to welcome our volunteers. There are plenty of opportunities for you to volunteer. I have created a sign up for the days and times needed. The sign up goes from now until Winter Break. I will send out the last half of the year after break.

How to sign up:
We're using SignUp.com (the leading online SignUp and reminder tool) to organize our upcoming SignUps.
Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:
1) Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp.com: http://signup.com/go/m6N3aZ
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com.
Note: SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.

Also,  PTA is running a program called Volunteer of the Month! Every month your name could be drawn to win fantastically fun gift cards for Game Stop, Target, Toys R Us and more!  Simply put your name in the jar when you check in to volunteer at the front office. Each month they'll draw winner.  This is our way to say thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers.

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful fall day with your children. I look forward to seeing them tomorrow.

Kristen

Remind App

Hi Everyone,

I'm checking in on a Sunday to let you know that I am going to start using a new communication tool called "Remind".  Some of you are already familiar with this tool.  Mr. Thiessen uses it to communicate with the staff and I find it to be super convenient.  It just occurred to me I can use it as a teacher too!  :)

Remind is a messaging service which allows me to send you a short, quick group text message any time of the day.  It works with iOS and Android platforms, and it works on multiple devices (phones, computers, tablets).  I plan to use it for messages such as "Don't forget tomorrow is PJ day!" or "Box Tops and Labels for Education are due tomorrow"...quick and easy things where a text is faster for me to send and faster for you to read!  You can download the Remind app for free...search "Remind" in the app store; the icon is a blue background with a white cloud that looks like a speech bubble or a thought bubble. 

When you sign up for my Remind class, you are added to my contact group.  I am the only person who sees your information; members of the group cannot see each other's names, phone numbers, etc. If I send a message to which you reply, I am the only person who sees your response.  When you sign up for my Remind, you can choose whether to receive the messages as a text or as an email. Personally, I receive messages as texts and recommend this delivery method.  When your child leaves my class at the end of the school year, you can remove yourself from my Remind class.

To join my Remind class, please click this link.  You'll need to provide your name and phone number:

https://www.remind.com/join/623866?utm_medium=ios  then type in @krivera1st
You can also join my Remind class by texting @krivera1st to 81010. That will let you receive my messages as a text.
Open the app and Type in @krivera1st to join my class

 Please let your child know when you've joined.  I'll give 5 Puma Paws to any kiddo with a parent who joins my Remind.

While I've been using Remind for quite a while as a staff member, it's new for me as a teacher.  I apologize in advance for any hiccups as I get this going, and I thank you for your patience with me!

Please let me know if you have any questions.  I hope you're enjoying the long weekend!  Tell the kids hello for me!

Kristen

Party

Thank you to everyone who sent in  their $20 donation for our classroom parties this year. I have sent all the money to Mr. and Mrs. Norman who are heading up the parties. Our first party will be on October 31st. They will be sending more details out soon. If you haven't sent in your money it is not too late. Please send it in with your child and put Mrs. Normans name on the envelope. Payments can also be submitted via PayPal to heather.norman@hotmail.com. For accounting purposes, it will be helpful to include your child’s name in the memo line.

Thank you everyone! This is a team effort. We wouldn't be able to have these parties if it wasn't for the donations from all of you and help of the Normans planning them for me. I am lucky to have such a great support group this year!

3 weeks to party time!!!!

Weekly Update

Hi Everyone,

Before we start our long weekend, I'm passing along your weekly update.  Today, I'm going to prove to you that I can write a short weekly update!  :)

Decoding Strategies Series:
This week, we studied the decoding strategies good readers use when they come to tricky words.  I published a short post each day highlighting the strategy learned that day.  If you missed them, please scroll down to see these posts.
Important Information About Written Homework:
Your child completed his/her first written homework sheet this week.  Our written homework will always be the same:  in addition to nightly reading, your child will spend one night practicing writing each of our words of the week 3 times.  He/she will then use each word in a sentence.  There are 5 words of the week.  Please note:  our 5 words of the week are in your child's agenda.  He/she writes those 5 words in the upper right corner of the agenda each Monday.  Those are the words your child should practice writing for written homework.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will examine the differences between fiction and non-fiction texts, and explore ways to determine whether a text is a fiction or non-fiction selection.
• Writing:   We will finish learning the routines and procedures of Writer's Workshop as we explore the idea that "writing is just telling on paper".  We will begin to wind down this first writing unit. 
• Math:  We will begin our patterns and sorting unit.  In this unit, we will talk about ways to sort objects (using attributes like color, size, shape, and thickness).  We will talk about how to extend and grow patterns, how to isolate a pattern unit, and how to label patterns.  We will predict what comes next in repeating patterns, growing patterns, and number patterns.  We will solve word problems with patterns.  This unit will last approximately 2 weeks.  You can help by helping your child identify patterns in the just be as excited as a 6-year old, and that may just be why I always say 1st graders are "my people"!!!

Have a great weekend!
Kristen















       

Strategy of the Day: Skip the Tricky Word and Read On, Then Come Back

Hi Parents!

It's the last installment of the Decoding Strategy of the Day series.  

Decoding Strategy of the Day:  Skip the Tricky Word and Read On, Then Come Back
This strategy is similar to using context clues to figure out the definition of an unknown word.  It will help your child figure out a tricky word by using words around it.  If your child is reading and comes to an unknown word, you can prompt your child by saying, "Skip the word and read on."  Have your child read to the end of the sentence.  By reading to the end of the sentence, your child will hear the other words in the sentence, and may get a context for the unknown word.

The strategy in action:
In this example, pretend your child is trying to read the sentence, "Billy found his lost dog."  Your child comes to the word "found", but can't decode it.  Prompt him/her by saying, "Skip the tricky word and read on."  After "found", your child will read "his lost dog."  Now your child knows the dog was "lost".  Go back to the tricky word.  Tell your child to look at the first letter and get his/her mouth ready.  Tell your child to go back to the beginning of the sentence.  Now, he/she knows 2 things to help decode the tricky word, namely, that the dog was lost, and that the unknown word starts with "f".  These 2 clues will very likely help your child read "found" independently!

Thank you for reading my posts this week.  If you have any questions about any strategies I've described, please contact me!   Kristen

Strategy of the Day: Look at the Last Letter

 

Hi Everyone!

We're closing in on the end of the Decoding Strategy of the Day series.  I hope you are learning some valuable information to help your child during his/her at-home reading!

Decoding Strategy of the Day:  Look at the Last Letter!
Looking at the last letter can seem counterintuitive to decoding an unknown word...how can looking at the very last letter in the word help your child read the word?  If he/she can't read any of the parts that come before the last letter, what good will it do to look at the end of the word?  Well......

Do you remember when I started this series on Monday?  I wrote that all good reader strategies are predicated on the idea that good readers constantly monitor what they're reading.  They ask themselves, "Does it look right?", "Does it sound right?", "Does it make sense?".  This strategy -- look at the last letter -- is a prime example of a "monitoring strategy".  Simply put, it's a strategy you can use when your child reads something incorrectly but doesn't seem to notice he/she is wrong.

The strategy in action:
Follow along while your child reads out loud.  When your child incorrectly reads a word with an ending, stop him/her.  Prompt your child by saying, "Look at the last letter.  Does that look right?"  For example, pretend the sentence reads, "Billy looked for his cat."  Your child reads, "Billy looks for his cat."  It doesn't matter which sentence your child reads...the words make sense to his/her ears whether he/she says "looked" or "looks".  However, when you stop your child and say, "Look at the last letter.  Does that look right?", you will prompt your child to monitor his/her reading.  Your child should recognize that he/she said "looks" (which ends in "s"), even though the word is "looked" (which ends in "ed").  The 2 endings have completely different sounds!  When your child thinks about making an "s" sound for a word that ends with a "d" sound, he/she should recognize, "No!  That doesn't look right," therefore, "No! That doesn't make sense!".  Your child should look at the last letter, go back, and reread the sentence with the tricky word.

I'll close this series tomorrow with the last strategy:  Skip the tricky word and read on, then come back.

Thank you!