We Can Read!

     This morning in ELA we started to blend sounds to read and spell words!  Some of the boys and girls were quite surprised when they could actually read the words by "sliding" the sounds together.  It was  exciting to see the looks on their faces!
      We have learned the sounds, correct formation and name of these letters:  m, s, f, b, t, c, and the vowel a (when it says /a/ like in cat).  We learned that we can make words that belong to the at word family by changing the first letter (mat, sat, fat, cat).  We used a "sound slide" to slide the letters down while making their sounds to make words! You can practice doing this at home too! 
     In Grade One we focus on several different ways of learning how to read.  We do phonics (letter sounds, word families - as described above), sight words (we call them "heart words" at school because we need to learn them by heart) and comprehension strategies.  Throughout the year, we learn that we can make connections, visualize, ask questions, infer plus many other important strategies.  All of these things help us to understand and remember what we are reading.
     Throughout the year, I will be sending home information sheets to inform you about what we have been learning, so you can reinforce these concepts as you read with your child at home.