VOL: 011 AUG 2015
new friends and new things to learn thefreethinkingschool.com
Flashback In July we had our first parent-teacher meeting. It was great to meet all of you and get your inputs regarding the school and your children. The children are now well settled into the new school year. They have started enjoying their classroom activities and are exploring new materials through lessons and independent work time. We have a great group of children, and I appreciate and admire how empathetic they are with each other! New friendships are blossoming in the classroom every day. The children found our classroom topic – “Land & Water Forms" engaging and interesting! They were happy to create their own lake and island models. We also discussed about land, air and water and how important these are to people. The children made their own little globes and most of them now remember the names of the seven continents. They are proud to live in Asia, which is the biggest continent in the world.
Fast forward In August we will learn about clothes • Importance of clothes • Monsoon clothes • Summer clothes • Winter clothes You may have already heard about the letter of the week from your child. We focus on the sound of an alphabet every week. We choose a new sound for each week. This is in addition to the language work the children are working on during class time. Since most written words are lower case alphabets, we begin with lower case so that children will be able to recognize more alphabets in the world around them. Children are enjoying their sharing days - Thursdays and Fridays. They proudly go around the circle with the articles they bring to share with their friends. Please tell them a bit about the object that they bring and write a short note for me. This will help them to speak with confidence about the article. The school’s library services will resume in the month of August.The library provides early readers with the opportunity to experience the joy of reading, the excitement of discovering knowledge and works of imagination. We encourage parents to grasp this opportunity to spend quality time reading with your children so as to equip them with skills for lifelong learning.
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Upcoming events: Independence Day- Everyone's invited to join us early in the morning, on the 15th of August as we celebrate Independence Day. Mom’s Night – Please plan to attend " Moms Night”. This is an evening designed only for mother and child to come to school together. We will share a short circle time together following which children will show their moms some of their favorite classroom activities and 'work'. It's a big event for the children, one they look forward to with great enthusiasm. We are sure that you will be amazed by the things they have already learnt to do. This event is scheduled on the 21st of August at 6pm. A similar evening is scheduled for Dads on the 11th of September. No siblings please. Field trip: Our first field trip is around the corner. I am confident that the children will have a lot of fun and learn from this educational field trip. We need a few parents to volunteer to help us escort the children during this outing on the 28th of August 2015. Parents are welcome to volunteer their services by signing up at the front office. We appreciate your help.
Parents Resource PHONICS BASICS Many parents of beginning readers have heard about phonics and many have questions: What does my child’s teacher really mean when she talks about phonics? Does my child need to learn phonics to learn to read? Is phonics most effective if taught at a certain age? You’ll get answers to these questions and more below. What is phonics? Phonics is simply the system of relationships between letters and sounds in a language. When your kindergartener learns that the letter B has the sound of /b/ and your second-grader learns that “tion” sounds like /shun/, they are learning phonics. Why is phonics important? Learning phonics will help your children learn to read and spell. Written language can be compared to a code, so knowing the sounds of letters and letter combinations will help your child decode words as he reads. Knowing phonics will also help your child know which letters to use as he writes words.
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When is phonics usually taught? Your child will probably learn phonics in kindergarten through second grade. In kindergarten, children usually learn the sounds of the consonant letters (all letters except the vowels a, e, i, o, and u). First- and second-graders typically learn all the sounds of letters, letter combinations, and word parts (such as “ing” and “ed”). They practice reading and spelling words containing those letters and patterns. Second-graders typically review and practice the phonics skills they have learned to make spelling and reading smooth and automatic. Children vary in the amount of phonics instruction they need and when they need it. Some children need very little phonics instruction, while others still benefit from phonics instruction in third grade. What the Research Says Recently, the National Reading Panel, composed of experts in the field of literacy, was asked by the United States Congress to examine the research on the teaching of reading. A subgroup of the National Reading Panel reviewed 38 studies to determine what the research says about the teaching of phonics. To ensure the soundness of its findings, the National Reading Panel chose to review only studies that met rigorous criteria for research studies. The National Reading Panel determined that the research indicates that phonics is an essential ingredient in beginning reading instruction and found that: • Systematic and explicit phonics instruction–phonics instruction that is direct and follows a particular sequence–is more effective than phonics instruction that is not systematic or no phonics instruction at all. • Systematic, explicit phonics instruction is most effective when it begins in kindergarten or first grade. • Systematic, explicit phonics instruction improves children’s word recognition, spelling, and reading comprehension skills. • Systematic, explicit phonics instruction benefits all children, regardless of their socioeconomic status. • Systematic, explicit phonics instruction most benefits children who are having difficulty learning to read. • Phonics instruction is only one part of a complete reading program for beginning readers. Effective beginning reading programs should also emphasize reading fluency, vocabulary development, and text comprehension.
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