Hess Grape Class

This week the Hess Grape class students worked on learning how to properly hold their pencils, and writing a small and big "B". We worked a lot on practicing words that start with B so that we can continue to build our vocabulary! We learned a lot of great b words this week, including bear, basket, banana, boots, bus, bumble bee, and bow. We also spent time on phonics and our phonics book. The main focus of this week was practicing how to sound out words, particularly words with short a sound, and listening closely to how each letter sounds individually to make the whole word. This ability to hear each letters individual sound is a very important skill in learning how to pronounce new words. We also began listening to words to hear words that rhyme, or sound alike, such as cat, bat, mat and hat. The ability to recognize rhyming words is another important step in learning how to read and pronounce words properly. These are very important building blocks in ensuring the students can read and write properly. 

In the afternoons we read storybooks so we could all work on our reading and speaking skills in a fun and interactive way. We really enjoy books that have actions! We also play games, such as memory, so we can quickly identify English words! The themes this month are back to school, and animals! We have been playing games, and learning about various animals and themes around going back to school. Jayme, Art, and Dean did a wonderful job this week. They are all bright and wonderful students and I look forward to seeing their smiling faces every morning! - Teacher Ellen