But first, we began with a thorough review of our sounds. We discussed the family (manner and place) and voicing of each consonant and vowel sound. It's amazing that all the boys picked up right where each left off before spring break. By the end of this week, we will begin the final sounds: the cousins n, m, ng (nasals), w, h, wh (the wind sounds) r, and l (the lifters).
With a new theme, we always begin by eliciting prior knowledge. We discuss, and sometimes graph, things the boys already know about the topic. This initial discussion is always important, as it helps determine the final amount of detail and depth of knowledge of each theme.
Today the boys were able to define 'Earth' (the planet where we live......pretty good!), tell some basic recycling techniques, and identify a few ways to take care of our Earth. That's a really good start! Knowing just where to begin, we discussed how important sunlight is to all living things on Earth using Living Sunlight by Molly Bang.
This book helped us understand how plants support animal and human life, and thus, the importance of being green. To illustrate more simple ways to be green, we discussed a video of a pug who corrects a human's less-than-Earth-friendly mistakes. With each example we paused and explained in more detail:
We will continue tomorrow by reading another great book and beginning our thematic graphic organizer.
