Any First Grade Teachers Out There?

[momadis66]

Okay, I guess this is the best place to put this..I wasn't quite sure. I am a first grade teacher and we went back to work today We are trying to revise our weekly spelling homework for our students. Just wondering who out there does give homework and what do you give? I am hoping I can get some different ideas from our norm. Thanks for any input!!!!

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

Not a teacher, but mom to a current and former (now in 4th grade) 1st grader. One of my DD's (and actually mine too) favorite "spelling" homework assignments was called Make A Word. The teacher took a 7- or 8-letter word each week and made it the "mystery" word for the week. Then she alphabetized the letters in the word. The kids (with help from mom and dad) made as many 2,3, etc letter words as they could from the letters in the mystery word. The mystery word was cleverly told to the students (maybe a major word in a story for that week, etc) by the teacher.

Parents were encouraged to help with this assignment. My version of helping was to look at the letters and ask DD questions that would lead her to the right word. For example, if the letters were A B L L N N O (mystery word balloon), one of my questions might be "What do you use to play catch?" She would say "BALL", then figure out how to spell it with the letters she had. It was a lot of fun for us both to work together!

I'm not sure I described it well, and I actually have no idea if my current 1st grader's teacher will do this. When DD2 was still in preschool, even she liked helping her sister with this assignment!, so I hope her teacher does it as well!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I teach first grade. I give homework in a weekly packet, but check it daily.
(Academic standards at my school are high, and we are expected to give a fair amount of homework).

I give:
Sight words (5/week)
"Phonics words" (6 words with a common pattern...if I gave spelling tests it would be these words + the sight words)
A math worksheet (daily)
A short reading passage w/ a few questions (daily)
Writing is incorporated with the words

I use the Dolch list for sight words...I just take them in order 5 at a time.

For the phonics words, I take word families and then consonant blends. I choose 2 patterns a week and they do a word sort (Monday), a sentence for the 3 words w/ one pattern from the sort (Tuesday), and a sentence for the 3 words w/ the other pattern from the sort (Wednesday). (Thursday and Friday they use the sight words for writing).

Week1: cat bat sat fan pan can (I give them to the kids out of order)
Week2: bad had dad cot pot not
Week3: sit bit kit cap map tap
Week4: bug mug hug wet net pet
Week5: blob blot blast bring brush brown
etc...
It's not perfect but I made it up myself. We use an assessment that tests their decoding and spelling and it uses CVC patterns and also the blends so I based it off that.

I like the Making Words idea too. I think that comes from Patricia Cunningham's stuff (Making Words, Month by Month Phonics, and Phonics They Use.)

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I meant to add that I'm planning to modify my phonics stuff this year too in my homework packets, so I'm going to be watching this thread for ideas also!

 

[momadis66]

Thanks...just bumping so I can hopefully get more ideas...anyone ..please..even if you are a parent of a first grader..tell me about your kids homework assignments...thanks!!

 

[okeydokey]

Please don't make them write each word 3 or 5 or 8 times each. My son knew almost all his spelling words on Monday's pre-test but still had to write every word several times. He is very methodical (i.e. slow and careful) in his work and it would take forever. It just made him frustrated as he already knew the words.

He had to use a number of his spelling words in sentences too, toward the end of the year, his choice of 5 words.

 

[JustineMarie]

My DD has to do rainbow words. She hates doing the 3 times each but when it's rainbow words she gets excited. She has to pick 3 different color crayons and she writes the spelling word with the first color and then traces over it with the next 2 colors. It's basically the same thing as three times each but it doesn't seem so bad.