Block 2 enjoyed time this past week working with morphology concepts and reinforcing Magic E skills with the vowels <a>, <e>, <i>, and <o>.  The students worked on prefix, base word, and suffix meanings, and we practiced adding a prefix/suffix to a word to change the meaning of the word.  We will continue to work with prefixes/base words/suffixes as we add to our growing list of morphology cards.

Next week we will introduce long /Ū/ as a Magic E syllable.  This can be tricky since <Ū> can made two sounds:  the <Ū> can say /YŌŌ/ as in mule, and the <Ū> can say /ŌŌ/as in rule.  Discerning these two sounds can be difficult.  I was taught to remember these two sounds with the phrase “Ew ( /ŌŌ/ as in in food/rule), you (/YŌŌ/ as in cute/mule) stink!”   

We are enjoying the Christmas season at Gracepoint, and we look forward to continuing to add and practice reading skills as we celebrate the birth of Christ this month.

Best wishes always,

Julie

It was all about the Magic E syllable pattern this past week in Block 2 Reading.   This syllable arrangement has a vowel-consonant-silent <e> pattern (examples: lane, Steve, pine).  The students are doing well remembering to make the first vowel sound long and that the <e> at the end of the word is silent.   We learned about the Magic E pattern with the sound of long <ō> this past week (examples: stone, hope).  After the Thanksgiving break, we will continue to work with the Magic E syllable pattern with vowels <a>,<e>,<i>, and <o>.   We will also build words using our morphology prefixes, base words, and suffixes.

Best wishes for a restful and joyful holiday, and please stay safe and healthy while enjoying family and friends.  We are richly blessed, and being together at Gracepoint is one of those blessings.

Julie

It was a short week for students due to conferences, and Block 2 Reading spent time continuing to work with words with the Magic E syllable pattern in order to build fluency and solidify syllable recognition.  Magic E syllables are words that follow a pattern of vowel-consonant-e (VCe).  We tell the students that the <e> at the end of these words is silent but it magically jumps over the consonant to make the vowel say its name.  We have covered words with the long vowel sounds of ā, ē and ī (cake, Pete, bike).  The students have done well as we practiced reading and spelling these words, and their automaticity increased.  On Thursday we wrote and spelled words in shaving cream to practice the change in vowel sounds (mat to mate, pet to Pete, pin to pine).  We will add the additional Magic E pattern with sound of long ō this next week.

I enjoyed speaking with you earlier this week during Zoom conferences.  I especially enjoy the privilege of working with your children and watching them progress with reading confidence and skill.  Please continue to have your student practice the reading homework (blue folder) several times to build fluency.  Exposure to decodable text is very important to the dyslexic learner.

Please stay safe and may God bless,

Julie

The past week was a whirlwind for Block 2 Reading as we introduced the new syllable pattern of Magic E.  We covered words for Magic E with long ā and with long ī.  After conferences we will continue to work with these words as we cover Magic E with long ō and Magic E with the two sounds of long ū.  We are learning new morphology prefixes, base words, and suffixes as well.  On Friday it was fun to host book characters from Pinkalicious, The House with a Clock in Its Walls, and Harry Potter.

I look forward to meeting with you for conferences, though I am sorry that we will be meeting via Zoom and not in person.  Thank you for sharing your children with us at Gracepoint School.

Best regards,

Julie

I hope you and your family were able to enjoy some fun together over the Halloween weekend.  With the unexpected school holiday, Block 2 Reading will spend the first part of the upcoming week reviewing the short vowel spelling rules.  Later in the week, we will move to words with the vowel-consonant-e spelling pattern known as Magic E.  I am sure the students will enjoy working with Magic E words and using long vowel sounds.

I look forward to speaking with you at parent conferences via Zoom next week.  I enjoy your children very much, and it is a privilege for me to work with them at Gracepoint.

Best wishes,

Julie

We enjoyed another busy week in Block 2 Reading.  The students did well with the short-vowel spelling rule for -tch, and we moved on Friday to the last short-vowel spelling rule of -dge.  The students did a wonderful job reading and spelling words for this concept.  We will continue next week to review floss words and words ending in -ed, -ck, and -tch as we work with -dge words.  We will move soon to working with words with the vowel-consonant-e (VCe) pattern known as Magic E.

The students are looking forward to Book Character Day, and many are anticipating fun activities over the upcoming Halloween weekend.  Please stay safe, and I look forward to our conferences in November.

Best regards,

Julie

This past week Block 2 Reading continued to practice the -ck spelling rule, as well as previously taught spelling rules.  The student’s reading speed of the -ck words increased as the week progressed, but spelling of this syllable pattern remained a bit of a challenge.  On Thursday we had fun using shaving cream to write and review -ck words, as well as previously learned spelling rules.  During the week, we built towers with word cups and practiced spelling on white boards. 

We move next to the short vowel spelling rule of -tch.  We will continue to practice reading and spelling previously learned rules with an emphasis on words ending with -ed and -ck.

I very much enjoy your children, and I am grateful that they are part of our Gracepoint community.

Blessings,

Julie

Block 2 Reading spent the first part of the week reviewing previously learned spelling and reading rules.  We then moved to the short vowel spelling rule for words ending with -ck.  The students improved reading speed with -ck words, and they are working on remembering to apply the -ck rule when spelling.  We continue to review the three sounds of -ed, the floss spelling rule, and the cat/kite spelling rule.  We look forward to moving soon to the next short vowel spelling rule for words ending in -tch.

I look forward to working with your children and watching them progress with reading and spelling skills.

May God bless you and your family,

Julie

Block 2 Reading has been practicing the three sounds that the suffix -ed makes when added to a base verb.  This can be a tricky concept for many students.  Both reading words with the suffix -ed and spelling words with suffix -ed can be confusing.  Because -ed can say /t/(as in jumped), /d/ (as in filled), or /ed/ (as in rented), it is understandable that -ed can be puzzling, especially when it comes to spelling.  Block 2 Reading is making progress in both areas of reading and spelling, and we will continue to review -ed next week.

Please stay safe and well,

Julie

The FLOSS spelling rule has been our focus this week.  Though the students can repeat the rule and read words which utilize the rule, it has been difficult at times to remember to apply the rule during dictation.  We will review of FLOSS on Monday, and we look forward to moving next into the three sounds of /-ed/.  We continue to review the c/k spelling rule, blends, the digraphs ch, th, wh, and sh, and our morphology cards.

We enjoy reading class each day, and we look forward to another week of learning and growing.  It is a joy to watch the children grow with their reading skills.

Please stay safe and well,

Julie

This week in reading class we focused on the FLOSS spelling rule (in a one syllable word with one short vowel immediately before an F, L, S, or Z, double the F, L, S, or Z).  We heard the story of Sammy, who loves fried zebras so much that he always gets a double order.  We continue to review the cat/kite spelling rule and the plural rules of when to add –s or -es.  We also continue daily short review of the diagraphs ch, th, wh, and sh. 

The students are doing a wonderful job of segmenting the sounds in words by tapping.  This technique is helpful for both reading and spelling, and I am pleased that the students are utilizing this strategy to help with decoding and encoding.  

Best wishes for a restful holiday, and may God bless you and your family,

Julie

This week in reading class, we reviewed the cat/kite spelling rule and morphology cards dent, don’t (tooth)/ tw (two) / mis (not, bad) / un (not).  We also reviewed blends and the sounds of ch, sh, th, and wh, and spelling rules for when to use -s or -es to make plurals.  We start next week with the spelling rule known as FLOSS and we will learn additional morphology cards.

We enjoyed seeing lots of smiles this week as we settled into routines.  We look forward to another week of excitement and learning at Gracepoint School.

Blessings,

Julie

Welcome to our Gracepoint 2^nd Grade Reading Class blog.  I will be posting information about reading class progress weekly from this site.  It has been a joy to meet your children, and I look forward to working with them as they progress with their reading skills this year.

We are off to a great start in reading class.  Because the students are familiar with Orton-Gillingham procedures, the rhythm of the class has fallen quickly into place.  We will continue to review CVC words and short vowel sounds as we move into a review of the cat/kite spelling rule, am, <all>, an, and blends.  Next we will begin a review of the digraphs ch, sh, wh, and th.  We are also using the vocabulary terms "open syllable" (a syllable that ends with a consonant) and "breve" (diacritical mark for short vowel sound), as well as "vowel" and "consonant."  

Reading homework will come home each day in a blue folder.   Please remember to initial your student’s reading homework and return the blue folder to school for the next day's assignment.  Returned homework sheets will be organized in page protectors in the blue folders.  Learned red words will be written on index cards in red and will be kept on a ring in the blue folders.  These words should be reviewed with the reading homework.

We look forward to another exciting and fun week at Gracepoint School.  Please stay healthy and safe, and may God bless,

Julie Rosenkranz