I continued the lesson on -ci and -ti endings. Colson read example words (Megawords 7, List 7, pg. 6 ). Colson chose ten words for spelling words and made flashcards. Referring to Kaplan's 100 most common SAT words, we reviewed his vocabulary deck and added a new word: diligence. We reviewed Colson's morphology deck and added two new Greek roots: audio and geo. Colson was interested in the recent "de-extinction" of the dire wolf; we found an article from BBC News to read and discuss.
To conclude, Colson read an oral reading fluency passage (Megawords 2, List 10, pg. 3). I timed him; he read the passage in under one minute with two errors. He answered the reading comprehension questions, referring to the text as needed.

Colson left at noon today.

After a snack in the lunchroom, we headed outside for a multisensory lesson. First, we sequenced the alphabet while bouncing a ball. Next, Saskiia sequenced the alphabet independently using manipulative letters. I am pleased that she is singing the song less to remember the alphabet and is separating l-m-n-o-p without assistance. She identified the vowels without prompting. I conducted visual and auditory drills, which help with reading and spelling. I taught the letter V as a new concept. We read a book, Ernie and the Vacuum Salesman, "air wrote" the letter v, and wrote the letter v with sidewalk chalk. To conclude, I read a book, Dog and Bear, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. Saskiia is very interested in rhyming words, an essential precursor for reading.

I picked Saskiia up from preschool, and she had a snack in the lunchroom. At the same time, we watched another student have a cooking lesson. The weather was nice, so we decided to work outside. Using a bouncy ball, we sequenced the alphabet, each of us saying a letter as we passed the ball. I drew an arc on the pavement with chalk. Saskiia sequenced the alphabet using manipulative letters, placing the letters on the arc. I identified the vowels and the consonants. Next, I conducted a visual drill, showing Saskiia approximately 20 letters and asking her to voice the letter sound Then, I conducted an auditory drill, saying five letter sounds (/e/, /p/, /s/, /w/, /j/) and asking Saskii to write the letters. I read a book called A Dog Named Sam by Janice Boland. Saskiia enjoyed the story. We practiced making predictions about what might happen next. To conclude, I drew a hopscotch game with a letter on each square. Saskiia jumped while saying the letter's sound.

I picked Saskiia up from preschool, and she had a snack in the lunchroom. At the same time, we watched another student have a piano lesson After our first session, I realized that Saskiia knew many letters and letter sounds, and that assessment was appropriate for guiding instruction I use the QPS (Quick Phonics Screener, second addition) Saskiia correctly identified 21/26 letter names but she could not identify d, h, g, q, and v. Saskiia correctly voiced the sounds of 16/26 letters was unable to voice /t/, /d/, /r/, /l/, /h/, /n/, /y/, /v/, /qu/ and /x/. Next, we worked on alphabetic awareness. Saskiia sequenced the alphabet (using manipulative letters), and I identified the vowels and consonants. We started a game of Phonics Dice. We found a book about cats, Can a Cat Do That? by Eric Carl. I read the book, and Saskiia answered the comprehension questions at the end of the book.

I picked Saskiia up from her classroom at 11:30. We ate a snack in the lunchroom. Her brother was having a cooking lesson, and it was fun to watch him! We went to my classroom, and I explained that we would be working on letters and letter sounds. I started with alphabetic awareness. Using magnetic letters, Saskiia sequenced the alphabet; I identified the vowels and consonants and explained that every word (or part of a word) has a vowel. I picked "b" as the "letter of the day." We read the "Berestein Bear B Book" and listened for the "b" sound at the beginning of each word. Saskiia traced the lower and uppercase letters in the sand using a sand tray to provide sensory input. We made a tactile letter b with glue and sand, and concluded with writing the lowercase b on paper. In all instances, I emphasized proper letter formation. To conclude, we attended a school-wide activity (a fellow student's speech about the Boston Tea Party).

I began the session with instruction on the -ti- and ci- endings (-cial, -tial, -cious, -tious, -cient, -tient, -cience, -tience). Colson read a list of example words (Megawords 7, List 37, p. 61), identified the final stable ending, and syllabicated as necessary. Next, we reviewed the Latin and Greek morphemes we had learned, and I taught two new morphemes. We reviewed Colson's list of SAT words. Colson was interested in the SAT format and requirements for college; we looked up the average SAT score for schools of interest. To conclude, Colson read an oral reading fluency passage (Megawords 1, List 8, p. 129). He read the passage in just over one minute with only two errors. He answered the reading comprehension questions, referring to the text as needed.

I began the session with further instruction on the -ti- and ci- endings (-cial, -tial, -cious, -tious, -cient, -tient, -cience, -tience). Colson read a list of example words (Megawords 7, List 37, p. 61), identified the final stable ending, and syllabicated as necessary. Next, we reviewed the Latin and Greek morphemes we had learned, and I taught two new morphemes: audio and geo. We reviewed Colson's list of SAT words and added one new word: anecdote. Colson was interested in the SAT format and requirements for college; we looked up the average SAT score for schools of interest (FSU and Penn State). To conclude, Colson read an oral reading fluency passage (Megawords 2, List 9, p. 15). He read the passage in under one minute with only one error. He answered the reading comprehension questions, referring to the text as needed.

Libby left school early for a dentist appointment.

Libby seemed very tired today. Instead of our structured lesson, I worked on a few alphabetic awareness skills. Libby sequenced the alphabet and identified the vowels and consonants. We played a game of Phonics Dice to practice letter sounds. I read the final book in the "Mercy Watson" series to conclude the session.