Riggs in 3rd Grade

Dear Families,

For the past 2 weeks we have been reviewing our Riggs phonograms. After our latest assessment, we are now ready to begin spelling words! However, there are a few Tricky Phonograms that are still causing 3rd graders problems.. these are "Ms. Mahn's Most Wanted" phonograms! The Phonogram detectives will be hunting them down over the next few weeks- by locating them in books, on posters and signs, or anywhere else they find print!
The Top 10 "Most Wanted"

1. kn (n-2 letter-n, used ONLY at the beginning of a base word)
2. gn (n-2 letter-n, used BOTH at the beginning AND end of a base word)
3. dge (j-3 letter-j)
4. ti (sh-tall letter-sh, used only at the beginning of any syllable after the first one)
5. si (sh/zsh,  used only at the beginning of any syllable after the first one)
6. ci (sh-short letter-sh,  used only at the beginning of any syllable after the first one)
7. wr (r-2 letter-r)
8. eigh (a-4 letter-a)
9. ei (a-e that we do NOT use at the end of English words) why not? English words do not end with i!
10. ew (oo, you that we DO use at the end of English words)

As you are reading at night, passing signs while driving, etc, please help your student recognize, point out, and name these tricky phonograms!

We will begin nightly Riggs homework this coming Monday.  Homework should not take more than 15-20 minutes per evening.

We will write each word ONCE in class. Each word is to be written 5 times at home. Your student should be speaking the phonograms out loud each time the word is written. When the ear hears the phonograms, the information becomes permanent much faster! 

At the bottom of the page your student should use each word in a sentence. For now we are writing 1 sentence per word, but soon we will begin combining to make fewer, longer sentences. Please help your child re-read what they have written- "Does that make sense?"

Missed words from our daily spelling tests will be marked with a red check in the Riggs notebook and need to be written 10 times each on the back of the paper. 

Non-Riggs Homework

Any time your child is writing and they ask for help with spelling PLEASE USE PHONOGRAMS!

Even if you do not have the phonograms memorized, the "Spelling Dialogue" that we use can help your child analyze the word they want to spell. It goes like this:

"How do you spell turkey?"

How many syllables in the word turkey?   (clap, stomp, chin...) 2

What is the first syllable? tur

What is the 1st sound you hear? t

Next sound? ur-the ur of nurse

Last sound? k

What is the 2nd syllable? ey (e)

Which phonogram makes the e sound? (e, ie, ey, ei) If there are multiples they may or may not know which one to choose. You can help them select the correct phonogram at this point. 

Let's read it back and check- t-ur-k-ey - turkey. Now, how will we mark it?  (markings should be done from left to right, just as we read. Multi-letter phonograms are underlined, syllable breaks and phonograms with multiple sounds are numbered) 

I know that it is quicker and easier to "just give a child the answer", but helping your student to internalize this dialogue is building  lifelong skills for analyzing unknown words and looking at spelling patterns. It takes spelling away from straight memorization and puts the emphasis on the thought process. As our words get more complex (this year and well beyond 3rd grade!), students who do not rely simply on memorization will be much more successful spellers.

If you would like to learn more about Riggs, Mrs. Denman offers a class for parents on the first Saturday of each month. Please speak to Mrs. Marlatt in the office if you are interested in signing up!

Thank you for all you do to support your child. If you ever have questions about the homework, or Riggs, please let me know!

Ms. Mahn