Week 2 of 8
Week 2
1st Grade → 2nd Grade · Subtraction within 20 and Blends digraphs
Math
Subtraction Within 20
Subtracting within 20 in cases that do not need borrowing — 17 − 4, 19 − 6. Early first grade.
The mistake to watch for. Counting back one at a time and losing the count somewhere in the middle.
How to help. Split the teen number: 17 − 4 is 10 and 7, take 4 from the 7. The ten never moves.
A worked example
Try 13 − 4. Count back four from 13: 12, 11, 10, 9. So 13 − 4 = 9. You can check it: 4 + 9 = 13.
Reading & language
Blends and Digraphs
Reading two consonants that blend together (bl, tr) or combine into one new sound (sh, th). First grade.
The mistake to watch for. Dropping one letter of a blend — reading "desk" as "dek", or reading a digraph as two separate sounds — sounding out "sh" as "s" then "h".
How to help. Practice the blend or digraph in isolation first, several words with the same one in a row (ship, shop, shell), before mixing with other patterns.
A worked example
In 'ship', the letters s and h work together to make one new sound, /sh/ — that is a digraph. In 'stop', s and t each keep their own sound side by side, /s/ /t/ — that is a blend.
Words for this week
- subtract
- To take one number away from another to find how many are left.
- minus
- The sign ( − ) that means take away.
- difference
- The answer you get when you subtract.
- equal
- The same amount. The sign = means "is equal to".
- check
- To look back at your answer to make sure it is right.
- blend
- Two or three consonants side by side that each keep their own sound, like st in stop.
- consonant
- Any letter that is not a vowel, like b, c, d or f.
- sound
- What you hear when you say a letter or a word.
- letter
- One of the symbols we use to write words, like a, b or c.
- vowel
- The letters a, e, i, o and u. Every syllable has a vowel sound.
Read this week
Bone
A short the human body article from our Learn library, chosen for this reading level. Read it together, then ask your child to tell you one new thing they learned.