October 1-5

October 1-5

Dear Parents,

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful fall weather! This past week was very exciting for our class as we discovered and graphed different types of leaves outside our classroom, experienced our first Junior Great Books story, and previewed the school’s Book Fair. We are looking forward to another great week! Here is what to look forward to in the upcoming days:

Reading: Identifying the Main Idea and details of a story.

Sight Words

into

many

live

out

Phonics: SMART spelling words with short e. Example: help, pet, shed. We will also be looking at consonant blends /sh/ and /th/. These blends are in words such as: shell, thank, wish, with

*Please review spelling words that were sent home this Friday throughout the week.*

Grammar: Irregular and Regular Plural Nouns.

Example: Irregular-foot, feet

         Regular-boy, boys

    Adding “ing” to the end of a word to show present tense.

Example: They are running.

Social Studies: We will be finishing up our exploration of the desert and taking a test on the Landforms Unit.

Math: Exploring Number Patterns. Adding and subtracting on the Number Line. Discovering numbers that go below zero on the number line. (negative numbers)

Writing:Using the First Grade Writing Checklist, students will edit, revise and publish a personal narrative.

Reminders and Announcements:

• Our Class will be visiting the Book Fair from 10:45-11:15 on Wednesday, October 3rd.

·      Walk to School Day is also October 3^rd.

·      The Social Studies project is due this Friday, October 5^th

·      Our first Field Trip is right around the corner! We are looking forward to visiting the Chattahoochee Nature Center on October 10^th.

A Big “Thank You” to:

·      Ivy Sun for bringing moon cakes to our class in celebration of the Chinese “Moon Festival” also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. We are so glad that our class got to participate in this very important Chinese tradition.

·      ALL of our fabulous Mystery Readers!

As always, thank you for your continued support at home.

Sincerely,

    Jean Peake

September 24-28

Dear Parents,
       I hope you all are having a great weekend! I have been patiently awaiting this upcoming week for quite some time. This week we will be starting...JUNIOR GREAT BOOKS! Thanks to the Sarah Smith Education Foundation, your child will be exploring literature through a "shared inquiry" approach to learning. I am looking forward to this week as your child interprets our first text, "The Black Hen's Egg." Please take a look at the following link to learn more about how your child will be exploring literature:

http://www.greatbooks.org/programs-for-all-ages/pd/what-is-shared-inquiry.html

Here is an overview of what we will be learning together in the classroom this week:

Reading: Exploring, discussing and responding to "The Black Hen's Egg"

   Additional Skills:  Short e, short i, plural nouns, summarizing and retelling stories.

Sight Words:

who

some

of

no

eat

do

to

Grammar: Identifying when to use contractions.

Social Studies: Comparing the Desert to the Wetlands. Learning how animals move, change, and grow.

Math: Unit 2 Math Test, Introducing odd and even number patterns, exploring visual Patterns.

Writing:Writing a Personal Narrative "My Family Takes Care of Me"

Announcements and Reminders:

This Wednesday our class will be previewing the Fall Book Fair. The following Wednesday, October 3rd, is our scheduled day to purchase books. 

Thank you for your continued support at home!

Sincerely, 

  Jean Peake 

jpeake@atlanta.k12.ga.us

September 17-21

Dear Parents, 
   What an exciting month it has been! We have "traveled" across the United States to visit the Rocky and Appalachian mountain ranges. We have visited the Colorado and Mississippi Rivers, the 5 Great Lakes and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Now, it is time for us to travel to the Deserts in our country and our world!  

Here is what to look forward to in the following subjects this week:

Reading: Identifying the main idea in stories as well as the details that support the main idea. Reading words with the short o, and i sound.

*Sight Words*- one, her, two, they, does

Grammar: Identifying nouns as a person, place, or thing. Adding -ed to a word to show past tense. Reviewing plurals.

Social Studies: Labeling Deserts of the U.S.A. Describing Desert life.

Phonics: We will begin out adventure down "Vowel Valley!" We will land our helicopter at the top of the mountain and immediately want to take a picture. We smile for the camera to say "cheese!" This week we will be looking at words with "ee", such as: week, sheep, teeth, etc.  

Math: Using the 100's chart to count forwards and backwards from any given number. Combining nickels and pennies. 

Writing: Following the 3 Stages of Writing (Brainstorming, Drafting, Editing/Revision)  before presenting our paragraph to the class.

Reminders/Announcements:

• Please practice the spelling and red words that were sent home this past Friday. We will be having our first spelling test this upcoming Friday and all want to succeed! :) 
• The students and I will be having a "Picnic for Peace" outside our classroom on Friday, Sept. 21st. A form will be going home tomorrow afternoon detailing the information that must be returned to school on Tuesday, Sept. 18th. 

Thank you again for all that you do in supporting our classroom from home! 

Sincerely, 

      Mrs. Peake 

Sept. 10-14

Dear Parents, 
   I cannot believe how fast time flies when you are having fun! We have been very busy learning about each other, and various different subjects in the classroom this past week. Here are a few reminders and announcements for this upcoming week:

• This Tuesday we have a Parent/Teacher social at Tacos and Tequilas at 6:30PM. I look forward to hopefully seeing some of you to eat some delicious mexican food!
• Progress reports went out in your child's red folder this Friday. Please note that these are not report cards, just an informal way to keep you updated on your child's progress. Please sign and have your child return the entire packet to school. 
• I will not be in the classroom on Thursday, September 13th. All new teachers will be participating in a Professional Development seminar. I will certainly miss being at school, but look forward to learning more about making our class even more successful!

Here is what we will be focusing on this week:

Reading: Identifying Author's purpose. Asking questions such as: Why do you think the author wrote this story? How does the author describe____in the story? 

We will also continue to focus on statements, questions, and exclamations in Grammar.

Social Studies: Labeling Oceans and rivers of the USA. Describing and researching wetland animals.

Phonics: Word endings: nd, nt, st, nk

Math: Telling time to the hour, Exploring lengths, and beginning our "Money Story" on pennies and nickels. 

Writing: Sequencing our stories using the words: "First", "Next", "Then", and "Last."

* Here is a list of the sight words we have been reading this year.* 

too 

yes

it 

over

jump 

not 

up

down

run 

ride

be

come

that 

on 

good

This week 

help

now

use

very

Happy 60th Birthday, Sarah Smith!

Tomorrow is Sarah Smith's 60th Birthday! We will be celebrating by traveling back to the 50's and wearing clothes from that decade! 

September 4-7

Hello Parents!
   I hope everyone enjoyed their four day weekend! I know I sure did. We went to the Auburn game Saturday, skydiving on Sunday, and are now resting up from the annual Macon Labor Day Road Race. I am ready to embark on a new week in First Grade and hear about everyone's Labor Day Weekend Adventures!

This week we will be learning about and reviewing the following topics:

I.B.: Who We Are: Working Together

Reading: Making predictions, sequence of events in stories (using words such as First, Next, Then, Last) Recognizing character and setting, and understanding when to use a question mark and exclamation mark.

Social Studies: Discovering the Wetlands and choosing an animal to research for our Non-Fiction booklet, Writing about the Water Cycle.

Math: Finding different ways to make 10, Telling time to the hour, and using calculators.

Writing: Writing in complete sentences, rereading writing to self and others, adding details, and communicating effectively when relating experiences.

Thank you again for continuing to bring in Wish List items to our class!

If you have any questions please let me know and I will be happy to help!

   
Sincerely,
Jean Peake
jpeake@atlanta.k12.ga.us