March 25-29

Dear Parents,
      We had a productive and fun-filled week last week in first grade. The children are very excited about "showcasing" their hard work during our Portfolio Parties. This will certainly be a time for each child to practice being reflective learners, which will be an important skill for them to use throughout their lives. I look forward our first conferences this week!
    It was also an absolute pleasure meeting the childrens' Grandparents' and Special Friends! We had a wonderful time playing games, and learning more about one another.
 
 This week will be another busy week as we are celebrating "Health and Wellness Week" and will be visiting the Spring Book Fair for our Purchase Day: our time slot is on Tuesday from 12:15-12:45. If you would like to join your child, this would be a great time.

Here's what to look forward to in the curriculum this week:

Reading:

 JGB Story "The King of the Frogs."

Classifying and Categorizing.

Phonics: 

Reviewing /ir/ and /er/ 

ex: first, litter

Open Syllables: When a single vowel is NOT followed by a consonant, the vowel will say it's name.  

Spelling Words:

1. be
2. by
3. fly
4. go
5. why
6. try
7. even
8. going
9. family
10. began

Red Words:

early

pretty

ready

very

Grammar

Reviewing synonyms and antonyms. Also practicing writing the titles of books correctly: capitalizing the important words and underlining the title.

Science:

Studying and classifying different plants.

Math:

Understanding Place Value and adding double digit numbers.

Writing:

Writing a persuasive argument.

Important Reminders and Announcements:

• Please see the recently updated "Mark your Calendar" tab of the blog to keep updated on important events.
• Please continue to check our Shutterfly website for important volunteer opportunities in our classrooms. The children absolutely love when you come in for Small Groups and benefit from it greatly. If you are able, please volunteer your time.

Thank you for all that you do in supporting our classroom!

"Team Work Makes the Dream Work!"

Sincerely,

       Jean Peake

March 18-22

Dear Parents,

     We had a great week last week in First Grade! This is such a special time of year to see the amount of growth each child has made in becoming a life long learner. We had a wonderful time at the Atlanta History Center, where the children got to be “time travelers” and visit an 1860’s farm. This field trip couldn’t have come at a better time, as we near the end of our “Heroes” unit.

 One major concept that I feel is important for children to understand is the idea of “technology.” Many of us have learned that the term technology only refers to those electronics such as: computers, ipads, ipods, and other types of machines that require a source of power. Although these are types of technologies, we found that technology is a much broader idea. The actual definition of technology is “a quicker and easier way to do something.” This has become a huge part of our class’ study of our central idea: discoveries and investigations of individuals influence culture.

   As 21^st century learners, we are living in a constantly changing world where people are inventing better ways to communicate, travel, and produce goods. I believe that the students’ are beginning to see the important role that they will have as the younger generation. This has been very motivating to them!

          We have also been focusing on making our writing more interesting and exciting for our readers by including more details specifically through the usage of adjectives and richer vocabulary. We made an “awesome adjectives dictionary” that the students are now using as a guide in their writing.

We also completed our last unit in Math and will now be focusing on “Understanding Place Value.”

Here’s a look into the curriculum this week:

Reading:

Making Inferences in all texts. Using our “schema” (ideas that we have prior to readings) and information given in the text to draw conclusions.

Phonics:

We will continue to study Closed Syllables. A Closed Syllable is when a single vowel is followed by a consonant. ex: chil-dren (2 closed syllables)

Grammar:

Introducing the concept that present tense verbs that end in y and make the /ie/ sound drop the y and add “ied” to become past tense. Ex: cry (cried), dry (dried), deny (denied) Reviewing: Synonyms and Capitalizing Days of the Week.

Social Studies/Science:

Continuing our study of American Heroes and completing a couple of activities in celebration of our upcoming Grandparents or Special Friends’ Event.

Math:

Introducing Place value with tens and ones. Beginning addition of double digit numbers and solving story problems relating to place value.

Writing:

Writing an opinion piece while making revisions to follow the First Grade Writing Checklist.

Important Announcements/Reminders:

• This Tuesday, March 19^th there will be a General PTA meeting where you will have the opportunity to meet our new Principal for the following School year!

•  Wednesday, March 20^th we will be having our First Grade Hero Parade. Please make sure your child has completed and rehearsed their paragraph about their hero and comes dressed up or with props in hand. It might also be a great idea to have their hero’s name written somewhere on their costume so that the other grade levels will recognize them.

• Also on Wednesday, March 20^th 3^rd quarter progress cards will be coming home in your child’s yellow folder as well as a craft for International Travelers Week to complete with your child. (information will be enclosed with the craft)

• Thursday March 21^st- 28^th the Spring Book Fair will be taking place at our campus. I will send you information regarding our days to “view” and “purchase” this week so that you may choose to attend if you can.

• Friday, March 22^nd will be our Grandparents/Special Friends’ Day. First Grade’s celebration will be from 10:00-10:45 in the classroom. This week our class will prepare some exciting surprises for our grandparents and special friends.

• Next week, beginning on March 25^th is the first day of our Spring Portfolio Parties. Please return your slip to confirm or reschedule your time slot. I would be happy to work with you if you need to change your time or day.

There will be no tutoring during Spring Conferences so please plan for your child to take their regular mode of transportation.

Thanks for your continued support!

Mrs. Peake

Wise Words

“Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.”

    

-Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt

" Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. 

- Thomas Jefferson 

" I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can't say; I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger."

-Harriet Tubman

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars and change the world."

-Harriet Tubman

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."

-Benjamin Franklin 

"Honesty is the best policy."

-Benjamin Franklin

Here are a few quotes to enrich our Unit of Study and talk about with your family and friends!

What do these American Heroes have in common?

What do these quotes tell us about their individual personalities?

Which quotes inspire you the most?

March 4-8

Dear Parents,

         I hope you are all enjoying your weekend! Thank you for your kind e-mails wishing me to feel better while I was out on Friday. I received great reports from the other First Grade teachers about our class and I was not surprised at all. We have many exciting events coming up at Sarah Smith and in First Grade so please pay close attention to the reminders and announcements at the bottom of the page.

It’s hard to believe that we are so far into the school year! The children have so much to be proud of and have been working very hard to achieve their goals! I am looking forward to having them share these achievements with you at Spring Conferences.

Here’s a look into the curriculum this week:

Reading:

Comparing and Contrasting in all texts.

Phonics:

“Growling r” /or/ & /ar/

Grammar:

Identifying and using synonyms in reading and writing.

Social Studies/Science:

Continuing our study of American Heroes.

Math:

Reviewing Fact Families, the commutative property and solving problems with missing addends.

Writing:

Choose a favorite American Hero to write about using the First Grade Writers Checklist.

Important Announcements and Reminders:

·      The SSEF is Auctioning off Teacher Outings to benefit every classroom at Sarah Smith! 100% of proceeds will go towards programs that directly benefit your child. I am auctioning an afternoon at Peidmont Park where 3 students and I will enjoy a “Fun Run”, Frisbee and a picnic lunch. After our fun at the park we will head over to the Botanical Gardens next door. The day will be mutually agreed upon with the winners and myself and the activities should last approximately 3 hours.

·      Click on the link below to bid on the outing that interests your child!

*Bidding closes THIS Friday March 8^th at 10:00 PM

http://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/AuctionHome.action?vhost=SarahSmithEducation

·      March 8^th- will be an Early Release Day. Dismissal will commence at 11:30.

·      March 15^th- First Grade will be visiting the Atlanta History Museum for our 3^rd Field Trip! What a wonderful way to end our Hero Unit J

·      March 20^th- this Wednesday, your child will bring home a project letter and outline that they have been working on in class. March 20^th is the due date for this special project. Please be on the lookout for this letter and outline in your child’s yellow Wednesday Folder.

Thanks for your continued support!

Mrs. Peake