March 30-April 3

Greetings Team Peake!

I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful weekend! We had a wonderful week in first grade last week with many highlights including: The Spring Book Fair, our Hero Parade and an exciting Fun Friday with Mrs. Juline! The children have loved learning about American History and studying how individuals and events can impact the way we live our lives today. The children were inventors this week as they created their own invention that would make the world a better place. I was very proud of their enthusiasm for this in class project and look forward to fostering their creativity even more throughout the school year.

I enjoyed meeting with you and your child for Spring Conferences! The children loved taking "charge" of their conferences and creating goals for the next nine weeks. I look forward to helping them reach their goals.

We began "decoding" two syllable words that include open, closed and magic 'e' syllables. The children have LOVED this process of syllabication where they are finding the vowels and consonants in words, identifying their syllable type and dividing the word appropriately. This process not only allows for the children to become better spellers, but helps them improve in their reading as well.

Many of you have asked me how you can assist your child in their spelling. The "green words" we have gone over throughout the year are our spelling rules that your child should be implementing in their everyday writing. Please refer to previous posts which include our spelling rules to see which rules your child should know.

Red Words require the most practice! Some fun ways to practice spelling (that we use often in the classroom) are writing our words in shaving cream, play dough, magnets, chalk etc.) I am finding that some of the Red Words we are studying are harder to memorize than others. For example: 

said, they, were, would, should, could. was

Next week, our new red words are: number, about, friend

Click here to see a list of 100 words your child should be able to read/write upon the completion of first grade.

Next week's green words will include the two "vowel teams" (ea, ee)
ex: seat, sleep, team, beach, sheet

In math, we have been working on adding and subtracting multiples of tens mentally, using a number line and by creating diagrams.

Next week, we will be discovering the many different shapes in our world and their attributes.

We are continuing to write opinion pieces and edit our papers for mistakes.

Important Updates and Reminders:

• Please make sure to let the Front Office know of any plans to change your child's dismissal if you are unable to write a note. It can be difficult to manage these changes throughout the day while I am with your child. 
• Please make sure your child arrives to school by 7:50 so that they can complete their unpacking procedures with ease and have a great start to their day!
• Please remember to send in a nutritional snack with your child each day.
• Please make sure your child reads at least 20 minutes a night in addition to their regular homework.

CONGRATULATIONS to our newest Star Student, Pace Lilenfeld! Pace is a hard working, caring and open-minded friend to his classmates and we are looking forward to learning more about what makes him so special this upcoming week. Way to go, Pace!

March 23-27

Hello Team Peake!

We have an exciting and busy week ahead of us in first grade! The children are eager to share their portfolio's with you and create goals for the last nine weeks of school.

 It is a JGB week so please be on the lookout for an additional homework sheet detailing extra assignments related to our story "King of the Frogs." This tale is always a favorite. I hope you enjoy exploring this story with your child!

Our class is also visiting the Spring Book Fair on Wednesday! If you are able, we would love to have you come to the Media Center during our scheduled time (please see post below) to select books.

On Friday, March 27th, your child will come dressed as his or her hero and present their paragraph to the class. The "Hero Parade" will take place immediately following announcements between 8:00-8:15. If you would like to view this special event and take pictures, we will be passing by the Front Office twice, so that might be a great spot to stand. Please also spend time rehearsing with your child his or her paragraph.

Congratulations to our newest Star Student, Isa Dowdle! Isa is caring to all of her friends and determined to do her best in first grade. We are looking forward to learning more about what makes Isa so special throughout the week! Way to go, Isa!

I will share a curriculum update in the next post!


Thank you for your support!

All the best,

Jean Peake

Spring Book Fair

It's that WONDERFUL time of year again! The Spring Book Fair will be at SRS for the next two weeks and our class is so excited! Our class is scheduled to PREVIEW books this Friday, March 20th from 8:45-9:15. This is a chance for the students to choose books that are interesting to them and make a "wish list."

Our PURCHASE day will be Wednesday, March 25th from 9:45-10:15. You are welcome to join your child in selecting books in the Media Center at this time.

HAPPY READING!

Mrs. Peake

March 17-20

Dear Parents,

We have had a busy and fun-filled past couple of weeks in first grade! One of our class goals has been to become better writers by using adjectives to expand our sentences and make them more powerful to an audience. The students are also working diligently to edit their own papers by correcting capitalization, punctuation and spelling.  I have definitely seen an improvement in their writing. Please continue to make sure that when your child sends in his or her homework that they have checked for any mistakes.

In math, we have also been focusing on adding and subtracting larger numbers to one another by focusing on place value and will continue to work on this next week as well. We have added a couple of new games to our math games tub that help the children practice explore place value and subtraction. The students are always excited to practice new strategies through play with their friends J

The children have LOVED our study of American History and have had lots of questions regarding our new unit of inquiry! Our field trip to the Atlanta History center next Friday, March 20^th will be the perfect way to bring their learning to life as they will better understand what life was like in the 1800’s.

                                           Here’s a look into the curriculum this upcoming week:

Spelling:

Magic ‘e’

make, grade, kite, flute, woke

Red Words: look, has

Grammar:

Identifying base or “root” words with ending and beginning affixes.

Ex: playing (base word is play) unlocked (base word is lock)

Math:

Identifying how place value helps us to add and subtract.

Writing:

Continuing to write an opinion piece.

Reflecting and writing about our progress throughout first grade in preparation for our Portfolio Parties.

Important Updates and Reminders:

Congratulations to last week’s Star Student, Scottie Brown! Scottie is open-minded when she listens to her other classmates and is enthusiastic about learning. We learned many things about our Star Student this week and were proud to display her poster and biography outside our classroom door. Way to go, Scottie!

Our newest Star Student is Sean Pollock! We are proud of Sean for always “thinking outside the box” and participating in all class discussions. We look forward to learning more about what makes Sean so special this upcoming week.

Please mark your calendar for the following dates:

March 16-Teacher workday- No school for kids

March 20- Field trip for all first graders to the Atlanta History Center

March 20- Sarah Smith Auction- Also at the Atlanta History Center

April 6- Spring Break Begins

March 2-6

Dear Parents,

It’s hard to believe that it is already March! I am so proud of the progress the children have made and am happy to announce that Spring Conferences are coming soon. The following letter will be going home in your child’s Wednesday Folder this week with a time and day to hear your child’s presentation.

I am excited to announce that we will be having spring portfolio parties!  These student led gatherings will be the format for our spring conferences.  This format is similar to the student-led parent/teacher conferences that have been held in the past.  

During each 15 minute time block, small groups of children will meet with their parents to showcase their progress in First Grade. With assistance from the teacher, the children will be responsible for choosing the items that are being shared during the portfolio party.  We know you will be proud as you listen to your child while he/she shares information about the First Grade Year.  Please come prepared with 2 or 3 thoughtful questions to ask your child. The children will look forward to answering your questions. The teachers will act as facilitators as they circulate within the small group.  Report cards will be sent home separately and will not be a part of the discussion. 

Here’s a look into the curriculum this week:

Reading:

Identifying problem and solution throughout texts

Spelling:

Open and closed syllables

Open Syllable Rule: when the vowel is "open”  it makes the long sound (says it’s name)

ex: no, go, so, me

Closed Syllable Rule: When a vowel is “closed” by another consonant it makes the short sound (  ex: /a/ as in apple)

Ex: sack,  nut

Red Words:

like

him

into

Grammar:

Continuing to use adjectives and comparing adjectives to expand our sentences.

Writing:

Completing an Opinion Piece on Superheroes.

Math:

Reviewing different strategies used throughout the year for math fact fluency with addition and subtraction and continuing to use “think addition strategy” to complete subtraction problems.

8-5=____

“5 plus what equals 8?”

Social Studies:

Exploring the influential individuals: Thomas Jefferson, Sacagawea and Lewis and Clark.

How did their explorations and discoveries influence our culture today?

Important Updates and Reminders:

  Jackie will remain our Star Student for the week as we had a short 3 day week last week. We look forward to continuing to learn more about our friend, Jackie!

·      Please make sure that your child keeps his or her library books in their book bag so that they may return or continuing reading their book at school. Our library day is Thursday and the children are only able to check-out two new books if they have returned their old ones.

 March 12^th is Spring Picture Day!

Looking forward to having another fantastic week with your first grader!

All the best,

Jean Peake