Week 27!

Good Evening!

Or rather should I say, good night! I apologize about the untimeliness of my post this weekend. It's been a busy yet fun weekend with the color fun run and lots of things to get done at home.

Special Note:  Mrs. Trahan and I are happy to welcome Dean of Academics, Cassie Mason, to the first grade team!   Mrs. Sipe will not be returning to Archway Arete, but we wish her well and are thankful for all of her good work.  Mrs. Mason will be taking over as lead teacher for the remainder of the year, and we look forward to her contributions to the first grade team. 

 

Study Hall Change: Trimester 3 after school room assignments have begun. All first grade students will now be in Mrs. Raya's classroom (1C) for study hall, as it is1B's turn to host Athenaeum. These room assignments will complete our scheduled rotation for the year. Mrs. Raya will lead students in their Spalding homework and will provide the opportunity for students to quietly complete their math homework until they are called into the MPR.

Here is what we will be learning this week:

Science:

This week we will begin our unit on Earth Science. We will learn about the four layers of the Earth:  the crust, mantel, outer core, and inner core. We study how volcanos and geysers are formed and the effects that they have on the areas around them. We will also make lava and watch it erupt from a model of a volcano!

Math:

This will be an exciting week in math as we begin to introduce the foundational concepts of multiplication! We will practice creating and identifying both equal and unequal groups and discover how we can transition from long addition sentences to multiplying two numbers together in order to find the answer. 

 

History: 

In History, we are learning about the Aztecs and Incas. We will discuss the legend that told the Aztecs where to settle and see how this symbol is still used today. We will also discuss how the Aztecs were known for being powerful warriors, as well as learn about the calendar they came up with. We will begin learning about the Incas at the end of the week, learning where their civilization occurred and how they kept records.

Literature: 

This week we will continue to read about our tricky, little spider, Anansi. We will read Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rockand Anansi and the Talking Stick. We will discuss what virtues Anansi needs to work on and if he learned his lessons.

Spalding: 

29 words this week, test on Friday!

Monday: dead, leave, early, close, close, flower, flour, nothing, ground

Tuesday: lead (the way), led, lead (pencil), such, morning, however, mind, shall, alone, order

Wednesday: third, push, point, within, body, field, belongs, cheese, earn, edge

Phonograms to practice: dge, ea, ear, ed, ie, ir, oi, or, ou, ow

 

Writing: 

copy work and narration exercises from A Christmas Carol

 

Grammar: 

This week we will be reviewing all of the parts of speech we have learned so far (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) and classifying sentences. We will have a mini assessment on Thursday.

 

Idiom: 

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away!”

 

Poem: 

“The Swing” by Stevenson – Please be prepared to recite on Friday!

 

Week 26!

I hope everyone is enjoying some much needed rest and relaxation during this long weekend after having such a fun and busy week!

Here is what we can look forward to for another wonderful week:

Literature:

This week we will begin a new set of stories about a clever little spider, named Anansi. We will discuss the meaning of the word folktale and how Anansi’s stories originally came from Africa. We will read All Stories Are Anansi’s and Anansi and the Talking Melon this week.

 

Spalding:

We only have 20 words this week since there is no school on Monday. Spelling Test on Friday!

Tuesday: meet, meat, another, tripped, trip, list, people, ever, held, church

Wednesday: once, one, own, before, know, no, were, where, there, here

Writing:

 

copy work and narration exercises from “The Tale of Benjamin Bunny”

 

Grammar:

 

In Grammar, we will be learning some capitalization rules this week. We will discuss the first three rules and apply them to our writing.

 

Poem: “The Swing” by Stevenson (Recitations are next week!)

 

 

Idiom: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

 

 Math: 

This week we will continue to work with place value. We will keep growing our sense of what a "ten" and a "one" is and we will be able to apply our skills by adding a two-digit number and a one-digit number as well as subtracting a one-digit number from a two-digit number.

 

History:

In History, we are beginning our study of the ancient Maya people. We will look at where they lived (Yucatan peninsula), how they created a community, their style of writing (hieroglyphs), as well as look at the pyramids they created.

 

Science: 

This week we will be reading the biographies of two scientists:  Edward Jenner and Louis Pasteur. Edward Jenner was a doctor and scientist who discovered the vaccination for smallpox and developed the field of immunology. Louis Pasteur established the field of microbiology, developed the process of pasteurization, and discovered the vaccine for rabies. We will learn about their lives and accomplishments, and discuss how their discoveries still affect our lives.

Wish list:

Empty egg cartons (any size) for math centers on Wednesday! 

Week 25!

Good Afternoon,

I hope that everyone had a relaxing and fun weekend and that we are all ready for what the coming days have to offer!

In case you missed the beautiful words that Mrs. Mason shared about Great Hearts Day in the news letter, here they are:

"On February 14th, our Archway Arete community will gather to contemplate and celebrate the virtue of friendship. In place of kitschy cards and treats, students will participate in the simple exchange of sincere encouragement. Time will be set aside to ponder, "What virtues make for a good friend?" as they engage in Socratic seminar with their classmates. Our aim is not to avoid the cultural norms of the day, but to offer our students a deep breath of fresh air. David Denby writes, "The danger is not mere exposure to but the acceptance of a degraded environment that devalues everything- a shadow world in which our kids are breathing an awful lot of poison without knowing that there's clean air and sunshine elsewhere." May Great Hearts Day be such that our students' hearts are warmed by true, good, and beautiful things." 

1A will be pondering what it means to be a good friend all day long as we read and discuss virtuous stories with our 3rd grade buddy class and make cards for both each other and those who are less fortunate. Mrs. Trahan and I will also some very yummy treats for us to enjoy as a class throughout the day :) 

Here's what you can expect for this week:

Math:

This week we will continue on with place value as we work to identify tens and ones in given numbers and change them to represent "10 more", "10 less", "1 more", and "1 less". Because of great hearts day and athletic field day, instead of introducing a lot of new content, we will spend a good amount of time reviewing addition and subtraction concepts for the quarter so that we can be completely ready for even more new math fun!

Science:

This week we will learn about how to keep our bodies healthy! The class will discuss different forms of exercise and how they help various body systems. We will also talk about cleanliness, with a focus on washing our hands well. We will learn about why it is important to rest and get enough sleep. We will also discuss nutrition and learn why eating a variety of foods helps our bodies. Finally, we will review the body systems and how different body systems work together.

History

We will continue our study of ancient civilizations and discuss the importance of the land bridge.  Students will label it, as well as the origins of several early civilizations, on a map.

Idiom:  An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

Poem: The Swing  by Robert Lewis Stevenson

Spelling:

Monday: above, express, turn, lesson, father, anything, table, high, June

Tuesday: right, write, wrote, date, road, rode, ride, March, march, next

Wednesday: indeed, four, herself, power, wish, because, cause, world, country 

Literature:

We will continue reading and discussing A Bargain For Frances. Students will learn about what kind of virtues were present in the story. 

Writing:

Students will listen to a passage from the story Pollyanna and retell important information and details from the story.

Grammar:

Students will review the four types of sentences: statement, command, question, and exclamation. Students will continue to unscramble, edit, and classify sentences. 

Week 24!

Announcements:

-The Kindergarten and 1^st grades won the “Royalty for a Day” tax credit competition!  Ms. Weddle will be holding her royal reign this Tuesday, February 7th, and will share a special “Activity Extravaganza” with her royal Kindergarten and 1^st grade subjects.  Many thanks to all who gave their tax credit to Archway Arete and who encouraged their friends and family to give as well!

-To keep up with our sniffling students, we would deeply appreciate any donations of tissues to the classroom! 

-We will begin reading A Bargain For Frances on Monday. If you have not already sent in this book for your child, please do so asap. 

Here is what to expect this week:

Math:
This week we will focus on place value and learn how to interpret a two digit number in terms of tens and ones. We will continue to work with ideas of "less than" and "greater than", specifically how to determine what "1 less" and "1 more" of a number is well as "10 less" and "10 more". Each day we will be practicing our addition strategies in class to reach high levels of mastery.

Science:
This week we will conclude our studies of the body systems with the nervous system. Students will learn that the nervous system enables us to use our five senses and controls many of the things our bodies do automatically. We will complete an activity using the five senses. We will also review all five body systems that we have learned about.

History:

We will continue our study of Mexico and identify key aspects of the culture.  Students will learn some Spanish words for colors and numbers, and then take a brief assessment on Friday.

Idiom:  Let the cat out of the bag.

Poem: The Swing  by Robert Lewis Stevenson

Spelling:

Monday: began, begin, begun, able, gone, go, done, do, suit, track

Tuesday: Watch, dash, fell, fight, buy, by, stopping, stop, walk, talk, chalk

Wednesday: grant, soap, news, new, small, smaller, smallest, war, summer

Literature:

We will begin reading and discussing A Bargain For Frances. Students will learn about actual badgers, and discuss the difference between real and fictional animals in literature.

Writing:

Students will be able to understand how to abbreviate months of the year.  They will listen to a passage from the story The Happy Hollisters and retell important information and details from the story.

Grammar:

Students will unscramble and classify sentences in class.