Week 31!

Good Afternoon!

First and foremost, I want to extend a gigantic THANK YOU to all of you who had a part in making my birthday as special as it was. Your generosity and your kind words mean the world to me.

As all of the beautiful flowers bloom, our little noses keep on running! We would appreciate any donations of Kleenex to the classroom.

Here is what you can expect for this week:

Literature: This week we will begin reading Sam the Minuteman! This work of historical fiction will give us a glimpse into the Revolutionary War and get us started for that next unit in History! We will learn some new vocabulary words this week, such as Riots, “Lobster Backs”, and Minutemen.

 

Spalding: We have 30 words this week, with our Spelling Test on Friday.

Monday: brought, bring, less, event, off, of, true, truth, took, again

Tuesday: inform, both, heart, month, children, child, build, built, understand, follow

Wednesday: charge, member, case, while, also, return, office, great, Miss, miss

Phonograms to practice: c, ch, d, ea, g, m, ng, ough, t, wh

 

Writing: Our copy work and narration exercises come from the poems “The Sandpiper” by Celia Thaxter and “The Nightingale and the Glowworm” by William Cowper

 

Idiom: Land of Nod

 

Poem: “Star Spangled Banner” by Francis Scott Key

History: This week we will be finishing our Early Exploration unit, as we learn about Jamestown and the Pilgrims and Puritans! We will review everything we’ve learned so far on Thursday and take a short assessment on Friday.  

 

Math: It's going to be a fun week in math as we begin learning how to tell time! We will make our own clocks this week and use them to discover how to tell time on the hour and at half past the hour. We will continue to work with the idea of what it means to be "equal" as we identify halves and fourths among different shapes and practice dividing items into equal groups. 

Week 30!

Good Afternoon!

It was such a fun first week back from break! We are excited to see what this new quarter will bring.

Please send in Sam the Minuteman with your scholar as soon as possible, we will begin reading it on April 3^rd!

Here's what's coming up this week:

Spalding: We have 29 new words this week, with our test on Friday.

Monday: goes, does, Tuesday, hold, drill, army, pretty, stole, income, bought

Tuesday: paid, laid, said, enter, railroad, unable, ticket, account, driven, real

Wednesday: recover, mountain, speak, past, might, contract, deal,

almost, all

Phonograms to study: a, ai, ay, c, ck, o, ou, ough, r, t

 

Writing: Our narration and copy work exercises this week are Jataka Tales, stories from India.

 

Grammar: In Grammar, we will be distinguishing between singular and plural nouns and common and proper nouns. We will also review other parts of speech as we practice classifying sentences.

 

Poem: “Rope Rhyme” by Eloise Greenfield – Please be prepared to recite on Friday!

 

Idiom: A.M. and P.M.

Math:

This week we will begin working with the concept of division and we will learn how we can divide different items among equal groups. We will also begin learning about fractions by folding and cutting papers into halves and fourths and sharing items so that they are put into two and four equal groups.

Literature: This week we will be reading stories from A.A. Milne’s collection, The House at Pooh Corner. Students will explore and describe the characters of Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eyore, Kanga, and Roo. They will enjoy a couple of Winnie the Pooh stories and discuss how to best resolve conflict between friends.

History: We have a very full week of History and are going to be learning all about early exploration. We will learn about two famous conquistadors, Cortez and Pizarro, and the advantages that the Spanish had over the Aztecs and Incas. We will also learn about England’s exploration of North America and how they came across Roanoke. Some important people we will discuss are Sir Walter Raleigh, Queen Elizabeth, and John White.

Reading Groups & Math Centers

Good Morning! 

Welcome back! We are so excited to spend this last quarter together as we continue to learn and have fun. 

Here are the links to sign up for both math centers and reading groups.

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f4ea5a72da7f58-reading1

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f4ea5a72da7f58-math2

We can't stress enough what an important and fun opportunity these groups are to be a part of our class community and to help our students have individualized support. Math Centers give the class a chance to explore our math topics in a new way. Reading groups allow us to work closely with each student by listening to them read and ensuring that we are giving them each the best chance to grow their reading skills.

Please let us know if you have any questions and if we can do anything to help you and your scholar throughout this quarter.

Thank you!

Week 29!

Welcome Back!

I hope that everyone had a nice and relaxing break! I'm very excited to spend this last quarter learning and having fun!

Here is what we can expect:

Math:

This week we will complete many different activities and games in order to review all that we have learned throughout the first grade. This will include: addition, subtraction, place value, graphing, 2D and 3D shapes, measurement, comparing numbers, and creating equal groups. 

Science: 

This week we will continue to study rocks and minerals. Students will learn about common minerals and their uses. They will also learn how to identify minerals by their properties. At the end of the week, we will review by making a book about the layers of the Earth, volcanoes, geysers, rocks, and minerals.

 

Literature: This week we will be reading some Pinocchio stories! Students will retell these stories through dramatic interpretations, illustrations, and puppets. They will also discuss role models in their lives and how that person helps them to make honest and responsible choices.

Spalding: This week we will review and go back to the basics. We will practice our handwriting and make sure that our letters are being formed properly. We will also practice our phonograms and review some commonly missed words.

 

Writing: Our copy work and narration exercises come from the story “All-of-a-Kind Family”.

 

Grammar: In Grammar, this week, we will be reviewing all of our parts of speech with some fun Columbus activities!

 

Idiom: AM and PM

 

Poem: Rope Rhyme by Eloise Greenfield (We will recite this next week!)

History: This week we will begin our unit on Early Exploration! We will be learning about Christopher Columbus and why he wanted to explore the New World. Students will be able to identify his journey on a map and sequence the events leading up to his voyage.

 

Fine Arts and French night

Bonjour Archway Families!
Mark your calendars for this year's Fine Arts and French Night:  Friday, April 7th from 5:30 to 8:00.  You will have the opportunity to view your child's artwork, participate in an art workshop, and enjoy a video of French songs and poems, as well as a live presentation by the French Club.  Look for the flyer coming soon which outlines the schedule for the evening.  NOTE: there will be TWO sessions, divided by last name.  Please arrive only during your session to ensure sufficient parking.  
Hope to see you there!  À bientôt!


Please see this flyer for more information 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxSuyHM9YtLNS3E5NlFvYWRKaVU/view


Have a happy spring break! 

Week 28!

Good Afternoon!

Time sure does fly! I can't believe we are almost to spring break.
Here is what you can expect this week:

History: Students will learn about the Machu Picchu this week and take a virtual tour of where the Incas lived. They will then create their own “City in the Clouds”! We will also review key details for the Maya, Aztec, and Inca and take a short assessment on Thursday.

 

Science: This week we will continue our Earth Science unit by studying rocks. Students will learn about the characteristics of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. They will record observations about rocks and classify them. They will also create models of each type.

Math: This week we will continue to explore multiplication by creating equal groups with different items and solving various multiplication problems as well as repeated addition problems.

 

Literature: This week we will conclude our Anansi stories with a final one: Anansi Goes Fishing. We will discuss traits that make up a good leader and how Anansi could show citizenship. We will also read The Princess and the Pea and The Piped Piper of Hamelin and do some sequencing activities with these stories.

 

Spalding: 30 words this week - Test on Friday!

Monday: feather, fence, funny, going, honey, letters, orange, pocket, shoes, shoe

Tuesday: stairs, stream, talks, tiny, words, trust, extra, dress, beside, teach

Wednesday: happen, begun, collect, file, provide, sight, stood, fixed, fix, born

Phonograms to practice: ai, ch, ck, ea, ed, ey, i, igh, wor, y           

 

Writing: We have copy work and narration exercises from Little House on the Prairie this week!

 

Grammar: This week we will learn and practice some new capitalization and punctuation rules, in addition to our normal classifying work.

 

Idiom: A.M. and P.M.

 

Poem: None this week!

 

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!