A Day at the Beach!

Today was quite an exciting day in first grade! We had a great day reviewing skills and learning new things. It is hard to believe that we only have one week left in first grade! 

In Religion class today, we talked about how the church honors the saints. We learned that on November 1st we honor all the saints and call this day All Saints Day! 

During Language Arts class, we did a lot of reviewing and practicing. We reviewed prefixes un- and re-, long vowels i and o, vowels aw and au and short e: ea as well as our sight words. We continued to practice our fluency by partner reading our story Ben Franklin and His First Kite. To help us review the story elements, we made a kite illustrating the characters, setting, problem, and solution in the story. Below is a picture of how the kite turned out. Next we took a test on the story. We finished class by practicing using pronouns in sentences. 

In Math class today we learned how to solve a problem by drawing a picture and using  table. For Science class, our focus stayed with plants. We identified the needs of plants. 

Finally, it was time for Art class. Today we made a beach scene, perfect since summer is right around the corner. Don't they make you want to be at the beach right now? 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Awards Day!

Greetings! Today was quite an exciting day in first grade. The students participated in their very first Awards Ceremony. This is the time each year that the students are honored and recognized for their hard work during the school year. The students were quite excited to receive their awards today! 

With the school year quickly coming to an end, we are still hard at work learning new things and practicing skills we have learned this year. In Religion class today, we talked about the saints. We learned that the saints are people who followed Jesus and lived like he did. 

During Language Arts class, we reviewed prefixes un- and re- and long vowels i and o as well as our sight words. We then read our story Ben Franklin and His First Kite. This is a neat story telling of an experiment Ben did when he was a young child. We ended class by reviewing pronouns; we practiced using them in sentences. 

In Math class today, we learned how to write addition and subtraction fact families. We also learned 4 new subtraction facts. 

We ended the day with a special Science class. Today we learned the different parts of a plant and their function. We then labeled a plant to show each part. 

Tomorrow will be another busy and exciting day to end the week! 

Reading, Math, and Gym!

Greetings! I hope everyone had an awesome day. We had a great day of learning and fun in first grade. We began our day in Religion class. We talked about how the church honors Mary with special feast days and prayers. We also learned some of the titles the church gives Mary like "Our Lady" and "Blessed Mother". 

Next, in Language Arts class, we learned long vowel i and o words. When we see the endings -old, -ost, -ild, and, ind, we know that the vowel makes a long vowel sound. We practiced spelling these words and reading the words in a story. Next, we practiced our sight words. We then practiced using pronouns in sentences. 

For Gym class today we stayed inside and headed to the gym for some fun. We used the scooters to participate in relay races. We finished class by playing the favorite "Alligator, Alligator." 

During Math class today, we talked about place value. We learned how to identify the place values in three digit numbers. Next week, we will use pictures of pennies to show the place value in three digit numbers. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we talked about the rights and responsibilities of citizens. One of the rights we talked about was the right to vote. We held our own mock election. Students voted for what to play next week in Gym class. After casting the ballots and tallying the results, the students voted to play kickball. Thy enjoyed this lesson! 

Have a wonderful evening! 

Last Week of May

Greetings and Welcome Back! I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. From the sounds of the children, it seems that they enjoyed the outdoors. I love hearing what they did over the the weekends. 

It is hard to believe that it is already the final week in May. Where did this month go? We began our day by attending Eucharistic Adoration. Spending quiet time in prayer is a great way to begin our day. 

In Language Arts class today we blended and read words with prefixes un- and re-. The students did great not only reading these words but also defining them. We also talked about the theme in a story. In addition, we looked at more pronouns and learned where to use them in sentences. 

During Math class today, we talked about probability. We defined the words impossible, certain, and likely and gave examples of each. Next we did an experiment with linking cubes. I put ten yellow linking cubes in a bag and kept picking one out. We learned that I was certain to get yellow and that it would be impossible to get another color. We then switched it up. I put nine yellow and one red linking cube in a bag. Each student had a turn to pick a linking cube. As expected, more yellow were picked then red. We said it was likely that we would get yellow but not certain. The students enjoyed this lesson. 

We worked on a special project to end the day. The students colored their own picture frame. We then added a class picture and went around the room signing each other's poster. When we were finished we had a keepsake poster to remember our first grade friends. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is gym class! 

Field Trip Day!

Today was quite an exciting day in first grade. It was the day we had been waiting for: Field Trip Day! We were so excited to see and feed all of the animals at Living Treasures. 

After what seemed like a never ending bus ride, we arrived at Living Treasures. Once the students got a cup of food, they were off to see and feed the animals. Among the animals the students saw were kangaroos, bears, bison, goats, horses, camels, monkeys, lemurs, and pigs. They loved petting and getting up close to the animals. Many students wore smiles all day long. 

Another highlight of the day was shopping in the gift shop. This gift shop has a variety of products. Everyone left with something to either play with or cuddle up to. 

Here are some pictures from our trip: 

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! See you on Tuesday!

Back to Normal!

Today was a normal day; we had no schedule changes just a busy schedule. The students worked so hard today. 

In Religion class today, we talked about Mary. We discussed things that she would have done with Jesus and things she would have taught him. 

Language Arts class was busy. We reviewed several phonics skills: vowels au, aw, short e: ea, diphthongs oi and oy, and suffixes -er and -or. We also practiced our sight words. Next we worked on our fluency and comprehension. We partner read our story and then wrote three facts we learned about Alexander Graham Bell. At the end of the day, we added our writing to a telephone craft project. After all that reading, we took a test on the story. We then reviewed the pronouns I and me by using them in sentences. After that, we wrote the conclusion sentence in our narrative paragraph. Finally, we worked in our literacy centers. 

We learned new subtraction facts in Math class today. We learned the answers for subtracting half of a double fact (i.e. 18-9, 14-7, 8-4, etc.). We used pennies to help us solve these problems. 

Please remember that our field trip is tomorrow. Students are permitted to wear jean or shorts (weather permitting) and sneakers. Please remember to send a lunch. There is a gift shop at Living Treasures. If you send money, please place it in a labeled envelope. 

Feels Like a Tuesday!

Happy Wednesday! With the changes to the schedule this week, today felt more like a Tuesday especially since the students had Music class instead of Gym class. Nevertheless we still had a wonderful day in first grade. 

We wrapped up our chapter in Religion about sharing God's love. We reviewed how we can share God's love with our friends and families. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our phonics skills: vowels aw, au and short e: ea. We did some word sorting to help practice these skills. First we sorted words based on whether the word had au or aw. Next, we sorted words with ea based on whether the ea made a long or short vowel sound. Next we practiced our sight words. After all this practicing we were ready to read our story Alexander Graham Bell. The students enjoyed reading and seeing the first telephones. I hope you enjoyed the story as well. After reading, we practiced using I and me in sentences and wrote our narrative paragraph. 

In Math class today, we learned about temperature. We learned how to read a thermometer and how to show temperature on a thermometer. 

We ended our day with Social Studies class. Today we talked about government leaders. We learned that a mayor governs a town, that a governor leads a state, and that a president governs a country. We also identified our current governor and president. 

Tomorrow is going to be an action-packed day! 

Mixed Up Tuesday!

Greetings, everyone! I hope everyone is having a great week so far. We had another fantastic day of learning in first grade. 

We began our day by attending Eucharistic Adoration. It is always nice to spend some quiet time with Jesus at the start of our day. 

In Language Arts class today we blended and read short e: ea words. We used our letter tiles to practice spelling and reading words. We also practiced our sight and worked on using I and me correctly in sentences. In addition, we worked in our literacy centers. Finally, we wrote the topic sentence for our narrative paragraph on the Hawk Walk. 

Due to schedule changes, we had Gym class today instead of having it tomorrow. We took advantage of the sunshine and headed outside to enjoy some exercise time with our friends. 

In Math class today we learned how to subtract two two-digit numbers. We began by using dimes and pennies to solve the problems. We worked our way to solving problems without using the coins. The students did fantastic with this today! 

Enjoy the sunshine! 

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. We had an awesome start to our week. In Religion class this morning we talked about how when we help our families we share God's love with others. The students each wrote a way that they will try to help his/her family this week. 

During Language Arts class, we blended and read vowels au and aw. We used our letter tiles to build words and wrote words in the -awn and -aw word families on the board. I am posting pictures of their lists; they do such an amazing jobs adding words to these families. 

In addition to learning the phonics skills, we talked about drawing conclusions when we read. We also learned how to use I and me when writing. Finally, we completed our graphic organizer for our narrative paragraph this week; we will be writing about the Hawk Walk. 

In Math class today, we learned how to count quarters. We will continue to practice counting quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies. 

Just a reminder, that we will have Gym class tomorrow. Please have the students wear sneakers to school tomorrow. 

Walk-a-Thon Day!

Friday was quite an exciting day in first grade. It was our second annual Healthy Hawk Walk. But before we did the walking, we had some work to finish in the classroom. 

In Religion class, we reviewed how Jesus helped people who were sick. We matched up people before and after Jesus healed them. In Language Arts, we reviewed diphthongs oi and oy, suffixes -er and -or, and sight words by locating these words in sentences. We took our test on our story Simple Machines. Finally, we reviewed pronouns by using them in sentences. Next, it was time for Science class. We reviewed all the concepts we learned related to force and motion. 

Then, it was time to celebrate! After posing for a whole school picture, it was time to walk around Ebensburg and show our Hawk pride. It was a beautiful day for a walk. After a picnic style lunch, it was time for an afternoon of fun and games. We loved playing all the games, getting our face painted, and watching the dunking booth. Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered to help make the day so much fun and enjoyable for the students! 

We had just enough time at the end of the day to finish our art project. We made watermelons. They look delicious! 

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

Ascension Thursday!

Happy Thursday! Today was a wonderful day in first grade. Today marked 40 days since Easter, and we went to church to celebrate Ascension Thursday. Msgr. Lockard reminded us that Jesus is still with us. 

Back in the  classroom, we did some reviewing in Language Arts. We reviewed our sight words, vowels in book, and inflected endings. We then worked on our fluency and comprehension by partner reading our story Simple Machines and writing about each simple machine we read about. We finished class by reviewing pronouns. We practiced using them in sentences and identifying them in sentences. 

This afternoon after lunch and recess we attended the annual 8th grade Jeopardy Tournament. We enjoyed watching the 3 eighth graders testing their knowledge. 

After the program, we returned to the classroom for Math class. Today we learned about rectangular prisms. 

Tomorrow is the Hawk Walk. Students must wear the Hawk Walk t-shirt which was sent home on Tuesday, jeans or shorts, and sneakers. We will be walking around town tomorrow morning and be participating in carnival games in the afternoon. It will be an exciting day! 

Simple Machines!

Happy Wednesday! Today was a good day of learning in first grade. We began our day with Religion. We talked about how we can share God's love with our families. The students came up with some great examples for doing this. 

Our focus in Language Arts was all about simple machines. We read about levers, inclined planes, pulleys, and wheels and axles. We read about how they are alike and different and how they all help us to do work. I hope you enjoyed the story tonight! Before reading our story, we reviewed our phonics skills (diphthongs oi, oy and suffixes -er and -or) and our sight words. We even had time to work in our literacy centers and write our narrative paragraph about a trip we took. 

We were back inside for Gym class today. Today, we played kickball. The students are getting very good at playing this game. I encouraged them to play over the summer. 

In Math class today, we learned new subtraction facts: the difference of 2 facts. We used our linking cubes to help us solve these facts and then practiced these new facts.

We wrapped up our day with Social Studies class. Today we talked about laws. We learned that communities have laws to keep people safe and that government leaders help make the laws. We then talked about laws in our community. 

Have a wonderful night! 

Music in the Air!

Today was quite an exciting day in first grade. We worked hard all morning and enjoyed the Spring Concert this afternoon. 

We began our day with Religion. Today we talked about how we grow closer to God when we pray. 

In Language Arts class, we blended and read words with the suffixes -er and -or. We also practiced reading our sight words. In addition, we practiced identifying pronouns in sentences and writing sentences using pronouns. Next, we wrote the topic sentence in our narrative paragraph on a trip we took. Finally, we worked in our literacy centers. 

This afternoon we were entertained by the Holy Name School band and the 8th Grade Talent show. We thoroughly enjoyed all of the music and skits performed. Congratulations to all of the musicians and students who produced such a wonderful show! 

Tomorrow is Wednesday thus meaning it is Gym day!  

A Warm Start to the Week!

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fabulous Mother's Day weekend. I enjoyed hearing what the students did over the weekend for their moms. They were so excited to share this morning. 

In Religion class today, we talked about how Jesus calls us to love and serve one another. We talked about the different ways we can do this each and every day. 

During Language Arts class, we blended and read words with the diphthong oi and oy; we loved saying the sound these letters make. We used our letter tiles to spell and read words too. We also talked about finding the main idea of a story and practiced writing titles for stories. In addition, we talked about the purpose of pronouns; we practiced finding them in sentences and using them in sentences. Finally, we used the iPads to practice our Phnoics skills. 

We talked about polygons in Math class today. We learned that polygons have straight sides and no openings. We practiced identifying polygons and drawing them. 

Have a great night!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Friday! Today was a wonderful day to end the week. The students did an awesome job staying focused despite the warm temperature. 

We wrapped up our study of the Mass today. We reviewed the order of the Mass and our responses. We even drew pictures showing what happens at Mass. 

We also wrapped up our story in Language Arts class. We reviewed our sight words, vowels in book, and inflected endings. We then took our test on the story Dot and Jabber. We also reviewed sentences; we identified sentences written correctly and wrote sentences correctly. In addition we wrote our first narrative paragraph about the Christmas play. 

Our sixth grade buddies came to us today with a special present. They created a book for the first graders to keep. They wrote about the interests of their first grade buddy. The first graders were so excited about this keepsake. 

In Math class today we learned how to subtract 10 from a number. It is just like counting backwards by 10. 

For Science class today, we talked about simple machines. We learned that they make our lives easier. Some of the simple machines we talked about include ramps, wheels, pulleys, and levers. We will be reading more about simple machines next week in Language Arts. 

Finally it was time for Art class. We worked on a special project for Mother's Day. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. For all of the mom's - I hope you have a special day on Sunday. Thank you for all that you do! 

Crowning Mary!

Today was a great day in first grade. We had a fabulous day of learning. Our focus today in Religion was the ending of the Mass. We learned what we say when we receive Eucharist and when Mass is over. 

In Language Arts class we reviewed our sight words, diphthong ou, and syllables VCV words. We worked on building our fluency by partner reading the story; we then compared and contrasted how we are the same and different from Dot and Jabber. We then reviewed writing sentences correctly. Finally, we worked in literacy centers. 

During Math class today, we learned how to identify a fractional part of a set. We used our linking cubes to help us to this. For example, students were given 10 linking cubes of various colors. We then said that 4 out of 10 are brown, 3 out of 10 are yellow, and so on. The students did great with this skill. 

We took a break from learning to attend the annual May Crowning. The second graders did a beautiful job today. As Msgr. Lockard reminded us, we need to take time to honor Mary especially since she is our Mother. 

Tomorrow will be quite a busy day in first grade! 

Great Day!

Greetings! Today was yet another great day of learning in first grade. Our focus today in Religion class was the Liturgy of the Eucharist. We learned that the greatest part of the Mass is during the consecration prayer. We also learned that Amen means Yes, I believe. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed the vowels in book and inflected endings. We also practiced our sight words before reading Dot and Jabber. This week we were detectives trying to solve the great acorn mystery. I hope you enjoyed the story tonight. We ended class by writing our topic sentence for our narrative paragraph on the Christmas play. 

For Gym class today, we went outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather. It was really hard to come back inside. After the long winter we had, we really come to appreciate these warm days. 

We learned new subtraction facts in Math class today. We used linking cubes to help us solve the difference of one facts. We learned that when we subtract two numbers beside each other on the number line, the answer will always be 1. For example 9-8=1 and 5-4=1. 

We ended the day with Social Studies class. Today we reviewed all of the concepts related to economics that we learned. The students did quite well with this. 

Enjoy your night! 

Cinco de Mayo

Happy Tuesday! Today was another exciting day in first grade. We continued our study of the Mass in Religion. Today's focus was the Liturgy of the Word. We learned about each reading and our response to each one. 

In Language Arts class, we practiced reading more words with inflected endings. Today we learned that when a word ends in e we need to drop the e before adding the ending. We also practiced reading our sight words. In addition we practiced writing sentences correctly and completed a graphic organizer for our first narrative paragraph. Finally, we worked in our literacy centers. 

During Math class today, we reviewed counting dimes, nickels, and pennies. We also talked about two geometric solids: cylinders and cubes. We even made our own cylinders using a piece of construction paper. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is Gym day. Below are pictures I promised from last Friday's Art class. These butterflies make the hallway extra bright!

May the 4th Be With You!

Greetings! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the beautiful spring weather. We certainly enjoyed it today at recess. 

In Religion class today, we began our study of the Mass. Our focus today was the opening part of the Mass. We will continue to explore each part and learn the responses throughout the week. 

During Language Arts class, we blended and read words that have the same vowels in book. We used our letter tiles to help spell -oo words. We also talked about comparing and contrasting characters in a story. In addition we reviewed how sentences begin and end and learned the purpose of narrative paragraphs. 

In Math class today, we focused on centimeters. We measured line segments and drew line segments. 

Just a reminder that book orders are due tomorrow and that we will be visiting the book fair as well. 

Happy May!

Happy May! It is hard to believe that this is the last full month of school. This year has gone by so fast. 

We began our day at Mass. Today Fr. Brian reminded us to stay righteous just like St. Joseph did. 

Back in the classroom, we wrapped up our story Mole and the Baby Bird in Language Arts class. We reviewed diphthong ou and syllables VCV words along with our sight words. We then took the test on our story. We also reviewed exclamations by identifying them and writing them correctly. Finally, we wrote the concluding sentence in our informative paragraph on sharks. 

In Math class today, we learned how to solve a problem by acting it out and guessing and checking. We learned that if at first we don't succeed we must try again. 

We talked about magnets in Science class today. We learned that magnets attract and repel objects. Working in pairs, students were given a magnet and asked to find 3 things that it is attracted to and 3 things it repels in the classroom. They loved using the magnets. 

Finally, it was time for Art class today. We made butterflies using paint. We need to add finishing touches on Monday, so I'll post pictures then. 

Have a wonderful weekend!