End of April!

Greetings! I hope everyone had a good week! It was one busy yet fun day to end our week in first grade. 

In Religion class today we learned that at Mass we celebrate the Eucharist. We also talked about how Jesus is with us in a special way when we are at Mass. 

In Language Arts, we used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, reviewed reading vowels au, aw and team syllable words, and used our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. After all of that reviewing, we were ready to read. Today we read Meet Rosina, a nonfiction story about a deaf; we then worked on our comprehension skills as we completed pages in our close reading companion. Finally, we reviewed possessive pronouns by finding them in sentences. 

In Math class today we solved a problem using the strategies of acting it out and guess and check. We used dimes for the act it out part. 

Then it was time for Science. Today we talked about magnets and how they attract to or repel from an object. To help us understand this, pairs of students were given a magnet and asked to find three things the magnet attracted to and three things the magnet repelled from in the classroom. They had no problems with this. 

We ended our day with Art. Today we made birds in a nest. To do this we used tissue paper. They are so cute. 

Below are pictures from the week. One is from the Art lesson; the second is from our Earth Day celebration. Enjoy! 

Enjoying the Sunshine!

Greetings on this absolutely beautiful day! It was just the perfect spring day. Days like today make you forget about those cold and windy winter days and appreciate the warmth of the sun. 

In Religion class today we talked about how we remember what Jesus said and did at the Last Supper when we celebrate the Eucharist. We also learned that the word Eucharist means to give thanks. 

Language Arts was full of learning today. We answered questions using our sights, used our letter tiles to spell and read vowel au words, learned about vowel teams, read our sight words, and used our vocabulary words in sentences. For some of this we used our Smartboard and completed some online activities. Next it was time to read. We reread All Kinds of Helpers and talked about author's purpose. We said that the purpose of this story was to inform us about helpers. We also read our decodable reader. Finally, we practiced using possessive pronouns in sentences. 

As you might have guessed, we went outside for Gym class today. The students loved that time in the sun exercising and playing with their friends. It was hard to come back inside. 

In Math class today we learned how to identify fractional parts of a set. We used linking cubes to help us. Each student was given ten linking cubes with different colors. From there we learned about fractional sets. For example, one student had 4 out of 10 brown linking cubes. The students did quite well learning this concept. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we wrapped up our economics unit. 

Tomorrow will be a busy and fun day in first grade! 

Warm Weather Wednesday!

Greetings! Happy Wednesday! It was so nice to see the sun shine today. The students were especially happy to head outside for recess. The warm weather is upon us! 

We began our study of the Mass in Religion class this week. Over the next several weeks, we will explore the different parts of the Mass. This is preparing the students for second grade where they will study the Mass at great depths. Today we read the story of the Last Supper and talked about the meal Jesus shared with his Apostles the night before he died. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts. We learned new oral vocabulary words, sight words, and vocabulary words. We also learned a new phonics skill - how to blend and read words with the vowels al, au, augh, and aw. In addition to that learning, we worked on our fluency by reading a nonfiction piece about community helpers. Next we learned about possessive pronouns. Finally we worked in our literacy centers. 

We learned new subtraction facts in Math class today. Our focus was the difference of 1 facts. We discovered that when we subtract two numbers next to each other on the number line we will always get an answer of 1. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is Gym Day! Also, book orders are due tomorrow! 

Sunny Day Inside!

Greetings and Happy Tuesday! Despite the gray day outside, it was a sunny day inside filled with learning and fun. 

We finished our retreat on morality today in Religion class. We read about Mother Teresa and talked about how she served and helped others. We then drew a picture of some type of service we can do for others. We said that it doesn't have to be something grand; even doing something small makes a difference. We ended by praying to God asking him to help us serve others. 

We wrapped up yet another week of learning in Language Arts today. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, used our whiteboards to spell and read words with vowel sound oo, read words with suffixes, and wrote sentences using our sight words. We then read a story in our decodable reader booklets, partner read Click Clack Moo Cows That Type, and read a nonfiction piece about people working together to change unfair laws. Finally, we reviewed pronouns. It was a busy day in Language Arts! 

In Math class today we talked about two geometric solids: the cube and cylinder. We identified characteristics for each of them and identified objects that can be classified as cubes and cylinders. 

In honor of Earth Day, we wrote about ways we can help the Earth. We then added our writing to a Lorax craft. They are so nice. I'll post pictures tomorrow. 

Have a great night! 

Last Week in April!

Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend especially the sunshine yesterday. We had an awesome day to start our week. 

In Religion class today we began a two day retreat on Morality. Today we talked about service. We named ways Jesus served others and generated examples on how we can serve others. 

Language Arts was filled with laughter today especially when we read our story. But before we read, we had some reviewing and practicing to do. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with vowels oo and words with suffixes, practiced using put sight words in sentences, and talked about synonyms.  Then we were ready to read. First we read a story from our decodable reader booklets and then we read our story Click Clack Moo Cows That Type. We just loved this story; they were so expressive when they read it today. We finished the morning by using pronouns in sentences. 

In Math class today we learned about centimeters. We first measured linking cubes and then measured line segments. Finally we drew centimeter line segments. 

In celebration of Earth Day on Saturday, we read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. We talked about ways to keep Earth beautiful by recycling, reducing, and reusing. We will continue our celebration tomorrow. 

As promised, here are pictures from Friday's Art lesson. Enjoy! 

Friday Funday!

Greetings and Happy Friday! This week sure went fast. As we were doing our Math Meeting today, one student remarked at how fast the school year has gone. I couldn't agree more. There is only one more week left in April. Where has the time gone? 

We began our day with Mass. Today Msgr. Lockard reminded us that we need to be like the disciples and tell others about Jesus. 

In Language Arts, we practiced answering questions using our sights. We then used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the vowel sound /oo/. Next we talked about the suffixes -ful and -less. We discussed how when added to a word they change a word's meaning and practiced reading words with these suffixes. After that we switched our focus to fluency and comprehension. We reread Super Tools and talked about the theme of the story. We finished up by reading our decodable reader. 

Estimation was the topic in Math class today. we used our classroom number line to help us. I covered various numbers. We identified the multiples of 10 the hidden number fell between and then identified the multiple of 10 it was closer to. The students really enjoyed estimating. 

Science class was loads of fun today. We talked about how things move and focused on the words push and pull. We then did an activity to experiment with motion. The students worked in groups to construct a maze. They then had to blow a ping pong ball through the maze. Their mazes were awesome! 

We ended our day with Art. Today we made a flower by painting a paper plate and bubble wrap. I'll post pictures on Monday once everything is dried. 

Enjoy your weekend! 

Showing Creativity!

Greetings! Today was a busy day in first grade filled with learning and laughter. 

We wrapped up our look at Easter today in Religion class. The students designed their own Easter scene. I just loved their creativity as they did this. Each interpretation is so unique. Here are some examples: 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts. That meant we learned new oral vocabulary words, sight words, and vocabulary words. We also learned a new phonics skill: how to blend and read words with the vowels oo, u, u_e, ue, ui, ew, and ou. We put our new skills to work as we read a fantasy story called Super Tools. We then switched gears to grammar where we learned about pronouns. We ended the morning by working in our literacy centers. 

Gym class was a lot of fun today. We did a simple relay race that focused on dribbling a basketball. Each team had to run to the center of the gym, grab a basketball, and dribble it back to their team. We had lots of fun doing this. Our faces were quite red by the end of class. 

In Math class today we made a graph showing which vegetables we like. We then wrote observations about our graph. 

Finally it was time for Social Studies. Today we talked about how food gets to market. We paid attention to how oranges go from tree to table. 

Tomorrow will be another busy day in first grade. We have Mass, Library, and Art. The fun awaits! 

Inside the Skydome

Greetings! Happy Wednesday! It sure did not feel like a Wednesday today. Maybe that's because we are just getting started with our week. 

The highlight today was our visit to the Skydome. Thank you to the Home and School Association for bringing this program to the school today. Once inside the dome, we were able to see the stars and constellations in the night sky. We also got to see and learn more about each planet. The students and I loved every minute of it! 

In Religion class today we again talked about Easter. We reviewed the events of that first Easter many years ago. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts class today. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with diphthongs oi and oy and words with final stable syllables. We wrote sentences using our sight words and used our vocabulary words in sentences. We also practiced using prepositions in sentences. Finally, we wrote a narrative paragraph about our Easter morning. 

In Math class today we talked about fractions. I took pictures of various vegetables and divided them into either halves, thirds, fourths, sixths, eighths, or tenths. We then talked about what we call each part of the whole. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is Gym day! 

Easter Greetings!

Easter Greetings! I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Easter. I hope the Easter Bunny all left you something and that you were able to enjoy some good food and chocolate. 

Our Religion class this week will be centered around the Easter story. Today we read and talked about that first Easter many years ago. We also talked about how we will now be singing Alleluia again at church. 

We picked up where we left off at last week in Language Arts. We practiced answering questions using our sight words. We also reviewed and read words with diphthongs oi and oy and final stable syllable words (C+le words). After reviewing our sight words and vocabulary words, we read a story about bridges called Building Bridges. The students were fascinated about the different bridges in the story especially the Rolling Bridge in London. After reading the story, we completed pages in our close reading companion to build our comprehension. This afternoon we reviewed how to write abbreviations. We also drew pictures for our narrative paragraph we will be writing this week. 

Math class was full of learning today. We practiced counting dimes, nickels, and pennies. The students did quite well with this. We will continue practicing this skill every day during our Math Meeting. 

Tomorrow will be an exciting day. We are anxiously awaiting the Skydome presentation. 

Happy Easter!

Greetings! Today was quite an exciting day in first grade. The students walked in, stopped, and then ran to their desks. The Easter Bunny came last night to our classroom and left Easter baskets for them. It did not take long for the students to rip into their baskets. Their excitement and wonder was something to see. Here is a look at the baskets he left: 

Once we got settled, we talked about the events on Good Friday in Religion class. We know that this is the day that Jesus died on the cross for us. We made beautiful pictures to help us remember Good Friday. First we painted the background using watercolors. We then glued on three crosses. They all turned out different but they are all beautiful: 

We did some writing for Language Arts today. Each student was given a Peep and wrote about their Peep. Their creativity is quite impressive. 

Math class was so much fun. We used jelly beans to measure various objects including a crayon, pipe cleaner, blocks, book, and pencil. We then used the jelly beans to create various patterns. Then we practiced counting money. Each group was given 12 eggs. In each egg there was coins. The students had to count the money in each group. They loved this! 

Before we knew it, it was time to go home. I hope everyone has a wonderful, blessed, happy Easter. See you on Tuesday! 

Getting Ready for Easter!

Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is enjoying their week. Excitement is in the air in first grade; we are getting excited for Easter. 

We continued to look at Holy Week in Religion class. Today we focused on Holy Thursday. We learned that Jesus washed his disciples feet before sharing a meal of bread and wine. By washing his disciples' feet, Jesus is telling us that we need to serve and help others. We also discovered that every time we go to Mass we are remembering what Jesus said and did at the Last Supper. To help us remember our call to service, the students took turns washing another student's hands by pouring a cup of water on them. 

Language Arts class was short today. We reviewed prepositions and prepositional phrases. We finished sentences by adding the correct preposition and matched sentences to pictures. The highlight today of Language Arts was our show and tell event. The students did such an excellent job writing and reading their clues; we did get stumped on a few of them. Thank you to everyone who helped with this show and tell event. 

In Math class today we learned four new addition facts. We again used our linking cubes to help us find the answers for these problems and to help us complete our fact cards. 

This afternoon, as an Easter gift, the students were treated to a movie. Needless to say, they were excited to watch it. 

You never know what is waiting in the wings for tomorrow . . . 

Feeling Blessed!

Greetings! What another beautiful day it was outside today! We are so blessed! 

We began our day by going to Adoration. It was such the perfect way to begin our day. We were able to sit with Jesus and talk to him. Praying is always so peaceful and calming. 

Back in the classroom, we jumped into Language Arts. We answered questions using our oral vocabulary words. We also used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the diphthong oi or oy. We then learned to blend and read final stable syllable words also known and consonant plus le words. After reviewing our sight words and playing our safe cracker game to review our vocabulary words, it was time to build our fluency and comprehension. We reread The Joy of a Ship and wrote cause and effect examples from the story. We also read our decodable reader. This afternoon we did an Easter writing project. We pretended we were the Easter bunny and wrote about the places we would hide eggs. I'll post pictures of the writing tomorrow. 

In Math class today we learned how to add three single digit numbers. The students picked up this concept quickly; I was quite proud of them. 

Here are a few reminders for tomorrow. Tomorrow is a jean day; thank you for all turning in your Hawk Walk packets. Tomorrow is also our Easter egg show and tell. If you have any questions, let me know. Enjoy your night! 

The Beginning of Holy Week!

Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone enjoyed the sunshine today! It was such a welcoming sight especially after Friday. 

We continued our discussion about Holy Week in Religion class today. Today we focused on the Three Days. We learned the special events celebrated on each day. We made a poster to help us remember the events. We will continue to look at each day this week. Here is a picture of the poster we made today and of the palm branches we made last Thursday: 

Language Arts was full of new learning today. Our theme for the week is buildings and how they are made. As usual we learned new oral vocabulary words, sight words, and vocabulary words. We also learned and practiced blending and reading words with diphthongs oi and oy. We put our new skills to work as we read The Joy of a Ship. We also worked in our literacy centers. This afternoon we learned about prepositions and prepositional phrases. 

Money was the subject in Math class today. We used paper money to show various amounts. The students just love working with money. 

Here is a picture of the lambs the students made in Art class on Friday: 

Enjoy the warmth! 

Terrific Thursday!

Greetings! Happy Thursday! It has been one fast week full of learning in first grade!

Our focus in Religion class today switched to the events of Holy Week. Today we looked at Palm Sunday. We read the story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem and how the people waved palm branches and shouted ‘Hosanna’ as he passed by. To end class we made our own mosaic palm branches.

As usual Language Arts class was full of learning. We practiced using our oral vocabulary words in sentences and answering questions using our words. We then reviewed diphthongs ou and ow words and words with inflectional ending –er and –est. We also reviewed all of our sight words by reading our word wall. We then switched focus to reading and building our fluency and comprehension skills. We partner read two stories: one from our decodable reader booklets and Whistle for Willie. We then read a nonfiction piece about sound and completed pages in our close reading companion.

Excitement was abound in Gym class today. Each student rolled two dice. The first number told us what exercise to do; the second number told us how many to do. We had so much fun doing these exercises.

In Math class today we learned about cones and spheres. We looked at each shape and identified characteristics about each one.

Finally it was time for Social Studies. Today we talked about why people have jobs. We then took a closer look at assembly lines and how they help people. We watched a short clip on how crayons are made using an assembly line.

Tomorrow will be an exciting day to end the first week of April! 

Amazing Learners!

Greetings! Happy Wednesday! Today was such a productive day in first grade. We learned so much. As I sit typing this, I am amazed at all we did today! 

We wrapped up our chapter about forgiveness today. We reviewed the story of the Forgiving Father and discussed ways to forgive others. The students then drew a picture showing forgiveness. 

We began Language Arts with a review. We practiced using our oral vocabulary words in sentences, and we read words with the diphthong ou and ow and with inflectional endings -er and -est. We then used our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. After all that reviewing, we switched gears to reading. Today we read Whistle for Willie about a boy determined to learn how to whistle. After that we completed some pages in our close reading companion. This afternoon we reviewed and practiced using a, an, this, and that in sentences. 

We learned even more addition facts in Math class today. Today we focused on four oddball facts: 5+3, 6+3, 7+4, and 7+5. We used our linking cubes to help us find the answers to these problems before completing our own fact cards. 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is Gym day! 

Water and Math!

Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone's week is off to a good start. 

Forgiveness continues to be our topic of discussion in Religion class this week. Today we talked about how Jesus wants us to forgive others just like he did. We came up with many ways to forgive others. One of the things we said is that we could do something nice for somebody. To demonstrate this, each student drew the name of another student in the class and drew a picture for them. They just loved doing something kind for a secret friend. 

As usual Language Arts was full of learning. Today we practiced answering questions using our oral vocabulary words. We reviewed diphthongs ou and ow by using our letter tiles to spell words. We then reviewed the inflectional endings -er and -est and practiced adding them to the end of words. Next we practiced using our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. Then it was time to build our fluency and comprehension skills. We reread Now What's That Sound and wrote about the problem and solution in the story. After that we read our decodable reader. Finally, we learned about the proper way to use a and an and this and that. 

Math class was full of excitement today. We learned about capacity. To do this we filled various containers with water. We learned that 2 cups equals a pint, 4 cups equals a quart, and 16 cups equals a gallon. 

Please remember to turn in your Hawk Walk packet tomorrow. 

The Beginning of April!

Greetings! Welcome to April in first grade! It is going to be on exciting month! 

We began the month with Religion class. Today we learned about the Sacrament of Penance. It was just an overview of the sacrament; the students will learn more about it next year as they plan to celebrate their first Penance. 

Then we jumped into Language Arts. Today we learned 13 new words (5 oral vocabulary words, 6 sight words, and 2 vocabulary words). We also learned how to blend and read words with diphthongs ou and ow. We even added these words around a doctor to help us remember that they say 'ow'. After learning all those new words and skills, we switched our focus to reading. We read Now What's That Sound. We ended our morning by working in our literacy centers. This afternoon we did writing. On Friday in Art we made Easter eggs; today we wrote about our incredible Easter egg. 

In Math class we learned about dividing fairly. The students used linking cubes to divide them evenly between students. They were such quick learners with this concept. 

This afternoon the first grade did not attend Living Stations. Instead we watched The Proud Tree. It is about a boastful tree who becomes the tree on which Jesus dies on. After watching the movie, we reviewed the events surrounding Jesus' death. 

Have a great night!