Greetings! Happy Friday! We have come to yet the end of another month of first grade. Usually, February is a long month filled with cold weather and snow. However, this year was different. I really like it!
Today at Mass, Fr. Brian encouraged us to stay true to our Lenten observances. He said that when we get discouraged that all we need to do is look at the cross. That is true love.
We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts today. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read long e words and compound words, and wrote sentences using our sight words. We also took our weekly assessment.
Special thanks to our librarian today who took time to make each one of us Daisy Head Maisie hats. She helped get our Dr. Seuss celebration started.
This afternoon we continued our Dr. Seuss celebration which will last all next week. Today we read The Sleep Book. After reading the story, we wrote about our dreams. We added the story character to our writing. Here is what they look like:
In Math class today we began our chapter on addition and subtraction with and without regrouping. Today we used based ten blocks to solve addition problems without regrouping. Next week we will transition to paper.
In Science class today we talked about how sounds can be high and low. We listened to various sounds and determined whether they were high or low.
Finally, it was time for Art. Today, in celebration of Dr. Seuss, we made a Cat in the Hat. We are very excited to celebrate all next week. Here they are:
On Monday, we will have a special jean day to help support a school family whose family-owned business suffered damage after a fire. All donations will go directly to the family.
Also, don't forget about our book character potato contest. All potatoes need to be brought to school on Monday. And Monday will be a slipper day. The students can wear their jeans and slippers!
Have a great weekend!
Greetings! Happy Thursday! I will admit that it was a shock to see that snow today. I keep reminding myself that this is normal, but I do miss the nice weather. Hopefully everyone made it to and fro safely today.
In Religion class today we looked at the first seven Stations of the Cross. Afterwards, the students began coloring their own Stations booklet.
In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words. We also practiced reading long e words and compound words in addition to our sight words and vocabulary words. After that we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets along with Koko and Penny, our story from yesterday. Following that we read a nonfiction piece about saving endangered gorillas and completed pages in our close reading companion. Finally, we practiced finding adverbs in sentences.
In Math class today we took our chapter test on the numbers to 40. Starting tomorrow we will learn how to add without regrouping.
Finally, it was time for Social Studies. We talked about the difference between goods and services. We sorted pictures based on whether it named a good or service. Finally, we drew examples of each.
Tomorrow will be a busy day to end the week. We have Mass, Library, Art, and a special surprise! Have a good night!
Greetings on this Ash Wednesday! I hope everyone had a good day and a good start to the Lenten season.
At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian encouraged us to pray this Lenten season. The students were very excited to receive ashes today. They were very respectful and reverent as they received them. I pray that everyone has a blessed Lenten season and grows closer to Jesus these next forty days.
Our Language Arts class was broken into several pieces today. We began it before Mass, continued it after Music class, and then finished it after Math class. Today we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read long e words and compound words, and reviewed our sight words. We partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets before reading Koko and Penny, a nonfiction story about a zookeeper and a gorilla. After reading that story we completed pages in our close reading companion. Finally, we reviewed using commas in a series.
We had lots of fun in Gym class today. Each student rolled two dice. The first one told us what exercise we would do, and the second one told us how many to do. We did jumping jacks, sit ups, push ups, toe touches, hops, and squats.
In Math class today we reviewed the concepts we learned regarding the numbers to 40. We will take our chapter test tomorrow.
Have a great night!
Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is having a good day. We had a busy day in first grade.
We spent more time in Religion class today talking about Lent. We reviewed the facets of Lent and discussed what each one of us can do to grow closer to God during Lent. We focused a lot of attention on praying. The students created folded hands and wrote a prayer that they can pray during the Lenten season.
We began Language Arts class by working in our literacy centers. We then jumped back into our weekly learning. We answered questions using our oral vocabulary words and used our letter tiles to spell and read long e words. After that we learned how to blend and read compound words. Next we practiced using our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. Finally, we reread From Puppy to Guide Dog and sequenced the steps in training a dog.
This afternoon we read our decodable reader and sequenced those steps in the story. We then learned about the different sentences in a paragraph. We know that the topic sentence tells what the paragraph is about, that the detail sentences tell more about the topic, and the last or concluding sentence sums everything up. After learning this, the students had to sequence the sentences in a paragraph. We will begin writing paragraphs next week!
In Math class today we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. We had to take our time on one and think about it before we drew it.
Just a reminder that Mass tomorrow is at 9:30. We will have Gym in the afternoon. Have a good night!
Greetings! Welcome to the last week of February! It is hard to believe that this month is almost over. Where has the time gone?
In Religion class today we began our discussion on Lent. We talked about the 3 facets of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving and gave examples of different things we can do for each facet.
We began Language Arts by working in our literacy centers. We then jumped in and began a new week of learning. We learned our oral vocabulary words (soothe, remarkable, trust, advice, and career). We worked on asking and answering questions as we read a folktale about a dog trainer in China. From there we learned how to blend and read long e words spelled -ey and -y. After that we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. We ended our morning by reading From Puppy to Guide Dog, a nonfiction story about how a puppy learns to be a guide dog.
This afternoon in class we learned about adverbs that tell when. We practiced identifying them in sentences.
In Penmanship class this week we will be practicing the letters n and N.
In Spanish class today we reviewed the names for our family. We drew a picture of our family and labeled each person in Spanish.
In Math class today we worked with number patterns. We first used linking cubes to help us identity the pattern. We then switched to our markers to help us write the patterns. Some patterns were easier than others. Once we thought about some of them, they became easy.
As promised, here is a picture from Friday's art class. They look so pretty in the hall:
Have a great night!
Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great day to end their week. We had lots to do today. The students worked really hard, and we got it all done.
We began our day with Mass. Today Fr. Brian reminded us that just like Jesus we need to take up our cross and keep pushing on.
We ended another week of learning in Language Arts. Today we used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read long i words, read and spelled words with inflectional endings when the y is changed to an i, and wrote sentences using our sight words. We then switched our focus to fluency. We partner read Hi! Fly Guy and a nonfiction piece about insects. After lunch we completed pages in our close reading companion. Finally we took our weekly assessment and practiced using see and saw in sentences.
In Math class today we practiced identifying the greater and least number in a set. We also practiced adding and subtracting 2 or 3 from a number. This will help us as we learn to solve number patterns next week.
In Science class today we talked about how sounds can be loud or soft. The students worked in groups to sort pictures based on whether they are a loud or soft sound. Finally they drew examples of loud and soft sounds.
Finally, after all of that hard work, it was time for Art. Today we painted. We created a stained glass heart picture. They turned out really nice. I'll post pictures on Monday once the paint has dried.
This morning, the students finished their George Washington project from yesterday. Here is what they did:
Have a great weekend! See you on Monday!
Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone had a great day. I will say that the students were excited to read our story today. They have waited all week for this and worked really hard to get to it.
We began our day with a special presentation. A lady from the Penn State outreach center came and talked to the students about poison prevention. She reviewed different pests and how to safely eliminate them. She also talked to the students about how to avoid chemicals in the house that could harm others.
We began Language Arts by reviewing our oral vocabulary words. Then we reviewed how to read long i words. That was followed by practicing writing words with inflectional endings when the y is changed to an i. We also practiced our sight words and vocabulary words. After partner reading a story in our decodable reader booklets, it was time to read Hi! Fly Guy. Not only did the students do a great job reading the story but also with answering questions about the story. They really paid attention to the details. We ended class by learning how to underline titles of books.
In Math class today we worked on several skills. First we identified the greater and least number in a given set. Then we practiced putting numbers in order from least to greatest and greatest to least. Finally, we identified 2 more and 3 more from a given number and 2 less and 3 less from a given number.
We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we learned about George Washington. We are in the process of taking what we learned and adding it to a craft. We will finish that tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow will be a busy day. We have lots to do before the weekend!
Greetings! Happy Wednesday! It just doesn't seem like Wednesday especially since we were off on Monday. Anyways, it was another fantastic day of learning in first grade.
In Religion class today we talked about how a parish helps many people including those locally and those in far way places.
In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words by answering questions using the words. We then used our letter tiles to spell and read long i words. Following that we learned how to add inflectional endings on words that end in y. After that we practiced using our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. Then we reread Creep Low, Fly High and talked and wrote about how the characters felt in the story. We did the same thing as we read our decodable reader.
This afternoon in Language Arts we worked in our literacy centers. We also practiced using see and saw in sentences.
For Gym class today we practiced our tossing skills. Each student was given a racket and bean bag. Their goal was to toss the bean bag into a hula hoop. Every couple of minutes, the hoops were moved farther back. The students loved the challenge of this.
In Math class today we talked about place value. The students identified the place value for the numbers 21-40. They used base ten blocks to show the numbers and then write the corresponding number sentence.
Have a wonderful night!
Greetings! Welcome Back! I hope everyone had a fantastic long weekend. I did enjoy having the extra day off, but I still missed my kiddos.
We began our day by going over to church to spend some quiet time with Jesus. During Adoration, we prayed for others and asked Jesus to help us in anyway that we may need it.
We began Language Arts by working in our literacy centers. We then jumped into another week of learning. We learned our five new oral vocabulary words (flutter, different, imitate, resemble, and protect). After that we worked on visualizing as we listened to a story about how animals camouflage into their environment. Next we learned how to blend and read long i words spelled i, y, igh, or ie. Following that we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. Finally, we read a fantasy story called Creep Low, Fly High.
This afternoon in Language Arts we learned how to use see and saw in sentences.
In Math class today we began a new chapter which will focus on the numbers from 21-40. Today we learned how to identify the numbers. Each student was given a number. They had to draw the number, write the number sentence (20+3=23), and spell the number using words. When every one was finished, they had to put themselves in order from 21 to 40.
Just a reminder that tomorrow is Wednesday and Gym day. Don't forget your sneakers!
Happy Valentine's Day! We had a blast celebrating today!
At Mass this morning, we welcomed Fr. Leon as he presided over the Mass. He talked to us about loving our families just like the Holy Family loved each other.
We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts today. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read long o words and open syllable words, and wrote sentences using our sight words. Finally, we took our weekly assessment.
This afternoon was party time in first grade. To begin, we used candy hearts to complete several activities. We used them to build numbers from 1-20. We then took a handful of candy hearts, sorted them, and then graphed them; after graphing them, we made tally marks to show how many hearts we had for each color. Then we used the hearts to measure arrows. Next, we estimated how many candy hearts would be needed to fill a heart, and then filled the hearts with the candy. Finally, we played tic-tac-toe with them. Here are pictures of those activities:
Next, our focused switched to games. We practiced adding by playing a game with dice with partners. One at a time, students rolled dice, added the numbers, and colored a heart with a matching number. The goal was to be the first person to color all of the hearts. Here is one game board:
After that, students were given gummy hearts and toothpicks. Their task was to create a giant heart. It took some thinking and trial and error but we did it!
Our last game was called "Blow Me a Kiss." Using straws, the students raced against each other to see who could blow a pom-pom ball across desks and into a bucket first. We had a blast with this game!
We ended our party by passing out our Valentine's. Our bags were quite full by the time everyone was done.
Have a great weekend! See you on Tuesday!
Greetings! Excitement is building in first grade for tomorrow. The students are quite excited to celebrate Valentine's Day! But, before we can party, we have learning to do.
In Religion class today we talked about how a pastor is the leader of a parish. We took time to name all of our pastors.
We began Language Arts by reviewing our sight words. We then spelled and read long o words and open syllable words. After that we practiced reading our sight words. Next, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets along with our story from yesterday. Following that we read a poem about a mouse in the winter and completed pages in our close reading companion to help build our comprehension skills especially when reading a poem. Finally, we practiced using go, went, do, and did in sentences.
In Math class today we took our chapter test on picture graphs and bar graphs. Next week, we will begin looking at the numbers from 21-40.
Even though today is Thursday, we had a special Science class. We began by watching a short DVD about the importance of brushing our teeth. Then, we did an experiment. Pairs of students were given an hard boiled egg soaked in Coke-Cola. They had to work together to brush the egg using a toothbrush and toothpaste. After getting messy, we learned that we must always brush our teeth!
As promised here is a picture from our Art project from yesterday:
Tomorrow is our Valentine's Day party. Please send in Valentine's for all students in the class. We will pass them out tomorrow afternoon!
Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone got to see the sunshine before it disappeared late morning.
In Religion class today we talked about how we gather with our parish family to worship God. We said that when we worship we praise and thank God.
In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words. We then practiced reading long o words and open syllable words along with our sight words and vocabulary words. After that we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We ended our morning by reading and discussing Vulture View.
This afternoon in Language Arts we completed pages in our close reading companion that went along with our story. We also practiced writing proper nouns correctly.
Yesterday, we wrote about whether we like hugs or kisses more from our families and why. Today, we added an Hershey kiss to our writing. They look so cute!
Valentine's Day was the theme for Gym class today. The students spread hearts around the gym. On each heart was a type of exercise to do. On the signal, the students moved to different hearts and performed that exercise. They loved it (pardon the pun!).
In Math class today we reviewed graphs. We answered questions based on the data on picture and bar graphs. Tomorrow we will take our test.
And, because of the flexible instruction day on Friday, we made up Art class today. We created a Valentine mouse using hearts. I'll post pictures of that tomorrow.
Have a great night!
Greetings! Happy Tuesday! We didn't let the gray skies keep us down today. There was a lot of learning to do.
In Religion class today we talked about how we belong to a parish. We also said that as a parish family we pray together, go to Mass together, and help people in need.
We began Language Arts by again working in our literacy centers before jumping back into our week of learning. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words by answering questions using the words. We then used our letter tiles to spell and read long o words. Following that, we learned how to blend and read open syllable words. Then, we practiced using our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. Finally, we reread Go Wild and wrote the main idea and key details from the story.
This afternoon in Language Arts we read our decodable reader and again wrote details and the main idea from the story. Then we practiced using go, went, do, and did in sentences. We also began a Valentine's Day writing project that we will finish tomorrow.
In Math class today we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. The students did a nice job explaining their thinking.
Just a reminder that tomorrow is Gym. Don't forget your sneakers!
Greetings! Welcome back after that impromptu three day weekend. I just could not get over how it turned from rain to snow in a matter of minutes. Thank you to everyone who helped the children complete their snow day packet.
In Religion class today we completed our chapter on the leaders of the church. We reviewed the roles of bishops and the pope.
We began Language Arts by working in our literacy centers. Then we wrapped up the week of learning that we began last week. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read long e words, read and defined words with prefixes, and wrote sentences using our sight words. Finally, we took our weekly assessment.
After that, we began a new week of learning. Before lunch, we learned five new oral vocabulary words (survive, provide, communicate, superior, wilderness). Then we worked on asking and answering questions as we read a nonfiction story about animals in the winter. Finally, we learned how to blend and read long o words spelled o, oa, ow, and oe.
This afternoon in Language Arts we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. We read and discussed Go Wild, a nonfiction story about how animals survive in the wild. Finally, we practiced using go, went, do, and did in sentences.
In Spanish class today we learned the Spanish names for father, mother, brother, sister, grandfather, and grandmother.
In Penmanship class this week we will be practicing the letter R and r.
In Math class today, we reviewed how to make tally marks. Then, using the tally data, we created a bar graph and answered questions based on the graph. The students had no problems doing this.
As you can see it was a busy Monday. Get some rest; tomorrow will be another busy day!
Greetings! Happy Thursday! Today was a busy day of learning and fun in first grade.
In Religion class today we talked about how the church serves others and how we are called to serve too. We discussed several things we can do to serve others.
In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read long e words, and defined and read words with prefixes. We also reviewed our all of sight words by reading our word wall. To help build our fluency, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets along with our story from yesterday. Then we read a nonfiction story about bees and completed pages in our close reading companion. Finally, we practiced using has and have in sentences.
After all of that hard work in Language Arts, it was time for a break. The students illustrated everything that they love in a giant heart. They then wrote about the things and people they love.
In Math class today we practiced making and counting tally marks. The students did a great job with this. Tomorrow we will make tally marks and then use that data to make a bar graph.
We ended our day with Social Studies. Today, we learned about Abraham Lincoln. We wrote facts about his life and then created a small picture of him.
Tomorrow is a normal Mass day (no red shirt). We will also have library and Art!
Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a good day!
In Religion class today we learned that the pope is the leader of the whole church. We also learned the name of the pope: Pope Francis.
In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words. We also practiced reading long e words, our sight words, and our vocabulary words. In addition to that, we read words with prefixes and defined them. Following all of that practice, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. Finally, we read and discussed Animal Teams, a nonfiction story about how animals work together.
This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced using have and has in sentences. We also wrote about the main idea and key details in our story from this morning.
Because the Johnstown Tomahawks visited the older grades today, we were not able to have Gym class today. We'll resume it next week.
In Math class today, we again made a picture graph. This time we showed the color cube we picked out of a bag. The students did a great job creating their graph and then describing what they noticed on it.
Have a great night!
Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is doing well and is enjoying their first full week of February.
In Religion class today we learned that bishops lead and care for the church today. We also learned that Bishop Mark leads our diocese.
We began Language Arts by working in our literacy centers. After building our fluency and comprehension skills, we jumped back into our week of learning. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words by answering questions using the words. We then used our letter tiles to spell long e words spelled ee, ea, or ie. After that we learned how to read words with prefixes and what each prefix means. Following that we practiced using our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. Next, we reread A Team of Fish and then wrote the main idea and key details from the story. Finally, we read our decodable reader and answered questions about that.
In Math class today we made our own picture graph. Each student rolled a die ten times and graphed their results. Then, they discussed their graphs with a partner.
We did have a break in Math class today as two players from the Johnstown Tomahawks came by for a visit. They showed us their hockey equipment and read us a story.
We ended our day by celebrating Groundhog's Day, albeit a few days late. It was just too hard to fit everything in to last week. Today, we created a groundhog and wrote about whether or not we were happy he saw didn't see his shadow.
Just a reminder, tomorrow is a jean day!
Greetings! Welcome back! I hope everyone had a good, relaxing weekend. After last week, I did enjoy some time to unwind this past weekend.
In Religion class today we talked about how Jesus chose Peter to be the leader of the Apostles.
We began Language Arts by working in our literacy centers to help build our fluency and comprehension skills. Then we jumped into a new week of learning. We learned our five new oral vocabulary words (behavior, beneficial. dominant, endangered, and instinct). Then we worked on asking and answering questions as we read a nonfiction piece about how animals work together. Next, we learned how to blend and read long e words spelled e, ee, ea, or ie. After that we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. We ended our morning by reading A Team of Fish, a nonfiction story about how fish work together. This afternoon we practiced using has and have in sentences.
In Penmanship class this week we will be practicing P and p.
This afternoon we met with our Faith Families to discuss what it means to have courage. We looked at the life of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton to see how she lived a courageous life and how we can live a life like hers.
We ended our day with Math class. Today we began our chapter on graphs. We looked at picture graphs today. Together we created a picture graph and answered questions based on it. Tomorrow the students will create their own picture graphs.
Tomorrow the Tomahawks will be coming to read to us. We look forward to that. Have a great night!
Happy 100th Day of School! Today was quite an exciting day in first grade as we reached the 100 day! We had tons of fun celebrating this milestone!
We began our day with Mass. Today Fr. Brian encouraged us to always keep that child-like innocence as we get older. After Mass, he blessed our throats.
After a short time with our Faith Families sharing stories, it was time to begin the celebration in first grade! We began by creating a self portrait of ourselves when we are 100 years old. We then wrote about what we would do if we were 100!
Next, these first 100 days were no "prob-llama". We wrote about something we learned these first 100 days and something we want to learn in the next 100 days. We added our writing to a picture of a llama. They look awesome:
After lunch, the students had to find 100 hearts hidden around the classroom. As they did, they had to put them in order from 1-100. That proved to be no problem whatsoever.
Finally, the students were divided into groups and rotated between stations. At each station they were tasked to build or create something using that object there. Each station had 100 pieces to use. They created things using marshmallows, linking cubes, plastic cups, Popsicle sticks, and pattern blocks. Here are some of their designs:
We ended our day by going to the annual 8th Grade vs. Teacher volleyball game. The 8th grade played hard and kept it close, but the teachers prevailed once again!
Thank you to everyone for a fabulous week. We are back to be normal next week! Enjoy your weekend!
