Happy Thanksgiving!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! Today was a very exciting day in first grade. We are all ready to eat our turkey and stuffing tomorrow!

 In Religion class we finished our talk about the season of Advent. We reviewed that Advent is the time we prepare ourselves to welcome Jesus at Christmas. We talked about how we can pray and help others to help us get ready to welcome Jesus. We also reviewed the Advent wreath and the order in which the candles are lit.

 To help us get ready for Thanksgiving, we read one of my favorite Thanksgiving stories Turkey Trouble. After reading the story we sequenced all of the disguises Turkey used. We also designed a new disguise for Turkey.

 After reading the story, we talked about all of the good food we would be eating tomorrow. We wrote about our favorite food and why we like it.

 Finally, we used pictures of corn, apples, and pumpkins to create a harvest pattern.

 May you and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy the time with your family. Please stay safe. I’ll see you in December!

Learning About Thanksgiving!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a great day. The students are really getting excited for the Thanksgiving holiday!

We began our day by going to Adoration. We spent some quiet time praying to Jesus and thanking him for all that he has given us.

In Language Arts class, we practiced reading long i words. We also learned our new sight words. We then read and discussed Time to Plant, a play. We had lots of fun reading the play! After that we practiced using present tense verbs in sentences. Finally, we worked on our sentence writing. Today the students drew a picture of an animal and then wrote their descriptive sentence. They did an awesome job.

This afternoon in Language Arts we focused on Thanksgiving. We compared and contrasted the first Thanksgiving to our Thanksgiving celebration today. We then created a storybook to help us remember the first Thanksgiving.

In Math class today we worked on solving number sentences for the numbers 11-20. We are able to look at a number like 17 and say that 17 is 10 and 7. 

Have a great night! Just a reminder that tomorrow is an early dismissal!

The Week of Thanksgiving!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend and is looking forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. 

We began our day with Religion. Today we continued our discussion on Advent. We made an Advent wreath and talked about how we can 'light' each candle at home with our families during the season of Advent. 

We began Language Arts by working in our centers and reading a leveled reader with me. Then we began a new week of learning. Today we learned two new sight words (bloom and sprout). We also worked on making predictions as we read the story Mystery Vine. Following that we practiced blending and reading long i words. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we completed some Thanksgiving writing. We read Who Will Carve the Turkey This Thanksgiving. After reading it, we wrote about which animal could carve the turkey and the reason it would not work. The students really enjoyed this. 

In Math class today we began our study of the numbers to 20. Each student was given a number and asked to show that number using two ten frames. We also worked on writing a number sentence for the number. For example we said that 14 is 10 and 4 more. 

Have a great night! 

Pilgrim Fun!

 Greetings! I hope everyone's weekend is off to a good start. We had a great day to end our last full school week in November yesterday! 

We began our day by going to Mass. Fr. Brian reminded us to always be thankful and remember to thank God for all that we have. 

Our Language Arts centered around Pilgrims yesterday. We read two books: one about the life of a young Pilgrim boy and one about the life of a Pilgrim girl. After reading each story, we talked about the things a boy or girl did. We then compared life long ago to life today. Finally, we made a Pilgrim and wrote about something we would have done a long time ago. Have a look: 

In Math class today we took our test on shapes. Next week, we will begin looking at the numbers to 20. 

We wrapped up our unit on habitats in Science class today. We reviewed the difference between living and nonliving things and talked about the plants and animals we see in different habitats. 

Finally, it was time for Art. Today we created a pumpkin pie. The students glued squares of brown construction paper around the outside of a paper plate. They then glued pieces of orange construction paper in the middle. Finally, we added cotton balls for whipped cream. They look delicious: 

Have a great weekend! 

All Aboard the Mayflower!

 Greetings and Happy Thursday! I hope you were able to get outside today and enjoy the beautiful day we had. It was really hard to come inside from recess today. 

In Religion class today, we began our study of Advent. We learned that during Advent we wait and prepare for Jesus' coming at Christmas. One thing we do during Advent is to light candles on a wreath. We talked about how we light the purple, purple, pink, purple candles as we wait for Jesus. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts today. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read long a words and contractions, wrote sentences using our sight words, and took our weekly assessment. After all that, we did some Thanksgiving writing. We drew a picture of where turkey could go for Thanksgiving and wrote a sentence telling about his vacation spot. The students were very creative with this!

In Math class today we reviewed everything we learned about shapes. Tomorrow we will take our chapter test. 

For Gym class today, we headed outside. It was just so nice to play outside. 

In Social Studies class today we learned about the Mayflower. To help us, we watched Peanuts: Mayflower Voyage. Afterwards, we wrote facts about the Mayflower. We added these facts to a Mayflower craft. Have a look: 

Have a great night! 

Thanksgiving Fun in Spanish!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a good week. We sure are in first grade. 

Our day began with an author presentation via Zoom. Bethany Marshall and Sara Vogel joined us to talk about their book Pickles and Prayer. They talked about the process of writing the story and illustrating the pictures. The students even had the opportunity to ask them questions. Thank you to the Home and School Association for providing this opportunity for us. We really enjoyed this! 

In Language Arts class we reviewed our oral vocabulary words. We then used our whiteboards and markers to spell and read long a words and contractions with not. Following that, we reviewed our word wall words by reading the word wall via a slideshow. Next, we partner read a story from our decodable readers and our story from yesterday. After that we read a nonfiction piece about telling time and completed pages in our close reading companion. Finally, we practiced finding verbs in sentences. 

In Math class today we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. We compared two objects and used deductive reasoning to determine which group of shapes belonged to a person. 

Thanksgiving was the theme in Spanish class today. We created a foldable labeling some of our favorite Thanksgiving foods in Spanish. The students do love Spanish class! 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is a dress down day and Gym day. Wear your jeans and sneakers to school! 

Pattern Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone got to see the snow today. The students were so excited to see it snowing. I wish I could say that I had their same excitement. 

In Religion class today we wrapped up our chapter on Jesus' dying and rising. We reviewed the events of Holy Week and illustrated Jesus riding into to Jerusalem. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading long a words, practiced spelling and reading contractions with not, and reviewed our sight words. In addition to our practicing and reviewing, we spent time building our fluency and comprehension skills. We read a story in our decodable reader along with our story from our literature anthology. After reading On My Way to School, we completed a story map where we identified the setting, listed the characters from the story, and wrote about what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we wrote a detailed sentence for a picture. We also practiced adding commas between a series of verbs. 

In Math class today we continued to work with patterns. Today our patterns focused on three dimensional shapes. We practiced finding the missing shape in the pattern. We also logged onto Seesaw to create patterns of our own. 

Have a great night! 

Action Verb Heroes!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. By the sounds of it, the children really had fun. I really do enjoy hearing their stories every morning. 

In Religion class today we read the Easter story. We read about how Jesus died and then rose to new life on Easter Sunday. We also talked about how Alleluia is a word of praise. 

We began Language Arts by reviewing our oral vocabulary words we learned last week. We then learned three new words (calendar, occasion, and weekend). Next, we worked on making predictions as we read a nonfiction piece about telling time. After that, we used our letter tiles to spell and read long a words. Following that we learned how to spell contractions with the word not and read them. Next, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. Our focus then switched to fluency and comprehension. As we reread Nate the Snake is Late and our decodable reader, we talked about the characters, setting, and plot. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced writing a detailed sentence for a picture. We then pretended to be action heroes and wrote action verbs about what we can do. We then got to design our superhero costume. 

In Math class today, we learned about patterns. We used our pattern blocks to make various patterns. 

Here are pictures from Friday's art project. And just a reminder book orders are due tomorrow. Have a great night! 

Long A Fun!

 Greetings! I hope everyone is having a great weekend! We had a great Friday is first grade. 

In Religion class, we talked about how Jesus taught in the Temple in Jerusalem. During class we learned a new song; the students kept singing it all day. I loved that! 

In Language Arts, we practiced reading long a words. We did a few word sorts where the students had to separate short a words and long a words; they did great with this. We also practiced telling the difference between a noun and a verb. Finally, we did some fun Thanksgiving writing. The students pretended to have a pet turkey and wrote about what they would feed it and what they would do with it. 

In Math class we practiced finding shapes all around us. We found examples of squares, rectangles, circles, triangles, cubes, spheres, rectangular prisms, pyramids, cylinders, and cones. 

In Science class we learned about habitats. We spent time identifying the different plants and animals we would find in oceans, forests, and deserts. 

Finally, it was time for Art class. Today we decorated Indian corn using Q-tips and paint. Once the paint dries, I will post pictures. In the meantime, enjoy a picture of our turkeys from last Friday! 

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Magic E Words!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone was able to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather we are having. It's hard to believe that the weather is this nice in November. 

In Religion class today, we talked about how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and how the people waved palm branches and shouted 'Hosanna' to greet him. 

We began Language Arts by working in our small reading groups social distance style. We then began a new week of learning. We learned two new oral vocabulary words (immediately and schedule). We then worked on making predictions as we read A Second is a Hiccup. Following that we learned how to blend and read long a words with the magic e. The students did very well with this. We then learned our new sight words. We ended the morning by reading a fantasy story about Nate the Snake. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we wrote a detailed sentence describing a picture. We also learned about action verbs. Each student had the opportunity to act out an action verb. We then practiced finding action verbs in sentences.  

In Math class today we looked at designs made out of three dimensional shapes. We identified the number of each shape used. 

Have a great 3 days off. I'll see you on Friday! 

Fun with Shapes!

Greetings! Happy Friday! Today was a great day to end the week in first grade. 

For Religion class today we watched a Brother Francis video from Formed on the saints. We learned that the saints are our helpers and that we can pray to them when we need help. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with digraphs and with the inflectional ending -es, and wrote sentences using our sight words. We also took our weekly assessment. 

After all that, it was time to practice our writing skills. We wrote in our journals. We then read How to Catch a Turkey and wrote about what we would do to catch a turkey that got loose in the school. 

In Math class today, we learned that we can use shapes to make a design. So, that is what we did. The students used circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles to make a design. Afterwards, they had to tell how many of each shape they used. They were very creative with this. 

In Science class we learned the difference between living things and nonliving things. The students completed a sorting activity in Seesaw and drew examples of living things and nonliving things. 

Finally, it was time for Art class. Today we made giant paper turkeys. I'll post pictures once they are dried.

Here is a picture from our cookie project yesterday. Have a great weekend! 

 

70's in November!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone was able to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather! 

In Religion class today we learned that Jesus is called the Good Shepherd! We said that Jesus is our Good Shepherd because he watches over us all day, loves us, and cares for us just like a shepherd does with his sheep. 

We began Language Arts by reviewing our oral vocabulary words. Next, we practiced writing and reading words with digraphs and words with the inflectional endings -es. After that, we practiced all of the sight words we have learned. Each student received a letter and read all of the words that we have learned beginning with that letter. Next, we worked on our fluency as we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets and our story from yesterday. We worked on our comprehension skills as we completed pages in our close reading companion after reading a nonfiction piece about directions. Finally, we practiced writing irregular plurals. 

To end our morning, we created a batch of chocolate chip cookies. On each cookie we wrote a 'ch' word. I'll post pictures tomorrow! 

In Math class today we worked with three dimensional shapes. We identified them and decided whether or not we could roll, stack, or slide each shape. 

In Social Studies, we learned about mountains, plains, rivers, and lakes. We created a shape book to help us remember these landforms and bodies of water. 

We ended our day with Gym class. It was so nice outside. It's hard to believe that we had snow on Monday!

Just a quick note, we will not have Mass tomorrow. Have a great night! 

Fraction Folding Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone had a great day!

In Religion class today we wrapped up our chapter on Jesus calling his disciples and teaching them to pray. We reviewed how Jesus invited people to follow him, how his disciples came to believe that he was the Son of God, and how Jesus taught his followers to pray. 

We began Language Arts by reviewing our sight words. Next, we worked on segmenting words into sounds using our sound boxes. Next, we practiced reading words with digraphs and words with the inflectional ending -es before we reviewed our sight. Our focus then switched to fluency and comprehension. We partner read a story in our decodable reader. We also read Fun with Maps, a nonfiction piece all about different kinds of maps. After reading that story, we completed pages in our close reading companion. We ended the morning by reviewing irregular plurals. 

This afternoon, we practiced writing a 'jazzy' sentence using an adjective to describe the elephant in the picture. The students are getting better at being more descriptive when they write. 

In Math class today we focused on fractions. We divided squares into halves and fourths. We labeled each part of the whole and worked on identifying one half and one fourth. The students loved folding the squares today. 

In Spanish today we reviewed our introduction and basic phrases in Spanish. I am amazed at how much they remember from week to week. 

As promised here are pictures from yesterday's projects: 

Just a reminder that tomorrow is our jean day and Gym day! 

Pizza Shape Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a nice day. 

In Religion class today we took some time to think about the meaning of the Our Father. We read it verse by verse and talked about what each verse means. We said that when we pray, it is always better to pray slowly and not rush through it and forget the meaning of the words. 

In Language Arts class, we learned three new oral vocabulary words (height, model, and separate) and reviewed the words we learned yesterday. We then worked on rereading as we read a nonfiction piece about maps. Next, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph. After that, we learned how to blend and read words with the inflectional ending -es. Following that we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended our morning by rereading Which Way on the Map and writing about the main idea and details from the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we read our decodable reader and practiced identifying the main idea and key details in it. We also practiced writing irregular plural words. Finally, we created a turkey and on each feather we wrote something we are thankful for. These turkeys will be on display for parent-teacher conferences. 

In Math class today, we had fun with shapes. The students created their own shape pizza. They added pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage, green peppers, onions, and cheese. After making their pizza they identified how many of each shape they used. I'll post pictures of the pizzas tomorrow. 

Have a great night!

Welcome to November!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! Happy November! It is hard to believe that we are starting our third full month of school. As we continue this month, please do not let your guard down. Remember to wear your mask, social distance, and wash your hands!

In Religion class today we talked about safe touches and unsafe touches. We talked about what to do when someone touches us in a way that we don't like. Finally, we talked about those we consider safe adults and can tell when someone does something we do not like. 

We began Language Arts by working in our 'centers'; if we were not practicing our phonics skills then we were reading with Miss Chalich. After our center time, it was time to begin a new week of learning. We learned two new oral vocabulary words (locate, route). We then worked on rereading as we read Me on the Map. Following that we learned how to blend and read words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph. Next we learned our new sight words. Then, we read Which Way on the Map which helped us to practice our new skills. Finally, we learned some of the irregular plural words. 

In Math class today, we began our new chapter which focuses on shapes. Today we reviewed the characteristics of squares, rectangles, triangles, and circles and practiced sorting shapes by size, color, and shape. 

This afternoon we had our annual All Saints' Day Prayer Service. Yes, it was different this year. However, seeing the children on video still made the day special. Please look for a link to the video on the school's Facebook page later this week. 

Have a great night!