The End of November!

 Greetings! It is hard to believe that today was the last day in November! This month went right by us. 

In Religion class today, we watched and read the story of baby Moses being left by his mother in a basket. We talked about how God had a special plan for Moses at such a young age. We also talked about how Moses is our first prophet. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words. We also practiced reading reading long a words and our sight words. In addition, we learned how to spell and read words with the contraction for not. To help us build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read On My Way to School. After reading this story, we talked about and illustrated the characters, setting, and events. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced using verbs in sentences. We also generated a list of action verbs associated with a superhero. We wrote 6 words around a superhero. We will be designing our superhero tomorrow. 

In Math class today, we practiced identifying the greatest and least number in a set. We also talked about the > and < symbols. We talked about how they look like an alligator's mouth and how an alligator will always have its mouth open to the bigger number. 

I'm sure the children told you that our classroom elf arrived yesterday, Everyday, we will be keeping a journal and writing about where Jingles is at in our classroom! 

Have a good evening! Stay warm! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Greetings! Today was a fun day to wrap up our Thanksgiving activities. We are all excited to eat good foods and see our families over our holiday break. 

In Religion class today we continued our talk about Advent. We reviewed how Advent is a time for waiting. We also talked about the Advent wreath. We made an Advent wreath. The students brought home paper flames to add to their wreath each week during this season. 

At Thanksgiving time, we are reminded to take time to give thanks for all that we have. Today, we made a thankful turkey. On the feathers we wrote about things and people we are thankful for. We added our feathers to the back of an applesauce cup. Aren't they cute? 

Today we read Turkey Trouble, a funny story about a turkey who tries different disguises so that he doesn't become part of the farmer's feast. After reading the story, we sequenced the different disguises turkey tried. We also created a different disguise for him. 

Before we knew it, it was time for lunch and then dismissal. I hope everyone has a blessed holiday filled with fun, laughter, and new memories. See you next week! 

~Happy Thanksgiving! 

A Thanksgiving Feast!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is doing well and getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday! 

In Religion class today we wrapped up our chapter on Noah and Abraham obeying God and waiting for the Savior to come. We then switched our focus to Advent. We learned that Advent is a time of waiting and preparing our hearts to welcome Jesus at Christmas. 

In Language Arts, we practiced reading long a words. We then learned our new sight words. Following that, we read Nate the Snake is Late which helped us practice reading long a words and our sight words in context. Finally, we identified verbs in a sentence. 

In Math class today, we continued to look at the numbers to 20. We played memory with a partner where we matched the number with its word. We then took a closer look at a number to 20. Each student was given a turkey with a number on it. He/she had to draw a picture for that number, write out the number word, show the number in a ten frame, and write a number sentence for it. 

This afternoon we had our very own first grade Thanksgiving feast. We watched "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving". Afterwards, we had our own Peanuts Thanksgiving which consisted of toast, popcorn, jelly beans, and pretzel sticks. We really enjoyed our feast. 

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

Magic e Words!

 Greetings! Welcome to Thanksgiving week in first grade! This week we will be celebrating Thanksgiving while learning new things. 

In Religion class today we read the story of Abraham and Isaac. We learned that Abraham really trusted God and had great faith. 

In Language Arts, we began a new week of learning; this week we will be reading about time. We learned two new oral vocabulary words (immediately and schedule). We then worked on making predictions as we read A Second is a Hiccup. Next, we learned how to blend and read long a words spelled with a magic e, words like cape and take. We ended class by working in our small reading groups. 

In Math class today, we began a new chapter which focuses on the numbers 11-20. We took time to build each number using our linking cubes and ten frames. We learned that it is easier to make 10 and then count on. We also wrote number sentences for each number. Here is our completed chart. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we looked at the First Thanksgiving. We learned that the Pilgrims and Indians had a feast that lasted for three days. We looked at what they did and what they ate by writing about it in a booklet. 

We also took time today to finish our Indian, or Flint, corn from Friday. They turned out awesome. 

Have a great night! 

More Pilgrim Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone made it home safely tonight. It sure has been a tricky getting home this week. 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian talked to us about cleansing our bodies meaning that we need to tell God we are sorry and receive the sacrament of Reconciliation. 

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

In Math class today we took our chapter test on shapes. Next week we will begin our chapter that focuses on the numbers to 20. 

In Science class today, we talked about how animals communicate. We learn that they communicate by using a part of their body or by making noise. 

Our afternoon was centered on Thanksgiving. Today, we made a Pilgrim and wrote about something we would have done if we were a Pilgrim.

We then learned about the Wampanoag and how they helped the Pilgrims. We created a flipbook about them. We are in the process of making Flint (or Indian) corn; we'll finish that on Monday. 

For Art class today, we created a Pilgrim Pete the Cat. They turned out cute. 

Have a great weekend! 

Pilgrim Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I don't know about you but this week has gone extremely fast. It is hard to believe that tomorrow is Friday. 

In Religion class today we talked about how God promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars. 

We continued our week of learning in Language Arts. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with digraphs, words with the inflectional ending -es, and our sight words. To help build our fluency we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a nonfiction piece about the directions and completed pages in our close reading companion that had us practicing using the directions. Finally, we reviewed irregular plurals. 

In Math class today we reviewed all that we have learned about shapes. Tomorrow we will be taking our chapter test. 

Our Social Studies class today focused on the Pilgrims. We created a flipbook were we wrote about what Pilgrims ate, wore, and did and where they lived. We will continue our Pilgrim activities tomorrow. 

Have a great night! 

Critical Thinkers!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a great week. 

Today in Religion class we began to learn the story of Abraham. Today we talked about how God told Abraham to move to a new country. Being obedient to God, Abraham did as he was asked. We also talked about ways we can be obedient just like Abraham. 

In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, segmented words into sounds, read words with digraphs, words with the inflectional ending -es, and our sight words. We also worked on our fluency as we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. In addition, we read Fun With Maps, a nonfiction story looking at different kinds of maps. After reading this story, we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on the main topic and key details from the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced sorting nouns based on whether they named one or more than one. 

In Math class today we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. The students walked around the room looking for objects with various shapes. We also used our thinking caps to solve problems. 

Today's Thanksgiving lesson focused on the Pilgrims. We read two stories today: one about the day in the life of a Pilgrim boy and the other about the day in the life of a Pilgrim girl. We will continue our Pilgrim lesson tomorrow. 

Have a great night! 

Mayflower Voyage!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone made it home safely tonight. I'm not sure if we all shared in the children's excitement for the snow. They could not wait to go home and play in it. 

We began our day by going to church for Adoration. We spent some quiet time talking and praying to Jesus. 

We continued our week of learning in Language Arts today. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words we learned yesterday and then learned three new words (model, height, and separate). We then worked on rereading as we read a nonfiction story about different kinds of maps. After that we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph. Following that we learned how to make words that end in ch, sh, tch, s, ss, x, or z mean more than one; we do that by adding the -es ending to the word. Next, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended our morning by focusing on our comprehension skills; this week we are looking at main idea and key details. We reread Which Way on the Map? and then wrote its main idea and key details from the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we read our decodable reader and wrote about its main idea and key details. We also practiced writing plurals especially for words that change to mean more than one. 

In Math class today we continued to look at patterns; today we focused on patterns that involve solid shapes. 

We ended our day with some Thanksgiving fun. Today we wrote facts that we learned about the Mayflower. We also created a Mayflower craft. Here is the craft. 

Have a safe and warm night! 

Fun With Maps!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone enjoyed our four day weekend. I loved hearing about all that the children did over those days. It was a well spent break. 

Today, we got to experience a giant map of North America and learn about the features on the map. Thank you to the Home and School Association who brought the map to the school. 

In Religion class today we talked about how the people waited for Jesus. Today, we heard the story of Noah. We learned that Noah followed God's command to build an ark and put the animals on it before God flooded the land. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about maps. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (locate and route). We then worked on rereading as we read Me on the Map. After that, we practiced blending and reading words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph. Following that we learned our new sight words. We ended our morning by reading Which Way on the Map? which helped us practice our new phonics skills. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned about irregular plurals, words like men, women, children, and people. 

In Math class today, we learned about patterns. We used our pattern blocks to make patterns and then drew our patterns in our book. 

We ended the day with some Thanksgiving learning. Over the course of the next week and a half, we will be learning about the first Thanksgiving. Today, we learned about the Mayflower by watching a short video about it. 

Have a great night! 

A Friday on a Wednesday!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! Today was our Friday for the week. I think everyone is looking forward to our four day weekend! 

In Religion class today we wrapped up our chapter on Adam and Eve and the first sin. We reviewed what happened when they sinned and what God promised to send to his people. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts today. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading words with digraphs and closed syllable words, and wrote sentences using our sight words. We also took our weekly assessment. 

To help prepare us for using the Accelerated Reader program, we read a story and took a practice quiz. We all agreed that the quiz was easy. We are looking forward to using the program to build our reading skills. 

In Math class today, we looked around our classroom to see all of the shapes. We identified both flat and solid shapes. 

Have a great weekend! Enjoy the break! 

Shape Pizzas!

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

In Religion class today we talked about how God promised to send us a Savior who would open the gates of Heaven for us. We know that Savior to be Jesus. 

In Language Arts class we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading words with the digraphs sh, th, and ng and words with closed syllables. We also practiced our sight words by playing a favorite game "Don't Draw the Turkey". To help build our fluency we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read a nonfiction piece about kids helping in neighborhoods. After reading that story we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on finding key details in the text. We ended the morning by practicing writing proper nouns correctly. 

In Math class today, we looked at designs using our solid shapes. We identified the number of each solid shape used in the design. After that, it was time for some Math shape fun. The students created their own Shape Pizza. The added circles (pepperoni), squares (mushrooms), trapezoids (peppers), rectangles (onions), and triangles (sausage). The students had lots of fun cooking their own pizzas. 

Have a great night! 

Honoring Veterans!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I loved hearing about all the adventures the children did this weekend. 

In Religion class today, we talked about how we are all born with original sin and how that original sin is washed away when we are baptized. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts today. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words, segmented words into sounds, read words with the digraphs sh, th, and ng, words with closed syllables, and read our sight words. To help build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read Nell's Books. After reading that story, we drew pictures of the characters, setting, and events in the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced writing proper nouns correctly. We also worked on our writing skills. Today, our writing focused on Veteran's Day; we wrote about why veterans are heroes. Here is a picture of our writing project:

In Math class we used our pattern blocks to make designs; our lesson today focused on flat shape designs. The students did a great job making various designs. 

Here are pictures from our Art class along with our turkey writing we did last Friday. Enjoy! 

Have a great night! 

Turkey Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! Today was a busy day to wrap up the week in first grade. 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian talked to us about the importance of not losing God's grace. He reminded us to always be faithful to God. 

In Language Arts, we reviewed the digraphs sh and th by sorting pictures based on sounds. We also practiced sorting common nouns and proper nouns. Finally, we did some Thanksgiving writing. Today we imagined we had a pet turkey and wrote about what we like to do with our pet turkey. We added a directive turkey drawing to our writing. 

In Math class, we reviewed flat and solid shapes by playing memory; the students worked in groups to match pictures of shapes with their names. 

In Science, we began a new series today. Today's lesson focused on how animals communicate. We learned that sounds are made when something vibrates. We talked about all the different sounds animals make to communicate. 

We ended our day with Art. Today we did one of my favorite Art projects. We made a giant turkey. Once everything dries, I will post pictures. 

Have a great weekend! 

Fun With Solid Shapes

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather. It's hard to believe that the holiday season is upon us with the warm weather we are having. 

In Religion today, we talked about the consequences that occurred when Adam and Eve sinned. We talked about how they had to leave the Garden of Eden, work for everything, lost God's grace, would die, and could not be near wild animals. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. Today we reviewed the oral vocabulary words we learned yesterday and then learned three new words (connection, rely, and enjoy). Then we worked on rereading for details as we read about a biblioburro in Columbia. After that, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the digraphs sh, th, and ng. Next, we learned how to break a word into syllables, read each syllable, and put the syllables together to read a word. Following that we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended the morning focusing on our comprehension skills; this week we are focusing on characters, setting, and plot. We reread Thump Thump Helps Out and wrote about the characters, setting, and plot. We did the same as we read our decodable reader. 

In Math class today, we explored solid shapes. We looked to see whether we could stack, roll, or slide each shape. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we wrapped up our unit on communities by reviewing what we learned. 

Have a great night! 

A Wonderful Day!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a great week. 

In Religion class today we talked about boundaries including personal boundaries and what to do if someone crosses our boundaries. We said that we need to yell stop, no, run away, and tell a trusted adult. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about people who work to make our communities better. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (leadership and admire). We then worked on rereading as we read The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. From there, we learned how to blend and read words with the digraphs sh, th, and ng. After that we learned our new sight words. Finally, we practiced our new skills as we read Thump Thump Helps Out. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned the difference between common and proper nouns. We then practiced identifying proper nouns. 

In Math class today, we learned the names of the solid shapes. The students did an excellent job recalling cubes, rectangular prisms, cylinders, cones, pyramids, and spheres. 

Have a great night! 

Honoring the Saints!

 Greetings! Today was such a beautiful day in first grade as we celebrated All Saints' Day. It was a day were we remember our baptismal call to be saints. 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian reminded us about our baptismal call to be saints. He had us all promise that one day we will be saints in heaven. 

After Mass, we went back to our classroom for some Math fun. Today we learned about dividing shapes into halves and fourths (or quarters). We had fun folding our circles, squares, and triangles. 

This afternoon was quite special in first grade as we participated in the All Saints' Day prayer service. The students could not wait to dress as their saint. They sat so reverently around the altar as our 8th grade friends read short biographies about the saints. This prayer service just reminds us even more about our call to be saints through our prayers and actions. Thank you to everyone who attended today. 

Have a great night!