The End of November!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is having a great week. I don't know about you, but this week is flying by. 

In Religion class today, we made an Advent wreath for the students to use at home. We reviewed the colors of the candles and the order that they are lit. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read long a words, wrote contractions using the word not, and read our sight words. We also worked on our fluency. We partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a nonfiction piece about time and completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on main idea and key details. Finally, we practiced finding action verbs in sentences. 

In Math class today, we took our chapter test on the numbers to 20. Tomorrow we will begin learning addition strategies to solve problems to 20. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today, we reviewed the continent names and oceans. We also talked about landforms we see on each continent including river, plain, and mountain. 

Have a great night! 

Christmas Writing Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is finding a way to stay warm with this burst of wintry weather. I will say that the children are loving this weather. They were so excited to see the snow yesterday. I wish I could say the same. 

In Religion class today, we began our discussion on the season of Advent. Today, we talked about how Advent is a time for waiting and preparing for Jesus. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary, read long a words and contractions with the word not, and read our sight words. We also worked on our fluency and comprehension skills as we read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read On My Way to School, a fantasy story about a boy who exaggerates why he is late for school. After reading this story we sequenced the events in it. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced using verbs in sentences. We also wrote a descriptive sentence for a picture we drew. Finally, we did some fun Christmas writing. The children wrote about why they should be a reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh. We added this writing to a craft. 

In Math class, we reviewed the concepts we learned with the numbers to 20. We will be taking our chapter test tomorrow. 

Have a wonderful night! 

The Return of Jingles!

 Greetings! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving break. I enjoyed hearing what the children did over the holiday. I also enjoyed hearing stories about their elves. 

In Religion class today, we talked more about Moses. Today, we learned that God appeared to Moses in a burning bush. We also learned about how God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. 

We picked up where we left off last week in Language Arts class. We reviewed the oral vocabulary words we learned last week and then learned three new words (weekend, occasion, and calendar). After that, we worked on making predictions as we read a nonfiction piece about different ways to tell time. Following that, we used our letter tiles to spell and read long a words. Next, we learned how to write contractions with the word not. Then, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended the morning focusing on our comprehension skills; this week we are focusing on sequencing. We reread Nate the Snake is Late and sequenced the events in the story. We did the same as we read our decodable reader. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we reviewed action verbs. We practiced using action verbs in sentences. We also wrote action words to describe what a superhero does. 

In Math class today, we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. We worked at explaining our reasoning when comparing numbers. 

I'm sure the students told you that we had a special visitor today. Jingles, our classroom elf, has returned. The students loved seeing him. 

Have a great night! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Greetings! Today was a fun day in first grade celebrating Thanksgiving. 

We began by having our annual Charlie Brown Thanksgiving feast. We watched the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special and then partook in a feast consisting of toast, popcorn, jelly beans, and pretzels. As much as we liked this feast, we will enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving feast tomorrow. 

Then, we created a thankful turkey using an applesauce cup. We wrote about things we are thankful on each of its feathers. 

Before we knew it, it was time to go home. Wishing you all a blessed Thanksgiving. Enjoy time with family and friends. See you on Tuesday. Happy Thanksgiving! 

Balloons Over First Grade!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone made it home safely in the rain and fog. I told the students that today was a perfect snuggle on the couch with a good book kind of day. 

In Religion class today, we began our study on Moses. Today, we talked about how God had a special plan for Moses even when he was a baby. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed long a words by sorting and reading short a and long a words. We then learned our new sight words for the week. Finally, we read Nate the Snake is Late which helped us practice our phonics and sight words skills. 

The highlight of the morning was having Tony Martin from WJAC come and talk to us about the weather. We learned about clouds, radar, and how a forecast is made. The students even got to use shaving cream to make clouds. We really enjoyed his visit. 

In Math class today, we practiced solving number patterns. The students were great and continuing the number patterns by either adding 1 or 2 more or subtracting 1 or 2. 

We ended our day with some Thanksgiving fun. Today, we listened to Balloons Over Broadway, the true story of Tony Sarg who created the first balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. The students then designed their own balloons for a parade. They turned out great! 

Have a wonderful night! 

Magic E Words!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone's Thanksgiving week is off to a great start. 

In Religion class today we learned that prophets were holy men sent by God to prepare the people for Jesus' coming. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about time. We began by learning 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, words like bake and made. We say that the e is magic as it pinches the a to make the a say its name. 

Then, it was time for some Thanksgiving learning. Today, we learned about the Wampanoag tribe and their daily life. We also talked about how they helped the Pilgrims when they first landed in the New World. Finally, we learned about the first Thanksgiving feast. 

In Math class today, we learned how to find 1 more, 2 more, 1 less, and 2 less of a number. We used our linking cubes to help us before switching to mental math. 

We ended our day with a pep rally to recognize our fall sport athletes. 

Have a great night! 

Art Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a fantastic day to end their week. 

At Mass today, Fr. Roman talked to us about our goal of one day being with Jesus in heaven. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, played memory to practice reading words with digraphs and with the inflected ending -es, wrote sentences using our sight words, and took our weekly assessment. 

In Math class today, we reviewed comparing and ordering numbers. First, each student was given a stack of number cards. They were then put into groups. Each student turned over a card and together they had to put the correct comparison symbol between the numbers. Next, we reviewed ordering numbers. The students flipped over three numbers and then put them into order from least to greatest and greatest to least. 

In Science class, we talked about how sounds are made. We learned that sounds come from vibrations. We took string and made it vibrate and heard the different sounds we get depending on where we struck the string. 

We ended our day doing several Art projects. First, we made a Pilgrim and wrote about what we would do if we were a Pilgrim. 

Next, we made a Pilgrim Pete the Cat. 

Finally, we started an Indian or flint corn project which we will finish on Monday. The students really enjoyed all of the projects today. Have a wonderful weekend! 

Pilgrim Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is having a nice week. 

In Religion class today we wrapped up our chapter on the people waiting for the Savior. We reviewed the stories of Noah and Abraham. To help us remember the 3 promises of Abraham, we created a craft showing his 3 promises. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with digraphs and inflected endings, and practiced our sight words. To help build our fluency, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read a short piece about the directions and completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on the details about directions. Finally, we practiced writing irregular plurals. 

In Math class today, we practiced writing numbers from least to greatest and greatest to least. The students enjoyed writing the numbers on their whiteboards. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today, we continued our Thanksgiving unit and our focus on the Pilgrims. We learned about what the Pilgrims ate and wore, what their houses were like, and what work they did everyday. 

Have a great night! 

Alligator Math!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone was able to enjoy the sunshine today. 

In Religion class today, we talked about Abraham's faith. We read the story of Abraham and Isaac and learned that Abraham trusted God so much that he was willing to sacrifice his son. We then talked about how we can grow our faith in Jesus. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with digraphs and with the inflectional ending -es, and read our sight words. To build our fluency, we partner read a story from our decodable reader books; the students really enjoy using the Chrome books to read the stories. We also read a nonfiction piece about maps. After reading Fun With Maps we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on finding details in the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced using irregular plurals in sentences. 

In Math class, we learned how to compare numbers using the > and < symbols. We learned that these symbols can be thought of as alligator mouths with the alligator eating the bigger number. The students loved drawing the teeth while writing the symbols. 

We ended our day with some Thanksgiving fun. We continued our discussion on the Mayflower and wrote facts about the voyage. We then created a Mayflower craft. 

Have a wonderful night!  

Place Value Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a terrific day. We had a great start to our week in first grade. 

We began our day by going to Adoration and spending some quiet time with Jesus. 

In Language Arts, we continued with our week of learning. We reviewed the oral vocabulary words we learned last Thursday and then learned three new words (separate, model, and height). Then we worked on retelling as we read a nonfiction piece about different maps. Following that, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, and ph. Next, we learned about the inflectional ending -es; we learned that we use this ending to make a word plural when it ends in ch, tch, sh, z, x, or ss. After that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended the morning focusing on comprehension; this week we are talking about main topic and key details. We reread Which Way on the Map and wrote about its main idea and details from the story. We did the same as we read our decodable reader. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we reviewed irregular plurals. We also started our Thanksgiving unit. Today, we watched a short video about the voyage of the Mayflower. 

In Math class today, we learned about place value. We used our place value blocks to show various numbers to 20. 

Have a terrific night! 

Turkey Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope you had a great day. We had a great day to end our week here in first grade. 

In Religion class today we continued learning about Abraham. Today we learned that God promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; we will be reading about using maps this week. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (location and route). Then we worked on retelling as we read Me on the Map. After that we learned how to blend and read words with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, ph. Next, we learned our new sight words. We ended the morning working on our fluency as we read Which Way On the Map?. 

This afternoon we learned about irregular plurals. 

In Math class today we reviewed the numbers 11-20. We each got a number and created a turkey showing that number in various ways. Here they are: 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we learned the names of the continents and the oceans. 

And, here is a picture of our Art project from last Friday. 

Have a great weekend! See you on Tuesday! 

New Technology Home!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! Today was a very exciting day in first grade as we took home our new Chrome books tonight. We are very excited about that! 

In Religion class today we talked about how God asked Abraham to move to a new country. We learned that Abraham was very obedient to God and did what he asked him to do. 

We wrapped up our week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences and wrote sentences using our sight words. To review words with digraphs sh, th, and ng and closed syllable words, we played Stinky Feet where we had to read words to clean the foot. The students enjoyed that. Finally, we took our weekly assessment. 

In honor of Veteran's Day, we wrote about why veterans are heroes and added our writing to a craft. Here it is:

This afternoon in Language Arts we wrote a detailed sentence about a horse. 

In Math class today, we began our chapter on the numbers 11-20. We looked at the numbers as 10 and how many more. The students did a great job creating this chart showing the numbers and writing the number sentence for each number. 

Have a wonderful night! 

God Keeps His Promises!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is having a terrific day! 

In Religion class today, we reviewed the story of Noah. We created an ark complete with puppets to remind us that God keeps his promises. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words. We also practiced reading words with the digraphs sh, th, and ng and words with closed syllables. To practice our sight words, we played "Don't Draw the Turkey". The students correctly spelled all 5 sight words before the turkey was drawn. To help build our fluency, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets using our new Chrome books. The students just loved using the tablets. To help build our comprehension skills, we read a short nonfiction piece about kids helping in the community and completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on key details. Finally, we practiced writing proper nouns with capital letters. 

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

Have a great night! 

New Technology!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. I enjoyed hearing about the basketball games. I'm so excited that the students are having fun. 

In Religion class today, we read the story of Noah and the Ark. We talked about how God saved Noah because Noah was obedient to God. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words and practiced reading words with the digraphs sh, th, and ng, closed syllable words, and our sight words. Today, when we partner read a story from our decodable readers, we used our new Chromebooks. The students did a great job following directions and reading the story. They are very excited about the new technology. After partner reading our decodable reader story, we read Nell's Books, and following that, we wrote about the characters, setting, and events in the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced sorting words into common and proper nouns. We also practiced writing proper nouns with capital letters. 

In Math class today, we reviewed all that we have learned about shapes. We will take our chapter test tomorrow. 

Have a marvelous night! 

Turkey Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! Today was another fun and fantastic day in first grade!

At Mass this morning we welcomed Fr. Reese. He talked to us about keeping holy the Sabbath day. 

In Language Arts, we talked about common and proper nouns. We identified proper nouns in sentences. We also sorted nouns based on whether they were common or proper. In addition to that, we practiced reading and writing words with the digraphs sh and th. We did a write the room activity where the students found words displayed around the room, wrote them on a recording sheet, and then practiced reading them. 

In Math class today we worked in centers. We spent time practicing identifying shapes in everyday objects. We looked at both flat shapes and solid shapes. 

In Science class, we learned about sound. We learned about how different sound effects are made for cartoons and practiced making different sound effects. Needless to say, the students loved it! 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, we made a giant turkey. I always look forward to this project. I'll post pictures next week once they have dried. 

Have a great weekend! 

Pattern Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone's November is off to a good start. 

In Religion class today we wrapped up our chapter on Adam and Eve. We reviewed what happened when they sinned and talked about God's promise to them. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We reviewed the oral vocabulary words we learned yesterday and then learned three new words (collapsed, rely, and enjoy). We then worked on retelling as we heard a nonfiction piece about a man in Colombia and his library. Next, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the digraphs sh, th, and ng. Following that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended class by focusing on our comprehension skills; this week we are looking at character, setting, and events. We reread Thump Thump Helps Out and identified the characters, setting, and events in the story. We did the same thing as we read our decodable reader. 

In Math class we continued to look at patterns. We used our pattern blocks to build patterns using two or three different shapes. We then practiced drawing various patterns. 

In Social Studies class today we learned that continents are big pieces of land. We also talked about how their are 7 continents. We will start learning the names next week. 

Have a great night! 

When the Saints Go Marching In!

 Greetings! Happy November! Who was shocked to see snow today? The kids were thrilled by it! 

Today we headed to church to celebrate All Saint's Day. At Mass, Fr. Brian showed us relics from saints and talked to us about our call to be saints. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about how to help out in our community. We learned two new oral vocabulary words (leadership and admire). We then worked on retelling as we read a story about Martin Luther King Jr. Following that, we learned how to blend and read words with the digraphs sh, th, and ng. Next, we practiced our new sight words. Finally, we read Thump Thump Helps Out which helped us practice our new decoding skills. 

In Math class, we worked with patterns today. We used our pattern blocks to make a pattern. We also drew patterns. 

This afternoon, we had our annual All Saints' Day prayer service. The students were so excited to dress up as their patron saint. They were so reverent in church. I hope everyone enjoyed the prayer service. 

Have a great night!