Student Appreciation Day!

 Greetings! Happy Student Appreciation Day! We had an awesome day in first grade. As one student said to me at the end of the day, "Miss Chalich, you made me tired today."

In Religion class, we talked about how Jesus welcomed and blessed the children. We also talked about how he wants to hear from us today. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed prefixes. We practiced reading words and defining them. We also practiced using our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. To help build our comprehension skills, we reread A Team of Fish and wrote about its main idea and the key details in the story. Finally, we practiced using the verbs has and have in sentences. 

Then, it was time for some Student Appreciation fun. We read a book about groundhogs and wrote facts we learned about groundhogs. We added our writing to a craft. They turned out cute: 

In Math class today, we began to learn how to add two two-digit numbers without regrouping. We began by adding using our base ten blocks. We then transitioned to solving problems on our whiteboards. The students are doing very well with this concept. 

We ended our day preparing for our 100th day of school celebration on Friday. We made a necklace consisting of 100 beads. We also made a crown that we will wear. We are getting excited! 

Have a great night! 

Happy Feet!

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

We began our day by attending Adoration. It has been awhile since we went to Adoration. It was nice to spend some quiet time with Jesus to begin our day. 

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 e words. After that, we learned about the prefixes re, un, and pre; we learned how to read words with prefixes and define them. Finally, we read our decodable reader and talked about its main idea and details in the story. 

In Math class today, we took our test on the calendar and time. Tomorrow we will begin our chapter on adding and subtracting with and without regrouping. 

This afternoon, in honor of Teacher Appreciation Day, the students were treated to a movie. We watched Happy Feet. It made us want to get up and dance! 

Have a great night! 

Happy Catholic Schools Week!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! Welcome to Catholic School's Week 2024! We are so excited about celebrating Catholic Schools especially Holy Name School. Today, we participated in a Vocations prayer service where we said thank you to Fr. Brian and Deacon Condor for answering God's call to service. We prayed that we may always be open to God's call in our lives. 

In Religion class today, we talked about why we call Jesus 'rabbi'. We learned that Jesus went from town to town teaching the people about God and his love for us. Because of this, Jesus is called rabbi. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading about how animals help each other. We began by learning five new oral vocabulary words (behavior, beneficial, dominant, endangered, and instinct). We then worked on retelling as we read about how animals work together. After that, we learned how to blend long e words spelled e, ee, ea, or ie, words like she, feed, team, and shield. Following that we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. We ended the morning by reading A Team of Fish, a nonfiction piece about how fish work together. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned how to use the verbs has and have in sentences. We also wrote a how-to paragraph on how to brush our teeth. 

In Math class, we reviewed the concepts we learned related to calendar and time. We will take our chapter test tomorrow. 

Have a great night! 

March of the Penguins!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a nice day to end the week. It was so nice to have an uninterrupted week. 

At Mass, this morning we welcomed Fr. Rusyn from St. Mary's Byzantine Church in Windber. We also celebrated the feast of Sts. Timothy and Titus and talked about our call to help the church grow. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, wrote sentences using our sight words, and took our weekly assessment. To wrap up our penguin week celebration, we wrote about what we would do if we were a penguin. 

In Math class today, we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems involving the calendar and time. 

In Science class, we talked about how our shadows change during the day. We learned that they are longer in the morning and evening and shorter during the day. We also learned that the sun's position changes during the day which causes our shadows to change. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, we made a penguin using a plastic bottle. The students did a great job at following directions to make them. They are drying and will come home on Monday. You are welcome to come see them Sunday during our Open House. 

Have a great weekend! 

Warming Up Like Penguins!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I don't know about you, but it has been a fast week. 

In Religion class today, we wrapped up our chapter on Jesus as a young boy. We reviewed how he lived in Nazareth with Mary and Joseph and how he obeyed his parents. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read long a words, put words into ABC order, and reviewed our vocabulary words. We ended the morning by practicing using the verbs was and were in sentences. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we worked on our fluency and comprehension skills. We read a nonfiction piece about bats. After reading the story, we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on main idea and key details. 

In Math class today, we reviewed telling time to the half hour. The students played memory matching the digital time to the time on a clock. 

In Social Studies today, we identified the continent, country, and state where we live. We created a flipbook to help us remember. 

We ended our day with penguin learning. Today, we talked about how penguins get warm and how they cool off. We simulated forming a circle and then moving to the outside once we were warm. 

Have a great night! 

Building Comprehension Skills!

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

In Religion class today, we read the story of Jesus teaching in the Temple. We also talked about how Jesus obeyed his parents. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read long a words and our sight words, put words into ABC order, and practiced using our vocabulary words in sentences. To help build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read How Bat Got Its Wings. After reading the story, we sequenced the events in the story and completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on identifying the problem and solution and comparing and contrasting. 

This afternoon in Language Arts class, we practiced using was and were in sentences and reviewed writing contractions. 

In Math class today, we practiced telling time to the half hour. Using our clocks, we showed various times and practiced writing times to the half hour. 

We ended our day with penguin fun. Today, we looked at the life cycle of a penguin. We made an adorable penguin to help us remember how a penguin grows. 

Have a wonderful night! 

Fun With Time!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a terrific day! We are enjoying the normalcy this week is bringing us. 

In Religion class today, we talked about things Jesus probably did as a child with Mary and Joseph. We talked about how he would have played with neighbors, helped his parents, and learned about God. 

We continued our week of learning in Language Arts. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words by answering questions using the words. We used our letter tiles to spell and read long a words. After that, we learned how to put words into ABC order when they all begin with the same letter; we learned that we need to focus on the second letter. Following that, we practiced using both our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. We ended the morning focusing on our comprehension skills; this week we are focusing on sequencing. We reread A Tale of a Tail and sequenced the events in that story. We then read our decodable reader and sequenced events from it. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced using was and were in sentences. We also wrote the steps in how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

In Math class today, we reviewed telling time to the hour by completing a write the room activity. The students found clocks around the room and wrote the time shown on them. 

We ended our day with Penguin Week fun. Today, we learned about the different species of penguins and where they live. Our favorite ones are the blue fairy penguins and macaroni penguins. 

Have a great night! 

Penguin Week!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. It sure will be nice to have a normal week. 

In Religion class today, we talked about St. Joseph. We talked about how we was the protector of Mary and Jesus, how he worked as a carpenter, and how he was the foster father of Jesus. 

In Language Arts, we wrapped up last week's week of learning by taking our weekly assessment. We then began a new week of learning; this week we will be reading folktales about animal features. We began our new week of learning by learning five new oral vocabulary words (feature, appearance, determined, predicament, and relief). We then worked on retelling as we read a folktale about how elephants got their trunks. Following that, we learned how to blend and read long a words spelled with ai, ay, or a, words like train, way, and bacon. After that, we learned our new sight words. Beginning this week, we will be adding two vocabulary words to our weekly learning. These are words that we will be studying their meaning and reading in our stories. This week we are practicing the words special and splendid. We ended the morning reading A Tale of a Tail. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced using the verbs was and were in sentences. We also wrote the steps in building a snowman. 

In Math class, we learned how to tell time to the hour. The students used clocks to show various times. The clocks were a hit. 

This week will be Penguin Week in first grade. Each day, we will learn something about penguins. Today, we learned why penguins are birds and labeled the parts of the penguin. 

Have a great night! 

A Full Day!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! It sure has been one crazy week! We finally had a full day of school! 

In Religion class today, we talked about Jesus being presented in the Temple to Simeon and Anna. We also talked about the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read oo words, and spelled and read words with inflectional endings when the final letter is doubled. To help build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read a nonfiction piece about the different food groups. When finished, we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on finding the main idea and key details. We ended class by writing contractions with not. 

In Math class today we began our chapter on the calendar and time. Today we focused on the calendar. We found this easy as we know the months, days, and seasons. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we learned the difference between urban areas (big cities), suburban areas (towns), and rural areas (farms). 

See everyone tomorrow morning! Stay safe! 

It's A Cold One!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is struggling under a warm blanket reading this tonight. Just keep thinking that we are one day closer to spring. 

It was another late start for us today. We jumped right into Language Arts. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with oo, spelled and read words with inflectional endings where the final letter is doubled, and practiced reading our sight words. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we read From Cows to You. After reading the story, we wrote the steps in how milk goes from cows to the store. We also read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We ended our class by writing contractions with not. 

In Math class today, we took our chapter test on the numbers to 40. Tomorrow we will begin our chapter on the calendar and telling time. 

Stay warm! 

Sequencing Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is doing well. 

After a delayed start, we were off and running in first grade. We actually began our day with Math. Today we reviewed the concepts we learned with the numbers 0-40. Tomorrow we will take our chapter test. 

This afternoon was devoted to Language Arts learning. We began by reviewing the oral vocabulary words we learned last week and then learned three new words (enormous, responsibility, and delighted). After that we worked on our retelling skills as we read a folktale about a hen working hard. Following that, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with oo. Next, we learned how to spell and read words with inflectional endings when the final letter is doubled. 

After Spanish class, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We then reread A Look at Breakfast and talked about the steps needed to make bread, grape jam, and orange juice. We wrote the steps in making orange juice. Finally, we read our decodable reader. After that, we sequenced the events in the story. 

Have a great night. Stay warm! 

Snowman Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! Today was a wonderful day to end the week! 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian talked to us about the importance of seeking God's forgiveness. 

In Language Arts, we reviewed how to write the contractions with not. We then read Sneezy the Snowman and wrote about what our snowman melted. We added our writing to a craft. Finally, we finished our Martin Luther King projects from yesterday. 

In Math class, we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. I love how the students worked through the problems and kept trying until we reached an answer. 

In Science class, we talked about shadows. We learned that when light moves, a shadow can grow bigger or smaller. Using flashlights, we practiced making shadows using paper gnomes and outlines. 

We ended our week with Art class. Today, we made a snowman catching snowflakes. They look adorable. 

Have a wonderful weekend. See you on Tuesday! 

Celebrating Dr. King!

 Greetings! Today was a normal day in first grade. It sure has been an up and down week. 

In Religion class today, we wrapped up our chapter on the Wise Men visiting baby Jesus. We reviewed the Christmas story and the idea that we can bring gifts to Jesus. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading about food. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (delicious and nutritious). We then worked on retelling as we read about how we can our food. After that, we learned how to blend and read words with the vowel variant oo, words like book, hood, and put. Following that, we learned our new sight words. Finally, we read A Look at Breakfast which helped us practiced reading vowel variant oo words along with our sight words. 

In Math class today, we reviewed finding more or less than a number, comparing numbers, ordering numbers, and finishing number patterns. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today, we looked at the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We talked about how he worked to change unfair laws. We then talked about our dreams for the world. We are in the process of finishing a project. I'll post pictures tomorrow. 

Here are pictures from our Math comparison activity yesterday along with Friday's snowflake Art. Enjoy! 

Have a great night! 

Zoom Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone had a safe day yesterday. Thank you for all that you did to make our flexible learning day a success. The children really enjoyed Zooming yesterday. 

Even though it was a shortened day, we still packed our day with learning. 

This morning in Language Arts, we used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, practiced reading long vowel words and CVCe syllable words, and wrote sentences using our sight words. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we took our weekly assessment and practiced using the verbs is and are in sentences. We also worked on our fluency and comprehension skills as we read a short nonfiction piece about how travel has changed. We completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on sequencing. 

In Math class today, we practiced completing number patterns. Using our number chart to 40, we were able to find the missing numbers in the patterns. 

We ended our day by completing a Math activity. The students picked two numbers from 0-40. They then used pictures of tens and ones to show the numbers. Finally, they compared the numbers by using the correct comparison symbol. I'll post pictures tomorrow. 

Have a great night! 

Learning About the Past!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. The children enjoyed the snow! 

In Religion class today, we talked about different gifts we can bring to baby Jesus. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words and practiced reading long vowel words, CVCe syllable words, and our sight words. To build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read Long Ago and Now. After reading this story, we compared and contrasted life today to life long ago. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced using is and are in sentences. We also wrote the steps in how to make hot chocolate. 

In Math class today, we practiced finding 2 more, 3 more, 2 less, and 3 less from a number. When needed, we used a number chart to help us. 

See you all on Zoom tomorrow! 

Staying Warm with Learning!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! We have officially completed our first week of 2024. So far, the year is off to a great start in first grade! 

At Mass this morning, we celebrated the feast day of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. Fr. Brian reminded us to always use the Lord's name respectfully and with honor. 

In Language Arts class, we worked in our literacy groups to help build our fluency and comprehension skills. We then worked in groups to roll and read long vowel words. We ended our morning with a writing project. We wrote about what we like to do on a cold winter day, a perfect writing prompt considering the weather outside. We then added a cup of hot chocolate to our writing. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced using is and are in sentences. 

In Math class today, we compared groups of objects. We looked at which group had more or fewer and then found how many more or how many fewer were in each group. 

In Science class today, we looked at how light and sound are used to send messages. We then played two games. The first game was red light/green light. When the students heard green light, they ran in place. When they heard red light, the stopped. Next, we used our listening skills to identify sounds being made. 

We had a special Social Studies class today. We continued with our discussion of seasons and weather today. We used paint to show how trees look in the various seasons and talked about what changes between each one. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today's class also involved painting. The students were given a large piece of white construction paper with a snowflake design made out of painter's tape. Their job was to paint the entire paper. Once everything dries, I will remove the painter's tape showing the beautiful snowflake. The students really enjoyed painting today. 

And here is a picture from our New Year's writing we did on Wednesday. 

Have a great weekend. Enjoy the snow! 

Change of Seasons!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone's new year is off to a great start. 

In Religion class today we talked about how we can visit Jesus just like the Three Kings did so long ago. When we go to church, especially Adoration, and when we take time to pray, we are spending time with Jesus. 

In Language Arts class, we continued with our week of learning. We reviewed the oral vocabulary words we learned yesterday and learned three new words (entertainment, future, and present). We then worked on retelling as we read a story about pioneers. After that, we used our letter tiles to spell and read long o, u, and e words. Following that, we learned how to blend and read CVCe syllable words, words like awoke, cupcake, and compete. We ended our morning by practicing using our sight words in sentences. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we reread Life at Home and then compared and contrasted life today to life long ago. After that, we read our decodable reader and compared and contrasted things boys and girls did long ago to what they do today. 

In Math class today, we focused on place value. Using our place value blocks, we showed various numbers to 40, identified the number of 10s and 1s and wrote number sentences for the number. The students did an excellent job today! 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today, we focused on the seasons. We looked at each one and drew things that we do in spring, summer, fall, and winter. 

Have a wonderful night! 

Happy New Year!

 Greetings! Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday. I loved hearing about what the children did over the break. Everyone had fun, relaxed, and returned ready to continue our first grade learning. 

In Religion class today, we continued looking at the Christmas story. Today, we talked about the Three Wise Men who visited Jesus and brought him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are learning about life long ago. We began by learning two new oral vocabulary words (century and past). We then worked on retelling as we read The Last Train. After that, we learned how to blend and read long o, u, and e words. Following that we learned our new sight words. Finally, we put our new skills to work as we read Life At Home which helped us practice our new fluency skills. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned how and when to use the verbs is and are in sentences. We also talked about our goals for 2024. The students wrote about something they will do in the new year. We added our writing to a craft. 

In Math class, we began a new chapter; we will be focusing on the numbers to 40. Today, we practiced counting groups of objects first by counting by 10s and then 1s. 

Have a great night!