A Wacky, Wonderful Wednesday!

 Greetings! Today was sure a wacky Wednesday. But it was still a wonderful day of learning. I hope everyone is safe. 

Our day began with no lights, but the lights were quickly restored. I think the students were bummed about that. They were looking forward to learning by sunlight. We completed our Math Meeting, Spelling, and Penmanship lessons using the sunlight. 

After an early lunch and extended recess, it was time to get to work. We began with Math class. We reviewed how to interpret data from picture graphs and tally charts. We are ready for our Math test tomorrow. 

We spent the rest of the day in Language Arts. We began by reviewing our oral vocabulary words. Next, we practiced reading words with silent letters and compound words. Then, we reviewed our vocabulary words, similes, and our sight words. After that, it was time to build our fluency and comprehension. We read Rain School, a realistic fiction story about a school in Africa. Then we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on cause and effect. Finally, we practiced using special pronouns in sentences. 

Even though our day started late and a bit unusual, it turned out to be a great learning day! Have a great night! 

Sun and Storms!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone enjoyed the sunshine today before the storms came. 

In Religion class today, we talked about how our grace was restored when Jesus rose to new life. We also talked about how we need to take care of this gift by praying and going to Mass. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We answered questions using our oral vocabulary words. We then used our letter tiles to spell and read words with silent letters. After that, we reviewed how to blend and read compound words. Following that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. Next, we learned our vocabulary words for the week: country and gathers; we practiced writing sentences using those words. We ended our morning focusing on comprehension. We reread Wrapped in Ice. Then, we talked about what certain dialogues mean and found cause and effect examples in the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced using special pronouns in sentences. We also talked about similes and wrote a rainbow of similes. Finally, the students wrote their very own persuasive paragraph! 

In Math class today, we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems with graphs. 

Have a wonderful night! 

Book Fair Day!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend! 

In Religion class today, we talked about how we celebrate Easter every time we celebrate Mass. We also looked at the four parts of the Mass. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading about how the weather affects us. We began by learning our new oral vocabulary words (cycle, predict, creative, frigid, and scorching). We then worked on visualizing as we read a story about Paul Bunyan. After that, we learned how to blend and read words with the silent letters kn, wr, and gn. We ended our morning by learning our new sight words (been, children, month, question, their, and year). 

After learning our sight words, we headed to the Book Fair. The children had lots of fun shopping for books! 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we read Wrapped in Ice which helped us practice reading words with silent letters and our sight words in sentences. We also talked about special pronouns, words like anything and everybody. Finally, we wrote a persuasive paragraph on why we love the zoo. 

In Math class today, we continued our look at tally graphs. We began by reviewing how to make tally marks. We then looked at a spread of data and organized it in a tally chart. Next, we took that data to make a picture graph. Finally, we answered questions using the graph. 

Have a wonderful night! 

Monet and Lily Pads!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a nice day to end the last full week of April. 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian led us in praying for Pope Francis. May he rest in the gentle arms of the Lord. 

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 help us practice reading words with au and aw, we played memory. The students matched a word to its picture. 

In Math class, we talked about tally charts. First, we learned how to make tally marks. Then, we looked at data and organized it by making tally marks. Using those tally marks, we made a picture graph and answered questions based on the graph. We will continue to work with tally charts on Monday. 

In Science class today, we talked about why we can only see stars at night. We made a star finder using a Dixie cup and a push pin. We then used our flashlights to shine light through the star finder to show the Big Dipper. Working with partner, that person shone light like the sun which blocked out the Big Dipper. This showed us that the sun makes it hard for us to see stars in the day sky. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, we learned about Monet and how he liked to paint things in nature. We then recreated one of his lily pads using paper plates. They turned out awesome! 

And here is a picture from yesterday's Easter resurrection scene. 

Have a great weekend! 

Oh! The Sunshine!

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

In Religion class today, we continued our learning of the Easter story. We reviewed the events of the morning of that first Easter and created an Easter morning scene to remind us that Jesus is risen! 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with the vowels au and aw and vowel team syllable words. We also worked on building our fluency and comprehension skills. We partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a poem and completed pages in our Reading/Writing workbook that focused on the details in the poem. Finally, we practiced using possessive pronouns in sentences. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we finished our persuasive paragraph on why we love the beach. We also played memory. We matched antonyms together. 

In Math class today, we looked at various picture graphs and answered questions about them. 

And in Social Studies class, we talked about how people work to earn money. 

Have a great night! 

Earth Day!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone enjoyed the sunshine today. 

In Religion class, we began to take a close look at the Easter story. We reviewed the events of Holy Week and talked about what happened on that first Easter Sunday. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words and practiced reading words with the vowel variant au and aw and vowel team syllable words. We also practiced reading our vocabulary words and our sight words. To help build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a nonfiction story in our literature anthologies called Meet Rosina. After reading the story we talked about the author's purpose and completed pages in our Reading/Writing anthology that focused on main idea and key details. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced using possessive pronouns in sentences. We also began writing a persuasive paragraph. 

In Math class today, we continued to look at picture graphs. Our other first grade friends joined us for class today. Working together, pairs of students created a picture graph showing the results of selecting a linking cube. They really did a nice job of working together. 

Here is a picture of our finished Earth Day project from yesterday. 

Have a great night! 

Happy Easter!

 Greetings! Happy Easter! I hope everyone had a great Easter holiday. I can tell the children enjoyed the nice weather. Many came back looking like they spent time in the sun! 

We began our day by attending Eucharistic Adoration. We spent some quiet time praying to Jesus. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We answered questions using our oral vocabulary words. Next, we used our letter tiles to spell words with au, augh, aw, a, and al. Then, we learned how to blend and read vowel team syllable words, words like drawing and rainbow. After that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. Following that, we learned our new vocabulary words: accept and often and wrote sentences using those words. We ended our morning focusing on comprehension. We reread All Kinds of Helpers. Then we wrote what certain describing words were describing and what the author's purpose for writing the story was. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced using possessive pronouns in sentences. We also talked about Earth Day. We talked and wrote about ways to help the Earth. 

In Math class, we began our chapter on graphs. Today, we focused on picture graphs. We looked at a picture graph and answered questions about it. Then, we created a picture graph showing our favorite fruits. 

Have a great night! 

A Surprise Visitor!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! Well, did we walk into a surprise today! The Easter Bunny visited our classroom last night and left baskets for the children. It did not take them long to start to explore those baskets. Their joy and excitement was contagious!

 Once we got settled down from our big surprise, we started with our day of learning. In Religion class, we reviewed the events of Holy Week and created a picture cross to help us remember them. 

Next, we created an Easter chick popping out of a basket. We then wrote about what Easter is. Aren't they cute? 

After that, we had some fun in Math as we used jelly beans for various activities. We began by reviewing the colors of the jelly beans and how those colors can help remind us of the Easter story. We then used jelly beans to create a graph. Finally, we used the jelly beans to measure various objects. 

After lunch, we watched It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown. The children really enjoyed it! 

Here are pictures from our Easter egg writing project and our Good Friday pictures. 

May you and your family have a blessed Easter. See you all on Tuesday! 

An Egg-cellent Day!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! Today was an egg-cellent day in first grade! 

We began our day by talking about the events of Good Friday. We talked about how Jesus loves us so much that he died on the cross for us. We created a cross scene to help us remember this. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed the vowel sounds for a, aw, au, augh, and al. We practiced reading words with these vowels. We also partner read All Kinds of Helpers. After that, we learned the possessive pronouns (my, his, her, its, their, our) and practiced using them in sentences. Finally, we wrote a persuasive paragraph on why we love Easter. 

In Math class today, we took our chapter test on adding and subtracting to 100. The students did very well with this. They are ready to tackle second grade math. 

This afternoon we did Easter activities centered around Easter eggs. We did our "What's in My Egg" activity. The students did an excellent job at writing their clues. We then participated in Easter egg centers. The students unscrambled sight words, identified the number of syllables in words, built compound words, and solved math problems. Finally, the students wrote about where they would hide Easter eggs. Fun was had by all! 

Have a great night! 

Peep-Tastic Day!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! Today was a Peep-Tastic Day in first grade! 

In Religion class today, we talked about the Last Supper. Today we focused on the meal shared between Jesus and the Apostles. We reviewed how Jesus blessed and shared bread and wine and how that bread and wine became Jesus' Body and Blood. We created a poster to help us remember this. 

Then, because the students did so well on their STAR assessments, they were rewarded with a Peep Day. They began by selecting a peep to adopt. They named their peep, weighed their peep, and created a nest for it. The students then worked in peep-themed centers. They used base ten blocks to show various numbers, identified whether a word had a short or long vowel sound, and matched synonyms. Finally, pairs where given a basket of peeps. They tallied each color, made a graph, and answered questions about their graph. I just loved seeing their smiles today! 

In Math class today, we practiced adding and subtracting. We are ready for our chapter test tomorrow. 

This afternoon we prayed the Stations of the Cross. The students were excited to bring home their Station booklets today. 

And, after Stations, the students were treated to a peep. That was the highlight of the day! 

Here are some pictures from the day! 

Have a great night! 

Holy Week!

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

In Religion class today, we continued our study of Holy Week. Today, we reviewed the events of Palm Sunday and looked at the Last Supper. Today, we focused on Jesus washing the Apostles' feet. We talked about how Jesus calls us to serve others just like he did. To help us remember that, we created a simple plate model. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week will stretch into next week. For the next two weeks, we will be reading about helpers and how they help us. We began by learning our new oral vocabulary words (inspire, respect, decision, distance, swiftly). We then worked on retelling as we read a folktale about how the moon ended up in the sky. Following that, we learned how to read words with the vowel variant a, aw, au, augh, and al, words like ball, saw, haul, caught, and walk. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned our new sight words (brother, father, friend, love, mother, picture). We also read All Kinds of Helpers which helped us practice our skills. 

In Math class today, we reviewed how to subtract with regrouping. We do very well paying attention to the ones and knowing when and when not to regroup. 

We finished our Art project from Friday. We turned our doily into pretty eggs. Have a look. 

Have a great night! 

An Unusual Friday!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! Today was a bit of an unusual day in first grade. All of first grade was together for a day of learning. And it was a great day! 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian talked to us about praying to the saints especially those who died a martyr's death. 

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 review words with the vowel variant spelled oo, u u_e, ue, ui, ew, and ou and words with suffixes, we played Stinky Feet. We had lots of fun cleaning off the feet while reading these words. 

In Math class today, we practiced subtracting with regrouping. We had to remember to look carefully at the ones to see if we needed to regroup or not. 

For Science class today, we read a Scholastic News magazine about lily pads. We all agreed we would love to sit on a giant lily pad! 

We ended our day with Art. Yesterday, we read Renchaka's Eggs which told the story of a lady who painted beautiful Easter eggs. Today, we started to create our very own Easter egg. We used watercolors to paint a doily. On Monday, we will cut out our egg and mount it to paper. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Baking in First!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is having a good week and is staying warm and dry. 

In Religion class today, we began our study of Holy Week. Today we looked at the events of Palm Sunday. We talked about how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and how the people greeted him by waving palm branches and shouting 'hosanna'. We then made our own palm branch as a reminder of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words. We also read words with vowel variants and words with the suffixes -ful and -less. To help build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read a nonfiction piece about volunteers. After reading that story we completed pages in our Reading/Writing companion that focused on main idea and key details. In addition, we practiced identifying pronouns. 

Also, in Language Arts class today, we learned about synonyms. We create 'synonym' rolls. On each roll is a synonym for the word big. 

For our Living Stations today, we watched The Proud Tree, a short video about a boastful tree who becomes the cross Jesus dies on. After watching the video, we talked about how the tree had a change of heart and realized how much Jesus loves us to die on a cross for us. 

In Math class today, we practiced subtracting without regrouping. We were flying through the problems! 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today we talked about buying, saving, and trading.  

Have a great night! 

Pronoun Flowers!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I don't know about you, but this week is flying by! 

In Religion class today, we wrapped up our chapter on Jesus giving us the Eucharist. We reviewed the Last Supper and how when Jesus prayed the bread and wine turned into his Body and Blood. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary. We also practiced reading words with vowel variants, words with suffixes, and our sight words. To help us build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type, which became a fan favorite today. After reading that story, we completed pages in our Reading/Writing Companion that focused on characterization. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we wrote a persuasive paragraph on why we love gym. We also practiced using pronouns in sentences. In addition, we created a Pronoun Flower which helped us identify the pronouns and nouns they could replace. 

In Math class today, we switched gears and reviewed subtracting without regrouping. Again, the students had no problems with subtracting the larger numbers. I am so pleased that they remembered how to subtract. 

Have a great night! 

Spring Writing Pictures!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is surviving this latest round of cold weather. Spring will return! 

In Religion class today, we talked about how the Blessed Sacrament is kept in the tabernacle at church. We also talked about how we can visit Jesus in the tabernacle anytime we want. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We began by answering questions using our oral vocabulary words. Next, we used our letter tiles to spell at read words with oo, u, u_e, ew, ui, ue, and ou. Then, we learned how to blend, read, and define words with the suffixes -ful and -less. Following that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. After that, we learned our two vocabulary words (demand and emergency) and wrote sentences using those words. We ended our morning focused on comprehension. We reread Super Tools and wrote about the problems and solutions in the story. We also wrote about the story's theme. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced using pronouns in sentences. 

In Math class today, we again reviewed adding and subtracting with regrouping. We again did an awesome job solving the problems! 

We ended our day with a visit from the St. Francis ROCK program. Today, we learned about static electricity. We really enjoyed rubbing the balloons on our head to create the electricity. 

Here are some pictures from our recent spring writing projects. Enjoy! 

The First Full Week in April!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! We are off to a great start for another week of learning in first grade. 

In Religion class today, we talked about the greatest gift Jesus gave us - the Eucharist. We talked about how when we receive the Eucharist we receive all of Jesus along with God's grace. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading about helping others. We began by learning our oral vocabulary words (conflict, argument, shift, risk, and fair). We then worked on rereading as we read a fable about mice tricking a cat. Following that we learned how to read vowel variant words with oo (spoon), u (truth), u_e (rule), ew (chew), ue (glue), ui (fruit), and ou (you). After that we learned our new sight words (answer, brought, busy, door, enough, eyes). Next, it was time to put our new skills to work as we read Super Tools. We ended the morning by learning about pronouns. 

In Math class today, we reviewed how to add with regrouping. The students were very eager to solve the problems and did a great job with them. 

We ended the day by praying the Stations of the Cross. 

Have a great night! 

We Remember!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone had a nice day today. 

In Religion class today, we talked about how we remember what Jesus said and did at the Last Supper everytime we celebrate Mass. We talked about how when Fr. Brian prays over the bread and wine that they become Jesus' Body and Blood. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words, read words with the diphthongs oi and oy, read final stable syllable words, and read our sight words. We also spent time working on our fluency and comprehension skills. We partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a short nonfiction piece about small houses. After reading that story we completed pages in our Reading/Writing Companion that focused on main idea. Finally, we practiced using prepositions in sentences. 

In Math class today, we began our chapter on adding and subtracting within 100. We practiced adding without regrouping today. The students were so excited to show that they remembered how to solve these problems. I was glad to see that they remembered. 

We ended our day with Science class. Today we learned about the different phases of the moon. We created a book to show the different phases. 

Here are pictures from the spring wreaths we made last week. Aren't they pretty? 

Have a great night! 

Building Bridges!

 Greetings! I hope everyone is having a great week! We sure are in first grade! 

In Religion class today, we talked about the Last Supper. We learned that Jesus and his Apostles shared a meal of bread and wine on the night before he died. We learned that when Jesus blessed the bread and wine it became his Body and Blood. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading words with the diphthongs oi and oy, final stable syllable words, and our sight words. To help build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read Building Bridges. The students loved learning about bridges and enjoyed seeing a video of the Rolling Bridge in London. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we worked with prepositions. We practiced finding them in sentences, and we practiced writing sentences with them. For some creative writing fun, we wrote about what we would do if we were a kite. We are adding our writing to a craft kite. 

In Math class today, we took our chapter test on the numbers to 120. We will be reviewing adding and subtracting with and without regrouping tomorrow. 

Have a great night! 

April Fool's!

 Greetings! Happy April! Thankfully, the students did not pull any April's Fools jokes in class today. Many were talking about some they were going to do tonight. I can't wait to hear about them tomorrow! 

We began our day by attending Adoration. We spent some quiet time talking to Jesus and praying for those that need our prayers. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We began by answering questions using our oral vocabulary words. Next, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the diphthongs oi and oy. Following that, we learned how to blend and read final stable syllable words, words like candle and table. After that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. Following that, we learned our two vocabulary words (balance and section) and wrote sentences using those words. We ended our morning by focusing on comprehension. We reread The Joy of a Ship and wrote about what we learned in different sections and wrote cause and effect examples from the story. 

In Math class today, we reviewed the concepts we learned with the numbers to 120. We will be taking our chapter test tomorrow. 

Congratulations tonight to the Holy Name Mighty Hawks Reading Competition team. They earned a second place ribbon at their competition tonight! Way to Go! 

Have a great night!