Popcorn Day!

 Greetings! Happy last full day of school! It is hard to believe that tomorrow is the final day of first grade! 

We spent the day learning, reviewing, cleaning, and soaking up the last minutes of first grade. 

In Religion today, we talked about how the Holy Spirit helps us. We said that the Holy Spirit guides us to be good listeners. The students promised to be good listeners during the summer months. 

Today was Popcorn Day in first grade. We began our activities by learning about how popcorn pops. Then, we played a game that helped us read words with digraphs. After that, we wrote about what we are excited to learn in second grade. Finally, it was time to taste different popcorns. The students sampled butter, cheese, caramel, and kettle corn. We created a graph on our favorite one and answered questions about our data. 

Then it was time to clean. We cleaned out the remaining supplies in our desks, cubby drawers, and math bags. The students also helped take down some things and organize some materials. Their help was most appreciated. 

This afternoon we enjoyed Zootopia and some more popcorn. 

Here are pictures from today. 

I wish to thank everyone for a fantastic year. This will be the last post for the year. Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, fun, and relaxful summer. See you in August! 

~Miss Chalich 

Lemonade Day!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! Happy Lemonade Day! Our year in review continued today with our Lemonade theme. 

We began our day with Religion. Today we looked at the different symbols of the Holy Spirit. 

Then, we jumped into our Lemonade Day fun. We began by learning about the life cycle of lemons. Next, we reviewed shapes as we completed a write the room activity. After that, students worked in groups to sort real and nonsense words. Following that, students again worked in groups to show various money amounts. We ended our morning with some lemonade tasting. Students sampled regular and strawberry lemonade. We then voted on our favorite, created a graph, and answered questions about our graph. 

After lunch we wrote the steps in how to make lemonade. 

In Math class today, we reviewed money by playing BINGO. The students created their own BINGO boards. Then, students showed various coins and counted them. This was a fun way to review money. 

We had our final Science class of the year. Today, we looked at what plants need in order to survive. 

Here is a picture of our lemonade graph along with Friday's art project. Enjoy! 

It is hard to believe that tomorrow is the final full day of the year. Where has the time gone? 

Have a great night! 

Popsicle Day!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! Today was our final Friday of the school year, and it was another great, fun day in first grade! 

Today was our final school Mass of the year. Fr. Brian encouraged us to remember Jesus this summer and go to church regularly. 

Today was Popsicle Day in first grade! We began by learning about the boy who invented popsicles. Then, we sorted statements about popsicles based on whether they were a fact or opinion. After that, we reviewed place value. Students wrote a number on a popsicle, spelled that number, wrote the number in expanded form, and illustrate it. Finally, students wrote about what made this year so cool. 

This afternoon, students created a popsicle. They covered an outline of a popsicle using tissue paper and then added a little sparkle with sequins. 

In Math class today, we reviewed measurement. Students used rulers to measure various summer pictures. They loved this! 

In Science class today, we talked about what keeps a tree in the ground. We learned about the jobs of roots, stems, and leaves. 

Before Art class, we enjoyed a popsicle treat! 

We had our final Art class of the year. Today, we created a beach scene complete with real sand. I don't know what the children enjoyed more: using markers or using sand. 

Here are some pictures from today:

 Have a wonderful weekend! 

Stuffed Animal Day!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! Today was another exciting day in first grade. 

We began our day with our Awards program. Today we recognized students for their achievements this year. The students were so excited to receive their awards. 

Today was Stuffed Animal Day in first grade. The students loved having a furry companion today. We began by reading Corduroy. After reading the story, we created a Corduroy and wrote about what a good friend is. 

After that, we wrote about our stuffed animal friend. We added our writing to a craft. 

Finally, we did some gummy bear math. The students graphed gummy bears, created a bar graph, and answered questions about their graph. 

In Math class today, our focus was on graphs. We spun a spinner 15 times and graphed the results. We then answered questions about our graph. 

In Social Studies today, we learned about different American symbols. 

After all of that hard work, it was time to relax and have a picnic. Accompanied by our animal friends, we enjoyed Teddy grahams, gummy bears, and iced tea. It was 'beary' good. 

Here are pictures from today. 

Have a great night! 

Watermelon Day!

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

In Religion class today, we talked about how the Apostles waited for 10 days for the Holy Spirit to come. On the tenth day, they heard a strong wind and saw flames of fire above their heads. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the Apostles went out and began telling people the Good News. 

Today was Watermelon Day in first grade. We had a melon-tastic day! We began by reading The Watermelon Seed, a fantasy story about a crocodile who eats a watermelon seed. After reading the story we talked about how the crocodile solved his problem. 

Next, we learned about the life cycle of a watermelon. We created a slice of watermelon showing how it goes from seed to sprout to flower to watermelon. Next, we talked about the different parts of a watermelon. We created a diagram to show them. We ended our morning sampling different types of melons. We tried watermelon, cantaloupe, and honey dew. We graphed our favorite one and answered questions about our graph. 

In Math class today, we talked about place value. We identified which place a digit in a two digit number is located. 

In Music class today, we reviewed the words presto and largo. We used hand motions to show when a piece of music went fast or when a piece of music went slow. 

We ended our day with more watermelon fun. Today, the students created a giant watermelon slice by paper weaving. They did a great job of following directions to create the watermelon. 

Here are pictures from our day of fun: 

Have a great night! 

Camping Day!

 Greetings! Today was an adventurous day in first grade. We really enjoyed our Camping Day. 

We began our day with Religion. Today, we talked about how Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit before he ascended into Heaven. 

Our Camping Day fun began with a story. We read A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee. After reading the story we identified the characters, setting, problem, and solution. We also matched the rhyming words in the story. 

Next, we worked in camping theme centers. We identified the digraphs in words, sorted sentences based on the likelihood of them happening during camping, matched verbs to pictures, unscrambled camping theme words, and matched synonyms. We ended our morning by writing the steps in how to make s'mores. We added a s'mores craft to our writing. 

In Math class today, we reviewed how to subtract with and without regrouping. 

After Math class, we resumed our Camping Day fun. We enjoyed playing our board games with friends. It was awesome watching them play and just have fun. 

We ended our day with a s'mores snack. The students really enjoyed it. 

Have a great night!  

Beach Day!

 Aloha! Welcome to the final days of first grade. Each of the remaining days will be centered around a theme. We will spend time reviewing all that we have learned this year. Today was Beach Day! 

We began our day with Religion. Today, we talked about Baptism. We learned that Jesus sent his disciples out commanding them to go and baptize people. 

Then, it was time for our Beach Day fun. We began by reading There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell. After reading that story, we sequenced the order of the objects she ate. Next, we wrote about what we would do at the beach. Then, it was time to work in beach day centers. With friends, we practiced telling time, practiced solving addition and subtraction problems, identified 10 more and 10 less than a number, identified the number of syllables in a word, and added the correct punctuation to the end of a sentence. We ended our morning sorting words based on whether they were a noun, verb, or adjective. 

In Math class, we reviewed adding with and without regrouping. We played Knockout. The goal was to quickly solve a problem. The students had fun adding and showing off their skills. 

After Math class, we resumed our Beach Day fun. We wrote about what we like to do in the summer and added it to a craft. We also painted a surfboard using watercolor paints. These surfboards will be laminated and turned into a bookmark to be used for summer reading. 

Here are pictures of today's writing project along with Friday's art project. Enjoy! 

Have a great night! 

Wrapping Up!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great day to end the week! 

At Mass this morning we gathered with our Faith Families one last time this school year. We celebrated our kindergarten and eighth grade graduates. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read r-controlled words, wrote sentences using our sight words, and took our weekly assessment. In addition, we practiced finding adverbs that tell how in sentences. Finally, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. 

In Math class today, we took our chapter test on telling time. Next week, we will be reviewing the skills we learned this year. 

In Science class today, we talked about how seedlings will grow into adult plants. We observed different seedlings and predicted what plants they would grow into based on our observations. 

We ended our day with Art. Today, we created a mosaic sun. I love how each student took their time to design their sun. 

Have a great weekend! 

Ascension Thursday!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone had a nice day. Only one more day to go! 

We began our day by attending Mass. Today we celebrated the Feast of the Ascension. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read r-controlled words and our sight words, and wrote sentences using our vocabulary words. We also practiced using adverbs that tell how in sentences. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we read Happy Birthday USA. After reading the story, we completed pages in our Reading/Writing Companion that focused on main idea and key details. 

In Math class, we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems involving time. The students did an excellent job at this. 

In Social Studies class, we talked about how the government makes laws to keep people safe. 

Have a great night! 

Fun in Music!

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

In Religion class today we talked about how Jesus stayed with his Apostles for 40 days before he went back to Heaven. We call this the Ascension. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We began by answering questions using our oral vocabulary words. Then, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with r-controlled -air, -are, and -ear. After that, we learned how to blend and read r-controlled syllable words, words like hairy and burning. Next, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. Following that, we learned our vocabulary words (nation and unite) and wrote sentences using the words. We ended our morning by writing a narrative paragraph about the Hawk Walk. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we focused on comprehension. We reread Share the Harvest and Give Thanks. Then, we wrote about the author's purpose. Finally, we learned about adverbs that tell how and practiced finding them in sentences. 

In Math class today, we reviewed telling time to the hour and half hour. We are very good at telling time. 

We ended our day with Music class. Today, we talked about the words forte and piano. Students took turns hiding a stuffed apple in the classroom. Then, using our singing voices, we sang louder or softer as another student looked for the apple. Smiles and laughter were abound. 

Have a great night! 

A Return to Learning!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! After two fun days, it was time to return to learning today. 

We began our day with Adoration. We spent some quiet time in church talking to Jesus. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about holidays. We began by learning our new oral vocabulary words (display, purpose, represent, pride, and design). Next, we worked on retelling as we read about the American flag. Then we learned how to blend and read r-controlled words spelled with -air (chair), -are (share), and -ear (bear). After that, we learned our new sight words (favorite, few, gone, surprise, wonder, young). Finally, we put our new skills together as we read Share the Harvest and Give Thanks. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we wrote a narrative paragraph about our field trip yesterday. 

In Math class, we practiced telling time to the half hour. The students worked in pairs to match time shown on a clock to its digital time. 

Have a great night! 

Field Trip Day!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! Happy Field Trip Day! We had a wonderful time on our field trip today. 

We began our day at Discovery Space. First, we took part in a science lesson. We learned about physical and chemical changes. We made slime to demonstrate both physical and chemical changes. 

Then, we got to explore the exhibit floor. We had tons of fun digging for dinosaur bones, making a tornado, being meteorologists, playing with Legos, and so much more. 

After Discovery Space, we headed to the Creamery for our ice cream treat. We really enjoyed that! 

Now, its back to work tomorrow! Have a great night! 

Hawk Walk Day!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! Today was a very exciting day in first grade! It was our annual Hawk Walk Day! 

Before Mass, we took our Spelling test and read a Scholastic News magazine. 

At Mass, Fr. Brian reminded us to love others just as Jesus commanded us to do. 

Then, it was time for fun! We began with our walk around the neighborhood. Yes, it was chilly, but we enjoyed getting out and having the trucks honk for us! 

After lunch, we had fun playing the games. We enjoyed the oversized board games in the cafeteria along with the dress up relay game. Thanks to the volunteers who helped with the face painting. 

The highlight for us was the bounce houses. The kids had fun just going from one to another. 

We ended our game fun in the gym. We enjoyed racing with pizza boxes, throwing footballs, and trying cornhole. 

By the end of the day, we were tired. There was not much noise at dismissal. I'm sure everyone slept great! 

Have a great weekend! 

May Crowning!

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

Our day started with practicing our drills. We did a fire drill, hard lockdown, soft lockdown, and weather drill. The students did great with these ones. 

After settling down, we got our day started with Religion. We wrapped up our chapter on Jesus starting the church. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with three letter blends and with inflectional endings, wrote sentences using our sight words, and took our weekly assessment. We also practiced using pronouns in sentences. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we read a short nonfiction piece about origami. We then folded paper to make a dog. We had fun doing this. 

This afternoon we honored Mary during our May Crowning prayer service. Our second graders did a beautiful job in leading the prayer service. 

Have a great night! 

Party Time!

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

In Religion class today, we reviewed Apostolic succession. We talked about how Jesus began the church and turned the keys over to Peter who became the first pope, and how the Apostles became the first bishops and helped the church to grow. 

In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with three letter blends and inflectional endings, and read our sight words. We also 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 Lissy's Friends. After reading the story, we discussed its theme. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced using pronouns in sentences. We also wrote our first narrative paragraph. Yesterday, we read Owl Moon. Today, we used the events from the story to help write our paragraph. 

In Math class today, we learned how to tell time to the half hour. We used our clocks to practice showing times and our whiteboards to write the times. 

We ended our day with a party! Today, we had a fiesta complete with a pinata and confetti eggs! We had a blast! 

Have a great night! 

Cinco de Mayo!

 Greetings! Happy Cinco de Mayo! I hope everyone had a wonderful day and maybe enjoyed a taco or two! 

In Religion class today, we talked about the marks of the church. We learned that the church is one (only one church), holy (founded by Jesus), Catholic (for everyone), and Apostolic (grown by the Apostles). We created a poster to help us remember them. Here is a picture of our poster from today and of the cross we made yesterday to help us remember the seven sacraments. 

We continued 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 three letter blends. Then, we reviewed adding inflectional endings onto words. After that we practiced using our sight words in sentences. Following that we learned our new vocabulary words (difficult and nobody) and practiced using them in sentences. Finally, we worked on our comprehension skills; this week we are focusing on theme. We reread A Spring Birthday. Then we wrote about what makes the story realistic and what the story's theme is. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced using pronouns in sentences. We also took time to wrap our Mother's Day gifts. The students were so excited to do this! 

In Math class today we reviewed telling time to the hour. The students completed a write the room activity where they walked around and wrote the time shown on various clocks. 

Here are pictures of our latest Art projects. Enjoy! 

Have a great night! 

May the Force Be With You!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! May the force be with you! 

In Religion class today, we talked about how Jesus wanted his grace to be passed down. We do this when we celebrate the sacraments. We looked at each sacrament and talked about how we receive God's grace. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about traditions. We began by learning our new oral vocabulary words: effort, tradition, ancient, drama, and movement. Then, we worked on retelling as we read about traditional cultural dances. Following that, we learned how to blend and read words with three letter blends, words like split, scrape, three, and shred. After that, we learned our new sight words (before, front, heard, push, tomorrow, your). We ended our morning focusing on our fluency skills. We read A Spring Birthday. 

This afternoon we attended the annual 8th Grade Spring Showcase. We enjoyed watching the various skits performed by the 8th grade class. 

We ended our day with Gym class. Today, we headed outside and enjoyed the sunshine! 

Have a great evening! 

Welcome to May!

 Greetings! Welcome to May in first grade. This month is just going to fly by! 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian reminded the children to keep pushing and not to slow down as the year is coming to an end. He encouraged us to be workers like St. Joseph, working humbly to build up the kingdom of God here on Earth. 

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. We then worked on our Mother's Day projects. The writing just made me smile. I just love the innocence of children. 

In Math class today, we started our chapter on time. We practiced telling time to the hour. The students really enjoyed using clocks to show various times today. 

In Science class, we talked about how we can use the stars to help us. We just need to find the North star to help guide us. 

We ended our week with Art class. Today, we created birdhouses from construction paper. They turned out cute. I'll post pictures next week. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

The End of April!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I don't know about you, but this week has flown by. Tomorrow is already Friday! 

In Religion class today we talked about how Jesus gave Peter the keys to the church. We talked about how Peter became the first Pope. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words, read words with silent letters and compound words, and reviewed our sight words. To build our reading fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a nonfiction piece about rainy weather. After reading that piece, we completed pages in our Reading/Writing Companion that focused on the main idea and key details from that selection. Finally, we practiced identifying special pronouns in sentences. 

In Math class today, we began our chapter on time. We introduced telling time to the hour. We will take a deeper dive into that tomorrow. 

We ended our day with Social Studies. Today, we talked about why people work. We also talked about how some people work in factories. We watched some short videos showing people working in factories. 

Have a great night! 

A Mid-Morning Thunderstorm!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone found some sunshine on this rainy day. At least the grass will stay green for a bit! 

In Religion class today, we finished our chapter on the Easter story. We reviewed what happened during that first Easter Sunday and what it means for us once Jesus rose from the dead. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with silent letters, compound words, and our sight words. We also practiced using our vocabulary words in sentences. To help build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story from our decodable booklets. We also read the realistic fiction story Rain School. After reading the story, we completed pages in our Reading/Writing Companion that focused on cause and effect. 

Ironic story - We were reading Rain School during the thunderstorm this morning!!

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced using special pronouns in sentences. We also wrote our very own persuasive paragraph. Next week, we will be diving into narrative writing. 

In Math class today, we practiced solving problems by looking for a pattern. We organized the information in a table, looked for a pattern, and then worked to solve the problem. 

We ended our day with Music class. Today, we created our own 4 beats in a measure. We had fun acting out our beats with everyone! 

Have a great night! 

A Rainy Day!

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

In Religion class today, we talked about how Jesus resurrected both body and soul. We also talked about how we can live with him forever because of this. 

We continued with our week of learning in Language Arts. We began by answering questions using our oral vocabulary words. Then, we used our letter tiles to spell and read words with silent letters. After that, we reviewed how to read compound words. Following that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended our morning by learning our vocabulary words (country and gathers). We defined each word and wrote sentences using them. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we focused on our comprehension skills. We reread Wrapped in Ice and wrote cause and effect examples from the story. Then, we learned about indefinite pronouns (anybody, everything, nothing, etc.) and practiced finding them in sentences. 

In Math class we took our chapter test on shapes. Next, we will learn how to tell time. 

Have a great night! 

Blossoming Writers!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! It is hard to believe that today is the final Monday in April. Where did this month go? 

In Religion class today, we talked about how we need to feed the gift of grace Jesus won back for us. We talked about praying, going to Mass, and helping others as ways to feed our grace. 

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

This afternoon in Language Arts we read Wrapped in Ice which helped us practice our new skills. We also wrote a persuasive paragraph on why we love school. We wrote the first and last sentence together. The students did the middle sentences independently. They have blossomed into writers! 

In Math class today, we again reviewed shapes and fractions. We are ready to take our chapter test tomorrow. 

Have a great night!  

Beautiful Butterflies!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great day to end the week! 

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian talked to us about Jesus in the Eucharist. He reminded us that when we receive Jesus he becomes part of us. We are like a tabernacle for him. 

We finished 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. We also played Memory where we matched a, au, aw, al, and augh words to their pictures. Finally, we did some creative writing. We wrote about what we would do if we were a kite. 

In Math class today, we continued our chapter review on shapes. We did very well explaining our understanding of shapes today. 

In Science class, we talked about why we only see stars at night. We created a star finder. We then used our flashlights to project our star on paper while a partner became the sun and blocked the stars. We had lots of fun with this. 

We ended our day with Art. Today we created a butterfly. The students had lots of fun painting their butterfly. They were very creative. 

Have a great weekend! 

Earth Day!

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

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

In Language Arts, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words by answering questions using our words. We also practiced reading words with a, au, augh, aw, and al and vowel team syllable words. We reviewed synonyms and practiced using possessive pronouns in sentences. To help build 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 Companion that helped us build our poetry comprehension skills. Finally, we wrote a persuasive paragraph on why we love gym. 

In Math class today, we began our review of shapes. The students did great identifying both 2D and 3D shapes. 

In Social Studies today we talked about saving and why people save money. 

We finished up our celebration of Earth Day today. We have been talking about ways to help the Earth all week. Today, we read The Lorax and wrote about something we can do to keep Earth clean and healthy. 

Have a great night! 

A Pizza of My Heart!

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

In Religion class today, we reviewed the Easter story. We focused on Jesus rising from the dead. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, practiced reading words with a, au, augh, aw, and al, and practiced reading vowel team syllable words along with our sight words. We also reviewed our vocabulary words. Then, to build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We also read the nonfiction story Meet Rosina. After reading that story, we wrote about the author's purpose. 

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

In Math class today we cooked up some fun. The students created a pizza. They then decided whether to divide their pizza into halves or fourths. Next, they decided the toppings to add to their pizzas. Finally, the students wrote about their pizza. They turned out great! 

Today is Earth Day! We have been talking about how to help planet Earth all week. Today, we made a tree and sorted examples on whether our not they are helpful to Earth. 

We ended our day with Music class. Today, we learned about phrasing in songs. We learned how by singing phrases we have time to breath. We practiced this by singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider."

Have a great night! 

A Cold Start!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a great day and warmed up after that cold start! 

We began our day by going to Adoration. It was nice to spend some quiet time with Jesus especially during the Easter season. 

We continued 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 vowel variants a, au, aw, augh, and al. Then, we learned how to blend and read vowel team syllable words. Following that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. We ended our morning learning our vocabulary words accept and often. We wrote sentences using those words. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we focused on our comprehension skills. We reread All Kinds of Helpers and wrote about the author's purpose. We also practiced using possessive pronouns in sentences. 

In Math class today, we continued our study of fractions. We practiced folding paper shapes into halves and fourths. 

Have a great night! 

Fraction Fun!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great start to their week. It is hard to believe that this is the last full week of April! 

In Religion class today we wrapped up our chapter on the Last Supper. We reviewed what Jesus said and did at the Last Supper. We also talked about when we remember the Last Supper. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading about helpers. We began by learning our oral vocabulary words (inspire, respect, decision, distance, swiftly). Then, we worked on retelling as we read a fable about how the moon got in the sky. Following that we learned how to blend and read words with vowel variant diphthongs a, aw, au, augh, and al: words like ball, paw, cause, taught, and walk. After that, we learned our new sight words for the week (brother, father, friend, love, mother, picture). 

This afternoon we put are new skills together as we read All Kinds of Helpers. We also reviewed the reasons an author writes a story. Finally, we learned the possessive pronouns and practiced using them in sentences. 

In Math class today, we continued our discussion on fractions. We learned that when we divide something into halves we get 2 equal parts. We also learned that when we divide something into fourths we get 4 equal parts. Here is what we created today: 

And, here are pictures of the spring gnomes we created in Friday's Art class. 

Have a great night! 

Spring Garden Gnome!

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

At Mass today, we welcomed Fr. Norris. He reminded us that Jesus always feeds us in the Eucharist and that we are to feed people too by being kind to others. 

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. We also wrote a persuasive paragraph on why we love the beach. 

In Math class today, we began to look at fractions. Today, we looked at shapes to see if they were divided into equal or unequal parts. 

In Science class, we learned about the phases of the moon. We created a moon book to help us see the cycle the moon completes each month. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, we created a spring garden gnome. 

Have a great weekend! 

A Beautiful Spring Day!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! Today was another beautiful day. It was so hard to come in from recess! 

In Religion class today we learned that extra blessed hosts are kept in the tabernacle. We talked about how Jesus' Body is always present in church in the tabernacle. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words, read words with the vowel variant /u/ and words with suffixes. To help build our fluency and comprehension, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read a nonfiction piece about volunteering. After that, we practiced using pronouns in sentences. Finally, we wrote a persuasive paragraph on why we love the zoo. 

In Math class today, we wrapped up our study of 3D shapes. We completed a write the room activity where we identified the various shapes. We also did a roll and color activity. 

In Social Studies class today, we learned the names of the countries the border the United States. We learned that Canada is our neighbor to the north and that Mexico is our neighbor to the south. 

Have a great night! 

Beats in Music Class!

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

In Religion class, we talked about how Jesus is the Bread of Life. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with the vowel variant /u/, words with suffixes, and our sight words. We also 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 Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type. After reading that story, we talked about its theme. Finally, we practiced using pronouns in sentences. 

In Math class today, we identified the 3D shapes used to construct a design. 

We ended our day with Music class. Today, we talked about 4/4 beats. We created our very own 4 beat pattern and practiced clapping it out. 

Have a great night! 

Oh! Happy Day!

 Greetings! Today was another great day of learning in first grade. 

In Religion class, we talked about how we remember what Jesus said and did at the Last Supper every time we celebrate Mass. We talked about how the bread and wine become Jesus' Body and Blood. 

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

This afternoon in Language Arts we reviewed pronouns. We created a pronoun flower. We wrote pronouns along with nouns the pronouns could replace. 

In Math class today, we reviewed our 3D shapes. We reviewed the shape names, their attributes, and real life examples of each shape. 

Tonight, our Reading Competition team earned a first place ribbon scoring 59 points. They earned 2nd place overall in the competition. We could not be prouder of how hard this group worked! 

Have a great night! 

The Greatest Gift!

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

In Religion class today, we reviewed the Last Supper. We talked about how Jesus gave his greatest gift to us: the gift of himself in the Eucharist. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading about working together. We began by learning our oral vocabulary words (conflict, fair, argument, shift, risk). Then, we worked on asking and answering questions as we read a fable about mice and a cat. Following that we learned how to blend and read words with oo, u, u_e, ui, ue, ew, and ou, words like spoon, truth, rule, juice, blue, chew, and you. After that, we learned our new sight words for the week (answer, brought, busy, door, enough, eyes). Finally, we put all our new skills together as we read Super Tools. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned about pronouns. We learned that they take the place of nouns. We also talked about theme as we read A Bad Case of Stripes. 

In Math class today, we shifted our focus to 3D shapes. Today, we learned the names of the shapes and their attributes. 

Have a great night! 

Spring Wreaths!

 Greetings! Happy Friday! Today was a great day to end a great week of learning. 

At Mass this morning, the children were excited to use the song books for the first time. They also enjoyed the sprinkling rite; we got very wet. 

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. We also worked on our fluency and comprehension skills as we read a short nonfiction piece about tiny houses. 

In Math class today, we reviewed our 2D shapes. I read a riddle, and the students drew the shape I was describing. Then, we completed a write-the-room activity where students identified the shape on top of a snow cone. Finally, we played shape BINGO. 

In Science class, we talked about how the length of days changes during the seasons. We learned that days are long in the summer and short in the winter. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, we created a spring wreath using cupcake liners. The students glued flattened mini cupcake liners on a paper plate. Then they added circle to the middle and leaves to complete their flowers and wreath. I'll post pictures on Monday once they are dry. 

Have a fabulous weekend! 

Welcoming Prospective Teachers!

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

In Religion class, we wrapped up our chapter in believing in Jesus. We talked about what makes us believe in him. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words and read words with diphthongs oi and oy and words with final stable syllables. To build our fluency, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. Finally, we practiced using prepositions in sentences. 

In Math class today, we used our shape blocks to make designs. We had lots of fun doing this. We were very creative in our designs. After designing, we identified how many of each shape we used. 

In Social Studies class today, we learned the names of the continent, the country, and the state where we live. 

This morning we welcomed students from the Penn Highlands Early Literacy program into our classroom. These prospective teachers read stories with the students, did a rhyming activity with them, and played Simon says. We really enjoyed having them. 

Here is a picture from the Religion Easter project we did on Tuesday: 

Have a great night! 

Fun with Shapes!

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

In Religion class, we talked about how Jesus wants us to grow in our faith. One way that we can do that is by praying to Jesus. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with the diphthongs oi and oy, read final stable syllable words, and read our sight words. We also 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 Building Bridges. After reading that story we wrote details about each bridge that we read about. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced using prepositions in sentences. 

In Math class, we reviewed the 2D shapes. We sorted cards by identifying the shape name, its attributes, and real life examples of the shapes. We also talked about what makes a shape closed and not closed. 

In Music class today, we talked about sounds we hear all around us. We listened to snippets of sounds and identified the sound, whether it was loud or soft, and whether it was high or low. 

Have a great night! 

He Is Risen!

 Greetings! Happy Easter! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend celebrating with family and friends! 

In Religion class today, we talked about what happened on that first Easter many years ago. We created a Resurrection scene to remind us that Jesus is risen and is alive. 

We picked up with our week of learning in Language Arts where we left off last week. We answered questions using our oral vocabulary words. We also used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the diphthongs oi and oy. After that, we learned how to blend and read final stable syllable words, words like table and simple. Following that, we practiced using our sight words in sentences. Then, we learned our vocabulary words (balance and section) and wrote sentences using those words. We ended the morning focusing on comprehension. We reread The Joy of a Ship and wrote cause and effect examples from the story. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced finding prepositional phrases in sentences. We also wrote a persuasive paragraph on why we love spring. 

In Math class today, we began our chapter on shapes. Today, we learned the names of the 2D shapes. We learned characteristics about them including number of sides and vertices. We then sorted shapes based on the number of sides. 

Have a great night! 

Jelly Bean Jamboree!

 Greetings! Happy Easter! The students were greeted with quite a surprise today. The Easter Bunny came! He left baskets filled with treats for them. I'm sure you can picture the smiles on their faces! 

In Religion class today, we reviewed the events of Holy Week. We watched a short movie about Holy Week and created a cross with pictures from the events of Holy Week. 

Our Language Arts class centered around jelly beans. We read a book which told the meaning behind the colors of jelly beans. Next, we used jelly beans to measure different objects. Finally, we created a graph of our jelly beans and answered questions about our graph. 

After lunch, we watched It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown. Then, it was time to go home. 

Here is a picture from the cross scene was painted yesterday. 

May everyone have a blessed Easter. See you on Tuesday! 

A Peep-tastic Day!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! We had a peep-tastic day in first grade! 

Our focus in Religion today was the events of Good Friday. We talked about how Jesus was arrested and how he carried his cross up the hill. We also talked about how he was nailed to the cross and died. We created a cross scene to remember these events. 

Our Language Arts class centered around Peeps today! Each student adopted a Peep. He/she created a nest for it, named the Peep, and watched the Peep all day. We also did a graphing exercise with peeps which helped us review tally charts and picture graphs. Finally, the students worked in Peep centers. They used place value blocks to show various numbers, identified whether the word had a short or long vowel sound, and matched synonyms. 

This afternoon was our Haiti reward of a movie. We really enjoyed A Bug's Life. 

Have a great night!

An Egg-cellent Day!

 Greetings! Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone enjoyed the sunshine today. We had an egg-cellent day in first grade. 

We began our day by going to Adoration. It is the perfect week to spend some quiet time with Jesus. 

When we returned to the classroom, we continued learning about the events on Holy Thursday. Today, we focused on the Last Supper. We learned that the meal was simple, just bread and wine. We also learned that we remember what Jesus said and did at the Last Supper every time we go to Mass. 

Our Language Arts class centered around Easter eggs. We began by doing the 'What's in My Egg?' activity. The students wrote some very good clues. We enjoyed guessing what was in each other's eggs. Then, the students worked in Easter egg theme centers. Working in groups, they determined the number of syllables in words, made compound words, counted coins in Easter eggs, and unscrambled letters to make a sight word. They students worked so well together and enjoyed each station. They were surprised when I said it was time for lunch. 

In Math class today, we began our chapter on shapes. We reviewed the names of shapes. Next week, we will begin a deeper dive into shapes and their attributes. 

Have a good night! 

Jesus' Call to Serve!

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

In Religion class, we continued our study of Holy Week. Today, we focused on Holy Thursday, particularly Jesus' call to serve. We talked about how Jesus washed the Apostles' feet and then commanded them to follow his example. We talked about how Jesus calls us to serve one another. We made a simple craft reminding us of his call. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading about buildings. We began by learning our oral vocabulary words (project, structure, contented, intend, marvelous). We then worked on retelling as we read a folktale. Following that, we learned how to blend and read words with the diphthongs oi and oy, words like coin and boy. Next, we learned our new sight words (above, build, fall, knew, money, toward). Finally we read The Joy of a Ship which helped us practice our new skills. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned about prepositions. We practiced using them in sentences. We also learned about paragraphs particularly the sentences in a paragraph. Then, together, we wrote a persuasive paragraph on why we love Easter. 

In Math class today, we learned how to solve problems using the guess and check method. The key is to not give up and keep trying until we find the answer. 

Have a great night! 

Learning About Holy Week!

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful spring day we had. It was also a great day for Opening Day in baseball. Unfortunately, the Pirates lost, but there are still 161 games left. Things will get better! 

In Religion class, we began our study of Holy Week. Today, we focused on Palm Sunday. We talked about how Jesus rode into Jerusalem and how the people waved palm branches and shouted 'hosana'. We made a palm branch to help us remember his triumphant entry into the city. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with the diphthongs ou and ow and words ending in -er and -est, and wrote sentences using our sight words. To build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklet. We also took our weekly assessment and practiced using a, an, this, and that in sentences. 

In Math class today, we wrapped up our chapter on graphs by taking our test. Next, we will turn our attention to shapes. 

In Social Studies class, we learned the difference between city, town, and rural areas. We sorted pictures based on where we would find them. 

Have a great weekend! 

A Wonderful Wednesday!

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

In Religion class today, we talked about how our faith in Jesus helps us. We read about how Jesus helped the Centurion's servant because of his faith. 

In Language Arts class, we answered questions using our oral vocabulary words, read words with the diphthongs ou and oi, spelled and read words ending in -er and -est, and read our sight words. To build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read Whistle for Willie. After reading that story, we completed pages in our Reading/Writing Workshop that focused on cause and effect. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we practiced using a, an, this, and that in sentences. 

In Math class today, we reviewed picture graphs and tally charts. We practiced making both and answered questions about the data. 

We ended our day with Music class. Today, we talked about different voices. We practiced using our whisper, speaking, singing, and calling voices. 

Have a great night! 

Writing About Spring!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! The children really enjoyed the warm weather yesterday as many told me of their fun in the sun. 

In Religion class today, we talked about what it means to believe in Jesus. We said that we believe in Jesus because we trust him and because he is the Son of God. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about sound. We began by learning our five new oral vocabulary words (volume, senses, distract, nervous, and squeaky). Then we worked on retelling as we listened to a story about a squeaky bed. After that, we learned how to blend and read words with the diphthongs ou and ow, words like cow and out. Following that, we learned our new sight words for the week (color, early, instead, nothing, oh, thought). We ended our morning working on our fluency skills as we read Now, What's That Sound?

This afternoon in Language Arts, we learned when to use a and an in sentences. We also wrote about what we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch in spring. 

In Math class today, we reviewed graphs. We looked at the data on graphs and answered questions about them. 

Have a great night! 

Happy Spring!

 Greetings! Happy Spring! We have made it through winter! We had a great first day of spring in first grade. 

At Mass this morning, we welcomed Jadin O'Brien. She talked to us about turning our suffering into prayers for others. 

We wrapped up another week of Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, wrote sentences using our sight words, and took our weekly assessment. We also worked on our comprehension skills as we read poems and answered questions about them. In addition to that, we wrote about what we like to do on a rainy day and added our writing to a craft. 

In Math class today, we continued to work with tally marks and picture graphs. We created our own tally chart based on favorite sports in the class. We used that data to make a picture graph. Then we wrote about something we learned from the graph. 

In Science class today, we talked about how the sun changes position during the day. We learned that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. 

We ended our day with Art class where we worked on two projects. We created an Easter bunny on a colorful background. We also made an Easter basket filled with Easter eggs. I'll post pictures on Monday. 

Have a great weekend!