Lessons in Stories!

 Greetings! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We are off to a great start to the week in first grade. 

In Religion class, we talked about how one day we will get to live with Jesus in Heaven. 

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we are reading about working together. We began by learning our five new oral vocabulary words (conflict, argument, shift, risk, and fair). After that we worked on rereading as we read a folktale about mice working together. Following that, we learned how to blend and read words with oo (spoon), u (truth), u-e (flute), ew (chew), ue (blue), ui (fruit), and ou (soup). Then, we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. We finished the morning by reading Super Tools which helped us to practice our new skills. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned about pronouns. We also talked about theme, the lesson the author wants us to learn in a story. We read A Bad Case of Stripes and talked about its many themes including be yourself and not to lie. 

In Math class today, we used our critical thinking skills to solve problems. We really had to focus and think about how to solve each problem. 

Have a great night! 

Spring is in the Air!

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

At Mass this morning, Fr. Brian talked to us about the importance of the Eucharist. 

We wrapped up another week of learning in Language Arts. We used our oral vocabulary words in sentences, read words with diphthongs oi and oy and final stable syllable words, and wrote sentences using our sight words. To help us build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story in our decodable reader. We also read a nonfiction piece about tiny houses. After reading that story, we completed a page in our close reading companion that focused on main idea. Finally, we took our weekly assessment and practiced using prepositions in sentences. 

In Math class today, we reviewed how to subtract with regrouping. The students are doing so well with this. 

In Science class today, we learned about the phases of the moon. They created a moon book to show how a moon changes over the course of a month. 

We ended our day with Art class. Today, we made tulips using tissue paper. We didn't quite finish; we will do that on Monday. 

Here are pictures from our Wednesday writing project and the Easter Religion project we did last week. Enjoy! 

Have a great weekend! 

Super Subtraction Solvers!

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

In Religion class, we talked about how Jesus restored the gift of grace when he rose from the dead. We also talked about how we need to feed the gift of grace; we do this by going to church and by praying. 

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 and vocabulary words. To help build our fluency and comprehension skills, we partner read a story in our decodable reader booklets. We also read Building Bridges. After reading this story, we completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on finding details about each bridge we read about. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we practiced using prepositions in sentences. We also practiced writing names with titles correctly. 

In Math class today, we practiced solving subtraction problems that involve regrouping. I was quite pleased that the students knew to first look to see if regrouping was needed before solving the problem. 

Have a great night! 

Creative Writers!

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

In Religion class today, we reviewed the Easter story. We then looked at the different parts of the Mass and talked about how we celebrate Easter every time we go to Mass. 

We continued our week of learning in Language Arts. We began by answering questions using our oral vocabulary words. We then used our letter tiles to spell and read words with the diphthong oi and oy. Following that, we learned how to blend and read words with a final stable syllable, words like apple, candle, and puddle. Next, we practiced using our sight words and vocabulary words in sentences. We ended our morning by focusing on our comprehension skills; this week we are zooming in on cause and effect. We reread The Joy of a Ship and wrote cause and effect examples from the story. We then read our decodable reader. After reading it, we identified the effect when given the cause. 

This afternoon in Language Arts, we worked with prepositions. We practiced using prepositional phrases in sentences; we also practiced finding prepositional phrases. We also did some creative writing the afternoon. We wrote about what we like to do on a rainy day and added it to a craft. 

In Math class, we continued to practice solving subtraction problems without regrouping. The students are doing so well with this skill. 

Have a great night! 

Time with Jesus!

 Greetings! I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend and solar eclipse yesterday. I was quite bummed that we had cloud cover yesterday. That's just our luck! 

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

We began a new week of learning in Language Arts; this week we will be reading about different structures and how they are made. We began by learning our five new oral vocabulary words (project, structure, contented, intend, and marvelous). We then worked on retelling as we read a folktale about animals building a house. Next, we learned how to blend and read words with the diphthongs oi and oy. Following that, we learned our new sight words and vocabulary words. It was then time to put our new skills to work as we read The Joy of a Ship. We ended the morning by writing a persuasive paragraph. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we learned about prepositions. We learned that they connect ideas in a sentence and are used to tell us the location of something. 

In Math class, we switched our focus to subtraction. Today, we solved subtraction problems without regrouping. 

We ended our day with a Social Studies class that we missed on Friday. We talked about how people work to earn money. With the money people earn, they can buy things they need or save it for later. 

Have a great night! 

Solar Eclipse

 Greetings! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is staying warm and dry! 

In Religion class today we continued our talk about the Easter story. We created a beautiful poster showing that He is Risen! I forgot to snap pictures before leaving; I'll do it tomorrow. 

In Language Arts class, we reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with the diphthongs ou and ow, spelled and read words with inflectional endings, and reviewed suffixes. To practice our sight words, we played our "Don't Draw the Easter Bunny" game. The students were awesome at guessing the words; I never got to draw the Easter Bunny. After that, we focused on our fluency and comprehension. We read a nonfiction piece about instruments and completed pages in our close reading companion that focused on main idea and key details. Following that, we practiced using a, an, this, and that in sentences. Finally, we wrote a persuasive paragraph on why we love Easter. 

To end the morning, we created a band-aid covered with ou and ow words. 

In Math class today, we practiced adding without regrouping. The students were given one number, and used a dice to make a number. They then added them together. Needless to say, they did an awesome job. 

We ended our day talking about the solar eclipse. We talked about how on Monday, the moon will pass between the Earth and sun creating a total solar eclipse. We also talked about how we need special glasses to view the sun. Finally, to help us understand the eclipse, we made a model of what will happen on Monday. 

Have a great night! 

He is Risen!

 Greetings! Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone had a blessed, happy Easter. I loved hearing about all of the Easter egg hunts and other celebrations that children partook in during the break. 

In Religion class this morning, we reviewed the events of Holy Week and read the Resurrection story. 

We picked up where we left off at with Language Arts. We reviewed our oral vocabulary words, read words with the diphthongs ou and ow, spelled and read words with the inflectional endings -er and -est, and read our sight words and vocabulary words. To help build our fluency skills, we partner read a story from our decodable reader booklets. We then read Whistle for Willie. After reading that story, we wrote about the problem in the story, steps Peter took to solve the problem, and the solution. 

This afternoon in Language Arts we reviewed when to use a, an, this, and that in sentences. We also did some spring writing. We wrote about what we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch in spring. 

In Math class today, we began our chapter on adding and subtracting within 100. The students remembered how to add without regrouping. The only difference now is that the numbers are bigger. 

Have a great night! Stay dry!