First Grade Weekly Update January 20th-24th
Weekly Syllabus: January 20th-24th, 2025
Reminders
Monday, January 20th No school in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.
Tuesday, January 21st Students need to be ready to recite their Oratorical reading. We will be choosing students at random, so everyone needs to be ready on Tuesday. They may not be presenting on Tuesday, but they do need to be ready. We will have presentations all week.
Tuesday, January 21st is January birthday free dress.
Wednesday, January 22nd is a noon dismissal for faculty and staff professional development and Spirit Day-Pajama Day.
Religion
Chapter 8 The Church. Students will learn: how we live as members of the Church family, how the church helps us live as followers of Jesus, how people who help us live as followers of Jesus, how to show reverence for God and service to others, and to praise and thank God for the Saints.
Language Arts
Unit 8 Lessons 6-10
Word Work: Decode CVVC words with ue and ie, decode CVVC words with ing and ed endings, read an informational text, recognize and spell memory words, recognize and understand dialogue punctuation, and identify speakers in a play.
Spelling Words: blue, tie, heat, keep, would, could, some, one, new, and were
Reading: Read and discuss grade level literary text, understand characters and connect ideas using cause and effect, discuss plot structure, identify the topic of an informational text, understand and use homophones, and determine the meaning of key vocab words.
Writing: Generate ideas for a debate, choose a side for the debate, use a web to plan a debate, discuss a briefly record ideas for the debate, complete a debate plan using opinions and reasons, review and practice good speaking skills for a debate, review good listening skills, and debate and respond to each side.
Author Study: Laura Numeroff
Mathematics
January Number Corner begins, and students find familiar routines infused with fresh elements. Calendar Grid markers feature single equations and story problems with missing addends, minuends, or subtrahends, and students tell math stories to match the equations and use various strategies to solve for the unknown parts. They return to collecting coins in Calendar Collector and record their collection on a graph. They also learn to use known facts to solve related facts of 1 more or 1 less. Finally, they meet a favorite frog’s little sister and join her in skipping across the number line by 5s as they come within a decade of reaching the 100th day of school.
Bridges Unit 4 Module 2: In Module 2, students work on the number line as they continue to develop a rich sense of numbers and number relationships. This engaging module challenges students’ reasoning abilities as they work to determine the value of empty number boxes placed strategically on the open number line. Students help frogs move across stones on a number line in jumps that include multiples of 5 and 10, tell stories about the frogs’ actions, and record equations to match.
First Grade Weekly Update January 13th-17th
Weekly Syllabus: January 13th-17th, 2025
Reminders
Thursday, January 16th– 8th grade jeans day fundraiser.
Friday, January 17th – No School-Elementary Staff Day
Religion
Chapter 7 The Holy Spirit, Our Helper-Students will explore how the Holy Spirit is our special teacher, discover how the Holy Spirit helps and teaches us and helps us, and how to make good choices with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Language Arts
Unit 8 Lessons 1-5
Word Work: Decode CVVC words with ai, oa, ea, and ee, read a decodable story with CVVC words, recognize CVVC spelling patterns for ai, oa, ea, and ee, encode CVVC words with ai, oa, ea, and ee, use describing words to compare and contrast settings, complete sentences using memory words, understand and use adjectives and feeling words, and review exclamation points.
Spelling Words: mail, nail, tail, rain, train, boat, coat, float, load, and road
Reading: Develop fluency reading with repeated readings of a story, read a story with appropriate rate, understand and discuss setting, problem, and solution, listen to and discuss a complex informational text, identify main topic and retell key details, identify steps in a process, and connect text to self.
Writing: Form and support opinions, discuss opinions, generate shared lists of topics, plan an opinion paragraph, discuss opinion paragraphs, write an opinion paragraph, and complete opinion paragraph.
Author Study: Laura Numeroff
Mathematics
January Number Corner begins, and students find familiar routines infused with fresh elements. Calendar Grid markers feature single equations and story problems with missing addends, minuends, or subtrahends, and students tell math stories to match the equations and use various strategies to solve for the unknown parts. They return to collecting coins in Calendar Collector and record their collection on a graph. They also learn to use known facts to solve related facts of 1 more or 1 less. Finally, they meet a favorite frog’s little sister and join her in skipping across the number line by 5s as they come within a decade of reaching the 100th day of school.
Bridges Unit 4 Module 1: Module 1 works to familiarize students with the number line as a mathematical model and an operational tool. Students use a life-sized number line to locate and identify numbers, and to begin to model addition and subtraction problems. Later they play a game in which they help a frog jump along a number line. In addition to helping students develop confidence with the number line as a computational tool, the activity helps deepen their understanding about the relationship between addition and subtraction.
First Grade Weekly Update January 6th-10th
Weekly Syllabus: January 6th-10th, 2025
Reminders
Welcome back and happy new year! I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing break.
Religion
Chapter 7 The Holy Spirit, Our Helper-Students will explore how the Holy Spirit is our special teacher, discover how the Holy Spirit helps and teaches us and helps us, and how to make good choices with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Language Arts
Unit 7 Lessons 6-10
Word Work: Decode CVCe words with ing and ed endings, recognize spelling patterns for CVCe words with ing and ed endings, read a decodable story with CVCe words with endings, understand how to use interjections and abbreviations.
Spelling Words: baking, baked, smiling, smiled, oh, any, day, good very, and want
Reading: Develop fluent reading with repeated readings of a story, read and discuss a grade level literary text, understand and discuss characters, make predictions, connect events: cause and effect, make predictions, discuss plot structure (beginning, middle, and end), discuss and record sequence of events, and develop vocabulary.
Writing: Discuss the parts of a friendly letter, discuss ideas for a friendly letter, and write and edit a friendly letter.
Author Study: Laura Numeroff
Mathematics
January Number Corner begins, and students find familiar routines infused with fresh elements. Calendar Grid markers feature single equations and story problems with missing addends, minuends, or subtrahends, and students tell math stories to match the equations and use various strategies to solve for the unknown parts. They return to collecting coins in Calendar Collector and record their collection on a graph. They also learn to use known facts to solve related facts of 1 more or 1 less. Finally, they meet a favorite frog’s little sister and join her in skipping across the number line by 5s as they come within a decade of reaching the 100th day of school.
The focus for Bridges Unit 3 Module 4: Module 4 uses Unifix cubes throughout. Students have opportunities in the first two sessions to write addition expressions and compare equations within the range of 0 to 120. Later in the module, students engage in activities that highlight the “difference model” of subtraction. The final session encourages students to explore part-part-whole relationships to develop and solve subtraction equations in which the subtrahend is missing.
First Grade Weely Update December 23-January 3
Weekly Syllabus: December 23rd-January 3rd, 2024
Mrs. Ratto and I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Enjoy the break with your friends and families.
There is no homework over the break, but be sure to keep reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Classes resume January 6th.
See you in the new year!
First Grade Weekly Update December 9th-13th
Weekly Syllabus: December 9th-13th, 2024
Reminders
Tuesday, December 10th is December Birthday Free Dress.
Sunday, December 8th is the Second Sunday of Advent. We light the second purple candle which represents peace and preparation. It is called the “Bethlehem Candle” as a reminder of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. We also reflect on our lives and work on becoming better-versions-of-ourselves in preparation for Jesus’ coming.
Religion
We continue with Advent. The Second Sunday of Advent focuses on Peace.
Language Arts
Unit 6 Lessons 6-10
Word Work: Identify short and long vowel sounds, decode CVCe words, read a decodable story, decode difficult words from an informational text, and read and spell memory words (said, only, you, out, of, and here)
Spelling words: game, same, ride, side, said, only, you, out, of, and here
Reading: Read dialogue with expression, read and discuss grade level literary text, listen to and read informational text, read and discuss grade level informational text, make predictions, understand author’s purpose, discuss picture-text relationships, understand and use the suffixes -ness and less
Writing: Informational Paragraph
Author Study: Jan Brett
Mathematics
Number Corner
The workouts for December continue to focus on many of the concepts introduced in November. Students complete their collection of 24 hours and learn how each day is divided into two equal parts, a.m. and p.m. They expand their exploration of doubles and halves to include numbers to 20 and become even more familiar with counting patterns as they work with the fifties and sixties and place value. The Calendar Grid features familiar items and a growing pattern of three-dimensional shapes such as cylinders, spheres, cubes, and rectangular prisms.
The focus for Bridges Unit 3 Module 2: In Module 2, the focus is again on addition and subtraction facts. The number rack is used to help students recognize number combinations (primarily to 10), subitize (recognize subsets within a given quantity), find the sum of two numbers, and compare two numbers to find the difference between them. This module introduces two Work Place activities, each designed to develop student confidence with number combinations in the range of 0 to 10. Session 4 provides a short written checkpoint assessment.
First Grade Weekly Update November 18th-22nd
Weekly Syllabus: November 18th-22nd, 2024
Reminders
Monday, November 18th-Saint Reports are due
Tuesday, November 19th Free Dress for everyone and Pizza Lunch
Wednesday, November 19th is November Birthday Free Dress
Wednesday, November 20th is a noon dismissal for Professional Development
Thanksgiving Break is the week of November 25th-29th. School resumes on Monday, December 2nd.
In the homework folder there is an activity for the Advent Season. We will begin to put the ornaments on our tree on the hallway bulletin board starting on the 1st. You can begin thinking about and filling in your ornaments during the Thanksgiving break. This is meant to be done for all of Advent. You do not need to fill in all of the ornaments in one weekend.
Sunday, December 1st is the first day of Advent.
Religion
We will finish Chapter 6 Jesus Shares God’s Love-Students will explore how we share God’s love with others, discover the ways Jesus showed his love for us and that Jesus was raised from the dead and gave us all new life, and that we are all called to share God’s love with others as Jesus did.
Language Arts
Unit 5 Lessons 6-10
Word Work: Read and decode words with ing and ed endings, decode words from an informational text, use and spell Memory Words (there, from, be, we, on, and to), encode verbs with final ck adding ing and ed, understand and use adjectives, and use conjunctions or and and.
Spelling Words: flipping, flipped, stepping, stepped, there, from, be, to, we, and or
Reading: Develop fluent reading with repeated readings of a story, read words with endings accurately, read and discuss grade level informational text, describe problem and solution, cause and effect, and characters, determine the meaning of key vocabulary words and phrases (yapped, zigged, zagged, yuck, and track), and use words to know (wonder, curious, discover, and imagine).
Writing: Brainstorm to generate adjectives, write descriptive details, write a description of a creature, use descriptions to identify creatures, record sensory details about a place, and draw and write a description of a place.
Mathematics
Number Corner
The workouts for December continue to focus on many of the concepts introduced in November. Students complete their collection of 24 hours and learn how each day is divided into two equal parts, a.m. and p.m. They expand their exploration of doubles and halves to include numbers to 20 and become even more familiar with counting patterns as they work with the fifties and sixties and place value. The Calendar Grid features familiar items and a growing pattern of three-dimensional shapes such as cylinders, spheres, cubes, and rectangular prisms.
The focus for Bridges Unit 3 Module 1: Module 1 focuses on single-digit number facts. Each of the three Work Place activities introduced is designed to encourage facility with number fact families, including doubles relationships. The number rack is used strategically throughout as a tool to model addition story problems. It also plays an important role in helping students conceptualize the difference between even and odd numbers and understand how knowing the nature of even and odd numbers can help solve addition problems.
First Grade Weekly Update November 11th-15th
Weekly Syllabus: November 11th-15th, 2024
Reminders
Please donate to the Annual Fund if you are able to
Saint Reports are due on Friday, November 15th
Monday, November 11th no school-Veterans’ Day Holiday
Friday, November 15th is Minions and Friends Spirit Day
Religion
We will continue Chapter 5 Mary, the Mother of Jesus-Students will explore how courage helps us live as disciples of Jesus, discover what the Bible tells us about Mary, discover that Mary had great trust in God, learn that Mary is our mother, and learn that the psalms are prayers in the Bible.
Language Arts
Unit 5 Lessons 1-5
Word Work: Identify base words with ing and ed endings, recognize ing and ed spelling patterns, introduce Memory Words (there, from, be, we, on, to), understand and use adjectives, and understand and identify time-of-action verbs with ing and ed endings.
Spelling Words: helping, helped, asking, asked, hugging, hugged, shopping, shopped, grinning, and grinned-the rule here is that when the root word has a short vowel and two consonants after it, just add the ending (helping). When the root word has a short vowel and one consonant after it, you need to double the consonant before adding the ending (hugging).
Reading: Understand and describe characters and events, make and confirm predictions, compare and contrast characters, identify character traits, connect ideas of cause and effect, retell key details, and understand and use Words to Know (wonder, curious, discover, and imagine)
Writing: Describe how an object looks and feels
Mathematics
Focus for November Number Corner: This month’s workouts delve into fractions and telling time. Students discover a pattern of friendly animals chomping snacks into wholes, halves, and fourths in the Calendar Grid, and the focus on fractions carries over to Calendar Collector. There, telling time is introduced to the hour and students use fractions of a circle to consider whole and half on an analog clock. November includes the 50th day of school and students use the hundreds grid to discover that they are halfway to the 100th day of school.
We continue with Bridges Unit 2 Module 4-The focus for Bridges Unit 2 Module 4 is on counting by 5s and 10s to become more efficient at counting amounts larger than 10. Three of the sessions use five-armed sea stars as a context for counting and students work together to make a quilt that exemplifies the counting by 5s pattern in the variety of ways. Making the quilt blocks also involves some work with shapes and fractional pieces. The last two sessions introduce games that feature pennies, nickels, and dimes-another good context for counting by 5s and 10s, as well as reinforcing the counting on strategy. The games also give students practice counting collections of coins and comparing two-digit numbers.
First Grade Weekly Update November 4th-8th
Weekly Syllabus: November 4th– 8th, 2024
Reminders
Monday, November 11th is the Veteran’s Day Holiday. No School
Religion
Chapter 5 Mary, the Mother of Jesus-Students will explore how courage helps us live as disciples of Jesus, discover what the Bible tells us about Mary, discover that Mary had great trust in God, learn that Mary is our mother, and learn that the psalms are prayers in the Bible.
Language Arts
Unit 4 Lessons 6-10
Word Work: Associate the ed sound with t and d, review ed ending for verbs, review nouns and verbs, review vowels and consonants, and read and discuss informational text.
Spelling words: yelled, smelled, jumped, bumped, look, your, the, was, are, and for
Reading: Develop fluent reading with repeated reading of a story, observe punctuation and read expressively, compare and contrast texts, know key vocabulary words (yanked, fist, clinched, unclenched, and interesting), understand and use the prefix un, and identify main topic of informational text.
Writing: Personal Narrative
Author Study (Nov and Dec) Jan Brett
Mathematics
Focus for November Number Corner: This month’s workouts delve into fractions and telling time. Students discover a pattern of friendly animals chomping snacks into wholes, halves, and fourths in the Calendar Grid, and the focus on fractions carries over to Calendar Collector. There, telling time is introduced to the hour and students use fractions of a circle to consider whole and half on an analog clock. November includes the 50th day of school and students use the hundreds grid to discover that they are halfway to the 100th day of school.
We will begin Bridges Unit 2 Module 4-The focus for Bridges Unit 2 Module 4 is on counting by 5s and 10s to become more efficient at counting amounts larger than 10. Three of the sessions use five-armed sea stars as a context for counting and students work together to make a quilt that exemplifies the counting by 5s pattern in the variety of ways. Making the quilt blocks also involves some work with shapes and fractional pieces. The last two sessions introduce games that feature pennies, nickels, and dimes-another good context for counting by 5s and 10s, as well as reinforcing the counting on strategy. The games also give students practice counting collections of coins and comparing two-digit numbers.
First Grade Weekly Update October 28th-November 1st
Weekly Syllabus: October 28th-November 1st, 2024
Reminders
We will celebrate Halloween on Thursday, October 31th. The parade will begin at 8:15. It is also a 12:00 dismissal day.
Students may wear their costumes, but are not allowed to bring weapons or wear masks. Students also need to be dressed appropriately (when in doubt, please refer to the handbook for free dress guidelines).
If you haven’t already done so, please consider a donation to the Annual Fund.
Friday, November 1st is our All Saints mass at 9:30. All are welcome!
Religion
We will begin Chapter 5 Baptism is a Wonderful Gift-Students will learn the importance of helping others, appreciate Baptism as a celebration of becoming a member of the Catholic community, be able to describe how a person is baptized, realize that as Catholics we are followers of Jesus, and understand that holy water is a sign of our new life with Jesus.
Language Arts
Unit 4 Lessons 1-5
Word Work: Identify final er sound, encode er words, recognize er and ed spelling patterns, introduce and spell Memory Words (look, your, the, was, are, and for), and understand and use passed tense verbs.
Spelling words: after, never, better, winter, summer, rested, twisted, planted, printed, and acted
Reading: Read and discuss grade level literary text, understand characters, text structure, and sequence, listen to and read complex informational text, understand Words to Know (project, interesting, and constructed)
Writing: Discuss narrative writing, select a topic for narrative writing, plan a personal narrative, write a story based on a plan, and edit
Author Study: Arnold Lobel
Mathematics
Focus for October Number Corner: Ten is the magic number for October, the tenth month of the year. Students compose and decompose the number 10, practice instantly seeing quantities on ten-frames, and learn about “leaps of ten” on the number line. The Calendar Grid features sets of fall pictures to inspire math stories and during the Calendar Collector workout, students collect and count patterns blocks and make a composite shape picture.
The focus for Bridges Unit 2 Module 3 is on developing adding and subtraction strategies, particularly doubling, counting on, and counting back to solve combinations within 12. Students work with the number rack and then learn games in which they add, subtract, and record their results on graphs. Students who are still counting by 1s to add and subtract are encouraged to count on and count back instead, and those who have moved beyond counting by 1s are encouraged to develop strategies that make use of well-known facts to solve less familiar combinations.
First Grade Weekly Update October 21st-25th
Weekly Syllabus: October 21st-25th, 2024
Reminders
Regular week!
Religion
We will continue Chapter 4 Jesus, the Son of God. Students will explore the birth of Jesus, discover that Jesus is truly God and truly human, learn that Jesus was raised in a human family, decide a way to live as a disciple of Jesus through kindness, and pray by singing a prayer.
Language Arts
Unit 3 Lessons 6-10
Word Work: Identify final le sound, read decodable stories with ng and le, read and decode words from informational text, recognize and spell memory words (do, have, show, how, me, and a), understand and use antonyms, and rhyming words.
Spelling Words: bubble, little, candle, pickle, do, have, show, how, me, and a
Reading: Develop fluent reading with repeated readings of a story, read with natural phrasing, read and discuss grade level literary text, understand plot, problem, and solution, match story events to pictures, and understand and use antonyms.
Writing: Opinion Writing about seasons.
Author Study: Arnold Lobel
Mathematics
Focus for October Number Corner: Ten is the magic number for October, the tenth month of the year. Students compose and decompose the number 10, practice instantly seeing quantities on ten-frames, and learn about “leaps of ten” on the number line. The Calendar Grid features sets of fall pictures to inspire math stories and during the Calendar Collector workout, students collect and count patterns blocks and make a composite shape picture.
Bridges
Bridges Unit 2 Module 2-This module maintains a focus on addition and subtraction strategies and emphasizes solving for an unknown. Students use and make double flap cards to discover the relationship between addition and subtraction, to further explore the commutative property, and to learn to solve for an unknown in any position. They generate equation fact families and story problems. The idea that the equal sign describes a relationship between two quantities that have the same value, rather than indicating “the answer,” is reinforced.
Science: Structure, function, and information processing: We will be learning about Parent & offspring Traits-How to help a lost baby animal find its parents?
Animal Structures & Survival-Why do birds have beaks?