Spelling - Vowel Consonant e Syllable with Suffix s

cakes

grapes

apes

bikes

likes

kites

globes

homes

rules

mules

Phonics - We have been working on the long vowel sounds and the vowel-consonant-e syllable. (v-e)  This week we will be working on v-e words with a suffix s.

Science - We are working on a lesson called "The Map".  We are learning about different environments, organisms in those environments, and their adaptations.  We have worked on The Pacific Ocean (octopus and great white shark) , The Amazon Rainforest (toucan and poison dart frog), The Arctic (polar bear and arctic fox), and The African Savanna (giraffe and elephant).  This week we will finish up this lesson with The Sahara Desert (cactus and camel).

Religion - We have been working out of our Promise books.  Our last page we worked on prayer.

Our latest Promise Paper talks about Jesus caring for us like a shepherd.  We have finished up our Friendzy Unit called "I Get To Be Me, You Get To Be You".  We will start working on our next unit - "Stop The Gossip".  We have been working on some of our safe environment lessons.  We read the books The Body Teaches Many Lessons and The Body Tells A Story.  We recited the Angel of God prayer and talked about being a good and safe friend.  We made cards for our second grade friends who made their First Communion.  We also spent some time at church for Adoration.

Reading - Our word work focus has been homophones and homographs.  Homophones are words that sound alike, but they are spelled different and they have a different meaning.  (rose, rows)  A homograph is a word that is spelled the same, it may or may not sound the same, and it has a different meaning.  (wind, read)  The students have been working hard in these centers!

This week we also added some random centers - fantastic facts, word puzzles, tongue twisters, and sentence mix up.

Every day we work in the daily 5 centers.  Each student is either doing read to self, read to someone, listening, work on writing, or word work.  We continue to read stories in our guided reading groups during this block.  We have also done a few running records and sight word checks in the last few weeks.

Knowing basic sight words is a big part of reading.  By the end of first grade, the goal is for the students to know the first 175 sight words.  Some of the students already know all 175.  Some of the students know only a few words.  Some of the students are somewhere in between those.  :)  The sight words that we use are in our Bee Binder.   Please take some time to practice sight words with your student.  

Reading with your child for 20 minutes a day is another way for your child to strengthen their reading skills!  

Remember, you can access Raz Kids and Vocabulary A-Z at home to practice both reading and spelling.  

To access Raz Kids, you can either go to the website or download the app.  

The website is https://www.raz-plus.com/

The app is Kids A-Z.

Once there, go to kids login.
The teacher name to enter is jsullivan100.
Once in, the student will click on their name.
The password is the apple.
Press go.

The student can click on the purple planet for reading or the yellow plant for spelling.  (It says vocabulary)
     
     *If the student would like to choose books on their own, they will click reading room.

       In reading room, they have lots of options on how to choose the books they want to read.  If they want to read books at their level only, they may press leveled books.  Every student has their level entered in the website.  This allows them to read books at their level, as well as 2 levels above and below.

    *If the student would like to practice their spelling words, they will click on vocabulary.  Their assigned spelling list will pop up.  Click on the list.  From there you can choose phonics, spelling, or vocabulary.  Whichever one is chosen, it will bring you to games that use the spelling list.

Writing - We are putting the finishing touches on our nonrealistic fiction stories.  Some students have written two stories, some are adding details to their first story, and some students are working on finishing up their end pages.

Math - We have been working on congruent shapes and designs using geoboards, using rulers to measure to the nearest inch, counting nickels and pennies, and partners of 10.

Typing - We have started to learn how to type!  We are using a website called Dancemat.  It's a fun website that helps students learn how to type.  It starts with the home row and then adds letters little by little.  If your child would like to practice at home, they can get onto the website here - Dancemat

Children's Museum Pictures - We had a great day at The Building For Kids!  Thank you to the many chaperones that volunteered to come with us!  To see pictures of our field trip, please click on this link -

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1H1YjkCoYALwrFBCvgvgAKYOvfUQcu_oY?usp=sharing

Some Fun Pictures -

Have a great week!

Holy Cross Mission Statement

Holy Cross Catholic School guides each student in developing academic, emotional and physical excellence while spreading the Gospel message as Jesus did, since 1868.