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I am so excited to be a part of the St. Joseph School community as a first grade teacher! I was born and raised in the Chicagoland area and attended National-Louis University where I received my degree in education with a concentration in psychology. I am also a certified Orton-Gillingham tutor and teacher, a multi-sensory approach that is very explicit in teaching reading to beginning readers.

I have spent the last 25 years teaching at a Catholic school- the last 18 years in first grade! I fell in love with teaching at a Catholic school because of the loving family atmosphere it provided. I enjoy inspiring children to learn and strive for their goals. I am committed to ensuring each child feels successful, capable, and celebrated while they are in my class. I love and enjoy learning, and I want to share, with my students, this passion and show how fun and exciting learning truly is!

When I am not teaching, I enjoy spending time with my husband and our two sons. I love to read and spend time outdoors.

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Week at a Glance

ELA

To practice correct letter formation
To practice sound recognition
To segment and spell three- sound short vowel words
To write a complete sentence using capital letters and punctuation
To understand the narrative story form: character, setting, main events
To apply the bonus letter spelling rule: ff, ll, ss, and sometimes zz
To read and spell the glued sound: all
To read and spell trick words: was, one, said
To generate a variety of adjectives
To retell That Book Woman, including key details about characters, settings, and major events
To define multiple meanings for words poke, spell
To analyze the main character’s feelings using key details in That Book Woman
To develop vocabulary knowledge of the word scholar

MATH Chapter 2 Test on Thursday

To find related addition and subtraction facts
To determine whether math statements are true or false

SCIENCE

Students explore all of the different shapes of the Moon that can appear on different nights. In the activity, My Moon Book, students observe photos of the Moon taken over the course of four weeks and draw pictures of the Moon's phases in their book. They use these observations to discover patterns in how the Moon’s shape changes and predict when the next full moon will appear.

RELIGION

To identify psalms as songs and poems of prayer
To explain that Ordinary Time is a time to show our thanks for God’s creation and for the gifts of God’s creation and for the gifts God gives us
To discuss the images of God’s creation- especially wheat and grapes that become bread and wine- displayed during Ordinary Time
To define celebrate, liturgical year, and Ordinary Time

Week at a Glance

ELA

To practice correct letter formation
To practice sound recognition
To segment and spell three- sound short vowel words
To write a complete sentence using capital letters and punctuation
To learn the bonus letter spelling rule: ff, ll, ss, and sometimes zz
To read and spell the glued sound: all
To read and spell trick words: you, your, I, they
To generate and answer questions about That Book Woman using key details from the text
To generate a variety of adjectives
To retell That Book Woman, including key details about characters, settings, and major events
To define multiple meanings for words poke, spell

MATH

To subtract numbers from eight
To subtract numbers from nine
To subtract numbers from ten
To find related addition and subtraction facts
To determine whether math statements are true or false

SCIENCE

Students explore all of the different shapes of the Moon that can appear on different nights. In the activity, My Moon Book, students observe photos of the Moon taken over the course of four weeks and draw pictures of the Moon's phases in their book. They use these observations to discover patterns in how the Moon’s shape changes and predict when the next full moon will appear.

RELIGION

To demonstrate sharing a sign of peace
To tell that Jesus brings us God the Father’s gift of peace
To explain that the Holy Spirit brings us God the Father’s gift of peace
To define Holy Spirit and Trinity

Week at a Glance

ELA

To practice correct letter formation
To practice sound recognition
To segment and spell three- sound short vowel words
To write a complete sentence using capital letters and punctuation
To understand the concept of consonant digraph, keywords and sounds: wh, ch, sh, th, ck
To read and spell trick words: or, for
To generate questions about My Librarian Is a Camel
To create a complete declarative sentence
To ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in My Librarian Is a Camel
To develop vocabulary knowledge of the word remote and mobile

MATH

To compare groups of up to nine objects
To subtract numbers from six and seven
To subtract numbers from eight
To subtract numbers from nine
TO subtract numbers from ten

SCIENCE

Students explore all of the different shapes of the Moon that can appear on different nights. In the activity, My Moon Book, students observe photos of the Moon taken over the course of four weeks and draw pictures of the Moon's phases in their book. They use these observations to discover patterns in how the Moon’s shape changes and predict when the next full moon will appear.

RELIGION

To demonstrate sharing a sign of peace
To tell that Jesus brings us God the Father’s gift of peace
To explain that the Holy Spirit brings us God the Father’s gift of peace
To define Holy Spirit and Trinity

Week at a Glance

ELA

To practice correct letter formation
To practice sound recognition
To segment and spell three- sound short vowel words
To write a complete sentence using capital letters and punctuation
To understand the concept of consonant digraph, keywords and sounds: wh, ch, sh, th, ck
To read and spell trick words: to, into
To generate questions about My Librarian Is a Camel
To create a complete declarative sentence
To ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in My Librarian Is a Camel
To develop vocabulary knowledge of the word remote and mobile

MATH

To draw a diagram to solve problems
To compare groups of up to nine objects
To subtract numbers from four and five

SCIENCE

Students explore all of the different shapes of the Moon that can appear on different nights. In the activity, My Moon Book, students observe photos of the Moon taken over the course of four weeks and draw pictures of the Moon's phases in their book. They use these observations to discover patterns in how the Moon’s shape changes and predict when the next full moon will appear.

RELIGION

To demonstrate sharing a sign of peace
To tell that Jesus brings us God the Father’s gift of peace
To explain that the Holy Spirit brings us God the Father’s gift of peace
To define Holy Spirit and Trinity

Week at a Glance

ELA

To practice correct letter formation
To practice sound recognition
To segment and spell three- sound short vowel words
To write a complete sentence using capital letters and punctuation
To understand the concept of consonant digraph, keywords and sounds: wh, ch, sh, th, ck
To read and spell trick words: as, has, to, into
To retell Waiting for the Biblioburro including key details about characters, settings, and major events
To ask and answer questions about key vocabulary in Waiting for the Biblioburro
To add -ed to verbs to make them past tense

MATH

To write subtraction number sentences
To subtract 0 or find a difference of 0
To subtract across and down
To draw a diagram to solve problems
To compare groups of up to nine objects

SCIENCE

Arushi wonders why she has to go to bed while the sun is still up, and learns that the sun stays up longer on some days than others. The lesson includes a short exercise where students get moving by acting out a bedtime routine.

RELIGION

To tell that God is Father to all of us
To explain that we show love for one another in many ways
To identify the Bible as God’s message to us
To tell that God the Father sent his only Son, Jesus, to teach us how much God loves us
To define Bible, Jesus, Scripture, Word of God

Week at a Glance

ELA

To practice correct letter formation
To practice sound recognition
To segment and spell three- sound short vowel words
To write a complete sentence using capital letters and punctuation
To read and spell trick words: the, a, and, is, his, of
To generate and answer questions about Waiting for the Biblioburro, using key details from the text
To identify and generate verbs
To retell Waiting for the Biblioburro including key details about characters, settings, and major events
To ask and answer questions about key vocabulary in Waiting for the Biblioburro
To add -ed to verbs to make them past tense

MATH Chapter 1 math assessment on Tuesday

To use models to represent and solve subtraction problems
To subtract parts from a whole
To write subtraction number sentences

SCIENCE

Arushi wonders why she has to go to bed while the sun is still up, and learns that the sun stays up longer on some days than others. The lesson includes a short exercise where students get moving by acting out a bedtime routine.

RELIGION

To tell that God is Father to all of us
To explain that we show love for one another in many ways
To identify the Bible as God’s message to us
To tell that God the Father sent his only Son, Jesus, to teach us how much God loves us
To define Bible, Jesus, Scripture, Word of God

Week at a Glance

ELA

To practice correct letter formation
To practice sound recognition
To segment and spell three- sound short vowel words
To write a complete sentence using capital letters and punctuation
To retell Tomas and the Library Lady, including key details about problem and solution
To write a narrative retelling of Tomas and the Library Lady that shows how library books change life for Tomas
To identify and generate proper nouns
To distinguish between what Tomas imagines and what is real in Tomas and the Library Lady
To write a narrative retelling of Tomas that shows how library books change life for Tomas
To develop vocabulary knowledge of the word knowledge
To write and speak about how Tomas adds to knowledge of how books change lives
To develop vocabulary knowledge of the word value

MATH Chapter 1 math assessment on Friday

To use counters to make sums of 9 in different ways
To use a ten-frame and counters to make sums of 10 in different ways
To identify missing parts of 10
To identify math statements as true or false

SCIENCE

Arushi wonders why she has to go to bed while the sun is still up, and learns that the sun stays up longer on some days than others. The lesson includes a short exercise where students get moving by acting out a bedtime routine.

RELIGION

To tell that Jesus is the greatest gift from God the Father
To explain that God wants us to help others feel welcome
To tell that we show our love for God when we care for others
To define liturgy, Mass, praise

Week at a Glance

ELA Unit 1 assessment on Tuesday

To practice letter- keyword- sound for consonants: z, qu
To practice letter- keyword- sound for vowels: a, e, i, o, u
To practice correct letter formation
To practice sound recognition
To segment and spell three- sound short vowel words
To write a complete sentence using capital letters and punctuation
To retell Tomas and the Library Lady, including key details about problem and solution
To write a narrative retelling of Tomas and the Library Lady that shows how library books change life for Tomas
To identify and generate proper nouns
To distinguish between what Tomas imagines and what is real in Tomas and the Library Lady
To write a narrative retelling of Tomas that shows how library books change life for Tomas
To develop vocabulary knowledge of the word knowledge
To write and speak about how Tomas adds to knowledge of how books change lives
To develop vocabulary knowledge of the word value

MATH

To use counters to make sums of 4 and 5 in different ways
To use counters to make sums of 6 and 7 in different ways
To use counters to make sums of 8 in different ways
To use counters to make sums of 9 in different ways

SCIENCE

Students develop a model of the sun’s daily path across the sky, then use this model to help someone who’s lost. In the activity, Sun Finder, students create a mobile paper model of the sun and earth to illustrate the position of the sun throughout the day.

RELIGION

To tell that Jesus is the greatest gift from God the Father
To explain that God wants us to help others feel welcome
To tell that we show our love for God when we care for others
To define liturgy, Mass, praise

Week at a Glance

ELA

To practice letter- keyword- sound for consonants: p, j, l, h, k, v, w, y, x
To practice letter- keyword- sound for vowels: a, e, i, o, u
To practice correct letter formation
To practice sound recognition
To retell Tomas and the Library Lady, including key details about characters
To ask and answer questions about key vocabulary in Tomas and the Library Lady
To retell Tomas and the Library Lady, including key details about setting
To identify and generate common nouns
To retell Tomas and the Library Lady, including key details about problem and solution
To write a narrative retelling of TOmas and the Library Lady that shows how library books change life for Tomas
To identify and generate proper nouns

MATH

To find sums by adding zero
To write addition facts horizontally and vertically
To write a number sentence to solve problems
To use counters to make sums of 4 and 5 in different ways

SCIENCE

Jada explores why her shadow changes over the course of a day at the beach. The lesson includes a short exercise where students act out the movement of shadows with their bodies. Students will trace their shadows using colored chalk and track the shadow’s changes throughout the day.

RELIGION

To identify things that God creates
To tell that God created everything out of love for us
To explain that we show our thanks and love to God by caring for his creation
To define or explain Amen, creation, Creator, God, and saint

Week at a Glance

ELA

To practice letter- keyword- sound for consonants: g, d, s, r, p, j
To practice letter- keyword- sound for vowels: a, e
To practice correct letter formation
To practice sound recognition
To understand that reading a book multiple times for different purposes helps readers better understand and enjoy the story
To discuss that different readers enjoy different types of books

MATH

To use manipulatives to model addition stories
To add two parts to make a whole
To write addition number sentences
To find sums by adding zero

SCIENCE

In this Read-Along lesson, Jada explores why her shadow changes over the course of a day at the beach. The lesson includes a short exercise where students act out the movement of shadows with their bodies. Students will trace their shadows using colored chalk and track the shadow’s changes throughout the day.

RELIGION

To identify things that God creates
To tell that God created everything out of love for us
To explain that we show our thanks and love to God by caring for his creation
To define or explain Amen, creation, Creator, God, and saint

Week at a Glance

ELA

To practice letter- keyword- sound for consonants: t, b, f, n, m, c
To practice letter- keyword- sound for vowels: i, u, o
To practice correct letter formation
To practice sound recognition
To understand that reading a book multiple times for different purposes helps readers better understand and enjoy the story
To discuss that different readers enjoy different types of books

MATH

To count and connect with objects and numbers
To practice one-to-one counting with small objects
To build number sense with number of the day

SCIENCE

To deepen understanding of two foundational scientific practices: making observations and asking questions. In the activity, Curiosity Challenge, students “train their brains” by observing an everyday object and asking questions like a scientist would
To investigate what it takes to make a stationary object’s shadow move. In the activity, Moving Shadows, students use flashlights and paper gnomes to explore how moving the position of a light makes shadows move. Students relate these observations to shadows changing throughout the day and the Sun’s position moving across the sky

RELIGION

To identify things that God creates
To tell that God created everything out of love for us
To explain that we show our thanks and love to God by caring for his creation
To define or explain Amen, creation, Creator, God, and saint

Week at a Glance

ELA

To understand the concept of syllable in multisyllabic words
To understand compound words
To apply syllable division rules
To read and spell words with two closed syllables or closed v-e syllables

To read with accuracy and prosody
To locate and name text features and explain
To write a conclusion for an informative paragraph
To analyze how illustrations help make the author’s point in Never Smile at a Monkey
To plan an informative paragraph stating the author’s point with supporting reasons
To distinguish shades of meaning of the word touch by using sentence-level context

MATH

To read and write time to the hour on an analog clock
To use a digital clock to tell and write time to her hour
To read time to the half hour on an analog clock
To use a digital clock to tell and write time to the half hour

SCIENCE

To carry out an investigation to determine the relationship between the shape of different bird beaks and the food each bird eats. In the activity, Find the Best Beak, students experiment with long pointy beaks that are great for picking up seeds and wide flat beaks that are good for scooping. They discover that different beaks are best for different kinds of food.

RELIGION

To demonstrate understanding that the Church is God’s family
To explain that followers of Christ are called Christians
To define Christian and Sign of Peace

Week at a Glance

ELA

To decode and encode vowel-consonant-e syllable in one- syllable words
To understand long vowel sounds
To distinguish between narrative fiction and informational books
To read with accuracy and prosody
To generate and answer questions about Never Smile at a Monkey using key details from the text
To find attributes in a text that differentiate between different animals in the same category
To locate and name text features and explain
To write a conclusion for an informative paragraph

MATH

To compare the lengths of objects using indirect measurement
To compare and order the lengths of objects
To measure the lengths of objects using nonstandard units

SCIENCE

To carry out an investigation to determine the relationship between the shape of different bird beaks and the food each bird eats. In the activity, Find the Best Beak, students experiment with long pointy beaks that are great for picking up seeds and wide flat beaks that are good for scooping. They discover that different beaks are best for different kinds of food.

RELIGION

To demonstrate understanding that the Church is God’s family
To explain that followers of Christ are called Christians
To define Christian and Sign of Peace

Week at a Glance

ELA

To decode and encode vowel-consonant-e syllable in one- syllable words
To understand long vowel sounds
To distinguish between narrative fiction and informational books
To read with accuracy and prosody
Trick words: friend, other, another, none, nothing

To plan an informative paragraph
To know and use text features to locate more information in What Do You Do with a Tail Like This?
To write an informative paragraph that describes how two animals use the same feature differently
To categorize words related to mammal by defining their attributes

MATH

To compare two-dimensional shapes by their attributes
To use two- dimensional shapes to make a composite shape
To use logical reasoning to solve problems

SCIENCE

To understand what Earth Day is and why it's celebrated, including its significance in promoting environmental awareness and protecting the planet

RELIGION

To identify Easter as the time when we celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection
To explain that Jesus is in heaven with his Father
To explain that one day we will share in Jesus’ new life
To relate Sunday to the Resurrection

Week at a Glance

ELA

To decode and encode vowel-consonant-e syllable in one- syllable words
To understand long vowel sounds
To distinguish between narrative fiction and informational books
To read with accuracy and prosody

To plan an informative paragraph
To know and use text features to locate more information in What Do You Do with a Tail Like This?
To write an informative paragraph that describes how two animals use the same feature differently

MATH

To sort open and closed shapes
To use defining attributes to identify and describe squares, rectangles, triangles, trapezoids, and circles
To compare two-dimensional shapes

SCIENCE

In this Read-Along lesson, Gabrielle sets sail with her aunt—the captain of a tugboat—and discovers how the sights and sounds on the bay can help boats find their way. The lesson includes a short exercise where students get moving by pretending to be boats.

RELIGION

To understand the basic story and importance of Holy Week, including Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday, and recognize that it is a special time to remember Jesus' love and sacrifice for us.