Ms.Soulas' Classroom

In reading we have been building our good reading habits! These are things that we have been practicing because as readers we want to do these things without having to be told, just like brushing our teeth!  Here they are so you can reinforce them at home: Take a sneak peek at the beginning & check your sneak peek Do something at the end of a book (go back to your favorite part, retell the story, etc.) Read more and more Set goals Reread to smooth out your voice Scoop up words in phrases In writing, we added the final step to our writing process: Revise! The first graders did an incredible job rereading, adding and fixing their small moment stories to make them even better!  They have been thinking about questions the reader might have, to zoom in on details and to stretch out our stories. I have read, and the students have shared some great small moment stories and I am excited for them to keep writing and sharing.  I encourage you to work through this pro...

Here are some highlights from the week... In writer's workshop,  we started our Small Moments unit. The students are practicing the writing process and working on "zooming in" through their narrative writing. We have learned and been practicing the first two steps in the writing process: Think of an idea & Plan (touch, tell, sketch and write). When you are writing at home with your first grader, encourage them to plan out their writing before they start. This involves touching and telling the story out on the paper before writing. Ask your first grader to show you their invisible pencil! Our Room 112 mathematicians have been warming up their brains every day with a story problem. They have been practicing their problem solving strategies by using pictures, numbers, words, number lines and number bonds, etc. The story problems feature our Room 112 first graders and Stephenson staff. You can try this at home and see their amazing math skills at work! Ex: Ms. Soula...

It was great seeing you all at Back to School Night - thank you so much for coming and for your continued support! We continue to practice and focus on the independent reading expectations (Stay in one spot, work quietly, work the whole time, start right away, and build stamina). As we practice what it looks like and sounds like, we are also building good reading habits. We have discussed that good habits are things that we remember to do without people telling or reminding us. The good habits that we focused on this week are taking a "sneak peek" (ex. looking at the cover, taking a picture walk, making predictions, etc.) of a book before you read it, and "doing something" when you finish the book (ex. rereading, asking questions, going back to your favorite part, discussing it with a friend, etc.). Super readers have good habits when they start a book  and  when they finish one!  On Wednesday, we got to meet our 4th grade buddies from Mr.Graham's class! The...

It was a short, but busy week in Room 112! Last week I read the book "How Full is your Bucket." This book highlights the power of kindness and connects with our Room 112 bucket that is added to when we work together and get compliments and recognition from Stephenson Staff and adults. We have been continuing to get drops in our bucket for being examples of the school expectations and rules (be safe, be respectful, be responsible, be your best). We have already filled our bucket-- Go Room 112!  We have continued to practice Independent Reading and have been building on Reader's Workshop expectations: Read quietly, read the whole time, start right away, and build stamina. We will continue to build and develop these skills as we practice this independent learning and work time. I am already seeing their stamina grow! This week we also transitioned from exploring the math manipulatives, to using them as tools for math. It is pretty incredible to see their creativity when w...