Ms.Soulas' Classroom

It was a busy and exciting week in Room 112... We have started our 12 Days of Kindness, which coincides with the 12 days before winter break! We will be adding to our song each day (to the tune of the 12 days of Christmas) and practicing both the song and acts of kindness throughout the next two weeks! Science is off to a great start! We have started our Rocks, Pebbles, Sand and Silt Unit, and the Room 112 geologists got their official rock journals. They explored and sorted different  rocks, and we will continue exploring rocks and learning how they are formed. The first grade geologists ROCK -- pun intended :) We kicked off our new science AND writing units this week. We will be writing How-To books. The first graders get to be writers and teachers in this unit. They are practicing sequencing and structuring informational writing. We are already learning so many things from our How-To authors: How to draw a unicorn, how to make suncatchers, how to tie shoes, and so much more...

Here are some highlights from the week... In math this week we started making the connection between addition and subtraction with fact families. The first graders practiced using three numbers to make four number sentences.  Example: 11, 5, 6 5+6 = 11 6+5= 11 11-6 = 5 11-5= 6 This is a great way to reinforce/ build number sense while also helping students recognize and understand the relationship between addition and subtraction! On Wednesday we celebrated World Kindness Day (a day late), and read a story called "Each Kindness." The first graders engaged in an incredibly thoughtful discussion about the power of kindness; however, we also discussed that kindness shouldn't just be celebrated and talked about on one day, but should be celebrated and practiced EVERYDAY! We met with our 4th grade buddies this week and created hand print turkeys and thought about all the things we are thankful for. All of the kiddos had lots that they are thankful for :) The sh...