Ms.Soulas' Classroom

Here are some highlights from the week... The first grade readers are officially the "Bosses of their own reading!" They are beginning to really utilize their comprehension of the books they are reading to support their fluency. You can encourage this at home by asking, "what has happened in the story so far?" "what kind of word would fit there? action word, describing word, object word, etc." "Can you use the words around the word to figure it out?" I am seeing such incredible growth in their reading stamina and excited for it to keep growing! We are up to 30 push-ups/planks (1 minute of reading = 1 push-up/second plank). Their stamina and muscles are growing :) In math the first graders are learning more and more strategies for adding and subtracting numbers. They are using expanded form (breaking numbers into tens and ones), drawing quick ten visuals, using the arrow way, adding the ones and making a ten. These are all strategies that supp...

Here are some highlights... Out first week of "Walk to Word Study" was a success! The kiddos have blown me away with their smooth transitions and focus during that time. Check in with your first grader about the spelling patterns that they are studying! In writing, w e are beginning our opinion writing unit. First graders can be very opinionated :). This unit helps them develop their opinions and plan/write their reasons to support them! For math we have been building on our place value by comparing and adding bigger numbers. Not only are we comparing numbers, but we are also "proving it." Check out some of our "prove it" windows in the pictures below.  This week in reading we continued to practice being the boss of our reading! Our jobs are: 1. Stop at the first sign of trouble 2. TRY something 3. Try something ELSE 4. Check-it To remember our jobs, we have a song to the tune of "If Your Happy and You Know It" Feel free to include...

Snow to sunshine and only 2 full days of school...what a week! Here are a couple highlights... We introduced our social studies biography unit with a leader that we have already celebrated - Martin Luther King Jr! Throughout the unit the first graders will continue learning about and adding important people to their journal. On Friday, we got to meet with our 4th grade buddies! The fourth graders have been studying Native Americans and creating stories and characters based on what they have learned. The fourth graders helped their first graders create a Native American name for themselves, their name tags will be coming home today! Word Builder: This time-based word-building game is the perfect way to boost your child's vocabulary and reading skills. Mix and match letters to see how many words she can come up with! Each round of this word builder is different to keep the game fresh for hours of learning and play.  What You Need:  Notebook,Pencil, Timer What You D...