Ms.Soulas' Classroom

It was a busy week in Room 112! The first grade word detectives have been practicing lots of strategies to help them become stronger readers! They aren't afraid to persevere and solve m ystery words and long words  because they've got tools they can use! Read words you do know in a snap Break long words into smaller parts Break the ending off the word and solve the root word Look out for vowel teams Watch out for unusual suspects (contractions and compound words) When your first grader is reading at home, encourage them to use all their tools to solve tricky words, and if one tool doesn't work, they can always try another!  When we are reading and get to a word we don't know we always ask...Does it look right? Does it sound right? Does it make sense?  If you are reading to your first grader try reading a word wrong - have them help you solve it! The first graders zipped up their jackets, prepared their passports and boarded Flight 112! We landed safe and...

Here are some highlights from the week... The first graders have been working really hard and are continuing to add strategies to their word detective tool belts. This week we have focused on breaking big words into smaller parts. One great way to do this is if you know the end of a word (ex. ing, ed, er, s), you can break off the ending and solve the root word. This is a a helpful way to attack and decode those words that may seem big and scary! We are also looking out for vowel teams (two vowels right next to each other) to help us read words in a snap!  During buddies this week, the fourth graders showed off what they have been studying... owl pellets! They got to see owl's prey, but in skeleton form :) Then the first graders showed off their reading skills. We ended the week with an art project.  The first grade artists created peace signs that will serve as a reminder that the only way to solve problems is peacefully.  Each peace sign is unique,...

Some highlights from the week... We are continuing to add strategies to our Word Detective tool belts. This week we have been focusing on using snap words that we know to help us decode mystery words. Example: If I know the word "out" in a snap, it can help me read the word "about" or "shout."    As word detectives, when we know a word we don't have to solve it over and over again, just like detectives don't have to solve the same mystery over and over again!  We also learned ways to break long words into smaller parts using syllables! 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! In science this week we did an experiment with sand. The first grade geologists used the sand that we sifted out from the river rocks and put it in a vial with water. They made observations about the dry sand and then made obse...