Weekly Wrap-Up: February 13, 2012

Have I been a blog slacker or what? I can't believe how crazy busy I've been this school year. I apologize to anyone who reads the newsletter online... it hasn't been here since December! I'll try to get better at remember to get it here, too. Here is this week's edition...

Math: We are working on data tables and graphs. We are asking and answering questions about the graphs. We also talked about how we need to be practicing our addition and subtraction facts each night to become more fluent in knowing the answers. Please practice daily!

Reading: We are working on turning questions about the text into an answer. We are using words from the question to answer it. We also have to remember to use information only from the text .

Spelling: Last week we learned about the -er and –est endings. This week we are learning about the diphthong oi/oy.

Science: When we have time to do science, we continue to learn about solids, liquids, and gases. We’ve also used Scholastic News during this time.

Writing: We have been writing about nonfiction texts we’ve read. We are also working on using commas correctly in our writing.

Other: Mrs. Banes is visiting our room every Wednesday for lessons. This past week she talked to us about drugs and alcohol.

Please don’t forget that your child needs to read or be read to each and every day.

If you haven't checked us out on flickr, yet, please do! http://www.flickr.com/photos/68085444@N03/

Don’t forget!

If you are working towards a free ticket to Six Flags by reading 360 minutes or more, please remember to turn in your record sheet no later than Thursday, February 23rd. I will be mailing all record sheets to the program director on Friday, February 24th.

February Book-It! Forms are due back to the classroom by March 1st.

Our Valentine’s Day party will be held on Tuesday, February 14th. If you or your child volunteered to provide a snack, please make sure you send it in tomorrow. The kids are so excited to open their valentines from everyone!

Our next field trip is to HealthWorks! in South Bend, IN in March. Please be sure to return the permission slip, $5, and the note telling me if your child is eating a school lunch or a their own lunch ASAP.

Our Fun Fair Basket is coming along! So far we have several rolls of duct tape, a couple of screwdrivers, some pliers, an all-in-one tool, a tape measure, and a tool box! (And a couple of promised for gift cards!) There is still a lot of room in the tool box, so please continue to send in your supplies! Thank you to everyone who has donated so far!

Don’t forget the Fun Fair will be on March 10th. We need YOUR HELP to man the games, concessions, prizes, and more! Please contact us if you are willing to help out!

Weekly Wrap-Up: December 16, 2011

Wow! It's almost Christmas! And that means the year is already half-over! I seriously can't believe that!

Here is the week in review...

Reading: We continued our main idea & threw in a little author's purpose. So now we are not only looking for what the story is about, but why the author wrote the story. It's pretty fun & the kids are really catching on more and more. We've also been regularly using Raz-Kids to help us with our reading and comprehension. Feel free to use it at home, too! The link is on the main page of the blog.

Math: I'm pretty sure the kids are tired of hearing me say, "Today in math we'll be practicing 2-digit addition." But you know what? They are almost all getting SO good at it! And 2-digit addition is a very important skill to be understanding, as we use it all the time. We'll continue our study on it even after Christmas break.

Spelling: We reviewed "bossy r" words this week. The kids are amazing & are even finding bossy r words on their friends' shirts!

Writing: We're working on making the characters in our stories creative. We read a few fun & creative read-alouds this week to help us understand creative characters- Dogzilla, Brave Charlotte, & Honk! The Story of a Prima Swanerina. We also practiced using quotation marks in our stories.

Science: This week we wrapped up our 2nd science unit on the Sun, Moon, and Stars. This unit went out with a bang because our Lego Education Magazine on the space shuttle fit perfectly with the unit!

Christmas Party: Thank you to everyone who has sent in treats for our party or who will be sending in treats. We are all very excited for our celebrations. I will be sending a letter with all of the details for our celebrations home in Monday folders.

Christmas Vacation: Don't forget that our last day of school is on Thursday, December 22nd. Have a WONDERFUL break & enjoy your families!

Weekly Wrap-Up: November 11, 2011

Reading:  We are learning about nonfiction books. Did you know that nonfiction books are full of text features such as headings, bold print words, labels, photographs, and captions? These text features help us understand what we are reading and sometimes even give us extra information about the topic. We will also be starting Raz-Kids during our station time soon! Thanks to the PTO for donating the funds to get enough subscriptions for all of 2nd grade!
Math:  After a really long unit on story problems, we’ve started a mini-unit on shapes & perimeter today. Our next unit is about place value.


Spelling:  We are working on contractions! We learned that a contraction is two words that were squished together to make a shorter word. And in place of the missing letters, we put an apostrophe.


Writing: We are writing opinion pieces. We now understand that our opinion may not be the same as someone else, so we need to give our reasons why we think the way we do.

Science/Social Studies: We started a new science unit last week– Sun, Moon, and Stars. We are having a blast learning about the phases of the moon, how the moon & earth rotate around the sun, and more!

Citizens of the Month…
We have had the Citizen of the Month celebration for September and October . Congratulations to Gustavo G. and Gisel A. for being our first two Citizens of the Month!

We’ve been very lucky with our weather lately! But remember that Indiana weather can change quickly, even in the middle of the day. Be sure your child comes to school prepared for colder weather– pack a hat & gloves in their backpack each day, just in case. And be sure to send them to school with a jacket or coat, as well!

Thank you!!

How excited was I when Mrs. Self told me on Tuesday that some family & friends of students in our class had donated some money towards classroom supplies? VERY!

I had some time to sit down and do some shopping at Caring for Classrooms and I'm SO excited about what I was able to buy for our classroom!

I got this...

And this...

And this...

And this...

And this!!!!

I am hoping the first issue of our magazines come soon... they'll be perfect for our nonfiction unit we're starting next week!

Thanks again to all of the friends & family that donated to our classroom! Pass the word on what we are getting with their donations, please!

Weekly Wrap-Up: October 28, 2011

It's been a few weeks since I've written a wrap-up. That just tells you how crazy busy it's been here at school lately!

Here is what we've been up to...

Reading- We have been working on making mental images, or pictures, in our minds as we read our stories and poems. This helps us to understand what we're reading better. Most nights your child will still be bringing home a book to read. Sometimes it's a repeat book, other times it's a brand new book. Please make sure your child reads it at least one time each night.

Math- We are working on different kinds of story problems. Doing story problems also helps us practice our math facts, as well. Our homework is still coming home on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On the nights when your child doesn't have homework, go over addition and subtraction facts with them to improve their fluency, or how quickly they can say the answer.

Spelling- We are still working on different long vowel patterns. This week was mostly focused on long a words with the CVVC pattern- like ai and ay.

Writing- We have been focused on using adjectives to write scary stories! We've had a lot of fun listening to scary stories, as well as writing them.

Science/Social Studies- We have been learning about bats. Did you know that they can actually see really well? Did you know they are the only mammal that can fly? Ask your child if they remember anything about bats.

Picture Retakes- If you requested an order form, a new one came home on Friday. Remember picture retakes are this Thursday- November 3rd.

Colder Weather- The weather is turning colder! Please be sure your child comes to school dressed appropriately for the weather. There have been some chilly recesses where hats and mittens were appreciated! If you're unsure, send warmer coats, hats & mittens just in case.

WHEW! It's been a crazy week!

It happened. The nasty flu that was going around caught up with my family. I'm sure you heard I was out both Monday and Tuesday to stay home with my own 2nd grader. Returning on Wednesday I found that I was not only catching up from being out two days, but I was also having to get everything around for parent-teacher conferences! Fortunately our report cards can now be accessed from any computer, so I was able to do most of those at home. Whew!

I think I'm all caught up on things here at school, but the blog has been severely neglected. I'm hoping to get back on board with it next week. Poor Dontarius has been waiting so patiently to get his story on here!

Don't forget... our field trip is on Wednesday! Be sure to look for the reminder of what your child needs- it'll be in next week's Monday folder.

Have a great weekend!

Weekly Wrap-Up: September 30, 2011

Reading: We’re building strategies to use while we are reading! Last week we reviewed some strategies we may have used in first grade– look for chunks we know, look at the pictures for clues, say and use the first letter to figure out a word, and read the sentence and try again. It’s been fun to watch the kids use these strategies while they’re reading in reading groups!

Math: We finished up our big addition and subtraction strategy unit on Friday. We took a test and most of the class did an awesome job! Monday we start a mini-unit on measuring. It should be fun! We are also starting fact quizzes. Each child has two minutes to solve as many problems out of 26 as they can. The cool thing is, we’ll do it several times so they get to try to beat their own score each time!

Spelling: We spent our last week on short vowels and the CVC spelling pattern by studying the short u. I’m amazed– one of my reading groups carried what they learned about the CVC pattern into reading group! Good job! Next week we will be doing the post-test for List 4 of the high frequency words. We’ve been working on these words all quarter.

Science: We took a break from pushes and pulls and studied a fall fruit last week… the apple! We learned its life cycle, how to make applesauce (did you know that’s a science experiment!?), and we carried it over into our writing time as well.

Writing: “A noun is a person place or thing. A noun is a person place or thing. A noun is a person. A noun is a place. A noun is a person place or thing.” If you sing those words to the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It” you get a peek into my brain last week. The kids learned this song on Tuesday & I’ve woke up singing it every day! As you can guess, we learned about nouns in writing, as well as adjectives. We created an apple project using adjectives & we wrote a poem!

Field Trip: If you volunteered to go on the field trip with us, you’re in! I’ll be sending home more detailed information as the trip gets closer.

Healthy Snacks: Our first round of healthy snacks is over. Our favorites were pineapple, kiwi, cucumbers, and watermelon. Our least favorites were cauliflower and grapefruit.

Photos: I have created a photo account so you can get peeks into our weeks. To gain access, visit our blog above. The link can be found underneath the applesauce photos.

Please don’t forget that Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up! If you have not turned in a conference time request form, do so soon! I’ll be finalizing the schedule next week. Thanks to those of you have already turned your form in. The confirmations with the time on it will come home in next week’s Monday folders.

Weekly Wrap-Up: September 23rd

I totally didn't realize I forgot to wrap up last week until it was practically too late. So I will do two weeks in one this time around.

Reading: We have been working on figuring out the problem and solution in our stories. We've told it to our partners, written about it, and charted it in class. Most of us have got it down pat! We've also continued working on read to someone and read to self. Our reading groups have been going two weeks strong now! Your child should be bringing a book home to practice each day.

Math: We are continuing to find and use new addition and subtraction strategies. This week we focused on finding ten and then figuring out how many more we needed to get to the total. Whatever strategy works with your child is fine by me... our goal is to be able to solve addition and subtraction problems up to 20. So I don't care how they get there, just as long as they can! :) We also did our first mClass math tests of the year. This consists of five 2-minute tests on computation, number facts, quantity discrimination, missing number, and concepts.

Spelling: Last week and this week we are working on reviewing short vowels, specifically the CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) word pattern. We have done much better this week remembering the spelling procedures... it's becoming a routine for us! Yay!

Science: We continue our study on pushes and pulls. Last week we got to do our first experiment. (Don't forget to check out our pictures from it!) This week we continue to learn vocabulary and discover the many times we use forces just throughout our day!

Writing: We are working on the goal, "I can write a story using actions, thoughts, and feelings." Last week we worked on thoughts & feelings. This week we're working on actions. We learned the word verb and are getting pretty good at picking verbs out of stories we read!

Other: We were able to try bell peppers, kiwi, cucumber, mango, and cauliflower for our healthy snacks the past two weeks. Can you guess which were our favorites?

Field trip: The information about our first field trip was sent home on Thursday. We are going to OxBow park for a little fall fun on October 19th! If you are interested in going as a chaperone, please turn in the paper stating you'd like to come and make sure you have a background check form filled out and turned in by Monday. These take three weeks to process so if your background check has not been turned in by Monday we cannot allow you to come on this field trip. The cost of the field trip is $2/person. Email me or call if you have any questions.

Weekly Wrap-Up: September 9, 2011

Well, I'm a weekend late in getting this to you. I apologize!

Math: We worked a lot on math facts and patterns. We learned how to use a function table and find the rule to keep the pattern going. We also continued working on story problems throughout the week.

Reading: Our focus last week was beginning, middle and ending of the story. We were assessed toward the end of the week & most of us did really well! If your child's paper came home with a "3" at the top, that means they got it! (More info below on the scoring scale.) We also continue to read to someone and to self. Reading testing is coming along. I'm about 2/3 of the way finished with testing. Then reading groups can officially begin!

Phonics: We continued practicing our spelling routine last week using four of our high frequency words. I think we have the hang of it and will up our list to eight words this week!

Science: We started our new science curriculum last week! It's going to be a lot of fun! Last week we got our science notebooks and watched a launch video on our new unit, "Pushes and Pulls." We'll be diving deeper into the material this week.

Writing: Last week we tried to focus our writing on using feeling to make our stories more exciting. We created a list of feelings on a large chart paper and tried to incorporate those into our writing. It's pretty fun hearing all of these exciting stories!

Scoring Scale: You will notice that some of your child's papers coming home with numbers at the top. You will learn in-depth about the scoring scale & report cards on Thursday (15th) at the report card meeting, but I wanted to fill you in on what I tell the kids so they understand. Our scale is a 4, 3, 2, 1 scale. Our goal is a 3. So if your child's paper has a 3 on it, they've got the concept and are doing fine. On (very) rare occasion your child may come home with a 4. The only time I give a four is if they have shown that they not only understand and have mastered the skill, but they are able to take it to the next level. A lot of the time I haven't checked the next level yet. All that to say, "A three is where you want to be!" If your child has a 2 at the top, it means they are starting to understand the concept but still could use work in it because it's not mastered. If they received a 1 it's because they did not understand the concept at all and needs more help both at home and at school. This same scale will be used on report cards each quarter.

Don't forget there is a meeting to cover the new scoring scale as well as report cards on Thursday, September 15th from 6-7 here at Model.

Also, don't forget Picture Day is that same day (15th). If you are wanting to order pictures, please send in the order form with payment inside by that day. If you need a new order form, let me know asap and I'll make sure one gets home to you.

Weekly Wrap-Up: September 2, 2011

I am amazed at how quickly the weeks fly by this year! Our new schedule keeps us really busy during the day, so I guess that's why the time goes so fast.

I'm going to try to do a little wrap-up each week as my schedule allows. Just so you can peek into what we did in the classroom all week.

Math- We worked really hard all week on break-aparts, partners, and totals. These are probably foreign terms to you- they were to me until we started this new math curriculum! A break-apart is really just the two numbers that equal another number. So if I give the kids the number 9, they tell me that 4 & 5 is a break-apart. Or 6 & 3. We also interchange the name "partners" to those numbers. Either way, that's what we're talking about. Today's "Dear Family" letter that came home today will explain a little more in detail about what this is about. We also studied the U.S. coins closely. Did you know that the back of the nickel is a picture of Monticello, which is the house the Thomas Jefferson designed, built, and lived in?

Spelling- We have been learning & practicing our routine using high frequency words. We have several different activities we do to help us learn to write and read our high frequency words- Build Mix Fix (building with letters), Look Say Cover Write Check (writing them without looking), Rainbow Words (writing them using five different colors), and Spider Spelling ("racing" the words against each other to see which one is written most after rolling a dice). We'll be adding more activities to our list but for now four is enough! Next week we will learn how to choose our own words to use during these spelling games.

Reading- We have pretty much mastered Read to Self time. This week we've moved on to Read to Someone. During Read to Someone we sit in EEKK (elbow to elbow, knee to knee) position with our partner. We take turns reading one of the just right books from our browsing bags. We've done pretty good with Read to Someone time... the one thing we're working on is listening to our partner when they are reading. It's SO easy to get distracted! :)

Content- Content is either science or social studies. We're kind of easing into this area a little slower than reading, math & writing. This is the first year second grade has had any kind of curriculum for science. I'm very excited but I want to make sure I'm doing it right! We'll start science next week. Instead, this week we've been talking about how to be a good friend & using manners.

Writing- As you may have seen from our pictures earlier in the week, we spent one of our writing blocks outside writing! That was very exciting for us! We have been working on using correct capitalization and punctuation this week, as well. Mrs. Moberg came and taught a lesson on Thursday to reinforce using capitals and end marks. Friday we wrote a birthday book for Jeremiah whose birthday is on Monday. Happy birthday, Jeremiah!

A couple of other exciting things happened this week. We had book buddies for the first time! We are book buddies with Mrs. Yoder's 4th Graders. We were all very excited to interview and introduce each other on Thursday. We look forward to meeting with them every two weeks. We also used the laptops for the first time on Friday! Oh my goodness, you would have thought it was Christmas morning in Room 527! They were very excited and listened to procedures pretty good considering. We played a math fact game called Tux Math. We'll soon learn how to get online and play games on some fun kids' sites.

I hope you have a wonderful LONG weekend! Don't forget there is no school on Monday and Tuesday is a late arrival (8:35 doors open) morning. See you then!

Another great week!

We had another great week in second grade! We have been focusing on WHY we are learning what we are learning this week. I try to make sure I let the kids know which goal our activity will help us reach. Sometimes Mr. Robertson, Mrs. Green, or Mrs. Metcalfe will come in to see what the kids are learning or to watch me teach. They may ask the kids why they're doing the activity they're going... so hopefully they're paying attention!

I am amazed at how well this class is doing already this year! Like I said at Parent Night (thanks to all who came, by the way!), they have a great start to solving word problems (one of our goals!). They have also already built their stamina to nearly 25 minutes for read to self time! I am so proud! We will be starting reading groups in no time!

Speaking of starting reading groups, when I start, they will be few and far between as we try to get our mClass testing finished. The window actually opened this past Monday. However, we are waiting on the iPads (how cool!) to come in so we can start the testing. (In the past our testing was done on Palm Pilots.) They should be here anytime & then we can get started on the testing. That said, I HOPE to start sending books home with the kids on Monday. They may or may not have read it prior in a reading group, but at least they will be getting some practice in at home, too.

I hope you all have a great weekend! We're going to try to either go to Michigan City for some outlet shopping or down to Indy for a children's museum visit. Either way I'm excited to spend some time with my family!

P.S. I'm trying to get the info on the sides of the blog changed... I started this blog under a different email and I can't remember the email or the password! Eek! :)