January 28th-February 1st

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

Homework packets are due tomorrow!  Please send them back in your child's boomerang folder.

This is a gentle reminder to please let me know ahead of time if you are planning on sending any kind of food items in for the class.  We do have some allergies and intolerances that we need to be mindful of.  Any time food is brought into the classroom, I am required to let the nurse and parents know ahead of time so that we can check our allergy/intolerance list and to allow parents enough notice to send in alternative items for their child if they so choose.  Thank you!

It is VERY chilly outside!! Please remember to send your child to school with the appropriate outdoor gear.  They will need it for outdoor recess/earned time. 

Our second grade winter carnival is planned for this Friday, February 1st (weather permitting) from around 1:00-1:45.  Students will make snow sculptures, throw snowballs at targets, and go sledding.  They will also have some hot cocoa and cookies.  Students are more than welcome to bring sleds with them to school, as long as they do not bring them on the bus.  We're looking for cookie and cocoa donations and also some parent volunteers!  Please let me know if you are interested and available.

IXL:  Please refer to last week's post for what to practice on IXL.

This week in...

Phonics:  We're working with triple consonant blends.  The blends we're focusing on are:  scr-, str-, and spr-.  Here are our words:  screen, scream, scrape, stripe, struck, strict, sprain, spring, spruce, strap.

Vocabulary:  Our new words are:  sincerely, impatient, furious, demand, emergency, and snoop.  After we have figured out what these words mean and built connections with them, we'll search for them in the story called Izzy Pig Saves the Day by Kevin Tormino.

Comprehension:  We will continue to work on visualizing the story but we will also revisit the skill of identifying the cause and effect in a story.  The cause is WHY something happened and the effect is WHAT happened.  We'll be using our important linking word "because" to help us with these ideas.  In order to practice, we'll be reading a funny story called Click, Clack, Moo:  Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin.

Writing: This week student's will combine their knowledge of letters and persuasive posters and write a persuasive letter!  Students will be challenged to use precise words, use powerful reasons, combine sentences using the word "and", and make sure that their ideas are clear and easy to follow.

Grammar:  We'll be working on  combining sentences with the word "and".  If two sentences have words, ideas, subject, etc. that are the same, you can combine them!  For example:  Mom picked the apples.  Mom baked a pie.  We could combine them and make this sentence instead:  Mom picked the apples and baked a pie.

Math:  Our place value menu continues!  

However, the second grade team will be beginning something new!  This week starts our first Turnaround Tuesday!  During Turnaround Tuesday, students will be sent to a second grade classroom that will meet them where they are.  For example, there are several students who need some extra help and practice with skip counting, so they will head to the "Skip Counting Room".  While they are there, they will meet up with their peers who need help with similar things and work together to get closer to achieving their goals!  We're very excited to get started!

Social Studies:  We are getting more and more flat friends back everyday!  Today, we learned about some travels to Colorado, Ohio, and South Carolina!  After school, I received a package from Florida!  Already, our flat friends have traveled over 13,000 miles!!  We're learning so much about places all over the country and we're having fun with our imaginations as well.

Book Buddies:  Last week, we had a "Meet and Greet" day with Mrs. Noyes' Kindergarten class.  They will be our book buddies until the end of the year.  Team Blowey and Mrs. Noyes' friends will be getting together every other week to read to one another and once in a while do a fun project together.  We are oh so excited we can barely contain ourselves!

January 22nd-January 24th

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

There will be no school for students this Friday, January 25th!  It is records day.

New homework packets will go home TOMORROW!  Unfortunately, we just weren't able to finish filling them out over the course of the day.  However, students can most definitely still practice their goals at home today and record them on the packet tomorrow.  

Students are bringing home two out-of-the-ordinary things today.  They are bringing home a Scholastic News issue and a script from a reader's theater play.  The Scholastic News is about President Obama, since the presidential inauguration was yesterday.  Students can read this and complete the questions on the back.  The script is something that students can read over tonight as well.  We will be practicing and refining these plays over the course of the week.

Thanks so much for all of your positive thoughts sent to me and my family!  My dad's surgery was yesterday and it went pretty well.  He's currently in the ICU recovering and is expected to go home at the end of the week!

What to practice on IXL:

PLACE VALUE IS REALLY IMPORTANT!  This is our focus in-class right now.

I can read and write three digit numbers:  C.3-4

I can tell you what number is in the hundreds, tens, and ones place in a three digit number:  M.1, 2, 4, 5, 9, and 10.

I can tell you how many bundles of 1, 10, and 100 are in a three digit number:  A.5, M.12

I can write a three digit number in expanded form:  M.13

I can compare three digit numbers using <, >, and = correctly:  B.3-7

I can skip county by 5s, 10s, and 100s:  A.1-3, A.12

 

They can also practice the following:

 

Graphing:  R. 2, 3, 6, 7

Facts:  E. 1-12, L. 1-5

Time: Q. 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10

Money:  P. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15

Odd and Even:  A. 6, 7, 8

Geometry:  T. 1, 2, 3

Fractions:  U. 1-5, 7, 8

 

This week in...

Language Arts (and a little Social Studies):  With it being such a short week this week, we are doing things a little out of the ordinary as well.

Today, students worked together in small groups to read a Scholastic News issue all about Dr. Martin Luther King.  Together, they worked to complete and understand a timeline of his life.  For a fun little spin, they got to create a timeline to mark important times in their lives as well.  They also completed a reading check-in.  The check-in consisted of comprehension questions about the issue that they read.  They also talked about some words that would describe Dr. King:  kind, fair, brave, and peaceful. 

Students will also be practicing and performing a short play.  They were put into three groups.  One group will be performing the play "All by Myself!" which is a play based on the story of the Little Red Hen.  Another group will be performing the play "The Troll Bridge" which is a play based on the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff.  The last group will be performing "To Kiss a Frog" which is a play based on the story of The Frog Prince.

This week, students will work on their fluency and comprehension with these plays.  They'll be challenged read with LOTS of expression to keep their audience entertained!  Some will even have to try out different voices to fit the voice of their character.  It's going to be a lot of fun!

They will also have the chance to create their very own setting together to set the scene for their play.  A challenge for creativity and teamwork!  Woo!

Math:

We are continuing our focus on place value.  Team Blowey has been doing such an awesome job so far!  Please refer to previous blog posts or the IXL information above to see the focus for second grade on place value.

If you have any questions, comments, or insights, please don't hesitate to ask!  Have a wonderful week!

January 14th-January 18th

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

Homework packets are due tomorrow!  Please send them back to school in your child's boomerang folder!

Remember to send all of your child's winter gear with them to school!  They will need their coat, snow pants, boots, hat, and mittens for outdoor recess and earned time.

There will be no school Monday, January 21st (MLK day) or Friday, January 25th (records day).

What to practice on IXL:

PLACE VALUE IS REALLY IMPORTANT!  This is our focus in-class right now.

I can read and write three digit numbers:  C.3-4

I can tell you what number is in the hundreds, tens, and ones place in a three digit number:  M.1, 2, 4, 5, 9, and 10.

I can tell you how many bundles of 1, 10, and 100 are in a three digit number:  A.5, M.12

I can write a three digit number in expanded form:  M.13

I can compare three digit numbers using <, >, and = correctly:  B.3-7

I can skip county by 5s, 10s, and 100s:  A.1-3, A.12

This week in...

Phonics:  We are practicing with the following consonant digraphs:  th, sh, ch, and tch.  Our focus words are:  each, teaching, teeth, wishbone, matching, which, path, fishing, watch, and dish.

Vocabulary:  Our new vocabulary words are:  students, effort, perform, mood, remember, and proud.  After working with them, we'll search for them in a short story called A Little Symphony by Lani Perlin.

Comprehension:  We will continue working on being able to summarize the most important parts of a story.  However, we will also be talking about visualizing.  Visualizing means picturing in your mind what is happening based on the dialogue, descriptions, and illustration.  We'll practice these strategies while reading Dancing as a Team by Sharon Dennis Wyeth.

Writing:  To coordinate with healthy choices going on here at school, we will be making posters to share with Russell School how we like to "move it!".  These posters will be like advertisements for the activity we like to do most to keep our bodies healthy!  Students will using the following checklist for their writing:

Ideas:  Is my message clear?  

Voice:  Does my advertisement sound exciting?  Does it make people want to "move it?"

Conventions:  Did I start each sentence with a capital letter and end them with a period? 

Word Choice:  Did I use strong, lively words (not just fun) to make my advertisement exciting?

Grammar:  We'll be working with the verb "have."  It has two forms in the present tense, has and have.  We use "has" when the subject is singular.  We use "have" when the subject is plural, "I", or "you."

Math:  We'll continue our focus on place value.  Students are working at their own pace and making their own learning choices for how they will practice the skills on the following checklist (example included):

I can read and write a three digit number in standard and word form.

Example:  378 (standard form)       Three hundred seventy eight (word form)

I can tell you what digit is in the ones, tens, and hundreds place in a three digit number.

Example:  536     5 is in the hundreds place, 3 is in the tens place, and 6 is in the ones place.

I can tell you how many bundles of 1, 10, and 100 are in a three digit number.

Example:  752  There are 7 bundles of 100, 75 bundles of 10, and 752 bundles of 1.

I can write a three digit number in expanded form.

Example:  139        Expanded form:  100+30+9

I can use <, >, and = to compare three digit numbers correctly.

Example:    545 > 341             148 < 981                107 = 107

I can skip count by 5s, 10s, and 100s up to 1,000.

Example:  

By 5s:  105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135...

By 10s:  410, 420, 430, 440, 450, 460...

By 100s:  217, 317, 417, 517, 617...

I can tell you the number that is the greatest and the least.

Example:    145     345    678    981    247    863    239

145 is the least and 981 is the greatest.

Social Studies:  Some of our Flat Stanleys are already on their way back!  We'll be talking about where in the world our Flat Kids went, locating it on a map, learning about the different places we visited, and calculating the distance we traveled!  It's definitely an exciting time in room 10.

January 7th-January 11th

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS

It's definitely winter outside!  Make sure you send your child to school with a coat, snow pants, hat, mittens, and boots!  They will need them to go outside for recess and earned time!

Regular homework packets will begin again tomorrow!  Students will fill in their goals and school and practice them at home during the week.  Whenever your child practices a goal, please have them circle the letter of the day that they practiced.  This will show me how and when they are practicing their goals at home.  Also, remember that there is a place for parent feedback!  Please use it!  Let me know any of your comments or questions!

Next Monday, January 14th is early release!  The following Monday is Martin Luther King Day and there will be no school.  On Friday, January 25th, there will also be no school for students as it is records day.  

CALLING ALL MYSTERY READERS!  We still have plenty of weeks without mystery readers.  If you or someone you know would like to come in and read to our classroom (or if you would like to read to us again!) please let me know!  Team Blowey loves Mystery Readers!  We invite mystery readers into our classroom on Wednesdays from 11:50 to 12:10.

What can my child practice on IXL?

Graphing:  R. 2, 3, 6, 7

Facts:  E. 1-12, L. 1-5

Time: Q. 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10

Money:  P. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15

Odd and Even:  A. 6, 7, 8

Geometry:  T. 1, 2, 3

Fractions:  U. 1-5, 7, 8

 

NEW! PLACE VALUE SKILLS!

 

I know what number is in the hundreds, tens, and ones place:  

M.1, M.2, M.3, M.4, M.9.

 

I know how many bundles of 1, 10, and 100 are in a three digit number:

A.5, M.12

I know three digit numbers in numbers and in words:

M.5, M.10

I can skip count by 5s, 10s, and 100s.

A.1, A.2, A.3, A.12

I can write three digit numbers in numbers, words, and expanded form:
C.3, C.4, M.13

 

I can compare numbers using < > or =.

B.3, B.4, B.5, B.6, B.7

This week in...

Phonics:  We are practicing the following consonant digraphs:  th, sh, ch, and wh.  Here are our new phonics words for the week:  chest, chill, chase, shape, sheep, thing, think, white, while, and wheat.  We sorted, sounded out, and spelled all of these words together and will continue to work with them throughout the week.

Vocabulary:  Our news words are:  ancient, hopeful, unable, confirm, and valid.  We will figure out what these words mean and build connections to them so that we are better able to remember them.  Then, we will search for them in two short stories called A Very Old Fish and Boy Finds Fossils!

Comprehension:  We will continue our work with summarizing.  When we summarize, we are making a statement of only the most important ideas in a section.  We'll practice this skill while we read Meet the Super Croc.

Writing:  I have finally set up a system so that students may write letters to each other on a regular basis!  Yay!  We will be reviewing the parts of a friendly letter and talking about how our intra and interclassroom mailing system will work.

Grammar:  We will be working with past-tense verbs.  Most of the time, we will add -ed to a verb to make it a past-tense verb.  We will also be reminding each other that a sentence should start with a capital letter and a sentence should end with a period. 

Math:  We have unpacked our next HUGE and important unit!  Place Value!  Today we unpacked the checklist for place value together.  Here are the parts that your child will need to know in order to pass the place value standards:

1.  I can read and write three digit numbers.

2.  I can tell you what number is in the hundreds, tens, and ones place in a three digit number.

3.  I can tell you how many bundles of 1, 10, and 100 are in a three digit number (A bundle of 100 is made up of 10 bundles of 10, and 100 bundles of 1)

4.  I can write a three digit number in expanded form.

5.  I can use < > and = correctly to compare numbers.

6.  I can skip count by 5s, 10s, and 100s within 1,000.

7.  I can tell you what number is the greatest and what number is the least.

This week, we will practice several menu choices for how to practice and review our individual checklists so that we know what exact parts we still need to work on in order to understand our second grade place value standards.

Social Science:  The plans are still up in the air, but we're hoping to teach our S.O.P. to a kindergarten classroom by the end of the week!

We are also continuing to learn and breathe by our new code that says that we will work together!  It's crucial for us to do this so that we can make our classroom vision come true!

Read Aloud:  We are still reading The Borrowers.

Words to Think about:  Whatever you do... be all about it!

I hope you have a fantastic week!

January 2nd-January 4th

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS

Now that is winter, students really need to be bringing all of their winter gear everyday!  Hat, mittens, coat, snow pants, and boots are needed for them to be able to play outside.

Regular homework packets will start up again next Tuesday.  This week, I just want students to get back into basic school routines.  Even though there is no homework packet, students can still be practicing their math facts at home and reading for 20 minutes every night!  Don't forget to write down those minutes on their reading log!  

If you have any December reading logs, please send them into school so your child can be recognized for all of the reading they have been doing at home!

FLAT STANLEY PROJECTS ARE GOING IN THE MAIL TODAY!  I send out my sincerest apologies for not being able to get these out sooner.  Recently, my Dad has been in and out of the hospital for heart problems and will soon be going in for open heart surgery.  Since Thanksgiving, a lot of my attention and efforts have been focused on helping my parents.  We have high hopes that his surgery will go well and hopefully he'll be home and recovering as soon as he can!  Please let any of your friends or family members that are participating in this project know that I am very sorry for the delay and I greatly appreciate their willingness to help us with our Flat Friends!  If you or the participating members have any questions, please let me know!

This week in...

Language Arts:  We will be practicing all of the daily 5 again.  We'll talk about student jobs and teacher jobs during read to self, writing, word work, read to someone, and listen to reading.  These jobs, help us to foster independence so that we can all meet our goals faster.  Then, we'll have a chance to build our stamina back up.  By the end of the week, our goal is to have our stamina back up to 15 minutes.  Remember, stamina is being able to do anything for a long period of time without getting tired or giving up.  Check out the pictures below to see our Independence Charts for each part of the Daily 5. These are the same posters that we created together at the beginning of the year.

 Math:  In math, we'll be continuing to play math games for the rest of the week.  However, we are putting a greater focus on what it means to be a good partner.  Check out the chart we made together below.  

 

During games, students will be monitoring themselves and their partner to see if they are being good partners.  Again, these math games are helping students to practice important place value skills that we will be using in our next unit. 

Read Aloud:  Today, we began The Borrowers  by Mary Norton.  This will be our read aloud book for the next few weeks.

Social Science:  We will refine our "Getting Ready to go Outside" S.O.P. for the kindergarten classrooms.  Then, we'll practice teaching it to each other before we teach it to the kindergarteners.

We are also revisiting our Code of Cooperation to make sure it is still helping us make our vision come true.  Before vacation, our code said:

1.  Follow directions and use self control.

2.  Treat others they way you want to be treated.

3.  Dream big... and never give up on your goals!

4.  Support and encourage your teammates.

 Today we decided that we wanted to change support and encourage your teammates to just say work together. 

 

Words to Think About:  "Whatever you do, be all about it!"