February 25th - March 1st

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

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

While there is still snow on the ground, please remember to send your child to school with all of their winter gear!  They'll need their coats, snow pants, snow boots, hats, and mittens!

The end of February is approaching!  Remember to send back their reading log at the end of the month!  They'll be rewarded for all of those minutes they have been reading!

Ms. Thornhill, Mrs. Lupardo, and I are dancing at Dancing with the Staff this year!  Come out and show your support for GNG teachers and schools!  Tickets are $10 and can be picked up at Gray Parks and Rec!  The event will be GNG high school at 6 p.m. on March 9th!  We hope to see you there!

If you have any friends or family members that participated in our Flat Stanley project and have not sent our flat friends back, please give them a gentle reminder to do so soon.  Team Blowey has been anxiously awaiting their return!  We love learning about new places and calculating how many miles we've traveled!

What to practice on IXL: 

I would like for students' IXL practice to be focused on place value, time, and money.  Once students have mastered these goals, they are more than welcome to go back and review some of our previous topics.

Place Value:

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

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

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

Students should also be practicing their math facts at home!  Since we are just past halfway in the year, students should be close to or working on their subtraction facts by now.  Don't worry if your child isn't there yet!  It just means that they should be practicing a little more at home.  The tricky part about math facts in second grade is that they need to be able to recall the sums and differences from their memory in three seconds or less.  This requires lots and lots of practice!  Although students do get time to practice math facts at school, the more they practice at home, the faster they'll meet their goals here at school!  The best online resource for students to practice their math facts is on mathfactcafe.com.  On that website, students can practice worksheets and flashcards.

Classroom Wishlist:  Highlighters and markers

This week in...

Phonics:  We're working with r-controlled vowels with the spelling patterns /er/, /ir/, and /ur/.  Here are the words we'll be working with:  cleark, term, herd, skirt, sir, stir, churn, burst, hurt, and turn.  We'll say the words, sound them out, and sort them by their spelling patterns.

Vocabulary:  Our new vocabulary words are:  wider, saddest, balance, deserted, freezes, and imagine.  We'll define these words and build connections to them before searching for them in a short story called Bills Helps Geese Survive by Anthony Estes.  

Comprehension:  Our reading strategies that we'll be focusing on this week will be generating questions throughout reading and also identifying cause and effect.  Good readers are always asking questions.  These questions help us connect to the book and make reading meaningful.  When we are identifying the cause and effect in a story, we'll looking for why something happened (cause) and what actually happened (effect).  We can use the connecting word "because" to help us with this.  For example:  I used an umbrella (effect) BECAUSE it was raining (cause).  We'll practice these skills while we read Goose's Story by Cari Best.

Writing:  This week, we'll be working on creating our very own classroom newspaper!  Students will be working with partners to create news articles where they answer the essential questions:  who, what, when, where, why, and how.  They will also create illustrations for their articles.  These pictures and articles will then be assembled into our very own issue of Team Blowey News!  Our newspaper will highlight some of the fun things we've done this year as well as provide information about our team and our classroom.

Grammar:  We'll be working with helping verbs such as have and has.  Helping verbs help other verbs to show an action.  We use has when the subject is singular and have when the subject is plural or I or you.  For example:  My sister HAS learned a lot about insects.  Or,  those cows HAVE eaten a lot today.

Dr. Seuss Day:  Dr. Seuss day is usually celebrated on his birthday, March 2nd.  However, since the second is a Saturday this year, we'll be doing a couple activities during the week to celebrate such a fun and wonderful author!  Our first project will with his book Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! This is a great book that inspires creativity.  One of my favorite lines says, "Think right and think left and think low and think high.  Oh, the thinks you can think up if you only try!"  Students will be challenged to come up with any creative picture they see in their mind and describe it to their audience!  The second project comes from my all-time favorite children's book Oh, the Places You'll Go!  After reading the story, Team Blowey will be challenged to write about where they see themselves going in life.  Will they become President, will they play in the NBA, will they become a teacher, will they go to science camp, etc.  These writings will then be attached to their very own hot air balloon!

Math:  We'll be finishing up our focus on money for now, however, we'll be revisiting this topic throughout the year.  In order to meet this standard, students need to meet the following checklist:

1.  I can identify a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, and dollar bill and know the value of each.

2.  I can add coins up to $1.00.

3.  I can add coins and dollar bills with a sum greater than $1.00.

4.  I can use $ and ¢ appropriately.

5.  I can solve money word problems.

Our whole group lessons this week will focus on adding money and how to solve money word problems.  Small group and individual lessons will be targeted to each student's needs.

February 11th-15th

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

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

Valentine's Day is on Thursday!  If your child would like to bring in valentines for their friends, please remember to bring a valentine for everyone on Team Blowey.  We have 19 students.  Your child will bring home a class list so that they will have the names of each of their teammates. 

To go along with Valentine's Day and the idea of friendship, we will be creating a friendship snack mix!  Each student is asked to bring a cup and a half of their favorite snack (possibilities include, chex cereal, goldfish crackers, chocolate chips, golden grahams, sunflower seeds, raisins, etc) in a ziploc baggie.  We'll be adding each student's ingredient one at a time and the students will realize that when everyone pitches in their ingredient, the mix gets better and better... just like friendships!   Your child will bring home a paper note with more ideas for snack foods with them today.  Also, if anyone can donate cups and napkins it would be greatly appreciated!

The Winter Carnival will be this Thursday, February 14th from 1-1:45!  We'll be able to burn off all of our valentine excitement by building snow sculptures, throwing snowballs at targets, and sledding!  If you have a sled that you would like to send in for us to use for the day, please bring it to school and do not send it on the bus!  We're also hoping for parents to donate some hot cocoa and cookies to help students enjoy this festive day!  We'll also need some parent volunteers to help out!  If you can donate any supplies or some of your time to help us with this event, please let me know!  Thank you!  (If the weather doesn't allow for Thursday, we'll have the carnival on Friday at the same time)

Next week is February Break!  Instead of normal homework packets, students will be getting a special vacation homework packet that I have created.  If you have any questions after receiving the homework packet, please let me know!

 Valentine's Day mailboxes:  I have heard that several students have already created their very own mailbox at home for valentines and would like to bring them to school.  They are more than welcome to bring them to school with them on Thursday.  For those of you who have not created anything at home, no need to worry!  I have scheduled some time for students to create their very own mailbox of sorts here at school.

This week in...

Language Arts:  With so much excitement going on this week, our schedule will look a little different than normal.  Our phonics/spelling words for the week will be homonyms from our priority list.  Homonyms are the words that sound the same but have different meanings.  For example, write and right or to and two.  Here are the words we will be working with:  right, write, no, know, their, there, to, two, too, wood, and would.  

For writing, we will be finishing our final drafts of our persuasive letters.  We'll be using our writer's eyes to make sure our letters are convincing, they have capital letters where they belong, they are organized, they have correct punctuation, and that most of our words are spelled correctly.  Our goal is to finish up the last part of the writing process by the end of the week!

Book Buddies:  We will be meeting with our Kindergarten book buddies this week!  It's such a great time to build connections and enhance our reading skills!

Math:  We will be continuing to work on money.  Students have already unpacked the standard, but will now take a pre-test to see where they will start.  From there, we'll practice menu choices to help us meet our goals.

We'll also be trying to finish up our Pennies for Peace projects.  If you haven't already checked out the organization, here is the website:  www.penniesforpeace.org.   Learn more about the origin of our project that blends money standards and place value standards!

Social Studies:  Since the 100th day of school will fall on Valentine's day, students were challenged today to create 100 valentines to deliver to some elderly folks who are living in an assisted living facility.  Just this weekend, I attended a chocolate festival at an assisted living center in Portland and I will deliver the valentines to that facility.  We thought it was a great way to connect our 100th of school, Valentine's day, the idea of friendship and giving, and also to connect to the community.  Making 100 valentines was a simple way for us to give back to someone else and let them know that they are special.

So far our flat kids have visited:  Maine, Vermont, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Colorado, Nevada, and even Germany!  We're still waiting on a couple friends to return to Russell School.  If you know of someone who still has one of our flat kids, please remind them to send their letters and the flat kids back as soon as possible!  Thank you!

100th day of school activities:  Our 100 valentines were not the only thing we'll be doing to celebrate.  Team Blowey will also be writing about what they think life will be like in 100 years.  They'll also have the chance to color in a hundreds chart and use the pieces to create a picture.  

If there is anything that I have forgotten to put on the blog, please let me know!  Also, do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

I hope everyone is enjoying all of the SNOW!! Have a wonderful week!

February 4th-February 8th

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

I will be out of school on Tuesday and Wednesday at a complex reasoning workshop.  The team will have a substitute teacher.  If you have any important notes about dismissal, etc. please make sure you either send in a paper copy or email Connie at cholland@sad15.org.  She'll make sure the sub will get the right information.

Homework packets are due tomorrow!  Please remember to send them back to school with your child.

Although there isn't much snow left on the ground, please make sure that your child comes to school with the right winter gear (i.e. coat, hat, mittens, etc.)  It can still be VERY chilly outside!

We have time for snack every day so please make sure you send your child in with a healthy snack to keep their brains energized!

WANTED:  Wooden bats.  Mrs. Lupardo, Ms. Thornhill, and I are representing Russell School at Dancing with the Staff this year and our theme is "Take Me Out to the Ball Game!"  We're looking to use wooden bats in our routine.  If there is anyone who has a wooden bat and would be willing to let us borrow it for about it month, it would be greatly appreciated!  We promise we'll hand it back in one piece! :)

What to practice on IXL:

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

 

We are also introducing money this week.  They can practice the following to help them with that:

 

P. 1-15

 

This week in...

 

Phonics:  We're working with r-controlled vowels with the spelling patterns "ar" and "or".  Here are our phonics words for the week:  part, start, park, farm, dark, sort, storm, short, for, horse.

Vocabulary:  Here are our vocabulary words for the week:  puddles, preen, itches, beasts, handy, and nibble.  We'll figure out what these words mean, build connections to them, and then search for them in a short story called Animals Need to Eat by Patty Serrano.

Comprehension:  This week our focus will be on generate questions and being able to compare and contrast.  When we generate questions, we need to think of questions before, during, and after reading.  This keeps our minds engaged and helps us to understand the story later.  When we compare and contrast, we are figuring out how things are alike and how they are different.  We'll practice these skills when we read Splish Splash Animal Baths by April Pulley Sayre.  

Writing:  This week, we'll work really hard to put those finishing touches on our persuasive letters!  We have lots of interesting topics going around.  We've been working on creating a picture in someone's mind in our opening paragraphs, then giving our three important reasons, and then creating a lasting impression in our closing paragraphs.  And, of course, asking politely for what we want.

Grammar:  We will be working with linking verbs.  These are words that do not show action.  Some examples would be:  are, is, am, was, and were.  We'll have to think extra hard to make sure our linking verbs are in the right tense.

Math:  We have unpacked a new standard... MONEY!    Here is what the standard says:

MA.02.MD.03.02

I solve word problems with dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies.  I can use $ and ¢ symbols appropriately.

Today students had the chance to play "make 50¢", work on money worksheets, and use some of the money apps on the ipads.

Later this week, they will work on identifying each coins specific attributes.

To string together place value and money, Team Blowey will also be working on a performance task called Pennies for Peace.  This activity is based upon the book Listen to the Wind by Greg Mortenson.  Many of you may know his book Three Cups of Tea which is the book the story in Listen to the Wind comes from.  

In the book, people raise pennies to help build schools and supply teachers and materials to schools in Korphe.  This service learning project continues today.  Check out the website at http://www.penniesforpeace.org/.

Team Blowey will be learning about the Pennies for Peace project and using data to create a book that demonstrates both their knowledge of Listen to the Wind, the service learning it represents, and place value. 

Social Studies:  We are constantly getting more and more flat friends back in the mail which means we are constantly learning about many new places!  So far, we have calculated that we have traveled over 16,000 miles!  Every time someone comes back, we share pictures, we listen to the letters and learn about new places and cultures, and we plot ourselves on our map (keeping our mapping skills fresh!).  

Read Aloud:  We are still working our way through The Borrowers.

 

Words to THINK about:  This month, we will be thinking about "When life hands you a lemon, make some lemonade!"  Many of you have heard and know this saying.  It's something that's important for all of us to remember right now.  Things may not always go your way, but life is simply what you make it!  So why not make it something great?

I think that just about covers it for this week!  Let me know if you have any questions!

Have a spectacular week!