April 29-May 3

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

I will not be at school Wednesday, May 1.   I will be unable to check my email all day so if you need to get any messages to your child or the school (especially regarding transportation) please email them to Connie Holland at cholland@sad15.org.  She will direct your messages to whom they may concern.  You may also choose to send in a hand written note.

Homework packets are due tomorrow!

Spring Concert is tomorrow night at 6 pm at GNG middle school!  Hope to see you there!

Please remember to send a sweatshirt with your child to school.  Although the weather has started to warm up, the mornings can be pretty chilly, especially when the wind is blowing!  Better to be safe than chilly!

For an upcoming project, I'm hoping that some of you will be able to send in paper towel or toilet paper rolls, after they are empty of course!  We will only be needing the cardboard tube.  If you have any that you would like to send in, please send them to school with your child!  Thank you!

IXL:

The biggest focus should be on anything under letters G or H.  Students may also practice A. 4 and 5.

Here are some extensions:

Add  or subtract 10 or 100 to a three-digit number in my head:  G. 1, H. 1, I. 1, J. 1.

Add up to four two-digit numbers:  G. 13

Add or subtract three-digit numbers:  anything under I or J

Understanding the relationship between addition and subtraction:  anything under K.

This week in...

Phonics:  We are working with the hard and soft c sounds as well as the hard and soft g sounds.  The hard c sound sounds like "cuh" (example:  candy).  The soft c sound sounds like "s" (example: celebrate).  The hard g sounds like "guh" (example:  go).  The soft g sounds like "juh" (example:  general).  Here are our words:  cave, camp, cent, girl, gift, gem, gym, wagon, face, and germ.

Vocabulary:  Here are our words:  footprint, surface, spacecraft, lunar, discovered, and visible.  

Comprehension:  This week we will practice summarizing as we read to find out more about the moon!  We'll be reading The Moon by Seymour Simon.  As we read, we'll check in with each other and talk about the things that we are learning to help us summarize.  We'll be learning lots of things about the moon such as what it looks like, what it's made out of, the first exploration of the moon, and more!  

Writing:  Students will be working on finishing up our poetry unit.  This week we'll write cinquains and diamantes.  A cinquain is a five line poem that follows this pattern:

Line 1:

one word (subject or noun)

Line 2:

two words (adjectives) that describe line 1

Line 3:

three words (action verbs) that relate to line 1

Line 4:

four words (feelings or a complete sentence) that relates to line 1

Line 5:

one word (synonym of line 1 or a word that sums it up)

Diamante poems are poems that follow this pattern:

Noun
Adjective, Adjective
Verb, Verb, Verb
Noun, Noun, Noun, Noun
Verb, Verb, Verb
Adjective, Adjective
Noun

From poetry4kids.com:

In a synonym diamante, the nouns at the beginning and end are two words that mean basically the same thing. In an antonym diamante, the two nouns are opposites. Here are a couple of examples:

Synonym Diamante

In this diamante, the words “Monsters” and “Creatures” mean the same thing, so they are synonyms.

Monsters
Evil, Spooky
Howling, Shrieking, Wailing
Ghosts, Vampires, Goblins, Witches
Flying, Scaring, Terrifying
Creepy, Crawly
Creatures

Antonym Diamante

In this diamante, you might say that the words “Cat” and “Dog” are opposites, or “antonyms,” so this is an antonym diamante.

Cat
Gentle, Sleepy
Purring, Meowing, Scratching
Whiskers, Fur, Collar, Leash
Barking, Licking, Digging
Slobbery, Playful
Dog

Students will also be beginning their tall tales to integrate into our weather unit!  Students will be making their thinking maps to outline their stories.  These thinking maps will get Team Blowey to think about the characters, setting, problem, events, solution, and the ending of the story.  They will use these thinking maps to create their own "Cloudy with a Chance of _____________" stories.

Math:

We are continuing to work on solving word problems involving two-digit addition and subtraction with unknowns in all positions.  Our focus is on being able to learn how to use multiple tools to solve the same problem.  Please refer to previous posts for more of an explanation about the word problems and the tools.

Science:

This week, students will be observing the clouds.  They will identify the types of clouds they see, and then make a prediction about the day's weather.  We are also beginning to use the weather tools that Team Blowey worked to create last week.  Here are some pictures of the tools along with some of the sayings we use to help us remember what these tools do:

Anemometer... to measure wind speed:

"Anemometer... spins like a top... how fast is the wind blowing... and when will it stop?"

Barometer... to measure atmospheric pressure:

"Rising barometer... SUNNY!  Falling barometer, RAINY!"

Rain Gauge... to measure rainfall:

"Rain gauge... bloop, bloop, bloop, overflowing... FLOOD!"

***no picture since it's outside ready and waiting to collect rain!

Wind Vane... to observe wind direction:

Using our hands as the arrows, we spin around (making wind sounds) and say the directions, "North, East, South, and West!"

We are also beginning our Animal Research Projects.  This week, students will decide on an animal they would like to study and begin taking notes on what the animal looks like, what the animal eats, where the animal lives, and some other interesting facts.  We'll also be discussing how we classify animals into mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians,  insects, or fish.  We'll start by deciding on an animal that we would like to study as a whole class.  From there, I will model note taking skills emphasizing how important it is to organize your information!  When our research is finished we will be working on writing a report where they will have to start with a green topic sentence to tell me what their report will be about followed by some interesting facts, a yellow idea sentence (about what it looks like, eats, or where it lives), followed by two red details sentences, and a green concluding sentence.  Here the example of the report my class from last year helped me write:

Beluga Whales

      Beluga whales are fascinating animals!  They are born gray or brown but then fade to white when they are about five years old.  Beluga whales live in small groups called pods.  They communicate with each other with clicks, whistles, and clangs.   Now, I'd like to share some more facts about the beluga whale.

     First, beluga whales are a smaller kind of whale and only range between 13 and 20 feet long.  They are distinguishable from other whales because of their white blubber!  They also have no dorsal fin and rounded foreheads.

     Next, beluga whales are mammals that live in the ocean.  You will most likely find them in the coastal waters of the Arctic Ocean.  When the water starts to freeze over, they migrate southward.

    Last, beluga whales are carnivores.  They eat octopus, squid, crabs, and other bottom-dwelling animals.  They don't chew their food though!  They swallow it whole!

     In conclusion, the beluga whale is one of the most interesting animals to study.

This kind of writing is also one of the complex reasoning skills that I learned about at the complex reasoning workshop I attended.  It really gets students to think critically when they are asked to provide evidence for what they are saying (i.e. a yellow idea sentence, following by two red detail sentences.

Computer Lab:  We are continuing to practice our typing skills!  Every Tuesday, we'll be heading to the library for 30 minutes so that we can practice specific keys on the keyboard, but also to do some fun projects that involve typing!

Book Buddies:  We'll be working with our book buddies this week!  We are still practicing good buddy qualities such as being respectful to peers and adults, being good listeners, and being good friends.  At the same time, we're practicing our literacy skills!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or insights!

April 22nd-April 26th

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

Homework packets are due tomorrow!

Students are bringing home a packet that shows you how to add and subtract two digit numbers using all of the strategies we have been learning here at school.  Please let me know if you have any other questions?

We will be having a special presentation tomorrow!   The Chewonki Foundation will be coming to do a presentation about bats!  This presentation will serve as a way to build excitement for our animal research projects that we will begin in May!

New things in the classroom...

WOW cones:  Wow cones are to reward individual students for "WOW" behavior!  If a student is being a role model or helping out another student in need, for example, they could earn a "WOW" cone.  The cone will stay on their desk all day!  At the end of the day, they will earn an extra "B" buck.

Go for Gold:  To inspire teamwork in small groups, each table is now a team.  These teams are trying to earn points throughout the week.  Teams will earn points for staying focused on their work, cleaning up their table, being ready after countdowns, listening to directions, etc.  The team with the most points at the end of the week will earn gold medals and an extra 5 "B" bucks.

IXL:  Please refer to previous posts for what to practice.

Team Jerseys are not quite finished yet.  I still have a couple kiddos who need to finish their shirts.  Once they are finished and dried,  I will take the jerseys home, wash them, and bring them back to school.  To celebrate, we'll have a Team Jersey Day!  The date for that is TBD.

This week in...

Phonics:  We are working with silent w, silent b, silent g, and silent k.  Here are our words for the week:  wren, wrist, sign, gnaw, debt, lamb, know, knife, and knee and knot.  

Vocabulary:  Our vocabulary words are:  blooming, prickly, muscles, aroma, scent, and trade.

Comprehension:  We'll be working on summarizing and telling the sequence of events.  When we summarize, we are retelling only the most important parts of the story.  When we identify the sequence of events, we are telling about the events in the order in which they happened.  Doing these things will help us understand the story better.  We'll practice these things while we read The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin.  Students will also have the chance to practice these skills while they read their campfire reading books.

Grammar:  We will be working on pronoun-verb agreement.   This means we'll be making sure that the verb in our sentence matches the pronoun.  For example, if we use the pronouns he, she, or it, we will add -s to most action verbs to form the present tense.  Here are some examples:

She WEEDS the garden.

He BRINGS the hose.

It MAKES the soil damp.

Writing:  Continuing with some of the poetry that we have been talking about, we will be writing list poems.  A very famous list poem is called "Sick" by Shel Silverstein.  We'll read this poem and then create our own "Clouds" and "Ouch!" list poems.  Here is my example:

OUCH!

beestings

falling off the swings

tripping over rocks

stubbing my toes

getting a papercut

doing a bellyflop

thorny bushes

dislocated knee

broken arm

OUCH!

Math:  We are continuing to work on adding and subtracting two-digit numbers in word problems.  Here are the steps for solving a word problem:

Step 1:  Read it!

Step 2:  adding or subtracting?

Step 3:  is there more or less at the end of the story?

Step 4:  write a number sentence

Step 5:  solve it!

We have been practicing how to solve these problems using tools like a hundreds chart, number line, or drawings of base ten blocks.  Most recently we have been working on solving with the tens and ones strategy.  We'll use all of these strategies when we solve problems with unknown change as well.  For example, 54 + ____ = 76   or 43- ___ = 21.

NECAP problems:  In order to help second graders prepare for the NECAP tests next year, we will be working on one problem from previous years math test each day.  Students will attempt the problem on their own first and then we'll talk about the problem.  We'll develop test taking skills and also help students get used to the kind of "test language" they will see next year.  Each day, students will bring the practice problem home.  I'm hoping this can be used as a conversation starter between you and your child.  They may not have the correct answer on their paper but they should be able to explain to you how we figured out what they correct answer would be as a whole class.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Flashback Friday:  I'm hoping to leave Fridays as a day for review for students so that they can continue to build on some of the foundational skills that we have been practicing throughout the year.  This week, students will focus on time, money, and math facts.  Students will be working on independent and small group activities (like worksheets, games, projects, etc) that will build on their knowledge as well as review concepts they have already practiced.

Earth Day:  In honor of Earth Day, we read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss and brainstormed things that we could do to help our Earth stay clean and healthy!  We each made an Earth Day promise and then worked together to create a world out of our handprints.  Later in the week, students will get to make their very own truffula trees and lorax mustaches!

 

April 8-11

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

Homework packets are due tomorrow!

The team jerseys are not quite complete yet.  My hope is to send them home at the end of the week.  Thank you so much to all of you who were able to donate extra shirts and paints for us to use!  

Tomorrow is literacy night!  The event required pre-registration so I'm hoping that all of you who wanted to attend will be able to be there!  Mrs. Sylvester and I will be running a non-fiction reading center about animals!

There will be no school on Friday, April 12th!

IXL:  please refer to previous post.

Classroom Wishlist:  Markers!

This week in...

Phonics:  We are working with the schwa sound!  Our words are:  alone, ago, again, alike, comma, idea, awake, agree, above, and away.  

Vocabulary:  Our words are vast, oceans, areas, voyage, and planet.  We'll figure out what these words mean and build connections to them.  Then, we'll search for them in two short stories, Continents and Oceans, and Record Holders!

 Comprehension:  This week our focus will be on identifying the main idea in a story.  This means that we will find what the story is mostly able and then support it with details.  We'll do this while we read Columbus Explores New Lands.  We'll also ask the questions:  What was Columbus looking for when he set sail across the Atlantic Ocean?  What did he find?

Writing:  This week, we'll begin writing poems.  We'll start with acrostic poems.  An acrostic poem is a poem where you pick a word you want to write about and each of the letters becomes the beginning letter for each line in the poem.  For example:

S:  shines brightly

U:  up in the sky

N:  nice and warm on my skin

Grammar:  We'll be working with possessive pronouns.  A possessive pronoun takes the place of a possessive noun.  Some examples are:  my, his, and her.

Read Aloud:  Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

Math:  We'll continue to work on solving word problems using tens and ones but I will also introduce solving word problems with unknown change.  Here is an example:

Sally baked 74 cookies for the bake sale this weekend.  On Saturday, she sold a ton of cookies!  When the bake sale was over, Sally had 23 cookies left.  How many cookies did Sally sell at the bake sale?

Here are the steps to solving this problem:

1.  Understand what the word problem is asking you to do (find out how many cookies Sally sold... she started with 74 and ended with 23, the numbers got smaller so I need to subtract)

2.  Will there be more or less at the end of the story (She started with 74 and at the end, Sally only had 23 cookies, so there was less at the end of the story)

3.  Write a number sentence to represent the problem (74-___ = 23)

Once I have my number sentence, I can solve it in many ways.

First, some kids use the relationship between addition and subtraction.  For example, I know that 7 + 3 = 10, so 10- 3 must be 7!  So to solve this problem I might try solving 23 + ___ = 74,  or 74-23= ___

Students can use many of the tools they already know as well like the 100s chart, the number line, or drawings of base ten blocks.

Student may also choose to use manipulatives, like snap cubes to find out how many they need to take away to only have 23 left.

Unknown change problems are simply like finding the missing number.  They could be 25 + ___ = 52 or  ______ - 21 = 45.

Science:  We are in our final observations for our brassica plants.  Now that our plants beginning to die, we will be able to see how the plant life cycle can continue!  Some of our plants have grown seedpods so we'll talk about how that happened and why!

April 1- April 5

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

Homework packets are due tomorrow!

Please remember to send a plain white t-shirt to school with your child by Wednesday!  We'll be making our jerseys on Friday!

I'm looking for some more volunteers to be able to come in and help us make our jerseys!  We'll need volunteers in two time slots, you can pick which time would be the most convenient for you:  9:45-10:45 or 12:30-1:30.  Please let me know if you are willing and able to volunteer!

THIS THURSDAY IS BIOGRAPHY DAY!  Please send your child to school dressed like the person they have been studying.  Remember, this can be as simple as a hat!  Do not feel like you need to go out and buy anything for this day.  If you need any help at all coming up with a costume, please let me know!

Next Monday is an early release day!  Next Friday, April 12, there will be no school!  The following week is Spring Break!

IXL:  

I can solve word problems within 100 using  a hundreds chart, number line, drawings of base ten blocks, or the tens and ones strategy with unknowns in all positions.

F. 12

 G.  6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14

H. 6, 9, 10, 11, 12

 L.  3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12,

 S.  3, 8

This week in...

Phonics:  We're working with the diphthong oi, oy.  Our words are soil, broil, moist, point, boil, oil, toy, joy, soy, and royal.  We sounded out, sorted, and spelled these words together.  We'll continue to work with them throughout the week.

Vocabulary:  Our new words are:  gathered, agreed, randomly. jabbing, and signal.  We'll figure out what these words mean and build connections to them.  Then we'll search for them in the short play called Why Sun and Moon Live in the Sky.

Comprehension:  This week, we'll be trying to visualize and identify the problem and solution in a story.  When we visualize, we'll be trying to picture what we're reading in our minds.  This can help us better understand and remember what is going on in the story.  When we identify the problem (something the characters want to change, fix, or find out) and the solution (what solves the problem), we'll be acting just like investigators and be asking lots of good questions and be looking for the details in the story!  We'll practice these skills when we are reading Pushing Up the Sky by Joseph Bruchac.

Writing:  We are working on putting the finishing touches on our biography posters!  We'll be focusing on using our neatest and best handwriting while we add lots of color and details into our pictures.  At the same time, we'll make sure that our "decorations" are focused on our topic and do not become distracting for someone who might be reading our posters.

Grammar:  This week we'll be reviewing the parts of a sentence (subject and predicate) and how it relates to using the words "I" and "me".  We use "me" in the predicate part of a sentence and we use "I" in the subject part of a sentence.  This is one of those age old lessons of trying to decide when to use I or me in a sentence!  For example, we would say that Kira and I sing in the show, not Kira and me sing in the show.  However, we would say... my teacher helps me with the words, not my teacher helps I with the words.

Math:  We are continuing to focus on using tens and ones in order to solve words problems within 100 in our whole group lessons.  Please refer to previous blog posts to see what that looks like.

Science:  We are continuing to observe our brassica plants!

Social Studies:   We have been revisiting our Code of Cooperation and talking about how we follow those codes to make the classroom vision come true.  Here are our codes:

1.  Follow directions and use self control.

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

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

4.  Work together!