October 28-November 1

Announcements and Reminders:

This Thursday, October 31st, will be our Harvest Party!  Thank you so much for all of those who were able to donate supplies or offer up their time to volunteer at this event.  If you are still interested in volunteering, please let me know as soon as possible!  The event will run from about 1:40-2:40 with time for set up and clean up before and after.

Our Harvest Party will get Team Blowey moving and working together!  We’ll have fun with pumpkin ring toss, butternut squash bowling, and popcorn relays!

Homework packets are due on Thursday!  Please remind your child to put their homework packet in their folders on Wednesday night!  No homework packet = no free choice Friday!

With the weather starting to get chillier, please remember to send your child to school with the appropriate outerwear!  I don’t know about you, but I get pretty cranky if I’m cold!

Conferences continue this week!  I will see some of you tomorrow and some of you on Wednesday.  If you don’t remember your day and/or time of your conference, please let me know!  I’d be happy to send along another reminder.  Also, these are parent, teacher, STUDENT conferences so please remember to bring along your child!  They will play an important role in the goal setting part of our conference.

This week in...

Phonics:  We are studying the long and short /u/ sound.  We will practice sounding out, sorting, and spelling the following words:  bud, dude, rude, rule, fume, duck, sun, bump, cup, and cube.  

Vocabulary:  Our new vocabulary words are:  drowns, drifts, desert, gently, burst, and neighbor.  We'll be figuring out what these words mean and building connections to them.  Then, we'll search for them in a story called Plant Power by Bradley Roberts.

Comprehension: We will practice drawing conclusions about a story.  We'll do this by using what we know, clues in the story, and picture clues.  Being able to draw conclusions helps us to understand the story better.  We'll practice these things while reading The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle.

Writing:  This week, we will be working on a harvest time “how-to” story.  We’ll begin by brainstorming some ideas for things we do this time of year (i.e. picking the perfect halloween costume, carving pumpkins, going trick-or-treating, etc).  Then students will pick an idea that they would like to teach to someone else through their writing.  They will have to break down each step using the words first, next, then, and last to show the correct order.  They’ll also have to make sure their sentences start with a capital letter and end with a period.  Here is an example:

How to Tell a Spooky Story

First, make sure you are in a darkened room.

Next, use a flashlight to show your face.

Then, use a deep and scary voice to tell the story.

Last, make sure you take a big pause before you tell the scariest part!

Math:  We are going to focus on strategies to help us learn our math facts.  In second grade, we are learning how to add and subtract numbers up to 20 using strategies from memory.  Basically that means, we know the sums and differences in our heads in a snap (three seconds or less).  We have already practiced a lot of the games and other menu stations that we will do to practice our math facts, however, now our goal time will be focused on each student’s individual goals.  We’ll also be placing a bigger emphasis on using mental strategies.

We will also introduce our time standard.  Students must be able to tell time to the nearest five minutes.  This week, we’ll introduce digital and analog clocks, talk about the hour hand and the minute hand, and review how to read different clocks.  Our math centers will allow students to practice these skills, reviewing old skills and practicing new ones.

Read Aloud:  We are still reading the silly story, Chocolate Fever.  A story about a boy who loves chocolate so much that he ends up getting chocolate fever!

Technology Time:  This will be our first week in the computer lab!  We will be exploring the laptops and computers while practicing our typing skills.  Throughout the year, students will also have the opportunity to create fun projects with technology!

Halloween Themed Activities:  Since Halloween happens this week, we’ll also be doing some festive and spooky activities to practice second grade skills.  In math, we’ll practice making a different kind of graph called a glyph.   A glyph is a picture that shows data that we have collected.  After reading two books about bats (Stellaluna and Bats at the Beach), students will create a bat glyph that represents them.  They will be giving information about whether they like to hang upside down or not, what book they liked best, and if they are afraid of bats.  We'll also be making a graph to show if we think spiders are cute or creepy!  In literacy, we’ll introduce the idea of fact vs. opinion.    Facts are things that are true and can be proven.  Opinions are personal beliefs or feelings about a topic.  Using fall themed and spider themed facts and opinions, Team Blowey will have to sort them into their correct categories.

October 21-October 25

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

Homework packets are due on Thursday!  Please remind your child to put them in their folders on Wednesday night!  Homework must be turned in by Friday morning in order to have Free Choice Friday.

This Wednesday, October 23, is an early release day!  Please plan accordingly!

Thanks so much to all who have responded to our Harvest Party requests!  We are still looking for someone to donate some pumpkins, a few more butternut squashes, some plain popcorn (we won’t be eating any of it), and some canning rings.  If you would like to donate any of those materials, just send a note or email my way!  It would be greatly appreciated!

Conferences begin on Thursday this week!  Next week, there are conferences on Tuesday and Wednesday.  If you are unsure of what time and day your conference is, please contact me!  I would be happy to remind you of our meeting time.  I’m looking forward to seeing all of you again and talking about Team Blowey’s progress!  Remember, these are Parent, Teacher, STUDENT conferences so please plan on bringing your child to the conference!  Also, if you have any questions that you would like answered at the conference, please send them to me ahead of time so I can make sure I have the appropriate resources to answer you question fully and appropriately.  Thank you!

Mrs. Thibodeau will be coming to visit our classroom again this week!  We’ll continue talking about using Kelso’s choices to help us solve our small problems!

THIS WEEK IN...

Phonics:  This week we will be reviewing the sounds we have been working with in Unit 1.  We’ve practiced 50 words so far!  We’ve practiced all of the short vowel sounds and we’ve also practiced the long /i/, long /o/, and long /a/ sounds.  We’ll work on sorting some of the words we worked with and practice reading and writing them.

Vocabulary:  We are reviewing several words from Unit 1.  We’ll review:  groan, whisper, delighted, share, safe, forest, deaf, cultures, patient, and settled.  We’ll talk about what these words mean and give examples of how we might use them in a sentence or how we connect to the words to remember them better.

Comprehension:  This week, we’ll be working together to take a sample Unit assessment.  These assessments focus on being able to read a passage and answer questions about it.  Together, we’ll read about Tigers and Kim’s Good Idea.  In this practice assessment, we’ll also practice using some of our reading strategies like using pictures to answer questions.

Grammar:  We will be reviewing all of the skills we have practiced so far!  We’ll review the different type of sentences like statements, questions, commands and exclamations.  We’ll review the parts of a sentence (subject and predicate) and we’ll also review how to combine sentences if they have the same subject or the same predicate.  

Writing:  This week we will focus on revising, editing, and publishing our personal narratives!  Today, student’s worked with a partner to try and figure out what they could add to their story to make it more interesting!  Team Blowey will take those changes and create a second draft.  Then, they will conference with me for the editing process.  We’ll be making sure that every sentence starts with a capital letter and has correct ending punctuation.  We’ll be making sure that most of our words are spelled correctly and 
that our story flows, meaning that it is easy to read.  Then, Team Blowey will use their very best handwriting to publish their personal narratives!

Math:  We are getting so close to making it to the top of Mount Geometry!  Our whole group lessons this week will focus on reviewing each step on our checklist.  Here is what Team Blowey will need to show in order to make it to the top of Mount Geometry!

Identify a triangle, quadrilateral (any shape that has four sides and four angles), pentagon, hexagon, and cube.  Students should also be able to identify a rhombus, trapezoid, square, rectangle, and circle.

Be able to count the number of sides (the lines that make up the shape) and angles (the corners) that make up a 2D shape.

Identify a 3D shape.

Count the number of faces (the flat surfaces) of a 3D shape.  

Draw a 2D shape given specified attributes (like a given number of sides and/or angles) and draw a 3D shape.

We’ll also be doing some fun projects to help us review some of these things!  We’ll be reading The Shape of Things by Dayle Ann Dodds and then creating a very similar classroom book.  We’ll follow this format:  A _______________ is just a _________________ until you add __________________.  Then it’s a _____________________.  For example, a square is just a square until you add a roof and some windows, then it’s a house!  We’ll also be making some geometrical Jack-O-Lanterns!  Students will use geometric shapes to decorate pumpkins and then they will have to tell me how many of each shape they used.

Social Studies:  Our classroom store will open this week!  Students will have the chance to spend the “B” that they have earned however they would like!  Some might choose to spend it all, some might choose to save it all and try and save up to buy something more expensive!  

Science:  Since we didn’t have a chance to play our “Plant Needs” game last week, my goal is to try and play it sometime this week!  Students will become plants themselves and have to find the four things a plant needs in order to stay alive in the game!  They will be collecting sunlight, soil, water, and air.

Have a wonderful week!

October 15-18

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

Time requests for Parent/Teacher/Student conferences went home last Thursday!  Please remember to send them back to school as soon as possible!  Conferences are set up on a first come, first serve basis!  If I do not get a time request from you, I will assign you a day and time.  

Homework packets are due this Thursday!  Please remind your child to put it back in their folder so they can get their Free Choice Friday!

On October 31st, we will be celebrating the harvest season in true Team Blowey style!  We will be celebrating with some fun fall-themed games!  We'll need your help to make this event happen so I will be sending home a sign-up sheet this week with the items we will need.  If you are willing and able to send in any of the items, just send the bottom part of the sheet back to school with your child indicating what it is that you would like to contribute.  

A reminder about spelling:

If you were able to come to the Parent Night last week, you heard me mention that students are not only asked to spell their words correctly, but also to be able to use them in a sentence correctly.  We have had lots of students get 100% on the spelling part of their test, but are unable to use their words correctly in a sentence.  My suggestion would be to help them put this into practice while they are practicing their spelling words at home.  I've been noticing a lot of trouble around words like an (many of us try to use it in a sentence where "and" really belongs), your, there, and their.   This can be quite a challenge but I know that if we work like a team (parent, student, and teacher)  Team Blowey will surely succeed!

Calling all mystery readers!  We have only had a few people sign up and we're looking for more!  Generally I ask mystery readers to come on Wednesdays from 11:50-12:15.  If you would like to come in and be a mystery reader but that day and time doesn't work for you, let me know!  I'll do my best to make some accommodations!

Practicing on IXL!  The second grade teachers did some more exploring on IXL and realized that the geometry activities under first grade actually meet our second grade geometry standard better!  So here are the areas students can practice on IXL that truly match our learning focus:

First Grade:  K.1-8
Second Grade:  T.1-3

THIS WEEK IN...

Phonics:  We are working with the long and short /o/ sound.  Here are our focus works:  rope, rose, poke, cone, hope, box, fox, dog, lock, pot.

Vocabulary:  Our new words are:  settled, wrinkled, practiced, cuddle, favorite, and patient.

Comprehension:  This week, we will be focusing on making and confirming predictions while we read.  When we make a prediction, we are making a reasonable guess as to what will happen next in the story.  We do this by looking at the pictures, thinking about what we already know, and thinking about the text from the story.  When we are confirming a prediction, we are reading on to find out whether our prediction was correct.  We'll practice this skill while we read My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits.

Grammar:  This week we'll be working on combining sentences.  So far we have learned about the subject of a sentence (who or what the sentence is about) and the predicate of a sentence (the part of the sentence that tells more about the subject).  If two sentences have the same subject, or they have the same predicate, we can combine them!  For example, if we had two sentences such as:  

Nina came from Mexico.  Marcos came from Mexico.

We could combine them using the word "and".  Our new sentence might say:

Nina and Marcos came from Mexico.

Writing:  Last week, I modeled how to take our brainstorming about our personal narrative and put it into a rough draft.  We made sure we used excellent word choice to not only paint a picture in our reader's mind but also to make them know what we were feeling!  This week, Team Blowey will be working to make their rough draft of their personal narrative story.  

Math:  We are still on our geometry adventure!  Last week, our whole group lessons focused mostly on identifying and naming shapes using their specific attributes (such as sides and angles).  We also did a lot of work to make sure we knew what a side (a line that makes up the shape) was and what an angle (where two lines come together) was.  This week, we will be delving more into the world of 3D shapes!  Students will be exposed to many different kinds of 3D shapes.  We'll be working on identifying vertices, faces, and edges as well as being able to draw 3D shapes.  This can be fun but it can also be quite a challenge!

Social Studies:  Since yesterday was Columbus Day, we talked about how Christopher Columbus was a famous explorer.  We made a connection with him in a writing prompt when we were asked to think like explorers!  Team Blowey wrote about where they would like to explore the most and why.  As a team, I think we wanted to explore the whole world!

Scholastic News:  Our Scholastic News issue will focus on Columbus as well.  we'll read about how he used to keep a diary and what he used to write about.  Then, we'll use a diagram of the Santa Maria to answer some key questions.  

Science:  I just found a new game that will help reinforce the needs of a plant!  We'll be playing that together this week.  Basically, Team Blowey will become plants.  Then, they will have to find the resources they will need to survive:  water, sunlight, air, and soil (little pieces of paper).  

Read Aloud:  We are almost finished with the wonderful story of Charlotte's Web!  Soon, we'll be diving in the book called Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith.  A perfect read aloud for the sugar-induced coma that tends to hit many of us around the month of October!

October 7-11

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

Parent night will be this Wednesday from 6:15-7:00!  We will start right on time with our Meet the Team video!  You won't want to miss it!  If you are unable to make this event, please contact me so that we can make other arrangements to get this VERY important information!

Homework packets are due on Thursday!  Please send them back to school with your child!  Remember, in order to have free choice Fridays, homework packets need to be turned in by Friday morning!  No homework packet = no free choice Friday!

Believe it or not, conferences are coming right up as well!  I had originally planned to send out a sign up sheet in this week's totes but unfortunately it's not a tote week!  This year, the plan is to send out totes every other week instead.  Rolling with the punches, I'll still send out the sign up sheets this Thursday but they will come home in your child's classroom folder instead.  Be on the lookout for that! Conferences will be on a first come, first serve basis so please send back those sheets as soon as possible!  You can plan for your conference to be on either October 24, 29, or 30th.

On Thursday, I'll also be sending home a sheet as a sign up to bring things for our Harvest Party!  In true Team Blowey style, we will be celebrate with movement, not food.  However, we'll need your help to get the supplies for our harvest themed activities.  If you are willing and able to contribute anything, please send back the bottom of the form!  The harvest party will be on Thursday, October 31 from 1:00-2:45 (set-up, play time, and breakdown).  Any questions after receiving the form, please let me know!

This Thursday, students will be going to a fire safety presentation!  They'll learn about how to make a plan in case there is a fire as well as some safety precautions that they can take to avoid a household fire!

Classroom Request:  Watching this Meet the Team video makes my day and I would love to have it do the same for you as well!  I'm wondering if there is anyone out there who would be willing to donate some blank recordable DVDs to the classroom so that I can make copies for the team!  If you are willing and able to donate, please let me know!

THIS WEEK IN...

Phonics:  We're working with the long and short i sound.  Here are our focus words:  did, fin, pick, nine, pipe, rip, mix, five, side, and hike.

Vocabulary:  Our new words are:  deaf, language, signing, cultures, relatives, and celebrate.  We'll figure out what these words mean and build connections with them.  Then, we'll search for them in the short story called A Special Camp by Kate Jones.

Comprehension:  We will work with main idea and supporting details again this week.  The main idea is the most important part of a story or article.  The details tell us more about the main idea to help explain it.  This week, we'll practice this skill while reading Meet Rosina by George Ancona.

Grammar:  Last week, we learned about the subject of a sentence.  This week, we will learn about the second part of the sentence called the predicate.  The predicate tells what the subject does or is.  For example in the sentence:  "Rick is a good artist"  Rick would be the subject and "is a good artist" would be the predicate.

Writing:  We will continue to work on our personal narratives.  Last week, students had the chance to brainstorm some of their most vivid memories... fun times, scary times, and angry times.  From that list, they chose one memory to write about.  Today, students began the brainstorming part of the writing process.  We thought about the setting of our memory, our senses during the memory (touch, taste, smell, hear, and sight), and our emotions during the memory.  We'll use this information to write our rough drafts.

Scholastic News:  This year, my hope is to get Team Blowey to dive into more nonfiction text.  So, each week we will be reading and using a Scholastic News article.  At the beginning of the year, we are doing these articles in a whole group setting but as the year progresses we'll be doing the Scholastic News articles on a independent level.  This week, our Scholastic News issue ties in perfectly with our fire safety presentation!  We'll be reading about firefighters, now and then!  

Science:  To continue our study on plants, we'll be talking about the lifecycle of a pumpkin, which is perfect for this time of the year!  We'll spark our interest by reading The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll.  Then, we'll have the chance to create our very own unique pumpkins.  We'll also have the chance to watch a movie called Pumpkin Circle which shows us the lifecycle of a pumpkin using time-lapse photography.

Social Studies:  This week, we are finally introducing the popcorn kernels to help keep our vision alive!  When Team Blowey spies one of their teammates making part of the vision come true (creative, teamwork, respectful, fun) they will write that teammates name on the corresponding popcorn kernel.  At the end of each week, we'll celebrate these teammates at morning meeting!  Then, those of us who earned popcorn kernels  will put them in our popcorn boxes.  Our goal is to have our popcorn boxes overflowing by the end of the year!

Read Aloud:  We are still enjoying the wonderful story about Charlotte and Wilbur!

Have a spectacular week!