Friday, November 18, 2011

Thank you so much to everyone for coming to Parent-Teacher Conferences yesterday. I really enjoyed talking to all of our parents and hope you left feeling as proud of them as I do every day!


Reader’s Workshop


This week in Workshop we have continued our look into dialogue within text. We have been focusing on the two major types of narration in text – first person and third person. Our Reader’s have been sorting their own reading books into two categories using clues in the text to determine who is telling the story.


Writer’s Workshop


In Workshop this week our writer’s picked one color poem to take to publishing. They spent time editing and revising their original draft and many even began working on their final published copy!


Math Workshop


In Math we have continued working with money this week. YES, making change is a hard concept however it is something your child will need to be able to do. Please continue to practice this with them at home. We introduced estimating this week as well. You can ask your child about the “Rounding Chant”, a song we’ve used to help us remind ourselves to round up or round down.


Social Studies


This week with Mrs. Brown the kids spent time working with maps! They did a map scavenger hunt looking for different traits on the map. The kids learned about the Cardinal directions and even learned a song. Be sure to ask your child to sing this song to you! Next the kids participated in map stations – they got to spend time looking at different types of maps – globes, paper maps, atlases, animal maps, etc.


Science


In Ms. Chapp’s classroom our scientists were learning about the parts of plants. Then they got to plant their own brassica plants as well as their own grass plants. Ms. Chapp is looking for two students who could help take care of our plants over the Thanksgiving Break. The family that takes the grass will need to have a spot in their house where the grass can receive sunlight (as well as stay watered). The family that takes the brassica plants will need to have space for the plant tray and a light that needs to be plugged in and running all of the time. If you are able to do so, please let me know ASAP.


Word Study/Handwriting


With Mrs. Weckstein this week all second graders had practice working with common endings in words. They worked with the: -ame, -ake, -ate, -ice, -ide and –ine endings. The kids did a sort up on the SmartBoard, sorted additional words with a partner and then created a flower for the hallway specific to one ending.


Important Upcoming Dates:


-Wednesday, November 23rd: Kick-off for Student Council Pajama Drive – ALL School Pajama Day & Classroom Party (more info to come)


-Thursday, November 24th – Monday, November 28th- NO SCHOOL – Thanksgiving Break starts on Thursday! Please remember there is NO school on Monday. Classes resume on Tuesday, November 29th!


If you will be traveling this long holiday weekend, we wish you safe travels! If you are staying locally, please have a wonderful time with your family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving! Mrs. Weckstein :-)

 

Friday, November 11th - Happy Veteran's Day!

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.

Harriet Tubman

Math


In Math we have been looking at different ways to solve addition and subtraction story problems using “Change-to-More Diagrams” and “Parts-and-Total Diagrams”. We’ve also been looking at reading temperatures and temperature changes. In our Math Explorations this week we sorted attribute blocks, worked with coins and started to explore the concept of multiplication.



Social Studies


In Social Studies we spent time reviewing what we have learned about communities. Our second graders took their first Social Studies Assessment on Friday. Next week we will be moving into our second unit about the geography of our community. If you have any small maps at home (travel maps, park maps, mall maps) or any brochures that have maps that we could look at, please send them in! Please make sure your child’s name is clearly labeled on the map so we can return it at the end of the unit.



Writer’s Workshop


We took a break from our Poetry Unit to do some themed writing for Thanksgiving. During Writers’ Workshop this week, students wrote their own recipes for how to cook a turkey. Additionally our students wrote a persuasive from the position of the Thanksgiving turkey asking not to be eaten this holiday season. Look for these in the 2nd grade hallway during conferences next week!


Word Study


We began the week looking at words that have “oo”. Students learned that “oo” can sound like /oo/ as in moon or /uh/ as in look. We also tried adding on the silent ‘e’ to words to see how new words could be created. Later in the week we worked with high-frequency words as we played a game.


Reader’s Workshop


We continued with our study of Dialogue in Reader’s Workshop. Second graders spent time thinking about what dialogue looks like and sounds like when we are reading. Then we spent time brainstorming a list of “said” alternatives now that we know that said is often a clue to dialogue in a text. The kids created a giant web of alternatives like: shouted, insisted, exclaimed, whined, etc.



Important Dates & Reminders:


• Thursday, November 17th – NO SCHOOL for Students! Parent-Teacher Conferences ALL day long!


• BRRRR! The weather sure is cold and snow is just around the corner! Please make sure that your child has appropriate winter gear: jacket, gloves/mittens, hat, snow pants and boots. Also remember an extra pair of shoes for them to wear during the day (wearing boots all day is too hot). I also suggest packing an extra pair of socks in their backpack for those days when your cutie’s socks may get wet!

Have a fabulous weekend -- stay warm!! :-) Mrs. Weckstein

Friday, November 4th

It’s been quite a BUSY week in 204… From Halloween to Thanksgiving, we are making a big transition!
Reader’s Workshop
It’s been a fun, FUN week in Reader’s Workshop! We’ve moved from our Launching Unit into our Dialogue Unit. When asked what dialogue was, the initial response from the kids was classic… “Ways we choose books”, “Funny parts in stories” or “Books that have hard words”. We’ve now built the foundation that dialogue in text is when characters are talking! We’ve looked for books in our room that contain dialogue as well as for clues that indicate there is dialogue in a text (quotation marks, said, etc.). Please make sure to return ALL guided reading group books on the specified day. There is a sheet inside your child’s book bag that reminds you the days your child needs their bag at school. Parents must also sign the bottom of the reading slip form that comes home each time the bag comes home.


Writer’s Workshop
This week we read two different books that were filled with color poems! We read My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss and Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neill. Each demonstrates different ways to think about colors using your senses… How would a color look? How would a color taste? How would a color feel? How would a color smell? Using the author’s craft from these poems, we have been working to create our own color poems.

Math Workshop
In Workshop this week we began the week with Pumpkin Math! We did estimations about: the number of seeds in a pumpkin, the weight of a pumpkin as well as the number of ridges on a pumpkin. We were surprised to see what the actual numbers were to each question. We also spent time this week collecting data! We learned how to collect data using a tally chart, how to find the median (middle) number in a set of data, create pictographs and create bar graphs. Then we learned the parts of a graph: title, labels, x-axis and y-axis. Lastly we learned how to read a graph. We spent time talking about the choice with the most and the choice with the fewest. As the week continued we worked with making change as we solved story problems involving a vending machine. Finally we took a look back at our Unit 3 Pre-Test before taking our Unit 3 Post-Test. We talked our way through the pre-test and came to the conclusion that we have ALL learned a lot over the course of this unit. Something that seemed difficult to us three weeks ago, is now something we come to find a lot easier to do!

Social Studies
This week in Social Studies we have learned about the three different types of communities: rural, suburban and urban. We read the story, “The Little House” by Virginia Lee Burton as the little house demonstrates life in each type of community. Then we brainstormed a list of features for each type of community before embarking on our own mini-project. Each child was asked to decide which community they would want to live in and then had to create an illustration and blurb about where they would live, where they would work and where they would play! It’s pretty neat to see where our kids would go!

Important Dates & Reminders:
• Tuesday, November 8th – NO SCHOOL for Students! Professional Development for teachers… it’s Election Day!
• Thursday, November 17th – NO SCHOOL for Students! Parent-Teacher Conferences ALL day long!


Don’t forget to turn your clocks back this weekend!!  Mrs. Weckstein
P.S. A special thank you to ALL of our parents who worked hard to make our Halloween Party a BLAST!!