Thanks for coming to check out all of the great learning we are doing in second grade!! We have been busy!! The first few weeks is always called "the Honeymoon" as everyone adjusts and we have a lot of fun getting to know each other and getting to work with each other. We are now in those few weeks after the "Honeymoon" where the kids are now settling nicely into a routine! We are noticing an increase in illnesses, as to be expected with the weather changes as well as an uptick in incidents with students bickering and miscommunications with one another. Over the summer I was trained in Restorative Practices and these have been huge in handling conflicts in the classroom already this year!! Below you will see the questions I ask (and stick to) when handling conflicts. Sometimes we will settle things in a small conference, other times with a bigger group and lastly with the whole class if something impacts everyone. I highly suggest you even trying this out at home with your own kids - mine is already learning quickly from this!!
iReady Update:
We are currently in the midst of iReady testing for this fall marking period. Almost all students have completed the reading portion and are now into the math portion. We work on iReady a couple of days a week, for about 25-30 minutes at a time. This seems to really help the kids focus and do their best, rather than sitting on the computer for one long period of time. I will be sending out feedback to parents as soon as we complete both the reading and math portions. I will also be contacting parents with students who have qualified for an IRIP (individualized reading instruction plan) based on their scoring.
Math Workshop:
In Math workshop we have been digging deeper with numbers and number patterns. Mini-lessons have focused on:
- Comparing numbers using greater than, less than and equals to
- Counting coins (and noticing patterns when counting by 5s, 10s and 25s)
- Counting one, ten and one hundred dollar bills
- Making combinations of ten
- Using double ten frames in Quick Looks
- Skip Counting Patterns (2s, 5s and 10s)
We have also been learning through math games like: Fishing for 10s, Addition Top-It, Spinning for Money and the Exchange Game.
Homelinks have also begun coming home this week for Math. Please remember these are optional. They are a great way to review the math we are doing at school at home with your child but are not mandatory. Hopefully by the end of this week/beginning of next week your child's Unit 1 Assessment will also be coming home. Please use this to review all of your child's learning and celebrate all that they are able to do in math! You can also use this to review any concepts they may have gotten confused with as our math will continually build upon each unit and the concepts taught.
Lastly, we always end our week with a review day on Friday for math! We take time to revisit math games from the week as well as explore on EDM4 Online (online math games your child can be playing at home - their log in information is on their yellow folders) as well as doing hands on activities at Math Stations. This is always a popular way to end the week and review math topics covered!
Readers' Workshop:
In Readers' Workshop we are really digging deeper in fine-tuning our workshop routines and reading stamina when reading independently! Students have been working on focusing during our mini-lesson, then taking the skill taught and applying it to their own reading independently and with partners. During partner reading we have spent a lot of time modeling what good partners do and what good partners look like. We have talked about all of the different ways partners work together.
Mini-Lesson topics have included:
- I can practice sight words to help me have more snap words.
- I can understand when to pause and retell parts in my book.
- I can problem solve steps to read longer and stronger (stamina).
- I can use post-it notes to mark places in my book where I have left off.
- I can use post-it notes to mark places in my book to talk or think about.
- I can use everything I know to figure out tricky words.
- I can use figure out the two parts of a compound word.
Writers' Workshop:
In Writers' Workshop we are deep into our small moments narrative writing unit! We are currently working on building our stamina during writing time while ignoring distractions.
Mini-Lesson topics have included:
- I can make a plan for my small moment.
- I can stretch out my tiny topic into a story.
- I can elaborate with feelings or actions.
- I can magnify my small moment with details.
- I can fix my ending to make my story better.
- I can edit my ending to make my story read more clearly.
- I can re-read to make sure my writing makes sense. I can add periods where needed.
Reporters/Main Moose:
We have begun with our daily news reporters and weekly Main Moose! I try really hard to send these out in a timely manner so that your child will have time to prepare. We have already had some great reporters and we are enjoying getting to know our first Main Moose better this week! :-)
Enjoy this fall feeling weekend!! Thanks for taking time to read about our learning and our fun in 204. :-) Mrs. Weckstein
Enjoy this fall feeling weekend!! Thanks for taking time to read about our learning and our fun in 204. :-) Mrs. Weckstein
