Friday, October 9, 2020

 Hello Weckie Parents and Families!!

Thank you for taking the time to check out our News Blog! We have had another stellar week in our virtual second grade classroom. I love how eager the kids are to sign on in the morning, how excited they are to talk and share new ideas and how at the end of the day I have many that simply do not want to leave the Zoom! It's amazing what a tight group we have become, even virtually. Thank you for taking the time to help your children log in and out of various websites, learn to use new apps and focus during the day. I know that some days are easier than others and please remember, it's the same in person too!  We all just have those days... both good and rough!

This week we concluded our iReady Diagnostics in both reading and math. A few students still need to finish the math diagnostic, which we can easily work on next week. I will be reaching out soon with information on scoring. We are on hold right now waiting to hear from the District about cut scores for Reading and if that will stay the same as prior years or be adjusted this year. Then I will send out emails with all scoring information as well as information about how to decode your child's score and the data provided.

We ended our week with our first, Room 204 2020 Zoom Talent Show! Oh my goodness, what a stitch!! We saw talents from nearly everyone... it was a blast!! Be sure to ask your child about their talent that they shared today :-)... I also apologize if anyone tries balancing a spoon on their nose in the coming future at your home (my fancy talent).

Phonics

In Phonics this week we have been looking at bloopers in our own reading when we come upon tricky words with an "r" controlled vowel. This means the vowel falling before or after the letter "r" in a word. We have practiced ways we can try to solve these tricky words like reading a word a few different ways and picking the one that sounds right! Additionally we spent time working on our SNAP words. Remember, these are on a list in your child's writing folder. These are the words that by the end of second grade we want our students to be able to read fluently (in a snap) and spell correctly in their writing work. Please get creative at home with these words... flashcards, spelling the words with play-dough, writing them in shaving cream, writing them with different colored markers, finding them in books, anything we can do to help familiarize our students with these words will help them in the long run!

Readers' Workshop

Our Readers' have been digging deeper with the characters in their stories. We have spent a ton of time this week re-reading familiar books with beloved characters to learn more about the relationships between the characters and what they can teach us as readers. We have also spent time working in breakout groups with partners talking about our reading and sharing some books with each other. Partner time remains a popular choice amongst the kids as I often find I need to remind them to remain on task and on topic! 

I am still continuing my work on DRA testing with individual readers. Please know this does take time on a normal basis and having the kids out of formal schooling with formal testing for so long has made this process just a tad bit longer! Each time a child completes a DRA with me this takes on average 15-20 minutes. So many of our students have really grown as readers' since their last formal assessment in January, that it is taking time to find their independent levels and thus they are needing 2, 3 or even 4 meetings with me and a new book. Multiply that with 25 kids and you get the idea. The positive is getting awesome data on their reading and information that I can use to set their "Just-Right" books on Literacy Footprints, organize reading partnerships with like ability students and form small groups for instruction.

Writers' Workshop

In Writers' Workshop everyone should be working on a small moment writing piece. This is where we get to write about a time we did something or experienced something new. The kids have been working on adding voice to their writing this week which has been a time to go back to old pieces and revise to make them better. We have been talking about ways authors can "make people move" in their writing and ways authors can "make people talk" in their writing. Often times we read books that are so clear in detail we can picture exactly what is happening. We are working on getting our writers' to create experiences in their writing that would create that same kind of feeling for their audience.

Math Workshop

Our work in Math this week has focused around number sense: being able to count by 2s, 5s, and 10s as well as knowing when a number is even or odd (and how you know it is even or odd). These are both skills that are very important in second grade! We will be spending a lot of time this year practicing these patterns and explaining the thought process behind our work. This can be tricky for kids as they want to say: I did it in my head OR I just knew the answer. Digging deeper with the thinking behind the math is critical to building our number sense. Please make sure you are checking Seesaw this week for a math journal post. I am still needing to see many students who need to turn in math journal pages 7 and 8 for me to review. Thank you!

Social Studies / SEL

Our community work has continued this week! We have continued our discussion about groups we are a part of in our community and did a writing piece where we had to tell the group we were involved with and how we helped in the group. Students had a chance to share their writing and illustrations in a breakout group. Then we created a mini-book all about our community. Students got to label their book with the community they call home, draw a picture of where they live, talk about where their family likes to shop, where they family likes to go for fun and what they like best in their community. Be sure to ask your children about their mini-books! Some may still need help stapling or clipping their book together.

Important Updates

There is information coming out about a parent meeting being held by the district on Tuesday, October 13th at 7pm about the Return to Learn Plan. I know this continues to be in the hearts and minds of many, including myself as a parent first and a teacher second. Please make sure to plan for 7pm on the 13th for a district meeting. Like many of you, I am hoping this will be our best source of information about plans for what school may look like, how class lists may change and what we can expect moving forward. They should also be taking questions from the parents (you will have to submit prior) and included a link to this form in the most recent email from Judy Evola. All information will be posted on the district website. At this time we are not sure what our class sizes will look like, who in person teachers will be verses who will remain virtual and it seems to be a constantly changing situation. Trust me, I wish I knew more. I have come to love these 25 kids and wish nothing more to just snap my fingers, return to normal days and see them in school on Monday with no threat of germs or illness!! Please know we will work together on this to make a plan that is best for your family in this very difficult time. I would also suggest keeping a close eye on the WLCSD website as well as email communications from Judy Evola.