We have had a very busy two weeks since Thanksgiving! Our salt and flour continent maps look wonderful! We owe a huge thank you to all of the moms who came in and helped!
Room 152 has been busy learning!
In Reading: We continue to focus on story elements and summarizing stories by choosing the important events that occurred in the beginning, middle and end. The students are using a variety of graphic organizers to demonstrate their mastery of summarizing. We have also continued to learn about synonyms, homophones, what a thesaurus is, as well as how to use a dictionary. Through this coming week, we will continue to practice these skills.
Spelling: There will be no assigned Spelling City this coming week. I still encourage the students to go on to the site and play any game that they enjoy for additional practice. Our regular Spelling City assignments will resume after Winter Break.
In Math: We will finish Unit 4 this week. This unit included building mental math addition strategies, temperature and different number story models. I will be doing a review in class on Wednesday over all of the material that will be on this unit's test.
In Social Studies: Our maps are looking awesome! To fully wrap up this landforms unit, this week we will use our elevation keys to paint the salt and flour maps.
In Writing: The students are almost done with their second large writing piece, their personal narratives. Last week's lessons including more work with dialogue and choosing spicy words to make our writing more interesting. We also worked on how to bring a story to a nice ending that is complete and clear but not abrupt.
Upcoming Events:
Tuesday: All school pajama day!
Thursday: Math Test!
Friday: Our "Walking Towards Good Behavior" Party!
Also On Friday: The 1st and 5th Grade Show!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
What are you thankful for?
With Thanksgiving so quickly approaching we want to keep everyone in our thoughts. Please watch the two cute commercials the 1st graders put together about Ivy Hill's food drive going on now!
Click-> Mrs. Tazi's Food Drive Video
Important events this week:
Tuesday: Miss Rosenthal will be out for a meeting (just for the morning)
Thursday: In the morning we will be taking our first field trip to Hersey High School to see a wonderful play. Please send permission slips and the $5.50 fee as soon as possible!
Friday: Report cards will go home!
Monday, November 7, 2011
Looking Back: October 31st- 4th
Our week, last week, was kicked off by a wonderfully scary Halloween. I know my favorite part was the the story about Hal O'Ween. Thank you so very much to all of our parent helpers who planned such a fantastic party for our class.
What happened in....
Reading: Last week we read a pretty funny story about mice getting into trouble. Little Henry took his sister's magic colored pencils and whatever he drew on the wall came to life. So you can only imagine what happened next. Ask you second grader to summarize last weeks story; also ask them what genre the story fits under and why.
We continue to work on our mental images, so last week students drew their mental images for our vocabulary words. It seems as though the favorite word last week was 'civilized'. Everyone was very quick to point out when we were acting in a civilized manner.
Last week we also completed a short auditory reading practice. I read a story and the students had four questions they were to answer after the story was read.
Math: We continue to practice exchanging coins for equivalent amounts. I encourage you to practice at home with your second grader playing banker. To play: have your student exchange maybe 1 dollar (any money amount) for an equal amount of money using different coins. This will help them identify the coins faster and with more accuracy as well as practice equivalent money values.
We also dove back into telling time. Everyone is really improving in this area. The more practice students get seeing analog clocks the easier telling time will be for them.
Lastly, we combined many of our lessons for additional practice into 5 centers that we began on Friday and finished up today. Students made clock books, worked with Geo-boards, solved number puzzles, practiced place value using base 10 blocks and practiced their addition and subtraction skills through a game.
Writing: We continue to work on our Narrative pieces. We learned last week how to improve our stories beginning by adding details about the setting, characters as well as how to add in a super starter to hook the readers attention. During writing we came up with a picture that would help us remember how we structure a piece of writing. The picture that we drew out was a hamburger. Each part of the hamburger represents something important that makes are writing great.
LMC (our computer lab lesson time): This week in the LMC we took a break from our landform research and learned all about internet safety. This seemed to be many people's favorite activity of the week according to our weekly reflection sheets. After watching a video we brainstormed together rules that could help us be safe while using the internet. We came up with rules like- never give out your password, never give out your information, and never download anything without permission. The kids then took those rules and created an adorable Comic Life poster with their picture and two rules. These will be on display in the classroom and then sent home. I was so impressed with how everyone tackled the technology and produced such creative posters.
LMC (our computer lab lesson time): This week in the LMC we took a break from our landform research and learned all about internet safety. This seemed to be many people's favorite activity of the week according to our weekly reflection sheets. After watching a video we brainstormed together rules that could help us be safe while using the internet. We came up with rules like- never give out your password, never give out your information, and never download anything without permission. The kids then took those rules and created an adorable Comic Life poster with their picture and two rules. These will be on display in the classroom and then sent home. I was so impressed with how everyone tackled the technology and produced such creative posters.
Looking Ahead:
Wednesday: This is a flip day. That means it will really be a Friday schedule because we will be missing school on Friday.
**Please bring your library books back by Wednesday as we will check out new books then.**
Friday: No School - Veterans Day!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Looking Back: October 24th- 28th
I hope everyone is getting excited for our big day tomorrow!
We had many special events last week. Room 152 wants to give a great big thank you to Mrs. McCabe for our interesting Art Awareness lesson. The portraits look wonderful in the commons. We also want to say congratulations to all the fourth graders. You gave a fantastic performance!
Reading: Last week we enjoyed reading 'Bad Case of the Stripes'. We played Think Dots for the first time to increase discussion about the story and to review vocabulary in a different form. Think Dots are a series of cards, the kids roll a die, they then find the card that matches that number. Everyone was really engaged and had some good discussions with this new reading game.
So far we have retired 2 more words to our word windows. The students are really working hard to incorporate our vocabulary words into their everyday conversations and writing. Keep it up!
Math: Last week we began Unit 3. We are cruising right along. Students are reviewing and building on place value skills as well as looking at money. Specifically, we worked with equivalent values and money. We even came up with a dance to represent this concept in class. Students also became 'shop owners' and practiced selling fruits and vegetables to customers to work on these money skills.
Social Studies: Intermixed with our Landforms unit, we began learning about the Pledge of Allegiance. We began by reading a picture book that helped us understand what those larger words in the pledge mean. We then put together our own version of the pledge in more 'second grade language'. Currently, the students are illustrating a word they choose from the pledge. We are hoping to create a movie with these illustrations that the kids will help create.
Writing: I am excited to announce that we began our second writing unit. The students are working hard now on Narrative writing. Everyone chose a problem that they have faced and are now learning how to write a beginning, middle, and end around this moment. The three questions that students learned to always ask while writing this piece is: 1. Does my story have a problem? 2. How do I try to solve this problem? 3. Does my problem get solved?
Looking Ahead:
Monday: Halloween in the afternoon
Friday: Spelling Test
We had many special events last week. Room 152 wants to give a great big thank you to Mrs. McCabe for our interesting Art Awareness lesson. The portraits look wonderful in the commons. We also want to say congratulations to all the fourth graders. You gave a fantastic performance!
Reading: Last week we enjoyed reading 'Bad Case of the Stripes'. We played Think Dots for the first time to increase discussion about the story and to review vocabulary in a different form. Think Dots are a series of cards, the kids roll a die, they then find the card that matches that number. Everyone was really engaged and had some good discussions with this new reading game.
So far we have retired 2 more words to our word windows. The students are really working hard to incorporate our vocabulary words into their everyday conversations and writing. Keep it up!
Math: Last week we began Unit 3. We are cruising right along. Students are reviewing and building on place value skills as well as looking at money. Specifically, we worked with equivalent values and money. We even came up with a dance to represent this concept in class. Students also became 'shop owners' and practiced selling fruits and vegetables to customers to work on these money skills.
Social Studies: Intermixed with our Landforms unit, we began learning about the Pledge of Allegiance. We began by reading a picture book that helped us understand what those larger words in the pledge mean. We then put together our own version of the pledge in more 'second grade language'. Currently, the students are illustrating a word they choose from the pledge. We are hoping to create a movie with these illustrations that the kids will help create.
Writing: I am excited to announce that we began our second writing unit. The students are working hard now on Narrative writing. Everyone chose a problem that they have faced and are now learning how to write a beginning, middle, and end around this moment. The three questions that students learned to always ask while writing this piece is: 1. Does my story have a problem? 2. How do I try to solve this problem? 3. Does my problem get solved?
Looking Ahead:
Monday: Halloween in the afternoon
Friday: Spelling Test
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Weekly Review October 17th-21st
What an interesting week! Everyone brought their smiles on Tuesday for picture day and their great listening skills to our fire safety presentation. The class did a wonderful job navigating the fire safety obstacle course. I think we all know how to safely exit our houses in case of a fire.
Monday was such an exciting day! The author party was a fantastic celebration of the kids first completed piece of writing, their Autobiographies. Our toast was fun and a great way to kick off our coffee house style story readings.
We have also added quite a few languages to our 'Celebration Clap'. So far our class can count to 3 in 9 different languages. Wow, that is really amazing!
Looking back at:
Reading- Last week we continued to work on strengthening our vocabulary. As a class we read an adorable and quite humorous story entitled Porkenstein. We were able to retire two words to the word windows- creaky and isolated. Great work second graders! We continue to build our stamina through our Daily Five centers. Our goal now becomes to work the whole time in a focused manner for each center. The students continue to meet with me for guided reading, we are really have some interesting discussions about our books.
We also began Reading Buddies on Wednesday. We have the wonderful opportunity to pair up with Ms. Lee's fourth grade room to read and share stories. For our first meeting the kids got to meet and interview each other. They all wrote down differences and similarities between themselves. This made for such a fun morning!
Math- We have finished Unit Two, Hooray! We learned four subtraction strategies on Friday that will help up become faster subtractors. The kids really did well and seemed to enjoy learning Function Machines this week as well as addition practice with sequencing numbers according to a rule in our Frames and Arrows lessons.
Social Studies- We continue to work on landforms and continents. This past week students built different landforms out of play-dough and were asked to describe their creations to the class. This was just an engaging way to see how much information about each landform has already been absorbed. In the LMC this week, the students also continued their note taking. I am so impressed with the amount of quality notes that are being taken.
Looking Ahead:
Monday: In Math we will be doing an all class review.
Tuesday: Unit Two Math Test!
Wednesday: Miss Rosenthal will be at a meeting at the District Offices all day.
**Thank you for all of the jars that have already been sent in, it is greatly appreciated. We do still need more however, so please keep sending empty jars for one of the Halloween crafts. **
Monday was such an exciting day! The author party was a fantastic celebration of the kids first completed piece of writing, their Autobiographies. Our toast was fun and a great way to kick off our coffee house style story readings.
We have also added quite a few languages to our 'Celebration Clap'. So far our class can count to 3 in 9 different languages. Wow, that is really amazing!
Looking back at:
Reading- Last week we continued to work on strengthening our vocabulary. As a class we read an adorable and quite humorous story entitled Porkenstein. We were able to retire two words to the word windows- creaky and isolated. Great work second graders! We continue to build our stamina through our Daily Five centers. Our goal now becomes to work the whole time in a focused manner for each center. The students continue to meet with me for guided reading, we are really have some interesting discussions about our books.
We also began Reading Buddies on Wednesday. We have the wonderful opportunity to pair up with Ms. Lee's fourth grade room to read and share stories. For our first meeting the kids got to meet and interview each other. They all wrote down differences and similarities between themselves. This made for such a fun morning!
Math- We have finished Unit Two, Hooray! We learned four subtraction strategies on Friday that will help up become faster subtractors. The kids really did well and seemed to enjoy learning Function Machines this week as well as addition practice with sequencing numbers according to a rule in our Frames and Arrows lessons.
Social Studies- We continue to work on landforms and continents. This past week students built different landforms out of play-dough and were asked to describe their creations to the class. This was just an engaging way to see how much information about each landform has already been absorbed. In the LMC this week, the students also continued their note taking. I am so impressed with the amount of quality notes that are being taken.
Looking Ahead:
Monday: In Math we will be doing an all class review.
Tuesday: Unit Two Math Test!
Wednesday: Miss Rosenthal will be at a meeting at the District Offices all day.
**Thank you for all of the jars that have already been sent in, it is greatly appreciated. We do still need more however, so please keep sending empty jars for one of the Halloween crafts. **
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Looking Back: October 11th- 14th
What another great week! We had another short week, but it was packed with a lot of learning!
In Reading: We continue to work on our stamina during Daily 5 time. I have been so impressed with how focused the students are working. Even Mrs. Liez, our substitute from Tuesday, was impressed with how well the students knew the routines on their own. The class is clearly gaining strength in their ability to carry out tasks independently.
This week we took a second look at the book Everyone Cooks Rice. While reading this story for the second time, our focus was vocabulary. The students learned the words: boarder, community, diversity, appetizing, grumbling and gulp. I challenged the kids to use these words in conversation. When a word is correctly used we add a tally to our vocabulary chart, when one word receives 10 tally marks the word is then 'retired' to our word window wall. The students used appetizing and grumbling the most last week. Those two words are very close to retirement.
Guided reading continued this week. I really enjoy this small group time with the students because it allows me to see the whole reader. We are using our CAFE Menu strategies like 'checking for understanding' during our guided reading time to increase our comprehension.
In Math: Rocket Math continues to cruise. This week we orbited to Mars and Planet Nicholas. This students are doing a wonderful job creating goals for themselves and self monitoring those goals. We continue to learn and practice addition and subtraction strategies. We also were able to think creatively while learning about Name Collection Boxes and playing Name That Number.
In Social Studies: Second graders continue to learn and complete research about our worlds landforms. On Tuesday, we used World Book Online to collect note-facts. Everyone did a great job logging into the computer and navigating the website. We also reviewed what Mnemonic Devices are used for and began to create our own Mnemonic Devices to help us remember the 7 continents. This is a difficult task, but the students took it on and produced some creative memory tools.
In Writing: We have finished our Autobiographies and I am excited to celebrate this accomplishment with a special toast on Monday! We also had an opportunity to share some of our reflections.
Looking Ahead:
-Spelling is back this week so be sure to log into Spelling City for 3 assignments!
-Monday: We will be learning fire safety in the Fire House Trailer
-Tuesday: Picture day! Say cheese and smile big!
-Thursday: 6:30-7:30pm is Open House! We are excited to show you everything we have been working hard on!
In Reading: We continue to work on our stamina during Daily 5 time. I have been so impressed with how focused the students are working. Even Mrs. Liez, our substitute from Tuesday, was impressed with how well the students knew the routines on their own. The class is clearly gaining strength in their ability to carry out tasks independently.
This week we took a second look at the book Everyone Cooks Rice. While reading this story for the second time, our focus was vocabulary. The students learned the words: boarder, community, diversity, appetizing, grumbling and gulp. I challenged the kids to use these words in conversation. When a word is correctly used we add a tally to our vocabulary chart, when one word receives 10 tally marks the word is then 'retired' to our word window wall. The students used appetizing and grumbling the most last week. Those two words are very close to retirement.
Guided reading continued this week. I really enjoy this small group time with the students because it allows me to see the whole reader. We are using our CAFE Menu strategies like 'checking for understanding' during our guided reading time to increase our comprehension.
In Math: Rocket Math continues to cruise. This week we orbited to Mars and Planet Nicholas. This students are doing a wonderful job creating goals for themselves and self monitoring those goals. We continue to learn and practice addition and subtraction strategies. We also were able to think creatively while learning about Name Collection Boxes and playing Name That Number.
In Social Studies: Second graders continue to learn and complete research about our worlds landforms. On Tuesday, we used World Book Online to collect note-facts. Everyone did a great job logging into the computer and navigating the website. We also reviewed what Mnemonic Devices are used for and began to create our own Mnemonic Devices to help us remember the 7 continents. This is a difficult task, but the students took it on and produced some creative memory tools.
In Writing: We have finished our Autobiographies and I am excited to celebrate this accomplishment with a special toast on Monday! We also had an opportunity to share some of our reflections.
Looking Ahead:
-Spelling is back this week so be sure to log into Spelling City for 3 assignments!
-Monday: We will be learning fire safety in the Fire House Trailer
-Tuesday: Picture day! Say cheese and smile big!
-Thursday: 6:30-7:30pm is Open House! We are excited to show you everything we have been working hard on!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Looking Back: October 3rd-6th
Our short week was packed with a lot of learning. The class is really working hard on the goals we set together. Our transitions between lessons are greatly improving. Keep up the great work! We also began our week with new seats. I think the students are really enjoying the change.
As a quick reminder, a note was sent home Thursday regarding our spelling test. Normally, our weeks will end with a spelling test on Friday, but this week I felt it necessary that Thursday remain a sorting/practice day and move our test to Tuesday.
What we accomplished:
In Reading- We read The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Down. The kids really enjoyed the humor in the story. They did a wonderful job picking out the events and character traits that made this book a fantasy. We continue to talk about and locate spicy words as we read. In The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Down the students learned words like: sternly, ignored, contrary and glide. They were able to define, act out and use the words in their own contexts by the end of the week. Vocabulary will continue to be a focus as we read for the rest of the year.
In Math- We continue to work through Unit 2. The class learned two different strategies for helping them solve certain addition problems. The first strategy we discussed was the 'Doubles + 1' strategy (ie. 5+4, double 4 then add 1=9). We also learned the 'Doubles +2' strategy (ie. 5+7, double 5 then add 2=12). Next week will move into subtraction strategies.
In Writing- Please take a look at some pictures that were posted from one of our writing times. I am proud to see some of the autobiographies that are being produced by your second graders. We took some time one afternoon to share with each other all of this great work. The kids loved being able to use blow up microphones and visors to read their school moments writing piece.
In Social Studies- Our class continues to learn about the continents, oceans and now landforms. Everyone has had an opportunity to create their own world map in the way that they chose.
Looking Ahead:
-The second grade teachers decided together that with another short week coming, we will not have spelling city or sorting work. We will still have vocabulary lessons and spelling as we started it last week, will continue on the 17th.
-Tuesday is a switch day. This means that we follow a Monday schedule.
-I will be in a meeting in the building until lunch time on Tuesday. I will be checking my email if there is anything that comes up that I need to be aware of and I will be back in the classroom after lunch.
As a quick reminder, a note was sent home Thursday regarding our spelling test. Normally, our weeks will end with a spelling test on Friday, but this week I felt it necessary that Thursday remain a sorting/practice day and move our test to Tuesday.
What we accomplished:
In Reading- We read The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Down. The kids really enjoyed the humor in the story. They did a wonderful job picking out the events and character traits that made this book a fantasy. We continue to talk about and locate spicy words as we read. In The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Down the students learned words like: sternly, ignored, contrary and glide. They were able to define, act out and use the words in their own contexts by the end of the week. Vocabulary will continue to be a focus as we read for the rest of the year.
In Math- We continue to work through Unit 2. The class learned two different strategies for helping them solve certain addition problems. The first strategy we discussed was the 'Doubles + 1' strategy (ie. 5+4, double 4 then add 1=9). We also learned the 'Doubles +2' strategy (ie. 5+7, double 5 then add 2=12). Next week will move into subtraction strategies.
In Writing- Please take a look at some pictures that were posted from one of our writing times. I am proud to see some of the autobiographies that are being produced by your second graders. We took some time one afternoon to share with each other all of this great work. The kids loved being able to use blow up microphones and visors to read their school moments writing piece.
In Social Studies- Our class continues to learn about the continents, oceans and now landforms. Everyone has had an opportunity to create their own world map in the way that they chose.
Looking Ahead:
-The second grade teachers decided together that with another short week coming, we will not have spelling city or sorting work. We will still have vocabulary lessons and spelling as we started it last week, will continue on the 17th.
-Tuesday is a switch day. This means that we follow a Monday schedule.
-I will be in a meeting in the building until lunch time on Tuesday. I will be checking my email if there is anything that comes up that I need to be aware of and I will be back in the classroom after lunch.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Weekly Review September 26th-30th
We had an interesting week in room 152. We welcomed a new student on Thursday to our team. Marisol comes to Ivy Hill from Buffalo Grove. We are all excited to have a new friend.
While we said hello to one student, we said goodbye to another. Anna has been such a great addition to our class. She really taught us a lot and has grown so much since the beginning of the year. We wish her the best in her new school.
What we worked on:
Reading- We continued practicing how to make mental images while reading. The students were even able to use this strategy during our read aloud, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Everyone is doing a nice job with choosing their Daily 5 routine. We are working towards starting our work more quickly so as to use our time the best way we can. We will continue to discuss mental images and how one image can change as we read more in a story.
With the addition of spelling next week, we will add our fourth Daily 5 station, Word Word. This choice, to start, will be where students explore and meet with me to practice phonic patterns that are specific to their own spelling needs.
Spelling- We will begin our spelling program this week. We are using Words Their Way which is a phonics based curriculum.The kids took a pre-test about a week ago. This pre-test was used to decide what sort your child will start on. Each sort has a particular skill that is the focus. This coming Monday we will begin to sort and practice the spelling pattern of their given words. Learning phonics patterns will help with decoding more difficult words. Overall, it seems that our two practice weeks of Spelling City have gone well. The routine will remain the same, with about three homework activities a week and a test on Friday, however now their lists will be based off of the phonic pattern they are learning through Words Their Way.
Math- This week we began Unit 2. The focus of this unit is on addition and subtraction facts. We talked about number stories, and the kids did a wonderful job creating their own and sharing them with the class. We then moved into learning patterns and short-cuts that can help while adding. One of the tools we focused on was a fact table.
Everyone is doing a great job with Rocket Math! Our routine is set up and even when I was at district trainings Tuesday and Wednesday, the substitute said how impressed she was with how the students carried through the routine with little redirection. Keep making and reaching those goals!
Math tests will go home by Tuesday!
Social Studies- We will continue to learn about the continents, oceans, and other map skills ask your child about the mnemonic device they created last week to remember the Cardinal Directions. We also began to create our own versions of world maps last week. In LMC this week our class will begin to talk and research different landforms.
Looking Ahead:
-Thursday we have our Everybody Counts presentation so we can learn to appreciate everyone's differences.
-There is no school Friday
-There will be no school Monday: Columbus Day!
While we said hello to one student, we said goodbye to another. Anna has been such a great addition to our class. She really taught us a lot and has grown so much since the beginning of the year. We wish her the best in her new school.
What we worked on:
Reading- We continued practicing how to make mental images while reading. The students were even able to use this strategy during our read aloud, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Everyone is doing a nice job with choosing their Daily 5 routine. We are working towards starting our work more quickly so as to use our time the best way we can. We will continue to discuss mental images and how one image can change as we read more in a story.
With the addition of spelling next week, we will add our fourth Daily 5 station, Word Word. This choice, to start, will be where students explore and meet with me to practice phonic patterns that are specific to their own spelling needs.
Spelling- We will begin our spelling program this week. We are using Words Their Way which is a phonics based curriculum.The kids took a pre-test about a week ago. This pre-test was used to decide what sort your child will start on. Each sort has a particular skill that is the focus. This coming Monday we will begin to sort and practice the spelling pattern of their given words. Learning phonics patterns will help with decoding more difficult words. Overall, it seems that our two practice weeks of Spelling City have gone well. The routine will remain the same, with about three homework activities a week and a test on Friday, however now their lists will be based off of the phonic pattern they are learning through Words Their Way.
Math- This week we began Unit 2. The focus of this unit is on addition and subtraction facts. We talked about number stories, and the kids did a wonderful job creating their own and sharing them with the class. We then moved into learning patterns and short-cuts that can help while adding. One of the tools we focused on was a fact table.
Everyone is doing a great job with Rocket Math! Our routine is set up and even when I was at district trainings Tuesday and Wednesday, the substitute said how impressed she was with how the students carried through the routine with little redirection. Keep making and reaching those goals!
Math tests will go home by Tuesday!
Social Studies- We will continue to learn about the continents, oceans, and other map skills ask your child about the mnemonic device they created last week to remember the Cardinal Directions. We also began to create our own versions of world maps last week. In LMC this week our class will begin to talk and research different landforms.
Looking Ahead:
-Thursday we have our Everybody Counts presentation so we can learn to appreciate everyone's differences.
-There is no school Friday
-There will be no school Monday: Columbus Day!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Weekly Update for September 19th-23rd
Hello Team 152,
We had another week packed with learning. Just one of the many accomplishments that happened over this past week, was that we received yet another compliment during Library time. Mrs. Polito commented on how quiet we entered the library; this compliment puts us at 5 feet in our 'Steps Towards Good Behavior' reward system. Great work second graders, keep it up!
As a class we also came up with one goal that we would like to work on for the coming week. We decided that our goal should be to transition between lessons more quickly and to keep ourselves quieter while moving from one topic to the next. I have already seen improvements so I know we can accomplish this goal.
What we worked on last week:
Reading: We began the week with lessons on visualizing and creating mental images as we read. The students have done a fantastic job with this strategy. We discussed that creating pictures in our minds while we read, helps us become better readers. Emilia had a wonderful comment about how visualizing what is happening in a story makes the story more her own. I read the poem 'Ducks on a Winter Night' and the students were asked to draw what they heard. We quickly realized that not everyone's picture was the same. The words were the same, but what everyone saw in their minds was unique.
We also added our third Daily 5 activity this week, Read to Someone. The students really did a wonderful job reading to one another in EEKK! position, using soft voices and checking for their understanding at the end of each page. Next week we will integrate Reading to Someone in with our other two Daily 5 choice, Read to Yourself and Work on Writing.
Math: We finished our first unit in math, reviewed and took our first test. The test covered counting coins, tally marks, renaming numbers, telling time, number grid patterns, different ways to make a given amount of change and simple addition problems using dominos. Be sure to visit Everyday Math Online for continued practice with math facts and more. If you have questions about how to login please do not hesitate to email me.
Writing: We began our School Moments Autobiographies. The students had to think all the way back to kindergarten for one exciting, or interesting memory. They then drew only the most important pieces of that memory and labeled their illustration. The students repeated these steps for two first grade memories and one second grade memory. We have now moved on to the writing piece of these autobiographies. We discussed what makes good writing and we decided that using 'spicy' words helps the reader stay focused and adds more enjoyment to the piece. We also worked on creating a 'feeling' sentence for each moment. Why was this moment important? How did you feel at that particular time?
Spelling: Everyone was very excited to be able to go into the computer lab and explore Spelling City for the first time. We went through how to login, where the students will find their assignments each week and where there are other games for extra practice( the favorite was definitely Hang Mouse). Normally assignments will be available starting Monday but next week, the new assignments will be posted on Tuesday to be completed by Friday so the students are prepared for the spelling test that morning.
Coming Attractions:
- I have the unique and wonderful opportunity to assist in designing a unit based on 21st century learning skills. For this reason I will be at district training Tuesday and Wednesday. I will be checking in with our substitute Mrs. Mosca, who will be wonderful with the kids, as well as checking my email periodically throughout the day.
I look forward to another exciting week in room 152!
We had another week packed with learning. Just one of the many accomplishments that happened over this past week, was that we received yet another compliment during Library time. Mrs. Polito commented on how quiet we entered the library; this compliment puts us at 5 feet in our 'Steps Towards Good Behavior' reward system. Great work second graders, keep it up!
As a class we also came up with one goal that we would like to work on for the coming week. We decided that our goal should be to transition between lessons more quickly and to keep ourselves quieter while moving from one topic to the next. I have already seen improvements so I know we can accomplish this goal.
What we worked on last week:
Reading: We began the week with lessons on visualizing and creating mental images as we read. The students have done a fantastic job with this strategy. We discussed that creating pictures in our minds while we read, helps us become better readers. Emilia had a wonderful comment about how visualizing what is happening in a story makes the story more her own. I read the poem 'Ducks on a Winter Night' and the students were asked to draw what they heard. We quickly realized that not everyone's picture was the same. The words were the same, but what everyone saw in their minds was unique.
We also added our third Daily 5 activity this week, Read to Someone. The students really did a wonderful job reading to one another in EEKK! position, using soft voices and checking for their understanding at the end of each page. Next week we will integrate Reading to Someone in with our other two Daily 5 choice, Read to Yourself and Work on Writing.
Math: We finished our first unit in math, reviewed and took our first test. The test covered counting coins, tally marks, renaming numbers, telling time, number grid patterns, different ways to make a given amount of change and simple addition problems using dominos. Be sure to visit Everyday Math Online for continued practice with math facts and more. If you have questions about how to login please do not hesitate to email me.
Writing: We began our School Moments Autobiographies. The students had to think all the way back to kindergarten for one exciting, or interesting memory. They then drew only the most important pieces of that memory and labeled their illustration. The students repeated these steps for two first grade memories and one second grade memory. We have now moved on to the writing piece of these autobiographies. We discussed what makes good writing and we decided that using 'spicy' words helps the reader stay focused and adds more enjoyment to the piece. We also worked on creating a 'feeling' sentence for each moment. Why was this moment important? How did you feel at that particular time?
Spelling: Everyone was very excited to be able to go into the computer lab and explore Spelling City for the first time. We went through how to login, where the students will find their assignments each week and where there are other games for extra practice( the favorite was definitely Hang Mouse). Normally assignments will be available starting Monday but next week, the new assignments will be posted on Tuesday to be completed by Friday so the students are prepared for the spelling test that morning.
Coming Attractions:
- I have the unique and wonderful opportunity to assist in designing a unit based on 21st century learning skills. For this reason I will be at district training Tuesday and Wednesday. I will be checking in with our substitute Mrs. Mosca, who will be wonderful with the kids, as well as checking my email periodically throughout the day.
I look forward to another exciting week in room 152!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
September 12th-16th
Hello Room 152!
We have one more MAP test to go today! You should all be very proud of yourselves for the work you have all done this week so far!
In Reading: We have learned this week how to 'Tune into Interesting Words'. Our class has a special name for these words, SPICY words, because interesting words always add extra flavor to the books we are reading or stories we are writing. Ask your second grader what silent symbol they chose to display when they hear a SPICY word while reading.
This week we have also continued to practice our Daily 5 skills, 'Read to Self' and 'Work on Writing'. I am seeing some very creative writers' emerge.
We have also continued to learn how to make connections to the books we are reading. The three connections we have learned and reviewed are: Text to Self connections, Text to Text and Text to World connections. We had an interesting discussion yesterday after reading Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley about special food dishes our families eat. We noticed similarities and differences across the different cultures that are represented in our classroom. The students have also practiced using venn diagrams to compare and contrast people and books, which will continue through next week.
In Math: There was a great deal of excitement over our first homework assignment this week. Everyone seemed to handle that responsibility well. This week we looked closely at the number grid and students were able to recognize many patterns within the grid. From there, we worked on creating puzzles from the number grid. We practiced playing 'Penny Plate', 'Addition Top-It' as well as the 'Money Exchange Game'. The second graders also learned how to program their calculators to count and solve problems with their calculator when specific keys were "broken".
We began to learn this week, with Ms. Ague, about how we can help ourselves pay attention during lessons. Our class joined Mrs. Zingg's class to learn the first five items on our new class 'Drive Through Menu'. My favorite item to order when we need to take a brain break is item #4- Jumping Bean. Ask your second grader what their favorite number to order is.
Lastly, our Think Tank question was tough last week. Mr. Don gave us a special tool and we had to decide what its use is. There were many creative answers, but the tool turned out to be something that helps Mr. Don take doorknobs off in the school.
Keep up the hard work Explorers!
We have one more MAP test to go today! You should all be very proud of yourselves for the work you have all done this week so far!
In Reading: We have learned this week how to 'Tune into Interesting Words'. Our class has a special name for these words, SPICY words, because interesting words always add extra flavor to the books we are reading or stories we are writing. Ask your second grader what silent symbol they chose to display when they hear a SPICY word while reading.
This week we have also continued to practice our Daily 5 skills, 'Read to Self' and 'Work on Writing'. I am seeing some very creative writers' emerge.
We have also continued to learn how to make connections to the books we are reading. The three connections we have learned and reviewed are: Text to Self connections, Text to Text and Text to World connections. We had an interesting discussion yesterday after reading Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley about special food dishes our families eat. We noticed similarities and differences across the different cultures that are represented in our classroom. The students have also practiced using venn diagrams to compare and contrast people and books, which will continue through next week.
In Math: There was a great deal of excitement over our first homework assignment this week. Everyone seemed to handle that responsibility well. This week we looked closely at the number grid and students were able to recognize many patterns within the grid. From there, we worked on creating puzzles from the number grid. We practiced playing 'Penny Plate', 'Addition Top-It' as well as the 'Money Exchange Game'. The second graders also learned how to program their calculators to count and solve problems with their calculator when specific keys were "broken".
We began to learn this week, with Ms. Ague, about how we can help ourselves pay attention during lessons. Our class joined Mrs. Zingg's class to learn the first five items on our new class 'Drive Through Menu'. My favorite item to order when we need to take a brain break is item #4- Jumping Bean. Ask your second grader what their favorite number to order is.
Lastly, our Think Tank question was tough last week. Mr. Don gave us a special tool and we had to decide what its use is. There were many creative answers, but the tool turned out to be something that helps Mr. Don take doorknobs off in the school.
Keep up the hard work Explorers!
Monday, September 5, 2011
What a Great First Full Week!
Hello Second Graders,
Although the week flew by, we accomplished a lot. I am so proud of our class. We received two compliments this week from other teachers. One for remaining quiet outside the classroom and the other for reading quietly in the library. Great work!
At the start of the year I will be posting at least once a week to review our accomplishments and activities from the week. As the year progresses I may be posting more and including interesting news clips or jokes that I find. I will also be posting pictures of our class periodically. Please get into the habit of checking the blog often.
Looking Back:
Reading: Last week we practiced our classroom procedures for our first Daily Five activity, Read to Self. We will continue to build the classes stamina by adding one minute each time we practice. The students are doing a wonderful job following the expectations we brainstormed together for 'Reading to Self'. Last week we also learned two very important reading strategies. The class learned and practiced 'Check for Understanding' and when they get stuck to 'Back up and Reread'. We will continue to add reading strategies to our reading menu over the coming weeks.
Math: We began Unit 1 last week. In Unit 1, the second graders review skills they learned through first grade. Skills include: everyday math procedures, sequencing numbers, counting coins, telling time, and writing the date.
Writing: The unit we started last week will be an on going unit through the year. The second graders learned the proper way to write a friendly letter. After writing to me, as well as Mr. Hengles, the students had fun writing to other students around the school.
Friday was also our first time filling out the behavior form, reflecting on behavior over the week, and setting a goal for themselves for next week. I think overall everyone did well with this, but it will be something we continue to work on over the year.
I look forward to learning more about each of you as our year moves forward. Get excited for our second week together!!
See you in the morning!
Although the week flew by, we accomplished a lot. I am so proud of our class. We received two compliments this week from other teachers. One for remaining quiet outside the classroom and the other for reading quietly in the library. Great work!
At the start of the year I will be posting at least once a week to review our accomplishments and activities from the week. As the year progresses I may be posting more and including interesting news clips or jokes that I find. I will also be posting pictures of our class periodically. Please get into the habit of checking the blog often.
Looking Back:
Reading: Last week we practiced our classroom procedures for our first Daily Five activity, Read to Self. We will continue to build the classes stamina by adding one minute each time we practice. The students are doing a wonderful job following the expectations we brainstormed together for 'Reading to Self'. Last week we also learned two very important reading strategies. The class learned and practiced 'Check for Understanding' and when they get stuck to 'Back up and Reread'. We will continue to add reading strategies to our reading menu over the coming weeks.
Math: We began Unit 1 last week. In Unit 1, the second graders review skills they learned through first grade. Skills include: everyday math procedures, sequencing numbers, counting coins, telling time, and writing the date.
Writing: The unit we started last week will be an on going unit through the year. The second graders learned the proper way to write a friendly letter. After writing to me, as well as Mr. Hengles, the students had fun writing to other students around the school.
Friday was also our first time filling out the behavior form, reflecting on behavior over the week, and setting a goal for themselves for next week. I think overall everyone did well with this, but it will be something we continue to work on over the year.
I look forward to learning more about each of you as our year moves forward. Get excited for our second week together!!
See you in the morning!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
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