Lots of changes

Hello!  We have made changes to the schedule and now I've changed it again so everything melds together.  Here is the new schedule:

8-8:30 - Morning Meeting
8:30-9:00 - Science/Social Studies
9-9:15 - Snack and Read Aloud
9:15-10:15 - Specials
10:15-11:30 - Word Study and Writing Workshop
11:30-11:55 - Recess
12:01 - 12:26 - Lunch
12:26-1:15 - Reading Workshop
1:15-2:15 - Math
2:15 - Pack up, Roses, and Dismissal

Now, what's been going on in 2nd grade...

Science:
We have just transitioned into Science with our first unit...magnets!  Students are exploring the types of material that have a magnetic field that attract magnets and which materials repel magnets.  Student have been testing the magnetic force of the poles and which poles attract and which repel.  All of these fancy words are vocabulary words your child should know, so don't be afraid to use them at home!
 

Ways to help at home:
- Pull out some magnets and let them go to town!  They can wander around the house trying to figure out what attracts magnets.  Remind them to stay away from your phone or computer!  ;-)

Word Study:
I work with each group for about 20-25 minutes so they know the reason behind their sort and we are spending 2 weeks on each sort so they have a solid foundation.  Word study is a consistent rose for students at the end of each day!  :)

Writing:
Students have been working in partners or in small groups to write stories.  They are HYSTERICAL and quite creative!  It has been wonderful to hear their excitement buzzing in the classroom with these stories.  They absolutely loved it and were disappointed when I had to give them a deadline to finish their stories.  Together, students created characters, the setting, a problem and the final solution. 

We are now back to working on individual stories, but adding details to their stories.


Ways to help at home:
Have fun with your child writing together.  You could create a story together!



Reading:
We completed our decoding strategies.  Students have been using Stretchy the Snake, Eagle Eye, Chunky Monkey, Flippy Dolphin, Tryin Lion, Skippy Frog, and Lips the Fish.  Students continue to write new vocabulary words to their sticky notes! 

We have recently begun adding comprehension strategies to our Reading Toolbox!  Students are realizing they need to create pictures (or even a movie) in their heads when they read - VISUALIZATION!  Students are also starting to ask questions like:
- I wonder why...
- I wonder what...
- How did...
- I wonder when...
- Who...

Ways to help at home:
- Practice makes perfect!  The more reading your child does, the better they will get!  Research shows between 20-30 minutes per day helps growing readers improve more rapidly. 
- I want students to LOVE to read, just as I do!  To get them to love it, they must love the story.  Let your child choose what to read.  If they are excited and engaged in the story, they will want to read more and more. 
    













- Give them their own comfy space and let them just read!  :)

      


Check out one student's reading reflection project!

Math:
We have transitioned into Geometry.  Students are able to identify 2D and 3D shapes.  Here's a chart to describe the different vocabulary terms for each.  Ask your child to explain them!

2D                                                              3D
sides                                                           edges
corners                                                       vertex (vertices)
                                                                   faces

 
  
Students are also able to distinguish between the three different types of angles and sort shapes based on their angles.

  


Ways to help at home:
- Continue to create word problems and have them use their own strategy to solve them.
- Ask your child to point out different 3D vocabulary terms on items around your house!  :)

 

September has been great!

I simply can't believe September has come to an end.  Students are growing as learners each day!

Here's what we've been up to lately:

Math:
We continue to identify and count coins.  Students are getting so much better in this area and feeling much more confident!  I gave students this scenario "I have lots of coins in my pocket and need to trade them in so that my pockets aren't nearly as full."  They enjoy exchanging coins in order to have the smallest number of coins.


   

Students are using the following strategies to add larger numbers together:

1.  Make 10 - Students make 10.  In 17 + 8 + 3 + 2, students would combine 7 + 3 = 10 and 8 + 2 = 10, so 10 + 10 +10 = 30.

2.  Doubles - Students find doubles when possible.  In 3 + 8 + 8 + 3, students would see that 3 + 3 = 6 and 8 + 8 = 16, so 6 + 16 is 22.  Hopefully the Doubles homework game was fun at home.

3.  Compensation - Students will determine a ten or a double, but have to use part of another number.  If you have 2 + 7 + 4, you can say 2 + 7 + 1 (from the 4)  = 10, but then 4 - 1 = 3, so 10 + 3 = 13.  OR 5 + 7 + 4, you would make a double of 7 (the 5 + 2 from the 4) + 7 = 14, then 4 - 2= 2, so 14 + 2 = 16.  This strategy is a little more advanced, but I taught it this week to extend to students who were ready for it.  :)

The big focus over the last few weeks has been showing their mathematical thinking.  Students had a hard time with this in the beginning, but it is coming more easily to students now.  Students can show their thinking with either pictures, numbers, or words.  Here are a few ways:

Ways to help at home:
- Continue to count coins.  To extend their thinking, students can play "store."  They can buy an item (less than $1.00) and figure out how much change they get back when they pay with a $1.00 bill!
- Create a story problem with two addends that up to less than 100.  We are just beginning subtraction, so they may need help showing their work.


Word Study:
Students are now in word study groups and engaged.  I work with each group for about 20-25 minutes so they know the reason behind their sort.  Students spend time with their words via activities.  Students use wipe boards for our line work (I ask students to count the sounds (stack has 4), so we draw 4 lines, like this _ _ _ _.  Then we begin filling in the lines with the sounds we hear.

s _ _ _ then
s t _ _ then
s t a _  then
s t a ck

Students also use wikki sticks (wax strings) to mold the strings to form letters to build words.  Students love writing their words in FANCY letters or different colored pens! We keep it fun as they learn the difference between the features within their sort.

We have been alphabetizing words the last few weeks.  We incorporated it as one of the word study activities.  They had so much fun with it!  Try alphabetizing different words at home!

   

To get students to know their long and short vowel sounds, we sang a fun song.  Ask your child to sing it for you...



Writing:
The last two weeks has been fun in writing!  This has been a "rose" each day!  Students draw a picture of their character then write about it with details.  Next, students draw the setting around their character then write about it with details.  Next, students draw their character in the midst of a problem.  They will then write the plot to the story.  Lastly, students draw their character solving the problem.  They will then write about the solution.  This creates a fun, complete story.

Ways to help at home:
Students can write just about anything at home.  They have had experience writing letters, so have them write to someone and tell them about something they are enjoying in school.

Reading:
We continue to add to CAFE, our reading strategy board.  C = comprehend (understanding what you read), A = accuracy (reading correctly - words and prosody/intonation), F = fluency (the speed in which you read), and E (expanding the vocabulary - adding new words)

Students have been building stamina, persevering over challenging parts, but most importantly, students are rereading their text.  My two Henley Helpers (Bree and Noah) expanded on this concept by explaining that when they read something two or three times, they catch details they hadn't read the first time.

In the upcoming week, students will learn different strategies to read more difficult words. 

Ways to help at home:
- Practice makes perfect!  The more reading your child does, the better they will get!  Research shows between 20-30 minutes per day helps growing readers improve more rapidly. 
- I want students to LOVE to read, just as I do!  To get them to love it, they must love the story.  Let your child choose what to read.  If they are excited and engaged in the story, they will want to read more and more. 


Check out some of the ways students reflected on their reading at home...

     


Social Studies:
Students have been busy bees the last few weeks!  We have been reading a historical fiction book that describes life on a sheep farm in a small valley in Colorado in the 1920s.  Students have visualized life without electricity, running water, and indoor plumbing!  They used this knowledge to create 3 Dimensional maps.  We began by viewing a Then and Now set of photos by Rufus Holsinger and Stacey Evans (http://uvamagazine.org/articles/charlottesville_then_now).  We then "copied" the idea  by designing a map as a whole class so that both our present and our past maps are the same.  Students began with a Crozet-ish design and included the railroad tracks, a stop sign, a pond, a school, and we had to have a store (Dairy Queen!).  Check out the progress...

Past:


   

Present:
 

 Past and Present Final Products:

   


  



Ways to help at home:
- Continue conversations about how life was different when you were young.