Post-Thanksgiving Update

When did time begin to move quickly?  I guess when we decided to have so much fun!  :)

OUR FIELD TRIPS:
 

 

OUR PIE PARTY:
    

Science:
Matter through fun experiments has been the focus of our Science unit.  Students have poked balloons to determine the matter inside, hypothesized, discussed, then observed the actual matter inside the balloon.  Honey butter was created from a liquid and lots of shaking!  Many were hesitant to taste it, but some came back for seconds!

     

   

OUR BUTTER: 


Ways to help at home:
-Simply Google "matter experiments" and you will find a ton!  Bill Nye the Science Guy has some fun videos.  Here is a link that you can use as well. 

Social Studies:
We have just introduced Maps and Globes this week.  Students are learning about the parts of a map (Title, Scale, Key/Legend, and Compass Rose).  We will be learning about rivers, lakes, and mountain ranges in the USA.

Ways to help at home:
- Have students create a map of their bedroom!

Word Study:
Each student is working at their current level.  I work with each of them every day to verify they have sorted correctly, we then review the rules of each sort, they write the sort, then they do an activity each day.  (This is the best part!)

     

Writing:
Students continue to work in small groups to write a short story that could be performed by the Henley drama students.  We are working on writing paragraphs!  Writing stories in an organized way  is the easiest way to teach this because as they write about the character, that's the first paragraph.  As they change from the character and begin to write about the setting, that's the second paragraph.  As they write about the problem, they understand they are changing the topic, so that's the third paragraph. They write about the solution, so that's the fourth paragraph.

Students will be getting their homework journals tomorrow.  This is homework!  I use the journals as a way to practice letter writing (proper format) and get to know each student.  All homework is due on Friday! 

Ways to help at home:
Have fun with your child writing together.  Show a picture (or two for choice) and ask students to describe the picture using details, then create a story together.



Reading:
We have been talking about SCHEMA in class.  Schema is all the information that is in your head about one topic.  We use schema before we read and while we are reading.  We then add to our schema as we read more about that topic.

I just introduced making connections to what we are reading.  As students read, they connect a part in their book to either something that has happened to them personally (Text-to-Self), something that they have read about (Text-to-Text), or something that they have heard about that has happened in the world (Text-to-World).

 
 

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!  :)
- Ask your child about ways they connected to the book they read.  As them if anything in what they've read has reminded them of something that has happened to them.  You can even prompt them as reading (do you remember when...?).

Math:
Students did very well with Geometry!  We then moved into fractions (only up to eighths - with some extension work to 15ths) and symmetry.  Students were able to recognize fractions, make fractions, and debate which was the right fraction and why.

   



We are now moving into adding larger numbers.  We are talking about using a tenrod and ones to show numbers and including an equation, such as this...

lll.. to be 30 + 2 = 32

Very quickly we will be moving to example 1 below where students will be breaking apart numbers into tens and ones, then adding them back together. 

     

Students used different strategies to buy 6 items for Thanksgiving dinner using only $25!


  
 

Ways to help at home:
- Continue to create word problems and have them use their own strategy to solve them.
- Ask your child to tell you what 1/3 means or 2/5.  Be creative.  Have them look at a recipe and ask them to identify the fraction and point out that the WHOLE is a full cup.  :)

Boy have we been busy bees!

Hello!  We have made changes to the schedule and just wanted everyone to be on the same page.  Here is the new schedule:

8:00 - 8:40 - Science/Social Studies
8:40 - 9:00 - Morning Meeting
9:00 - 9:20 - Snack and Read Aloud
9:20 - 9:40 - Recess
9:40 - 10:40 - Reading Workshop
10:40 - 11:25 - Word Study and Writing Workshop
11:25 - 12:25 - Specials
12:25 - 12:35 - Handwriting practice
12:36 - 1:01 - Lunch
1:01 - 2:10 - Math
2:10 - Pack up, Roses, and Dismissal

I have been reading a historical fiction book where the teacher in the book received an apple.  I have gotten several in the last two week from sweet children!  :)

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

Science/Social Studies:
We have just transitioned into Science with our first unit...magnets!  Students have explored 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.  All of these fancy words are vocabulary words your child should know, so don't be afraid to use them at home!

      

We have also learned about two famous Americans; George Washington Carver and Helen Keller.  Students learned that George Washington Carver came from a slave family, but went to school to become a famous botanist who realized that rotating crops (specifically cotton and peanuts) was beneficial to the soil and kept plants healthy.  He found many uses for peanuts (oil, cheese, dye, etc). 

When reviewing all that we now know about George Washington Carver, students shouted out things they remembered and I wrote them down.  We then started a sequencing lesson by placing them in chronological order.



Students have also felt braille and will make their own braille words in word study in the upcoming week because we have learned about Helen Keller.  She was born with the ability to see and hear, but due to a severe fever, she lost her sight and hearing as a young child.  After several frustrating years, her parents hired a teacher, Annie Sullivan, to help her become part of our world again.


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!  ;-)
- Students can also get onto Pebble Go (BES homepage, Library, Research & Learn, Pebble Go at the bottom) to read, listen, and explore more about George Washington Carver and Helen Keller.

Word Study:
I work with each group for about 20 minutes so they know the reason behind their sort.  Students then write their sort one time and do some type of activity.  Students can log in to Spelling City from home to practice through fun games.  Simply do a Google search for Spelling City, click login at the top right, then click student login, then they enter their username and password (exactly like they login to their computer at school).

     

Writing:
Students have been working on stories where students create characters, the setting, a problem and the final solution.  We have talked about adding details to their stories.

   

I have also introduced the proper way to format a letter.  Maybe you have received one of these?  They are so very excited to learn how to write one properly.  You may receive more at home that are marked up by me.  Right now, I am focusing on the proper location of the date, greeting, signature, and indenting.  We have only briefly talked about why we indent (when we start a new topic for a paragraph), but will continue to work on that in the future.  Please see the note below about new homework!

Ways to help at home:
- Have fun with your child by writing together.  You could create a story together!
- I will begin journal homework soon.  This is just a way for me to get to know students better and so we can practice writing letters with proper formatting.



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 on their sticky notes in which we add to our interactive bulletin board! I don't have a picture of our board this year, but here's a photo from two years ago to give you an idea of a visual reminder we use in class.  There are new sticky notes each week in which we replace the following week depending on the strategy taught.

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...
Students are also beginning to understand the components of a story.  Similar to what we are doing in writing, students are identifying the character, setting, problem, and solution in books they read.


Ways to help at home:
- I write this all the time, but practice does 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 these reading reflection projects!

     

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.

 



Students can also describe the qualities of a rectangle array.  They know that all rectangles have 4 right angles, and can describe them using rows, columns, and total tiles.  For instance, this array can be described as having 4 right angles, 3 columns, 4 rows, and 12 total tiles.


 
 
Students still have the ability to work on ST Math at school and at home.  ST Math allows students to explore the concepts we are studying.  I recently introduced them to Reflex Math, which builds students fact fluency.  Both of these are very important to building a solid mathematical foundation.
   

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!  :)