It is mid-February - Can you believe this weather?

Speaking of weather, we will begin our weather unit this week in Science! We are also having loads of fun!

           

Writing:
Students worked in small groups to write stories for the Henley Middle School theater students, who will perform a few of the stories as a play.  We can't wait to see the stories come alive in mid-March!

We have stories about boats lost at sea, Officer Puppy Paws solving problems, and demi-gods!  They were all wonderful stories...I wonder which stories will be chosen!  :)

Continue to work with your child at home by asking them to write complete sentences.  Just when I think students have this, they revert back to placing periods in random places.  

   

Reading:
Over the last few weeks, students have been predicting what will happen next in their book.  Students think about an event that is happening in their book, then use their schema to predict what will happen next. 

In our partner books, students still practice all that we've learned so far this year.  They talk with their partners about their schema, what they've visualized, whether they can connect their reading to something in their life, and certainly ask each other many questions as they read.  These review strategies can be used at home.  I have recently started journaling with my daughter about a book we are both reading.  We ask each other questions based upon comprehension strategies they are learning about in 5th grade.  Feel free to ask me further questions so you can use this idea at home!

Schema - We have used our schema to think about what we already know before we read and what we can add to that knowledge after we read.

Visualization - Students have drawn pictures and used words to explain what they visualize as they read.

Connections - It is becoming easier for students to make connections to what they read.  They are constantly sharing with me what a part in their book reminds them of.

Questioning and Wondering - Students ask questions before, during and after they read.  They ask both "thin" and "thick" questions.  Thin questions are those that can easily be answered in the book (or the part they've already read) by turning to a specific page and pointing to the answer.  Thick questions spark a conversation and there isn't an exact answer to the question, but more of an opinion of what the readers think. Determining the difference between a thick and thin question is still challenging for some students, but they know how to answer the question, just not asking it.

Here are some thick question stems...
- I wonder what would happen if...
- I wonder why...
- What do you think about...
- Where do you think...
-  How did...

       

   

We believe that the meaningful interactions between students, texts, and teachers lead to lifelong learning, empowerment, enjoyment and success.

Word Study:
New word study sorts were given out this week.  On a daily basis, students sort their words, write their sorts once, and practice by way of different activities.  Some examples of word study activities is using wikki sticks, play dough, tiles or colored pens.  Use that old Scrabble game and have your children spell out their word study words using the tiles.  Likely, they won't complain about doing their homework!

       

Math:
We have moved from story problems and count-bys to taking data and placing into a graph.  We were recently introduced to a Venn Diagram, which takes two attributes and sorts them into:
- applies to attribute #1
- applies to attribute #2
- applies to both attributes
- applies to neither attribute

          

We have briefly talked about bar graphs and will introduce picture and picto graphs soon.  Picture graphs are graphs that use several different pictures.  A pictograph uses only one picture and has a key that has the picture = a certain number.  Here are a few pictures...

Help your child by looking at different graphs and "reading" them.

Social Studies:
We have learned concluded our unit on American Indians.  Students used all of their gained knowledge on the Lakota, Powhatan, and Pueblo tribes to complete a chart.  Students then planned (OUTSIDE ON A NICE DAY!) and created trioramas for each tribe AND one that displayed similarities between all three tribes.  What wonderful work!

              

Science:
We will begin learning about weather this week.  Students will need to know that weather includes temperature, precipitation, and wind.  Students will learn about storms, different types of precipitation, and the water cycle and how weather influences it.

End of Quarter 2...it has arrived so quickly!

Writing:
Students have finished their stories...just in time for the end of the quarter.  Students have really impressed me with their ability to add so many amazing details to their character and setting.  As I have mentioned, they used graphic organizers to help them add sensory details to their problem and their solution to make their stories more exciting and filled with detail!  Here are a few sentences from different student stories...

"She feels snowflakes landing on her bare arms and in her eyes."
" I rushed to the whale who had deep teeth marks all over its body."
"She smells cake, french fries and pollen.  The smells are making her sneeze and hungry."
"A couple feet away, the volcano roared.  He could feel fear in the air as hundreds of feet up the mountain, the volcano erupted."

As I have mentioned, Henley Middle School theater students will talk to our class on Friday about student stories.  I have decided to give students the option to work individually or with a small group to create stories in which the Henley students will choose a few to perform for us later in the next quarter. 

Reading:
We have been reading with prosody and reviewing all of the comprehension strategies learned so far this year.

Schema - We have used our schema to think about what we already know before we read and what we can add to that knowledge after we read.

Visualization - Students have drawn pictures and used words to explain what they visualize as they read.

Connections - It is becoming easier for students to make connections to what they read.  They are constantly sharing with me what a part in their book reminds them of.

Questioning and Wondering - Students ask questions before, during and after they read.  They ask both "thin" and "thick" questions.  Thin questions are those that can easily be answered in the book (or the part they've already read) by turning to a specific page and pointing to the answer.  Thick questions spark a conversation and there isn't an exact answer to the question, but more of an opinion of what the readers think. Determining the difference between a thick and thin question is still challenging for some students, but they know how to answer the question, just not asking it.

When reading with your child at home, have them ask some thin and thick questions.  Here are some thick question stems...
- I wonder what would happen if...
- I wonder why...
- What do you think about...
- Where do you think...
-  How did...

     

We believe that the meaningful interactions between students, texts, and teachers lead to lifelong learning, empowerment, enjoyment and success.

Word Study:
New word study groups met this week.  Students are back into the swing of things by sorting, writing their sorts, and practicing by doing different activities.  For instance, we write sentences with our words, draw a picture that has each word in it, or identify each sound in a word and determine the letter(s) that belong to that sound.

Math:
We are counting by 2s, 5s and 10s.  We are using this knowledge to help us add/subtract larger numbers in a more efficient way.

       

As a reminder...Work with your child by counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s!  Start with different numbers...

- When counting by 2s, start with 46 and go to 112.  Go forward and backwards.
- When counting by 5s, start at 75 and go to 145.  Go forwards and backwards.
- When counting by 10s, start at 13 and go to 123.  Go forwards and backwards.

We have also been practicing our fact fluency using Rock, Paper, Scissors and Reflex Math.  These are both fun ways to gain facts quickly.
            

We continue to work on counting money.  We have also played a game where we trade in coins so we have the fewest coins in our hands.

      

Social Studies:
We have learned about the Lakota tribe.  We know many different things about it.  Take a look at this list and ask your child to explain more about it.

 

         

Students are in the middle of a rotation with Mrs. Hyde to learn about the Powhatan tribe.  We are slowly comparing and contrasting the two tribes.  Here's what we have so far...

Let it snow!

You don't know how excited your children got to see snow!  I believe I heard little screeches!

We have begun the new year by reviewing our transitions (chime and count down), as well as the expectations in the classroom.  They were very excited to welcome to the classroom Sophia, who comes to us from England.

       

Writing:
The focus of our writing has been on the problem and solution of a story.  Students have used a graphic organizer to help them add sensory details to these parts.  We wrote a story together to help their understanding.  We talked about how a bear walks through the woods feeling the wind blow his hair around and smelling the sweet aroma of the berries that he can't quite reach with his sharp claws.  He is hungry, but retreats to his dark cave because he sees the bright white of lightning and the loud clap of thunder.  Inside the deep cave, he can almost taste the berries, but instead tastes the saliva that has formed in his mouth.  Students are well into weeks of writing their final story that provides these wonderful details to their story and they should be finished very soon.

    

I am excited to announce a collaboration with Henley Middle School theater students.  In small groups, Brownsville 2nd graders will write their best stories and present them to Henley students.  Henley students will then choose a few to perform for us later in the next quarter.  I have not mentioned this to the class, but can't wait to tell them to put their best effort into their next story, as it could become "real!"

Reading:
The strategy focus has been with asking questions.  Students ask questions before, during and after they read.  They ask both "thin" and "thick" questions.  Thin questions are those that can easily be answered in the book (or the part they've already read) by turning to a specific page and pointing to the answer.  Thick questions spark a conversation and there isn't an exact answer to the question, but more of an opinion of what the readers think.  I model these questions as we read our current read aloud book titled The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo.

When reading with your child at home, ask some thick questions.  Here are some question stems...
- I wonder what would happen if...
- I wonder why...
- What do you think about...
- Where do you think...
-  How did...

We have been reviewing ALL of our comprehension strategies this week.  They include:
Schema - schema is the information you have in your head about a certain topic.  For instance, in our read aloud book, Edward Tulane is a china rabbit who has wires as elbows and knees.  We talked about what a china doll is and many students already had that in their schema!
Visualization - this is the picture/movie you have in your head as you read.  For instance, Edward Tulane is tossed back and forth between two mean boys as Abilene (Edward's young owner) screams for them to give him back.  One last toss lands Edward in the vast ocean and sinking slowly to the bottom.
Connections - making connections to a book is a great comprehension strategy.  For instance, when poor Edward was snatched off a chair by a dog, students were able to get a picture in their head because they had an experience in which they have seen a dog shake a stuffed animal!  :)
                  

We will make predictions in the upcoming weeks, which will lead to sequencing of events.

All of this work at school and your help at home guides students with the goal of Brownsville's Reading Philosophy...

We believe that the meaningful interactions between students, texts, and teachers lead to lifelong learning, empowerment, enjoyment and success.

Word Study:
We took a hiatus from word study for the week before break and this past week.  We will begin new word study groups in the upcoming weeks. 

Math:
We are working on more story problems with larger numbers.  Don't forget making 10s when adding larger numbers.  For instance, you can take 7 + 3 to make 10.  You can also take 7 + 2 + 1 to make 10.  We are also gaining knowledge and understanding of odd and even numbers.  We are practicing counting by 2s and will begin 5s and 10s.  This should be a reminder, but we want students to understand the patterns they see when counting.  This will lead them into a clearer understanding of multiplication when they reach 3rd grade.

     

Enjoy working with your child on counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s!  Start with different numbers...

- When counting by 2s, start with 46 and go to 112.  Go forward and backwards.
- When counting by 5s, start at 75 and go to 145.  Go forwards and backwards.
- When counting by 10s, start at 13 and go to 123.  Go forwards and backwards.

Social Studies:
We finished our maps unit with our study of the United States.  Students learned where the Rocky Mountains and Appalachian Mountains are located.  They can locate the Mississippi, Rio Grande, and James Rivers, as well as the Great Lakes.  They love to use the map on the back playground to demonstrate this knowledge.  As a culmination of this unit, students made 3D dough maps.  Check out these photos...

       

We have recently been talking about American Indians.  We discussed what we know and what we want to know about them.  We then read a book titled Encounter, which is written from the perspective of a young American Indian who warns the elders of the coming Europeans wanting gold and to conquer their land.  Ask your child about the impact of this book.

In the upcoming weeks, we will learn about three American tribes; Lakota, Pueblo, and Powhatan.  Our class will learn about the Lakota tribe with me and then rotate to two other 2nd grade teachers to learn about the other two tribes for one week each.  When I announced this, they shouted "nooooooo!"  I said, "It will be so much fun learning from another teacher."  They said they would miss me so much!  ;-)