Happy Friday!

It was a little tricky waking up this morning - but it's nice to know that we have the weekend ahead of us! I hope you all enjoyed the day off yesterday!

A Few Notes:
Reading & Math Fact Logs
September Logs are due on Monday!!  Send them in for prizes! :)

Math Fact Quizzes
I have changed the procedure for Math Fact Quizzes this year, as some of you may have noticed.  Students will not move on to the next set of math facts until they demonstrate mastery of the set they are on (answering at least 50 facts correctly in 3 minutes).  So, if your child answered less than 50 facts correctly on a quiz, s/he can expect to retake that quiz again (and again), until mastery is reached. This takes some serious organization, but I think it makes sense in that it is a little more individualized and children move along at a pace that is "just right" for them. I welcome your thoughts/opinions!

Our Week in Review:
Reading
This was our first week using the reading anthology and we read the story David’s New Friends, by Pat Mora.  This is a great realistic fiction story about a boy named David and his first day of second grade.  Ask your child to tell you about it!

Students have been working very hard this week to identify the characters and settings in various stories.  Your child should be very familiar with this skill by now – and should be able to record his/her ideas in a T-chart graphic organizer.  It will be very helpful to reinforce this skill at home.  As you read with your child, ask him/her to list the characters in the story (major and minor) and the settings!  Please note that the setting includes the where (place) AND the when (time – time of day and time of year).  Have fun! J

This week, students were asked to complete these centers:

Writing Center:

With a partner, students reread the story David’s New Friends.  They then responded to the question:  Would you want to have Mr. Roy as your teacher?  Why or why not?  (Give 2 reasons.)   

Art Center:

Students illustrated and colored a picture of their dream class pet.

Spelling Center:

Students sorted pictures according to their vowel sound - short a or short i.  They then wrote a sentence using a word from each group.

Graphic Organizer:
Students completed the Character/Setting T-chart graphic organizer about David's New Friends.

Grammar Center:
We have been working hard to identify complete sentences and distinguish between statements and questions. This week, students worked with a partner to sort 30 sentence strips into 3 categories:

a) incomplete sentences

b) complete statements

c) complete questions

After checking their work, they then wrote 1 complete statement and 1 complete question of their own.

Spelling

This was our first week with 12-15 spelling words! (This will be the norm for now on.)  As mentioned last week, the first ten words are based on the phonics/spelling rule/pattern for the week.  For most students, the rule this week was short a (e.g. chat, and, tap, rattle) and short i (e.g. lip, still, him, strict).  The rest of the words on the list are either high frequency words or words specific to each child. (Words that s/he spelled incorrectly on previous spelling tests, words that s/he frequently misspells when writing, or words from our Word Wall/Quick Words.)

So far, most children are doing a great job of completing their weekly spelling homework activity!  I think most of you have settled into the routine!  Reminder: The list of possible activities is stapled on the inside of their spelling book, which should be going home every night.  I don’t collect the spelling books until Friday, so students have all week to complete an activity.  Have fun!   

Math
On Tuesday, we reviewed for the Unit 1 Math Assessment and students took the test on Wednesday – which, as mentioned, reviewed many of the important mathematical concepts learned in first grade.

These math concepts included:

*Place Value – identifying digits in the ones, tens, and hundreds place

*Skip Counting – counting by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s starting anywhere (e.g. 7, 17, 27, 37, etc.) and continuing over “breaks” (e.g. 179, 189, 199, 209, 219, 229

*Time – telling time on an analog clock to the nearest 5-minute mark

*Money – identifying and counting coins

Although review, I noticed that many students demonstrated difficulty with one or more concepts along the way. A solid understanding of these concepts is essential, as they are the foundation for much of the second grade math curriculum. 

If possible, please review these concepts with your child as frequently as possible.  Try keeping an analog clock in your child’s bedroom, ask your child to count out the exact change needed at the grocery store, or play quick “mental math games” in the car on the way to soccer practice (ex.  “I am thinking of a number with 1 in the tens place, a 6 in the hundreds place and a 9 in the ones place.  What number am I?  What number will I be if I add 20 more? etc.).

Good luck …and have fun together!

Science
In science this week, students compared the mass of different objects using the pan balances.  They also completed Venn Diagrams comparing the properties of 2 different objects - identifying at 2-3 similarities and differences.  They are VERY observant - a very important characteristic for scientists!

Mystery Reader
Our Mystery Reader this week was Mrs. Marlowe - Zach's mom.  She read a book she loved when SHE was a child:  The Fire Cat by Esther Averill.  It was a wonderful story about a cat named Pickles!!  Ask your child to tell you about it!   She also read a chapter from Frog and Toad.  Thank you so much for visiting with us, Mrs. Marlowe! We hope to see you again soon!

Another Great Week!

STARTING OFF:

Box Tops

Please continue saving Box-Tops and sending them in!  They help pay for great "stuff" at Elmwood School, such as playground equipment and fun technology!

The GRADE

Next week, teachers at Elmwood School will be administering a standardized test called “The GRADE” (Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation).  This test is meant to provide teachers with information about students’ reading skills.  I assure you that this test will be quite painless – but please make sure your child gets plenty of sleep next week and eats a healthy breakfast! J

Independent Reading

Just a reminder, your child should be reading every night for approximately 20 minutes and filling out his/her reading log.  Please make sure that s/he is doing so – reading is one of the best predictors of academic success.  Ask questions about the plot, setting and characters in the book – let your child know that you are interested in what they are reading. Your support will go a long way!

OUR WEEK IN REVIEW:

Reading

Last week, we continued to practice our Reading Center Routines.  Students completed the following centers:

Independent Reading: 

Complete the Froggy worksheet by putting words in ABC order.

Spelling Center:

Write each spelling word 3 times - in a different color each time - to complete the Rainbow Words activity.

Listening Center:

With a partner, students listen to the story Doing the Animal Bop. They then write a complete sentence stating their favorite part of the story and why it was their favorite.  Students then create their OWN (short) song about an animal and illustrate it. 

Writing Center:

Inspired by Kevin Henkes’ story, Chrysanthemum, students tell one thing that makes them “wilt” and one thing that makes them “bloom.”  They then illustrate their sentences.

Choice:

If students finish their centers early, and check them over carefully to make sure they have done their very best work, they can then do an activity from the choice center.  This week, their options were:

Independent Reading

Read another book written by Kevin Henkes (the author of Chrysanthemum).  Students then respond to a written question.    

Read Around the Room

Students look around the room for words that start with each letter of the alphabet. They record them carefully!

Spelling

This was the third (and last) week for 10-word spelling lists.  As with the last two weeks, this week’s list was comprised of high-frequency words. Next week, students will have 12-15 words to study - 10 of which will follow a particular rule/pattern. 

Math

We are almost finished with Unit 1 in the Everyday Math program and we are having fun!  Last week, we reviewed and reinforced some of the basic math skills such as telling time, counting money, identifying patterns, and using/creating a number grid.  These are all concepts that students learned in first grade, but they definitely warrant a review in second grade.  I encourage practicing some of these skills at home as well. 

Students have been doing a lot of hands-on activities in class, including counting and playing with real money, creating number scrolls (a huge classroom scroll from 0–1000 and also individual scrolls), and making and solving number grid puzzles. Students have also learned some new math games – including Addition Top-It, the Money Exchange Game, Penny Plate, and the Number-Grid Game. Talk to your child to find out which game s/he liked best? 

Last Thursday, we had our first Math Lab.  During this time, students:

   a)  explored thermometers and showing/reading temperatures (with Mrs. Glazier)

   b)  used Base-10 blocks to build structures and then count the value of those structures (with Mrs. Preis)

   c)  used dominoes to show different combinations for various sums (with Ms. Davis)

Scroll down to see pictures of students hard at work!

  

Science
I think we have some serious scientists in this classroom!  I love the level of enthusiasm and excitement that students bring to our science lessons!  I hope you are seeing some of this at home as well!

We began our first science unit last week  - "What's the MATTER?"  Students learned that objects can be described by their "properties" - such as color, size, shape, texture, etc.  They spent a lot of time last week sorting buttons according to these different properties - and recording their observations in their science journals. 

We also talked about MATTER last week and students should now know and understand that matter is anything that takes up space (has volume) and has mass.  So…matter is just about everything!!  We have done several experiments demonstrating these two essential concepts – especially the idea of mass (how much “stuff” inside something).  Students conducted many different experiments with pan balances to compare the masses of different objects and they made some interesting discoveries! 

All-School Assembly

We ended the week with an all-school assembly with Mr. Odds Bodskins.  Ask your child about his amazing musical talents!!