What a Week!

Dear Parents,

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is next week already!!  Where has the time gone?  It seems like yesterday was the first day of school!! 

Reminder!

Don’t forget that next week is a super-short week!  We have regular school days Monday and Tuesday, but the children will be released at 11:25 on Wednesday (no lunch) and we don’t have school on Thursday or Friday (due to Thanksgiving).  Along with our regular lessons, we will also be doing a number of Thanksgiving-themed activities…so make sure to ask your child about what s/he is up to at school! 

Meeting of the Eagles

We will be "performing" Tony Chestnut at next week's Meeting of the Eagles.  Parents/families are welcome to attend teh 9:30am assembly in the Elmwood School gymnasium.  Students should wear jeans and a green shirt!  I hope to see you there!

Field Trip

I hope you have all seen the flier that went home on Monday about the second grade field trip.  All second graders will be going to Mechanics Hall in Worcester to see a musical production of Nate the Great.  This trip is scheduled for February 15, but the permission forms and money are due on December 2.  If you have not done so already, please send in the money and permission slip ASAP!

Community Reader

This week was Community Reading week at Elmwood School.  Our Community Reader was Dr. Chris Kennedy, the new principal at Elmwood School.  Dr. Kennedy read Audrey Penn's story, Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully.  Ask your child about polishing a blue stone... :)

Helpful Links

Thanksgiving break is a perfect time to "explore" all of the great links found at the bottom of this blog!  All of the links are kid-friendly and help reinforce the important concepts students are learning in school.  Have fun!

Our Week in Review:

READING

The focus in reading this week was on plants.  The main selection in our reading books was Eric Carle’s story The Tiny Seed, which describes the journey of a little seed as it travels to “find” a place to grow.  The students learned some very interesting facts about seeds and plants through this story.  Ask your child why it was good for the seed to be so tiny!

The reading comprehension skill/strategy for this week was drawing conclusions.  The children had to use information gathered from the story (from words and/or pictures) and use it to draw conclusions about plants and seeds. As with most of our comprehension skills, this can be tricky at times and we will continue to work on it throughout the school year. 

Eric Carle 

Since next week is a short week, we took this opportunity to spend more time learning about this very special - and famous - children's author.  Eric Carle has written many wonderful children's stories and we have been reading lots of them in class, including:  Pancakes, Pancakes, The Hungry Caterpillar, and Mister Seahorse. 

One thing that we have really noticed about Eric Carle's stories are the amazing pictures.  Next week, students will try collaging for themselves!  They will be illustrating a scene from their own story about the tiny seed (this week's homework).  I can't wait to see the results!

SPELLING

This week, our spelling list focused on short u and the u_e pattern.  This pattern creates a “long u” sound.  The _ (underscore) represents a consonant.  Words that follow this pattern include:

            rude                 confuse

            sure                 flute                

  fume                June

This can be tricky because many words that have the long u sound are actually spelled other ways! (Examples:  school, blue, knew)  Yikes!

GRAMMAR

Plural Nouns

This week, students learned about singular (one) and plural (more than one) nouns.  For now, students should understand that MOST plural nouns end with "s."  They will be learning about all kinds of exceptions in the next few weeks!

Commas in a Series

We have also been working on using commas in a series.  Students should understand that commas are used to separate 3 or more items in a list.

           Example:  I like apples, oranges, bananas, and pineapples.

Students put this knowledge to good use, creating lists of things and using elbow macaroni as their commas!! 

WRITING

This week, students have been working on creating "Mighty Middles" in their stories.  The most important part needed to create a Mighty Middle is to sequence events in order.  Making a list (or time-line) of events or a web can be very helpful in doing this.  And using time-order words can help as well.  Crafting a well-organized middle takes a lot of practice and a lot of work!  We will keep at it!

MATH

Early in the week, students worked together to collect and graph data!  Students first determined how many pockets they had that day.  Then, we recorded all the data and created a bar graph!  Through this activity, students were introduced to the concepts of median (the middle value) and mode (the most frequent value).   These are some fairly “grown-up” concepts – aren’t you impressed?  J

Later in the week, students were introduced to the concept of making change. This is a very difficult concept for children – and one that needs frequent review.  I have noticed that some students have a difficult time understanding that they should even GET change back when they pay too much!!  (If you think about it, most of us pay with credit cards and/or debit cards and students never see change being given for purchases!) 

For adults, the easiest way to make change is to just subtract the amount that you owe from the amount that you paid.  Many of us are able to do this easily in our heads or on paper.  This is a much more difficult task for children, however.  At this point in the year, we have not talked about or learned how to subtract multi-digit numbers – and I do not expect students to use this method to find change. 

Students have learned that they can find change by counting up from the amount that they owe to the amount that they paid – and they keep track of this difference by drawing the coins that they used to count up.

Example:  David buys a toy for $0.65.  He pays with a dollar. How much change does he get back?

1. “Put 65 in your head.”  (Start with 65)

2. Count up to a dollar.

    65    à        D         D        D          N

(in head)   

        Count:      75        85        95        100

3. Now, add up those coins:

D + D + D + N = 35

4. David receives $0.35 in change.

This is a tricky concept that will require LOTS of consistent practice!  Please practice making change with your child on a regular basis! :)

Math Lab

On Friday, we had our December Math Lab.  Students rotated through 3 stations:

     1) Clock Booklets - with Mrs. Walsh

     2) Thanksgiving Graph - with Mrs. Preis

     3) Dino Math Tracks - with Mrs. Whelan

Check out students hard at work:

SOCIAL STUDIES

We began our first Social Studies unit this week – Maps and Globes.  As you can imagine from the title, students will be learning all about maps and globes in this unit. As discussed in class, a map is a picture that shows us a place.  It can be anywhere/anything – your classroom, house, bedroom, solar system, body, etc!  A globe is a 3-D model of the earth.  We had a great discussion this week identifying the differences between maps and globes, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each. 

MYSTERY READER

Our Mystery Reader this week was Mrs. Girolamo - Hayden's mom.  She read us a great story, titled If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen.  After reading this fun story, she then invited children to design their own dream car.  You should have SEEN some of their creations - cars with swimming pools, hot tubs, cotton candy machines, movie theaters, and more!  We have some creative children in this classroom!!

Happy Veterans' Day!

Despite the fact that we only had 3 school days this week, we were very productive!
A few notes before I get into our activities this week:

Recess
Please make sure your child brings a nice, warm jacket/coat for recess.  It is starting to get pretty chilly – and children won’t be able to go outside without an appropriate coat!

Meeting of the Eagles
You are all welcome to come to the next MOTE (November 23) to see students perform a special song - Toe Knee Chest Nut - with Miss Winters' Class!!  The Meeting starts at 9:30.  Hope to see you there! :)

Students have been asking me to post the link to Toe-Knee-Chest-Nut online so they can practice at home.  Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gESxPhlJbX0&feature=player_embedded&noredirect=1

Math Lab
We are having a Math Lab next Thursday at 12:30.  If you would like to volunteer, please let me know!

Our Week in Review
READING
Due to the short week, I decided to skip ahead in our reading anthology to a shorter story - a Time for Kids selection titled, A Trip to the ER.  This week, we read stories all about doctors, emergency rooms, and hospitals.  Students had MANY stories to tell about personal experiences related to this topic.  It sounds like you have all spent more than enough time in emergency rooms!  Yikes!

The strategy we worked on this week was sequencing.  Students have been practicing retelling and creating/writing stories in order - beginning, middle, and end.  They have also been experimenting with the use of Time-Order words.  Time-Order words help sequence events and stories.  Some examples include:

First           Next          Then            Last
Second       After          Before         Soon
Later          Finally       Beginning     Middle
End            (and more!)


SPELLING
In spelling this week, most students learned about two other ways to spell the long A sound.  We already learned that a_e makes the long A sound, and now students know that ai and ay do as well. 

Students noticed that the long A sound in the middle of a word and/or syllable is usually made with ai.  The long A sound at the end of a word or syllable, however, is typically made with ay. Take a look:

     train          day
     chair          maybe
     maid          stray


GRAMMAR
Who knew there was so much to learn about nouns!  By now, students should know what a noun is (a person, place, thing or animal) and know that all complete sentences must have at least one noun.  They should also know that some nouns are common (everyday, ordinary) and some are proper (special, unique).  Common nouns begin with lower case letters, while proper nouns are capitalized - because they are special!
<>   <><>  <><>   <><>  <> <>   <><>   <><>  <><>  <>

Common nouns	Proper nouns
boy	Joey
cat	Mittens
school	Elmwood School

WRITING

This week, students were introduced to the concept of a Writer's Notebook.  A Writer's Notebook is a place in which an individual can write his/her ideas, thoughts, feelings, and stories!  Each student is now using his/her composition notebook as a Writer's Notebook and I'm excited to see what they will do with it!

Later in the week, students were introduced to similes with my favorite childhood story, I'm as Quick as a Cricket, by Audrey and Don Wood.

After reading the story, students were "invited" to try to use one in their writing.  Here are a few of their ideas:

 snoring as loud as a chainsaw

 scared as a mouse

 fast as lightning

Aren’t you impressed??  (I am!) 

MATH
As mentioned last week, Unit 3 begins by reviewing and expanding upon some basic math concepts, including place value, time, and money.  This week, we focused primarily on time and money.

Time – I have noticed that some children still “mix up” the hour and minute hands on the analog clock.  With all the digital clocks everywhere (on the microwave, in the car, etc.), it’s hard for students to understand why they need to learn how to tell time on an analog clock.  Please encourage them to use an analog clock whenever possible! (A watch is a great gift idea…) J

Money – At this point in their academic careers, students should be able to quickly and accurately identify coins (front and back) and their values.  Students should also be comfortable with combining coins and determining the total values.  The only way to solidify this understanding is through practice! I will continue working with money here at school … and it would be great if you do the same at home!

No Mystery Reader this week (since we didn't have school on Friday!)

Happy Friday!

We have been keeping busy here in Room 13…and I bet you have been doing the same at home!  With all the hustle and bustle – games, practices, meetings, etc. – it’s a good idea to take the time to talk to your child.  How was his day?  What did she learn today?  This will help you stay connected with your child and with our classroom! J

Spelling BeeConferences

The HEF and HPTA are putting on a Spelling Bee fundraiser tonight (11/4) to help raise money for the school district.  There will be at least one team of teachers from each school...and "yours truly" will be there, along with Miss Winters and Ms. O'Malley, representing Elmwood! (We are "Spells Angels!") The event will begin promptly at 6pm in the Hopkins cafeteria.  There will also be a “mini-bee” for students K-5, so challenge your child to put his/her spelling skills to the test!  I hope to see you there! J  (We need support/fans!!)

Parent-teacher conferences are well under way!  I have really enjoyed talking with so many of you and I look forward to meeting/seeing the rest of you in the next few weeks!  Please remember that I can always be contacted via email or phone if you have any further questions or concerns about your child!  I want to make sure that we are always on the same page and working together to ensure students’ success!

Field Trip

Information about the Second Grade Field Trip to Mechanics Hall on February 15 went home earlier this week.  I realize that there is a typo with the day of week not matching the date.  Please be aware that the DATE is correct - February 15.  Please send in the signed permission slip and money as soon as possible.  If you have ANY questions, let me know!

Reading Logs

Thank you for reminding your child to do his/her daily reading!  I hope that students keep up the good work!  As a side note, students can read independently and/or aloud to a parent.  It’s actually a good idea to “mix it up” throughout the month.   At this point in time, most students still need to work on reading fluently and with good expression and it is good to have them practice at home. When listening to your child read, encourage him/her to pay close attention to punctuation! This will help with phrasing and comprehension. Changing his/her voice when reading a question vs. an exclamation will also “spice up” a story and will keep students interested and engaged!  Have fun!

Our Week in Review

READING

This was a review week for us in reading.  We did not read a new story in our anthology, but instead reviewed all the important spelling rules/patterns (short and long vowels), grammar skills (punctuation, different kinds of sentences, nouns, past-tense verbs, subjects/predicates), reading comprehension strategies (identifying characters and setting, making predictions, describing main idea/details), graphic organizers (T-charts, beginning/middle/end flowcharts), vocabulary, and writing skills.  Whew!  We have been very busy! J

On Thursday, students had the opportunity put this knowledge and understanding to good use as they worked to complete the Unit 1 reading assessment. 

SPELLING

As with reading, this week’s spelling list was also review.  Students’ lists consisted of words with short and long vowels (with the “sneaky e”).  The format of the spelling test was a little different this week, however, and will be for review weeks.  Instead of writing words in isolation, students were asked to complete a dictation – writing full sentences as they are read by the teacher.  This kind of assessment demonstrates students’ ability to pull together all their knowledge of spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. The ultimate goal of spelling tests is for students to APPLY their knowledge of spelling rules/patterns more consistently in their everyday writing.  I hope that these dictations will help them get used to this!

GRAMMAR

This week, we learned more about past-tense verbs.  Students should now know that most (but not all) past-tense verbs end with –ed.

Many verbs can be changed by simply adding –ed.

            Example:         walk à walked

                                   wait à waited

Verbs that already end with “e” can be changed to past-tense by just adding –d.

            Example:         smile à smiled

                                  move à moved

Some verbs are a little trickier, however.  Verbs that follow the consonant-vowel-consonant (cvc) pattern and have a short vowel sound usually must have the last consonant doubled before adding the –ed (to keep the vowel short).

              Example:         trip à tripped

                                    nod à nodded

Since students are familiar with “sneaky e,” I explain this rule as follows:

When “Sneaky e” is at the end of a word, it can hop over 1 letter.  If the letter it lands on is a vowel, it makes the vowel say its name (the long vowel sound). 

           

Example:    b  i  k  e      
If you want a short vowel to stay short when you add –ed, check to make sure that the “sneaky e” can’t hop over and make the vowel say its name.

            Example:    hop à  h  o  p  e  d

                                    OOPS!

If “sneaky e” can make the vowel say its name and you don’t want it to, you need to double the last consonant to “block” it!

Example:    hop à  h  o  p   p   e  d
Of course, there are always exceptions and we will learn about irregular verbs in a few more weeks.  For now, however, students should work to apply these rules to their own writing…please encourage this!

MATH
We started Unit 3 this week, which focuses on Place Value, Money (Coins), and Time.  On Tuesday, we used Base-10 Blocks to build and show numbers - strengthening students' understanding of place value.  Later in the week, students further worked with place value by creating Place Value Kites.  These special kites show a 3-digit number in 4 different ways:  with numbers, with words, with Base-10 blocks, and in expanded notation. 

In the middle of the week, we traveled across the hall to Miss Winters' class to work with her students on a fun activity - titled, Candy Probability.  With a partner from Miss Winters' class, students spun 20 times on a special spinner showing 4 different kinds of candy:  Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, Twix, Starburst, and Kit Kat.  They tallied their results and then transferred the information to a bar graph! Who knew math could be so much fun!

SCIENCE
Students put their knowledge about Properties of Matter to the test - literally - with the Unit Assessment this week!  The results were pretty good!!  I bet you are impressed with all that your child knows!

MYSTERY READER
This week's Mystery Reader was Mr. Preis, Rohan's dad.  Mr. Preis read two books by Gene Zion and Margaret Bloy Graham.  The first was Harry the Dirty Dog and the second was Harry by the Sea.  I think most students were able to relate to these stories - and we all had a good laugh!  Thank you so much for visiting, Mr. Preis!  Come back any time!