VACATION!

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!  Woo-Hoo!  I hope you all have something fun and exciting planned for vacation next week! You deserve it!  As for me, I plan on spending lots of time with my little man - and catching up on some R&R so I am ready for the upcoming 7-week stretch through March!  I can’t wait to hear all about your wonderful adventures next week!  Stay healthy!

Paleontology Presentations!

WOW - Students were awesome yesterday!  I was SO impressed with their presentations!!  Not only did each student create an organized, beautiful, and informative board about his/her special dinosaur, but they were all so confident in presenting/sharing their knowledge to an audience!  It was obvious that students worked extremely hard on these projects and I want to thank you (parents/families) for helping them prepare for this special event!  I am so glad that so many of you were able to make it in yesterday - I know that it requires some tricky schedule changes.  I hope you enjoyed the presentations as much as I did!

 

 

 

 

 

Science Fair

Just a quick reminder:  Students in Room 13 will be presenting their Science Fair projects on Thursday, March 8 from 8:30-9:30am in the Elmwood cafeteria.  Presentations should be a breeze after the Dinosaur Presentations - right? :)

Persuasive Letters
Keep your eyes out for a very special piece of mail.  :)  After reading, make sure to visit the classroom website and look at the top right to participate in our Parent Poll.  This will all make sense in a few more days...  


Our Week in Review
READING
In reading this week, we began Unit 4 with April Pulley Sayre’s story Splish! Splash! Animal Baths.  This is a wonderful story that clearly illustrates and explains how different animals get clean!  We used this story to help us start thinking about Comparing (describing how things are alike) and Contrasting (describing how things are different) different animals. This will be the next type of writing that we work on and it is an important reading skill in that it helps students focus on important information and details.

SPELLING
This week, our spelling pattern focused on… “BOSSY R!”  Students learned that the letter R is very bossy when it pairs up with vowels.  This week, we looked specifically at the vowels A and O. 

We noticed that when R follows A, it makes A say “argh” – like a pirate! 

Examples: star, part, market    

(We don’t hear the A at all!!)

When R follows O, it makes the O say weird things too…OR!

            Examples: for, thorn, sort

We better watch out for that R!! He doesn’t sound like someone we would want to be friends with!

WRITING

Students worked very hard to finish up their Persuasive Letters this week.  I'm not giving away any secrets...but you should keep an eye out to see their finished work!

MATH
Earlier in the week, students were introduced to the concepts of multiplication and division! These concepts are taught through stories and pictures - and most students were able to solve problems accurately and independently. Later in the week, students were assessed on their knowledge of the concepts presented in Unit 6 – including comparison number stories, multi-digit subtraction (Trade-First), and early multiplication and division concepts.  I look forward to taking a look at these assessments over vacation - I anticipate good results!

Valentine's Day
Tuesday was Valentine's Day and our wonderful Room Parents - Mrs. Kasper and Mrs. Whelan - came in to do a special math activity! Students estimated and counted the number of candy hearts in a box and then graphed the different colors - creating both a bar graph and a pie chart! The parents did a great job and the students had a "love"ly time! Take a peek:

SCIENCE
We finished up our Fossils Science Unit this week!  The Paleontology Presentations were the culmnating activity, as well as the small assessment on Friday.  I think students would agree that we all had a wonderful time learning about fossils!!  I'm so impressed with all that they know! :)

Happy Friday!  We made it through another week!


I know students (and teachers/parents) are looking forward to vacation - but we still have a full week of school next week, so please encourage your child to stay focused and keep working hard!


Field Trip
Second graders are taking a field trip to Mechanics Hall next Wednesday (2/15) to see a musical rendition of Nate the Great!  We will be leaving first thing Wednesday morning and returning to Elmwood around lunch time.  All students should plan to bring lunch from home that day - we will be eating in our classroom.  :)  Please help your child dress appropriately (layers, comfortable shoes) and make sure to ask him/her about the experience after school!

Paleontology Presentations
Don’t forget:  Students will be presenting their dinosaur research projects next Thursday (2/16) from 8:45-9:45 in the cafeteria!  All parents, friends, and families are invited to attend!! I hope to see you all there!


Science Fair
The Science Fair is an exciting event in which all second grade students at Elmwood participate.  The fair is scheduled for March 7-9 in the Elmwood Cafeteria.  Our presentation date is Thursday, March 8 from 8:30-9:30am. The Science Fair Information packet went home with students last week and all proposals have been turned in and accepted!  Yay!  Have fun experimenting over vacation! :)

Miss Jolicoeur
We are very lucky to have an extra set of hands in our classroom on Thursday mornings and Friday afternoons!  Miss Jolicoeur, a student from Framingham State University, is spending some time in our classroom learning all about second grade.  Ask your child how s/he enjoys working with her!


Our Week in Review:


READING/SPELLING
This week was a review week for us in reading and spelling.  We did not have a new story in our reading anthology, but we did review all of the reading and spelling skills and strategies that we have been working on the past 5 weeks.  On Thursday, students applied their knowledge and understanding of important reading skills as they completed the Unit 3 Reading Assessment and on Friday, students completed a Spelling Dictation!

WRITING

Students have been working hard to write a well-supported persuasive letters.  Last week, they wrote a class letter to Ms. Basile, trying to persuade her to let them play a "real" basketball game in P.E.  Guess what?  They were so convincing that she agreed! On Tuesday, students in Room 13 played basketball - and boy, did they have fun!!  Take a look at a few pictures! 

MATH
This week, we spent a LOT of time practicing and reviewing the trade-first algorithm.  (Known to us "old folk" as borrowing.) Continued repetition of this algorithm is necessary in order for students to internalize the process.  To help at home, challenge your child to answer subtraction problems that require regrouping.  See if you child can explain what they are doing and why!   


We also spent some time exploring and experimenting with the concept of multiplication this week!!  


On Friday, students put their new knowledge to use as they participated in another great Math Lab! They used Base-10 Blocks to help with trading, Geoboards to create arrays, and white boards to help create multiplication stories! A special thank-you to Mrs. Walsh, Mrs. Ambrosone and Miss Jolicoeur for helping out!  Take a look:

SCIENCE
We are just about finished with our Science Unit on Fossils!  I think it is safe to say that students have really enjoyed learning all about fossils and dinosaurs!!  They can expect a quick Science Assessment next Friday.  (I know it stinks to have a test the Friday before vacation, but I wanted to let kids focus on the Paleontology Presentations on Thursday!)


SOCIAL STUDIES:  Biography
This week, students learned about another important Leader and Achiever:  Florence Nightingale.  Florence Nightingale - also known as "The Lady with the Lamp" - greatly impacted the healthcare system as we know it today.  She dedicated her life to treating and caring for the poor, sick, and wounded and founded schools to help others learn to do the same.  To learn more about Florence Nightingale - ask your child!  And feel free to visit these kid-friendly sites:
http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdnight.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/famouspeople/standard/nightingale/index.shtml

MYSTERY READER
This week's Mystery Reader was Mrs. Whelan!  She read two great books - and even managed to sneak in a little bit of love, in honor of Valentine's Day (much to the boys' dismay).  The books were The Bookshop Dog by Cynthia Rylant and The Hound from the Pound by Jessica Swaim.  When she was done reading, Mrs. Whelan passed out dog stickers and pencils for students to enjoy!  Thank you so much, Mrs. Whelan!