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!!