Busy, Busy Little Bees!

Students in Room 13 have been buuuusy! 

Not only was last week our first full week of school, but we also had Curriculum Night, Book Fair, and our first Mystery Reader!

Curriculum Night and Other "Parent Stuff"
I really enjoyed meeting you all at Curriculum Night!  I hope my presentation was informative and my expectations clear.  If you have any questions or concerns about any of our routines or any of the information, please let me know!   

I put together a distribution list for email and sent my first email out Sunday night.  If you did NOT receive this email, please contact me with your information so I can add you to our list. If you would like to add or delete any additional email addresses, let me know and I will make the appropriate changes.  I am asking all parents to email me back as a confirmation that you received the email.  I appreciate your help with this!



As soon as I hear back from everyone, I will send out the finalized Classroom Directory, Conference Schedule, Mystery Reader Schedule, Emergency Snack Schedule and Volunteer Sign-Up.  We still have openings for Mystery Reader…so if you want to sign up, let me know!




There are more, of course, but they ARE only 7-8 years old!NONFICTION
Informational Nonfiction
BiographiesFICTION
Fantasy Fiction
Realistic Fiction
Traditional Fiction
Science Fiction
Historical FictionOur Room Parents will be "announced" in another day or two, after I get all of the information gathered. I will be in touch with them later on this week to start organizing schedules for our Computer Lab volunteers, Spelling Helpers, and Copiers.  I hope to get that information out to you all ASAP.  We had so many parents sign up to help this year - it's amazing!  I'm really looking forward to working with you all!  Thank you!!

Classroom/"Kid Stuff"
Students were very busy this week.  They are starting to settle into the routines and, as a result, are becoming more and more productive!!

Reading
In reading, we have identified different kinds of genres.  Students should now understand that books can generally be divided into fiction and nonfiction.  Within those categories, however, there are subcategories including:

We also talked about what to do when we get “stuck” on a word.  We came up with the following strategies:

·       sound it out

·       look for parts/chunks of the word you know

·       look at the pictures for clues

·       read the other words in the sentence for clues (“context clues”)

·       skip it and keep reading; then go back and read the sentence again

·       look the word up in the dictionary

·       ask for help

Encourage your child to use some of these strategies when reading at home!

We also started Reading Centers last week.  Traditionally, the first two weeks are the hardest.  Students are getting used to managing their time effectively and appropriately.  I must say, however, that this group of children did a wonderful job!  I am excited to see how they do with centers THIS week!

Math

Penny Plate
To play this game, partners need 20 pennies and a plastic bowl or plate.  One child closes his/her eyes while the other places some pennies under the plate.  The remaining pennies are placed on top of the plate.  The child whose eyes were closed now counts the pennies on top of the plate and tries to figure out how many pennies are underneath (by counting up or counting down). 

Money Exchange Game
This game is played with paper bills - $1, $10, $100.  Students roll a dice and start collecting $1 bills.  When they reach 10, they trade their 10 $1's for a $10 bill.  The first person to trade for $100 wins!

Witt Fitt

Students have been learning all about the Witt Fitt balls, as well. We have discussed where the balls originated, how they came to be used in schools, and the benefits of sitting on a ball.  Can your child remember at least 2 reasons why sitting on a ball is good for you?  (I hope so - they have to know in order to "earn" their ball!!)

Mystery Reader

Last week's Mystery Reader was actually Mr. Glazier - Mrs. Glazier's husband!!  He came in and read the story, Zachary's Ball, by Matt Tavares.  It was a fantastic story about a

boy who comes into possession of a "magic ball."  Ask your child to tell you about it!

We have done SOOO much more these last few days – but that’s enough for now!  Stay tuned - more information and pictures to come later on this week!

In math, students learned and played several new games this week - all of which reinforced important math concepts. 
Addition Top It
This game is like "war" except students flip over two cards each, find the sums, and the person with the highest sum takes all the cards.  (This can be played with a regular deck of cards - play at home!)

A Busy Week!

SAY CHEESE!

 

We had a very busy week in Room 13!  Students remembered most of the classroom routines that we established last Wednesday and Thursday - and learned a few more this week! 

Spelling
As you know, we started spelling on this week and your child's individualized spelling list is stapled in his/her spelling notebook.  All spelling-related work and materials (including pre-tests, lists, activities/homework, spelling tests, etc.) will be kept in this notebook and it needs to go home and come back to school every day.   Students did a great job with spelling list week.  EVERYONE remembered to do a spelling activity and EVERYONE remembered to bring their book in every day!!  WOW!

I will be explaining our spelling routine in greater detail on Wednesday at Curriculum Night - so if you have any questions about spelling (now that you have seen it in "action"), I can answer them then!


Reading
We spent a lot of time talking about reading this week.  Students have been busy practicing important reading routines and learning new ones including:

a) how to choose a "just right" book
Every child has different interests and different reading abilities. It is important that each student is able to choose a book that is "just right" for them. If a book is "just right," your child should:

* find it interesting
* be able to read almost all the words independently
        ~ Ask your child to explain the 5-Finger rule to you!
* be able to read the book aloud with few or no "bumps"  (it should be smooth/fluent)
* understand the story
* be able to explain/retell the story to someone else

b) how to read independently
Students in our classroom created "rules" for Silent Reading and they are as follows:
* be quiet/no talking
* no walking around
* get comfortable 
* READ! (don't be distracted)

c) the importance of "thinking about your thinking" as you read
Good readers think while they are reading and it is important that students learn how to think when they are reading. We have been talking about some of the different kinds of thinking that students should do as they read.  This week, we focused primarily on MAKING CONNECTIONS when we read. Making connections is usually an easy and fun strategy for second graders. They enjoy comparing their own experiences to what they read, telling how they are the same and how they are different.  Three types of connections students might make are:  
                   
* text-to-self connections: students make a connection between what they read and something in their own life (e.g. a similar situaton, event, experience, etc.)
                  
* text-to-text connections: students make a connection between what they are reading now and something they have read or heard before

* text-to-world connections: students make a connection between what they read and their own knowledge about the world 

Please encourage and support your child to make (and SHARE!) connections as he/she reads at home! I can already tell that we have some great readers in our class! Keep up the good work! :)

Book Borrowing
Students also learned how to borrow books from our classroom library this week. Ask your child to tell you about it!


Math
We started in on Unit 1 this week - reviewing what we know about number lines and sequencing, coins, and calendars.  Most of what we are doing right now is review - but I'm noticing that these concepts are still a little tricky for some students.  Extra practice at home never hurts!!

We're Back!

It's been a really hot week, but children in Room 13 persevered - proving that they are ready and excited for second grade! I can tell already that we are going to have a really great year!

We spent the majority of this week learning about and practicing some of our important routines and procedures. Students are quick learners and have been demonstrating an amazing ability to listen carefully and pay attention to details! Ask your child to tell you about one of our Morning Meeting greetings, about his/her job this week, or about the story we are reading during snack (Sideways Stories from Wayside School, by Louis Sachar.)

Classroom Rules
As a class, we also spent a lot of time talking about what we need our classroom to be like in order to have a great year.  After a LOT of discussion, students decided on the following rules:

1. Treat others the way you would like to be treated.
2. Keep yourself and each other safe.
3. Be quiet when others are talking and working.
4. Take care of our classroom and our school.
5. Try your best and have fun.

Parents should have received a "contract" with these rules on Thursday.  I hope you can find time to review them at home with your child and discuss why they are important.  I truly believe that they will help guide us all through a safe and fun school year!  Please sign and return the bottom portion to show that you have read and understand them.

Reading Log/Math Facts Log
On Thursday, students took home a September Log - along with an explanation for parents.  One side of the log is to record independent reading (20 minutes per night) and the other is to record the practicing of math facts (15 minutes per night).  Please keep this log in a visible place at home to remind/encourage students to read and practice facts!  Students that bring the log back to school at the end of the month will receive a prize!

Math Facts
Speaking of math facts, they are an important part of second grade.  Second grade students are expected to complete 50 math addition/subtraction facts in 3 minutes by the end of the year.  In order to help them attain this goal, students in Room 13 will be taking weekly timed math fact quizzes throughout the year. Each week, students will be responsible for a new "set" of facts.  At the beginning of each week, students will be given a set of flashcards to cut out and practice at home.  They will also create a set of cards to practice with in school.  Every Friday, students will be quizzed on these facts - as well as facts from previous weeks.  We will start with addition facts only and will eventually move to subtraction only, and then to mixed quizzes.  This week, students are responsible for the +0 and +1 facts and they will take a quiz on Friday.  Please encourage your child to practice his/her facts on a regular basis!

Baseline Testing
Since our week was cut a little short, I did not have a chance to do any of the second grade baseline testing.  Students can expect a (painless) assessment in both reading and math next week.  I will use all of this information to help guide my instruction over the next few weeks.


All in all, I think we had an extremely productive week and I am so excited about this school year! I hope you are too!

Getting Excited!

Hello! 

Welcome to our classroom blog!  I hope you will visit this site often throughout the school year - I try to update it frequently with new information and fabulous pictures!  I hope you are as excited as I am about starting a new school year!  I'm looking forward to meeting all of the children in our classroom on Tuesday, August 30 and all the parents at Curriculum Night on September 14.  I know we are going to have a fantastic year!! 

See you soon!!

Your Teacher,
Mrs. Marzilli