May 26-29

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

Please remember to send back the TWO permission slips as soon as possible!  There is one for step up day and also one for our trip to the Wildlife Park.

Also, please remember to send $3.50 with your permission slip for the Wildlife Park.  This is for admission into the park.  Please let me know if you have any questions!

Some students from GNG Middle School will be visiting our classroom on Tuesday!  They will be sharing the projects they created specially for our second graders.  Their projects will be shared on iPads and will deepen our learning of animals and habitats.  At our field trip the Wildlife Park, some middle school students will be presenting information on the animals we will see.  We are very excited to be working with the middle school!

Thursday is the cookout!  We hope to see you all there.  It’s always fun to share a special lunch with all of our moms and dads.  

After the cookout, parents are invited to join Team Howard’s Wildlife Safari!  Please visit our classroom to see all of our animal projects that we’ve been working so very hard on.  The team will be there as your “guides” and they will teach you all about the animals they have been studying.  

The last homework packet of the year is due on Thursday!!

This week in...

ELA:  We didn’t get a chance to write our animal riddles last week, so we’ll do them this week instead.

We’ll also be taking some time to reflect on two things that we can do now, near the end of second grade, that we couldn’t do at the beginning of the year.  These will be on display with our “two-cans” out in the hallway.  Stop by and see them when you come to Team Howard’s Wildlife Safari!

This week, students will be assessed on their individual list #3.  We’ve really been loving the opportunity to be responsible test givers.  A sense of pride can be felt in the room when we take our spelling tests!

At the end of the week we’ll begin brainstorming some ideas for our end of the year personal narratives.  We’ll think about fun times, scary times, times we got hurt, and angry times.  Then, we’ll pick just one memory that we would like to write about.  Next week, we’ll write our very best personal narratives about that memory.  

Math:  This will be the final week of our flexible groups for word problems.  By the end of the week, all students will be assessed on their learning goals.

We’ll also continue on our measurement adventure!  This week, we’ll measure different items around the classroom like our chairs, books, and pencils in inches and centimeters.  When we’re done, we’ll use the measurement to create a line plot.  We’ll use the line plot to help us analyze the measurement data.

Science:  We will begin reading some books about how seeds travel.  First, we’ll find out how and why seeds travel.  We’ll also learn about how different seeds also look different.  In the book Who Will Plant a Tree?  we’ll see how seeds are dispersed in many different ways in many different places.  An extra challenge will be for us to identify the different habitats we see throughout the book.

Speaking and Listening Goals:  This week, we’ll be presenting our animal projects to parents and students of Russell School.  Team Howard will be asked to present relevant facts in a way their audience can understand them.  They will have to use an appropriate sound check level voice so their audience can hear them and they will also have to speak clearly.  

Animal Projects:  We’ll finish creating our animal habitats this week.  We are so excited for you to see them!  As a celebration of all of our hard work, we’ll begin watching the Disney Nature documentary “Bears” since we studied brown bears together as a class.

May 18-22

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

Please send in all shoeboxes by WEDNESDAY!!  Any extra shoeboxes would be greatly appreciated as well.  With the whole second grade participating in these projects, I’m sure we’d be able to find a use for any extras.

Homework packets are due on Thursday.   Also, you will receive the last homework packet of the year this week.  It’s crazy how fast the time has flown by!!

Mrs. Thibodeau will be coming to visit us on Friday!  She’ll be showing the Good Touch/Bad Touch video that you previously received information about in totes.  It’s always a joy to have Miss Tippy Toes come to visit!

Classroom wish list:  If anyone is able to donate any modeling clay to the class, it would be greatly appreciated!  Earth tone colors would be best (browns, tans, whites, grays, blacks, etc.) since we’ll be using the clay to make models of the animals we have been studying.  It would be best if we could have all donations by WEDNESDAY!  Thank you so much for your consideration.

This week in:

Phonics:  We are working with the schwa sound.  Our focus words are:  idea, comma, alone, agree, ago, above, again, awake, away, and alike.

Spelling:  Students are working on list #2!  They will be assessed on these words on Friday.  

Vocabulary:  Our new words are:  vast, oceans, areas, voyage, and planet.  We’ll use our vocabulary words to define these words and show our understanding of them.  Then, we’ll search for them in the short story called “Continents and Oceans” and also in the short story called “Record Holders!”

Comprehension:  This week, we’ll review main idea and supporting details.  The main idea is what a story is mostly about.  The details give more information to support the idea.  We’ll practice this skill while we read Columbus Explores New Lands 

Grammar:  We will talk about possessive pronouns.  These words take the place of a possessive noun.  These words shown who or what owns something.  Examples are:  my, his, your, and her.

Writing:  This week, we will finish our animal report final drafts.  We’ve been practicing how to write appropriate paragraphs.  When we write our final drafts, we will make sure each new idea is a new paragraph and that each new paragraph starts with an indent.  

Team Howard will also have the chance to write a riddle about the animal they have been studying.  

Science:  We will continue our study on habitats.  We’ll illustrate different kinds of habitats and then solve different animal riddles to decide where each animal belongs.  

Engineering:  Our animal projects are also accompanied with a diarama.  These will be entirely student created.  They will be responsible for creating a background that looks like their animal’s habitat as well as creating several 3D components.  They will also incorporate natural elements likes sticks, rocks, and sand.  Finally, they will use clay to create a lifelike representation of their animals.  We will begin these diaramas this week.

Math:  Word problem flexible groups will continue.  Please refer to previous posts to find the specific standards these groups revolve around.  

I will also begin our measurement unit with Team Howard this week.  This week, we will estimate things that could be about an inch, about a foot, and about a yard.  We’ll also estimate things that could be about a centimeter or about a meter.  Later, we’ll use measurement tools like rulers, yard sticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes to measure items around the room in inches and centimeters.

Have a great week!

May 11-15

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

On Tuesday, the Russell School teachers will be hosting a Wellness Fair Kickoff Assembly.  I will be playing the role of Healthy Heather!  The assembly will give the students a chance to learn more about the 5210 movement and also the chance to hear from some of GNG’s very own scholar athletes.

Wednesday is an early release day.  Please plan accordingly.

Wednesday will be our school wide Wellness Fair.  The students will be given the chance to participate in several 5210 activities.  For us, we will start the morning by making some fruit infused water and eating some healthy fruit as a snack.   Then, Team Howard will be involved in two physical activities.   The activities are things like an obstacle course, karate, dance party, fly fishing, kickball, and more!  Finally students will have the chance to participate in screen time alternatives.  The choices are board games, dance parties, legos, arts and crafts, and drama!  The whole day is sure to be fun for all!

Homework packets are due Thursday.

Friday will be the first individualized spelling tests for our May spelling review.  Practice words were sent home today with your child.   Please let me know if you have any questions.

THIS WEEK IN....

ELA:   This week, we will be coming up with individualized student plans for spelling words.  First, students will practice any second grade words they still need a little more time to memorize.  Then, students will begin practicing some third grade words.  Each week, students will be assessed on ten words.  They will practice these words at school and they should be practicing them at home for homework as well.  Please refer to the paperwork that was sent home with your child today to find out what words they should be practicing.

We will also use this week to write the rough drafts of our animal reports.  Team Howard will be writing about what their animal looks like, what it eats, where it lives, and also some interesting facts about their animals.  Once our rough drafts are complete, we will edit and revise them to create our final draft books.  

Math:  We will continue with our flexible math groups.  Students are working on adding and subtracting within 100 using strategies based on place value.  They are also working on solving one and two step word problems with unknowns in all positions. 

Science:  We will begin studying different types of habitats.  We’ll use youtube videos like this one:

We’ll also use several books from the library.  After learning about these habitats, we’ll solve animal riddles to decide where different animals belong.  

May 4-8

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

On Tuesday, we will be welcoming children’s book author, Ryan Higgins to our school.  We’ll be reading his book Twaddleton’s Cheese before he gets here.  It’s always exciting to have the chance to meet the author’s of the books we are reading!

Homework packets are due on Thursday!

Please remember to send in a healthy snack for you child to eat in the afternoon.  We always take some time to eat a little something to keep our brains and bodies energized!

Next Wednesday is an early release day.  Russell School will be participating in a school wide wellness fair.  Part of the wellness fair is providing opportunities for alternatives to screen time.  My room is designated to be a board game room.  If you have any board games at home that you would like to donate to the classroom for the day, it would be greatly appreciated!  I'll be sure to label your game and return it to you as soon as the day is over.  If you have any questions, please let me know!

This week in...

Phonics:  We will be working with the diphthong sound /oi/ with the spelling patterns “oi” and “oy”.  Our focus words will be:  soil, oil, broil, moist, point, boil, oil, toy, joy, soy, and royal.

Spelling:  This week, we will be taking some time to go back and assess all of the words we have practiced so far in second grade.  This will give us a better look at what words we need a little more practice with before moving on to third grade.  Once these assessments are complete, you and your child will receive a list of words they need to be practicing.  You’ll also receive your child’s spelling planner.  This planner will have a list of 10 words they will be practicing each week.  Once they have shown that they have mastered all of our second grade priority words, they will have the chance to start practicing some third grade priority words.  Regardless of what words they are practicing, they will always be assessed on ten words at a time.  When we make the switch over to completely individualized spelling lists, Team Howard will be taking a spelling test every Friday.

Vocabulary:  Our new words are:  gathered, agreed, randomly, jabbing, and signal.  We’ll define these words in our vocabulary books and then demonstrate our understanding of them.  Finally, we’ll search for them in a short play called “Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky.”

Comprehension:  We’ll continue to work on identifying the problem and solution in a story this week.  The problem is something the characters want to change or fix.  The solution is what solves the problem.  We’ll practice this skill while we read the play called “Pushing Up the Sky” by Joseph Bruchac.

Writing:  We are in the beginning stages of our animal projects.  Last week, we explored different animal books and chose and animal we would like to study.  This week, we will be reading our animal books and gathering information about what our animals look like, where they live, what they eat, and other interesting facts.  As a model, I will be studying bears with the team.  At the end of the week, I will be modeling how we take our facts and put them into a rough draft.  The team will work on their rough drafts next week.  

Grammar:  We will practice how and when to use the word “I” and the word “me” in a sentence.  We use “I” in the subject part of the sentence.  We use “me” in the predicate part of the sentence.  Here are two examples:

1. Kira and I sing in the show.
2.   My teacher helps me with the words.

Math:  This week, we will be doing math switcheroo everyday!  In these groups, Team Howard is getting what they need in order to show proficiency in two standards.  First, that they can add and subtract fluently within 100 using strategies based on place value.  Second, that they can solve one and two step word problems with unknowns in all positions.  

We will also continue practicing our math facts.  At this point, students should really be working on their near doubles or +/- 10 facts.  If your child is not there yet, please help them do a little extra practice at home.  Math fact cafe and xtra math are both GREAT websites for math fact practice.

We will also work on how to write amounts of money correctly using money symbols.  

Scholastic News:  To go along with our animal projects, we will be reading all about mudskippers.  They are little brown fish that swim in shallow water by the muddy seashore.  After reading the article, we will use a chart to help us answer questions about more unusual fish.  

Mother’s Day:  We will also be preparing a very special mother’s day gift for all of you great moms out there!  However, I can’t tell you what it is.  It’s a surprise!  You’ll have to wait until Sunday to find out what we were working on this week.

I hope you have a lovely week!