April 11-14

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

WE ARE PUBLISHING A BOOK!  Today, you will find an order sheet in your child’s backpack.  This is for you to choose whether or not you would like to order a copy of the class book we will be writing and illustrating this week.  You DO NOT have to purchase a book if you don’t want to.  However, if you choose not to purchase a book, please check the “NO” box at the bottom of the page and sign and return the paper.  The envelope requests that you return the paper and payment by tomorrow.  This is best!  However, if you need a little more time, you may turn in all papers by Thursday, April 14th.  We need all papers signed and returned (whether you want to buy a copy or not) to allow us to order a copy of our book for our classroom library.  Please let me know if you have any questions. 

This Wednesday is Literacy Night!  I hope you all can make it!  I’ll be dressed as Miss Frizzle and Miss Davis will be my lovely sidekick, Liz!  The evening will be a fun celebration of all things literacy.  

This Wednesday is also an early release day.  Please plan accordingly.

A new homework packet went home today.  This homework packet is for the next two weeks.  With this packet, you and your child can turn your spring break into a STEAM break!  Inside the packet you’ll find all kinds of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) projects to do this week and also over vacation.  Have fun!

There is no school on Friday!  Enjoy your vacation!

Your child’s biography project also went home with them today.  They worked incredibly hard on this project and I’m so excited for them to share it with you.

THIS WEEK IN...

Spelling:  We will be working with Unit 17.  The words are:  right, look, think, also, and around.  Since there is no school on Friday, our test will be on THURSDAY instead.

Writing:  We’ll be doing a lot with writing this week!  First, we’ll be reviewing what small moments are and how they make a great personal narrative.  For example, if we wanted to write about going to the beach, a small moment story would be about jumping the waves or building a sandcastle.  This week, students will pick a topic, brainstorm a story, and write a draft.  Then, we’ll use a mentor text to help us learn how to make our stories better.  We’ll be reading Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee.  She uses so many tools to make the story exciting!  Team Howard will be encouraged to use similar tools to improve their small moments story.  Finally, we’ll use the second grade writing rubric to assess Marla’s book.  This is done primarily to show the students what is expected of them and how to demonstrate that in their writing.  All of the skills practiced this week will be assessed the week after vacation.  Team Howard will be given an on the spot writing prompt.  They’ll be given 90 minutes in total to write a personal narrative that demonstrates where they are as writers.  This writing piece will be shared with their future third grade teachers.

Scholastic News:  This week, we’ll read an article about mysterious blue honey.  When we finish reading the article, we’ll answer questions about how bees actually make honey.  We’ll continue our nonfiction reading skills with a text-feature hunt.  

Publishing Our Book:  This early release day, we will be writing and illustrating our very own book.  We’ll be using The Secret Life of Squirrels by Nancy Rose to inspire our very own animal story.  We’ll be using our very best handwriting and illustrating skills to create this special book.  I’m so excited to see how it all turns out!  Remember, you are also invited to purchase a copy of this book as a keepsake if you’d like!

Science:  This week, our mini-lessons will focus on habitats.  A habitat is a place for an animal to live.  An animal needs a habitat to provide space, food, water, and shelter.  We’ll turn to the great Miss Frizzle to help us learn more!

Read Aloud:  We are loving the book Dodger and Me!  This blue chimpanzee is one entertaining character!

Math:  We’ll continue our focused lessons around telling time and money.  We’ll also have a meet and greet time with our new math switcheroo groups.  These new groups will focus on using strategies to help us solve addition and subtraction problems within 100 and 1,000.

April 4-April 8

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

Ms. Austin will be visiting us tomorrow morning!  She’ll be administering a check-in that will show us what kind of thinkers we are.  The activity will have students identifying and completing many complex patterns.

I will be out on Thursday for a professional development opportunity.  If you have any notes about your child’s dismissal, please be sure to email them to Connie Holland directly or send in a paper note. 

This Friday is our Biography Day!  Please help you child come to school dressed as the person they have been studying.  These are simple costumes and I’m happy to help out in any way that I can.  Please let me know if you need any help with ideas or even a costume itself.

Mrs. Thibodeau is back in room 10 this week!  On Wednesday, Mrs. Thibodeau will be sharing the good touch/bad touch video with Team Howard.  We’ll review what a good touch is and what a bad touch is.  We’ll also review what to do if you feel like there was a bad touch.  This is always, always, always talking to an adult that you trust.

We are so lucky to have author, Sharalyn Morrison Andrews coming to Russell School on Friday!  She will be sharing her new book, Brave Nellie with the team.  We are so excited!

Spelling practice this week will consist of your child's individual review/challenge list.  There will be a test on these 10 words on THURSDAY!

THIS WEEK IN...

ELA:  Our main focus this week will be on our biographies.   This is our final chance to finish organizing all of the information we have gathered into a book.  In this book, students are expected to write in complete sentences that begin with a capital letter and have correct ending punctuation.  They are also expected to have good spelling and neat handwriting.  Students will also be asked to provide illustrations that add to their facts.  Another important part of the biography projects are the presentations.  Students will be given time to practice what a good presentation should look like.  They will be asked to stand straight and tall with their body facing the audience.  They will also be asked to project their voice clearly and with expression.  They will also be asked to make occasional eye contact with the audience.

Math:  This week, we will focus on time, money, math facts. To review, our goal for time is to be able to tell time to the nearest 5 minutes with an understanding of a.m. and p.m.  Our goal for money is to be able to solve word problems that ask us to add coins with sums up to $2.00 while also using money symbols appropriately.  Our goal for math facts is to memorize all sums and differences within 20 in a snap.

Read Aloud:  We have started a new book called Dodger and Me.  

Science:  Miss Gilmour will be leading the class through an engineering project involving spaghetti, string, and marshmallows!  It’s definitely going to have a fun one!

March 28th-April 1st

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

LIP SYNC BATTLE!  I’m participating in this year’s battle and am so excited (a.k.a. so nervous I’m shaking in my boots!) to represent Russell School!  Tickets are sold right here at Russell.  $10 for adults and $5 for students.  All proceeds benefit the GNG Patriot Parents and all of the wonderful things they do for our schools and communities.  I hope you can make it!

CALLING ALL BOX TOPS!   This is the last week to collect box tops.  If you have any at home, please send them in.  Fingers crossed for the competition!

Homework is in full swing again.  So sorry for the mix-up last week!  I hope everyone enjoyed the random week of homework vacation.  A new packet went home with your child today and it will be due next Monday.

Biography Day!  I know many of you have been asking about the infamous biography day where your child is invited to come to school dressed like the person they have been studying.  Here is your first heads up!  Our tentative plan is to have our dress up day on FRIDAY, APRIL 8TH!  Please know that this should be a simple costume.  It could be something you create out of materials you already have at home or even just a hat.  I’ll send home a paper reminder later in the week as well.

It’s our lucky week!  Mrs. Thibodeau will be coming to visit us again! 

This week in...

Spelling:  We are working on Unit 16.  The words are:  man, too, any, day, and same.  There will be a spelling test on Friday.

Phonics:  We will be working with r-controlled vowels.  We’ll be practicing /ar/ and /or/.  Our focus words are:  part, start, park, farm, dark, sort, storm, short, for, and horse.  

Vocabulary:  Our new words are:  itches, puddles, preens, beasts, handy, and nibble.  We’ll define these words and build connections to them.  Then, we’ll search for them in the short story called “Animals Need to Eat” by Patty Serrano.

Comprehension:  This week, we will focus on comparing.  We’ll practice this skills while we read Splish! Splash! Animal Baths by April Pulley Sayre.  We’ll learn all about how elephants, pigs, birds, chimpanzees, giraffes, hippos, fish, and shrimp stay clean.  Then, we’ll compare all of these behaviors to look for similarities and differences.

Grammar:  This week, students are focusing on commas.  

Scholastic News:  This week, we’ll practice the same skill we practiced during our comprehension lesson.  We’ll focus on comparing.  After reading “Amazing’ Caiman”, we’ll compare a caiman to a crocodile.

Writing:  We’ll continue to work on our biography projects.  This week, students will focus on organizing their research into a rough draft.  They’ll also begin preparing some items for their published books.  They’ll work on their cover page, portrait of the person they have studied, and a snapshot page where they give quick facts.

Math:  This week, we will have a whole second grade strategy switcheroo day!  All second graders will rotate through all of the second grade classrooms and be introduced to some new strategies (based on place value) to help them solve addition and subtraction problems within 100.  These strategies will be the strategies they use to show evidence of their thinking in our new math unit.

We’ll also take some time to review money and time concepts as well as practice our math facts.  

Science:  This week, students will construct a wind-powered maze.  Today, they decided the materials they will use and created a general blueprint for how they think they would like to design their maze.  Tomorrow, students will construct their mazes and test them out.  

Later this week, students will be involved in several experiments to gather understanding about how animals help to pollinate plants.  They will become bees, hummingbirds, and long-nosed bats!  It’s going to be a lot of fun!

Read Aloud:  This week will conclude our adventure with the BFG!  Next week, we’re onto a new adventure!  We’ll be reading Dodger and Me, a book recommended by Russell School’s very own Miss Davis!  

Have a great week!

March 14-19

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

Homework packets are due on Monday.  Please help your child remember to put them back into their backpacks over the weekend.

Uh, oh!  The sneaky leprechauns have stolen our homework packets for the week!  Be on the lookout for a fresh new copy coming home tomorrow.

This Wednesday is an early release day.  Please plan accordingly.

Today, your child was given their activity watches.  These watches can be worn 24/7.  Students will return this watches on Friday afternoon.  If you have any questions, Katherine Harvey will be able to answer them for you.

Please remember to send back your time preferences for conferences.  They are set up on a first come, first serve basis.  I need all forms back by THURSDAY!  Thank you!

This week  in...

Spelling:  We are working on Unit 15.  The new words are:  good, new, write, our, and me.

Phonics:  We are working with /scr/, /str/, and /spr/.   Our new words are:  screen, scream, scrape, stripe, struck, strict, sprain, spring, spruce, and strap.

Vocabulary:  Our focus words are:  sincerely, impatient, furious, demand, emergency, and snoop.  We'll define these words and build relationships with them.  Then, we'll search for them in the short story called "Iggy Pig Saves the Day" by Kevin Tormino.

Comprehension:  This week, we'll focus on cause and effect.  The cause is why something happened.  The effect is what happened.  For example, if it rained (cause), you would use an umbrella (effect).  We'll practice this skill while we read Click, Clack, Moo:  Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin.  

Scholastic News:  This week's article is called "At Home in a Castle."  We'll learn all about life in a castle long, long ago.  Then, we'll use a map to answer questions about the country of Ireland.  Finally, we'll complete an activity where the students will have to identify where they learned various facts.  Did they learn it from the text?  Did they learn it from the pictures?  Did they learn it from both?

Writing:  Students have picked the person they would like to research for their biography projects!  Lessons this week will focus on gathering facts from several sources including books and websites.  Students will be learning all about what the person is best known for, some interesting facts, and also how they are like the person they are studying.

Math:  This is the last week for math switcheroo.  These last few days will focus on whether or not students are able to read and write numbers in numbers, words, and expanded form.  They'll also practice how to identify the hundreds, tens, and ones place as well as bundles of 100, bundles of 10, and bundles of 1.  They'll also practice how to skip count by 5s, 10s, and 100s.  Finally, they'll practice how to compare two three-digit numbers using <, >, and =.  

Read Aloud:  The BFG!  We love the Big Friendly Giant!

Science:  We'll continue to observe our radish seeds as they grow.  It's been so exciting to see what has been happening with our seeds.

St. Patrick's Day Fun:  We started the week off with a fun engineering project!  Using pipe cleaners, play-doh, a cup, and some coins, students were asked to create a rainbow bridge that was strong enough to hold the heaviest pot of gold.  We experimented with different materials and different designs.  It was so great to see all of the problem solving happening in the classroom!

On Wednesday, we'll dedicate our day to creating our very own leprechaun traps using materials you can find in the classroom.  Then, we'll be challenged to write about how to create our leprechaun traps.  On Thursday, we'll give our writing to a friend to see if they can build the very same trap!  It will be a great assessment of our writing and a super fun project too!  

March 7-11

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

Please remember to send your child to school with their winter coat.  The weather varies so greatly from day to day and even hour to hour.  It’s better to have a coat and not need it than to have not have one and need it.  Thanks so much!

Please remember to send all homework packets back to school on Mondays.  When students turn in their homework, they receive 15 minutes of indoor recess.  For students who don’t have their homework packet, they spend 15 minutes practicing their learning goals on RAZ kids, spelling city, or IXL.

THIS WEEK IN...

Spelling:  We are working on Unit 14 words.  They are:  get, through, back, much, and go.  

Phonics:  We are continuing our work with the digraphs /sh/, /th/, /wh/, and /ch/.  Our focus words will be:  each, which, teaching, path, teeth, fishing, wishbone, watch, matching, and dish.

Vocabulary:  Our new words are students, effort, perform, mood, remember, and proud.  We’ll define these words and build connections to them.  Then, we’ll search for them in the short story called “A Little Symphony” by Lani Perlin.

Comprehension:  We continue our work on summarizing. When we summarize, we retell the most important parts of the story.  We’ll practice this skill while we read Dancing As a Team by Sharon Dennis Wyeth.

Scholastic News:  This week, we’ll read an article all about birds and spring weather.  Then, we’ll use a bar graph to answer questions.  Students will also have time to practice identifying the main idea and details of the article using a graphic organizer.

Writing:  We are wrapping up our autobiographies.  Later this week, students will be introduced to the ever famous second grade biography unit!  This week, students will be asked to explore several books about famous people.  At the end of the week, they will pick someone they are most interested in learning more about.  This person will be the focus of their biography reports.  We’ll be looking for information about what this person is best known for, some interesting facts about them, and some ways they are just like us.  Students will be asked to use two different sources to help them find information.

Math:  We continue our flexible groups for place value.  Miss Gilmour will also be introducing a new math topic this week:  odd and even numbers!  The goal is for students to be able to identify a number is odd or even and prove it with a doubles or near doubles number sentence.  For example, 8 is even because it can be broken into two equal teams.  It can be represented as 4+4.  9 is odd because it cannot be broken into two equal teams.  It can be represented as 4+5.

Science:  Our adventure with plants continues!  Today, Team Howard will plant their very own radish seeds.  Our goal is to find out what plants need to grow.  Some plants will receive both water and sunlight.  Some plants will only be receiving water OR sunlight.  We’ll observe these plants over the next two weeks to find out what happens.  

Have a great week!

February 29-March 4

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

This Wednesday, we will have a school-wide book swap where every student will get to have a new book to take home.  This is in celebration of Read Across America Day where reading is the greatest adventure!

Mrs. Thibodeau will also be visiting us on Wednesday.  This will be a make-up lesson for the snow day we have had previously.

This week in...

Spelling:  We are working on Unit 13.  The words are called, just, know, most, and where.

Phonics:  We are working with consonant digraphs.  We’ll practice words with /sh/, /ch/, /th/, and /wh/.  Our focus words will be:  chest, chill, chase, shape, sheep, thing, think, white, while, and wheat.  

Vocabulary:  The new words are:  ancient, hopeful, unable, confirm, and valid.  We’ll define these words, make connections with them and then search for them in the short stories called “A Very Old Fish” and “Boy Finds Fossils!”

Comprehension:  This week, we’ll work on summarizing.  When we summarize, we retell the most important details of a text.  We’ll practice this skill while we read Meet the Super Croc.  

Scholastic News:  In celebration of Dr. Seuss, we’ll be reading an article all about his book Green Eggs and Ham.  Then, we’ll practice answering some multiple choice questions about the text.  To take things further, students will then be asked to provide evidence from the text to support their answers.

Writing:  Miss Gilmour has introduced the topic of autobiographies.  These are stories that we write about ourselves.  Today, students had the chance to brainstorm some idea about when they were a baby, details about their family, growing up, their friends, and hobbies/interests.  Tomorrow, students will begin organizing their ideas into a rough draft format.  By the end of the week, students will have produced a complete story about themselves.  These are in practice for the big second grade biography projects, that we will be starting soon.

Read Across America Day Fun:  We’ll be reading my all-time favorite book, Oh the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss.  We’ll use this as a celebration of what fun reading can be and how reading can take you anywhere... including the future! :)  We’ll be creating short writing pieces of what we think our lives will be like in 20 years.  Then, we’ll use this information to make our very own GREEN SCREEN movie!  Just like reading can take us to many different places, so can technology!

Math:  We’ll continue our flexible groups for place value.  In these groups, your child is getting direct instruction based on your child’s needs.  All of this instruction is designed to help your child read and write three-digit numbers in numbers, words, and expanded form, understand the hundreds, tens, and ones place, understand bundles of 100, 10, and 1, skip count by 5s, 10s, and 100s, and also to be able to compare numbers using the symbols <, >, and =.

On days where we don’t switch for math, your child is receiving targeted instruction on their time, money, and math facts goals.

Read Aloud:  The grand adventures with the BFG continue!

Science:  This week, Miss Gilmour introduces the wonderful world of plants!  This week, lessons will focus on what a plant is, the parts of a plant, and the function of each part of a plant.  Students will also get the opportunity to design an experiment that will help us prove what plants need to grow.

Have a lovely week!

February 22-26

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

Welcome back to school, everyone!  I hope everyone enjoyed their vacation.  Fingers crossed for a smooth transition back to school.

A BIG thank you goes out to the parents who were able to meet us on Friday to help us deliver our hand-made valentines!  The residents of Birchwoods loved receiving a special note of kindness from Team Howard!

Regular homework packets will begin again this week.  Remember, homework goes home on Mondays and is returned the following Monday.  For students who turn in their homework on time, they are rewarded with 15 minutes of indoor recess.  For students who forget to turn in their homework packet, they participate in 15 minutes of homework time.  During this time, they can choose to work on RAZ kids, IXL, or spelling city.

Mrs. Thibodeau will be coming to visit us again on Wednesday!  She’ll be here to talk about all things kind.  

This week is a review/challenge week for spelling.  Your child’s individualized spelling list will be sent home with their homework packets.  Practice these words at home.  On Friday, they will take a buddy spelling test to see if they can spell these words correctly.

THIS WEEK IN...

Writer’s Workshop:  Over vacation, I have completely revamped the way we practice our writing goals.  Now, students will be given time to practice one targeted goal.  These goals come from what I see in their writing.  Here are some of the goals you might expect your child to be working on:

1. I can write in complete sentences.  My sentences start with a capital letter and have correct ending punctuation.
2. I can introduce my topic.
3. I can add details and facts to support my topic.
4. I can use adjectives and adverbs correctly in my writing.
5. I can use transition words to help connect my writing.
6. My writing has an order that makes sense.
7. I can conclude my writing in interesting ways.
8. I can edit and revise my writing.

Each goal now has a special writing menu to go along with it.  The menu shows students exactly what activities they can do to help them practice their goal.  Once a student feels like they are able to demonstrate proficiency in their writing goals, they will submit an example writing piece.  

I’m so excited to share these new activities with Team Howard.  Not only do I think they provide more targeted practice for them, but I think these activities are really fun!  

Students will also be introduced to a “Make Your Own Fairy Tale” station.  This is where their imaginations can run wild!  

Reader’s Workshop:  I also spent some time over vacation to revamp our read to self and read to someone choices.  For our read to self time, I was really looking to provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge of their books in an engaging and challenging way.  As students are progressing through their reading goals, they are expected to be able to respond to their reading in a variety of ways.  Here is a quick list of the new projects that will shared with your child this week:

1. iPad book report
2. Paper bag book report
3. Book commercial
4. Making connections
5. Poster
6. Board Game
7. Reading Comprehension Journal

Students will be expected to complete at least one read to self project per month.  Of course, they are welcome to do more as well.

For our read to someone menu, I wanted to create choices that allowed students to have more fun with fluency.  The new choices now provide targeted practice for students in accuracy, pace, expression, and punctuation.  Here is a quick list of the new choices that will be shared with your child this week:

1. Perfect Poetry
2. Read the room with emotion
3. Alphabet Flow
4.   Buddy Reading with a rubric
5. Fluency Freestyle
6. Super Speedy Sight Words

Math:  This week, students will begin their new flexible groups around place value.  Your child will be placed in a group where they will be provided with targeted instruction and practice around their personal place value goals.  In second grade, students are expected to be able to:

1. Read and write three-digit numbers in numerals, number names, and expanded form.
2. Understand the hundreds, tens, and ones place in a number.
3.   Understand how many bundles of 100, 10, and 1 may be in a given place.
4.   Skip count within 1,000 by 5s, 10s, and 100s.
5.   Compare two three-digit numbers using <, >, and =

On days where we don’t switch for flexible groups, Team Howard will focus on other math goals that we currently have open.  On Mondays, we will focus on money and math facts.  Each week, we’ll begin with a mini lesson on money or a mini lesson on a math facts strategy.  Then, the team will be given time to practice their individual goals.  On Wednesday, we’ll practice telling time as well as have time for some review and/or place value work.  Again, we’ll begin with a mini lesson and then students will be given time to practice their individualized goals.

Read Aloud:  This week, Miss Gilmour will begin reading The BFG by Roald Dahl.  This story is a great story of friendship.  It’s also one with lots of imagination!  The characters use some hilarious made-up words and have some really interesting conversations.

Science:  This week, we’ll conclude our unit on matter with a fun, integrated lesson.  After learning all about fairy tales, one of our favorite stories was the story of the three little pigs.  Unfortunately, some of the pigs did not have the best of luck designing their homes.  So, we’re going to help them!  This week, we will conduct an experiment that allows us to find the best kind of mortar for the job.  Once we’ve found the best mortar, we’ll use some of it to create the framework for a house.  After we have the framework, we’ll begin adding walls and a roof.  Now the challenge here is to build a house that can stand up to the “huff and puff” test.  During this test, all members in your groups will blow as hard as you can, trying to knock the house down.  If your house stands up to that test, you’ll have the opportunity to try the SUPER huff and puff test... a.k.a. Mrs.  Howard’s blowdryer!