FUN IN GRADE ONE

Thursday, September 29, 2016

NEWSLETTER 9-30

SECOND GRADE NEWS

Hi! We have had a very busy and productive week! We started learning about quick changes to the Earth. We experimented with baking soda, vinegar and clay to see how volcanoes can form new land. We plotted volcanoes on a world map to figure out if volcanoes just randomly pop up all over the world or if there is some kind of pattern. We found the Ring of Fire. We also read some volcano books. Volcanoes are definitely a high area of interest in Grade 2!

We are writing personal narratives during Writing Workshop. The kids are anxiously waiting for me to finish mine :)! We are working with plural nouns and collective nouns in Grammar. We wrote Haiku poems about Fall. We also did a leaf project with tissue paper and found some great leaves along our wooded, school path for leaf rubbings.

In Math, we are practicing using multiple strategies when adding. The two we focused on this week were doubles and combinations of ten. When you’re driving anywhere with your child this weekend, practice some double facts with them. They should know all doubles to fifteen without having to think hard.

Don’t forget to send back homework books the very next day. We use them in class. Make sure your child is reading 3-5 nights a week for at least 20 minutes. They are at the stage where they can read to themselves before bed :).

Mark your calendars....we have started a play, THE UGLY PUMPKIN. We will present it to family and friends on Friday, October 28th at 8:30 in the cafeteria. We will have everyone back to our room after to share stories and snacks.

Conference slips came home on Monday. If you would like to meet with me, please send in your paper a.s.a.p. The night times are filling up quickly.

No school on Friday, October, 7th. It is a Teacher Inservice Day. No school on Monday, October 10th due to Columbus Day.

Friday, September 23, 2016

PICTURES FROM THE WEEK ENDING 9-23

A NEW MATH GAME

Players take turns drawing a card.

They decide if they will put it in the hundreds, tens or ones column.

Once number is finished, the higher number wins.

MATH EXPLORATIONS

SHARING INVENTIONS

Look at these studious kids!!

They did an awesome job making sure they worked quietly until everyone had finished.

SHARING STORIES

We experimented with sugar cubes to see how rocks change.

Happy Weekend!

NEWSLETTER 9-23

SECOND GRADE NEWS

Hi! We have had a great week! We finished up learning about the different ways the Earth changes slowly. Ask your child about root and ice wedging! We will begin learning about the the fast changes that happen to the Earth next week...the kids are going to love it!

We finished our first unit in Math. The kids took it just like the “big kids”. They spread out and read directions and solved their problems quietly. As they finished they were quietly at their seat. This is a huge step for us! Last year I gave individualized tests to keep them focused and to make sure they knew directions. This will get easier each time we do it. They were very proud of themselves! It was great to see them staying quiet as they finished to allow their classmates time to think! 47 minutes is a long time for Second Graders to work like this! This earned them an extra fifteen minutes outside!!

We celebrated the coming of Autumn on Thursday by watching a couple of short clips about how we get seasons and how leaves change. We wrote about what we like about Fall. We will be doing leaf rubbings to go with our writing.

I’m sure you’ve been seeing lots of morning paper work and reading comprehension papers coming home. The morning papers are done as the students arrive in the morning. We correct them together as a group right after. The kids put them right into their cubbies to go home after. The reading comprehension papers are done at the beginning of Reading Workshop. I correct them and send them home. We spend time each week doing a couple together, talking about how to figure out what the questions are asking us and how to answer them. This can be tricky for them. Up until now they have been primarily focused on actually reading the words. Now, they are being asked to put those skills to work. Reading Comprehension is a huge focus of Second Grade. Talk to your child as you read books together and ask them questions. This will help them grow as readers!

UPCOMING DATES

Parent/Teacher Conference - 10/6 and 10/13 (3-7...more info. to come)

Friday, October 7 - Teacher Inservice Day (No school for students)

Monday, October 10 - Columbus Day (No school)