Week of 9/24

Last week I sent home a note about our field trip on October 12th to Linder Farms.  I've already gotten many permission slips and money sent in for it.  I have attached the note to the bottom of this post in case you didn't see it come home.

You will also find next week's spelling list and math study guide attached.  Students are struggling with time and money so any opportunities to practice those things at home will help.

This week 24 out of 28 students returned their homework!  That is a record.  We are shooting for 100% next week.

Today, students celebrated their second marble party.  They enjoyed wearing their pajamas and getting to snuggle up with something soft.

Next week is homecoming week so the whole school can dress up throughout the week.  Please, no masks, no face paint, and no toy weapons of any kind.  Modesty dress code guidelines are to be followed for dress-up days.

Here are the themes for each day:
Monday, 10/1 - Back in the Day
Tuesday, 10/2 - Opposite Day
Wednesday, 10/3 - Movie Character Day
Thursday, 10/4 - Superhero Day
Friday, 10/5 - School Color Day

Spelling List 4 - Test on 10/2

Math Study Guide 4 - Test on 9/27

Linder Farms Permission Slip

Week of 9/17

Students aren't quite used to the cold read routine on Mondays yet and it took a bit longer than expected to get through everyone.  About 5 students did not get their fluency homework on Monday, but it will come home today.  Please look for it.

Last week students did their second writing assignment.  They wrote about the positive points of second grade to go along with a cactus art piece they made.

They also built a model of a living thing and came up with a definition to describe what makes living things.

Mark your calendars for our field trip.  It will be on Friday, October 12th.  I will send more information when the time gets closer.

Below is the math study guide and this week's spelling list.

Math Study Guide - week 3

Spelling List - Week 3

Week of 9/10

This group of second graders is amazing!

They celebrated their first marble party on Friday.  It only took them 11 days to earn all the marbles.  They have already started working on their next party.

Picture Day
Don't forget, picture day is Friday, September 14th.

Math
Right now students are practicing manipulating numbers and reviewing facts.  Students who have these skills mastered get to try more challenging skills.  We are also adding coins.  It is important for students to know the values of coins and to know which are which.

Spelling
As students practice their words, it is a good idea to think of other words that rhyme with the spelling words.  In this way, learning to spell fine can help students spell mine, pine, and line.   We practiced finding some of these words yesterday.

Reading
Students have taken the IRI.  I will be spending time helping students increase their skills and become excellent readers. It is very important that they continue to read at home.

Don't forget the reading logs are due each Monday.  This Monday, I sent home the first fluency passage.  The directions are in a sheet protector in your child's home folder.  Remember that the 5 minutes spent on fluency can count towards their 20 minutes.

Writing
Students are working on writing at least two complete sentences with correct punctuation.  A few students have already mastered this and I have given them their own goal.

Science
Students are learning that scientists ask questions and make observations about what they want to learn more about.  We will continue practicing these skills be studying the diversity of life this month.

Spelling List - test on 9/18

Math Study Guide - test on 9/13

Week of 9/4 - Homework

This week students will begin getting some of their homework.  I will try to ease you into it so you can make a plan.

Spelling
Each week a new spelling list will come home on Tuesday.  The test for that list will always be the following Tuesday.  This week I am sending home the first list that will be graded.

Reading Log
Each Monday I will send home a reading log (this week I will send it on Tuesday since there was no school on Monday).  The reading log is due back to school the following Monday.  The expectation is that your second grader will read 100 minutes each week.  You may divide those minutes whichever way is easiest.

A couple of tips:
1.  If it is difficult to find time for your child to read, think about using time you are in the car.  You can listen while you drive.  They can read while you prepare meals.  Reading a little before going to bed is always a great idea.

2.  This is your second graders homework, not yours.  Give them the responsibility of filling out the paper.  Put it in a place where they can keep track of their own reading.  Check it over Sunday night, sign it and it will be ready to bring to school on Monday.

Fluency
Beginning on September 10th, I will also be sending home a fluency page for students to practice.  It will also come home on Monday and be due the following Monday.  I will send an example and instructions for the fluency page.  The ultimate goal of practicing fluency is to read the way we talk.  Students should have good pacing, inflection in their voice, and read accurately.

Math
Each Thursday students will take a math skills test and a fact test.  On Tuesdays I will send home a study guide that we have practiced in class so you can help your second grader study for Thursday.

To summarize
~Students will receive fluency and reading homework on Mondays.  These assignments are due the following Monday.

~Students will receive spelling lists and math study guides on Tuesdays.  The math test is on Thursday and the spelling test is on Tuesday.

Therefore, you should expect homework to come home every Monday and Tuesday.

I have attached the spelling list and math study guide below.

Spelling List #1 - Test on 9/11

Week 1 Math Study Guide

1st Week Update

We had a wonderful first week of school!

Students learned about procedures and expectations.  Most students completed their first myon assignment.  They completed a writing assignment and made a paper person.  They learned how to get onto IXL and practiced determining whether a number was odd or even.  Most students already have the odd and even mastered.  This would be a good skill to practice at home this week when you encounter numbers.  Ask your second grader if the number is odd or even.  We learned a fun chant to help us remember the even numbers and we talked about how even numbers have partners, but odd numbers don't.

We also had our first science lesson.  Students learned about the many verbs scientists do.  They also learned they already do the things scientists do: learn, study, observe, solve, travel, work together, create and invent.  They learned they are going to be scientists all year long.

On Tuesday this week I will send home our first spelling list.  The spelling test will be on September 4th.  This is a practice spelling list and test so you and the students know what to expect for the coming year.  In addition to the spelling words, students need to be able to identify phonograms. I've attached a link to the phonogram slides and a link to the spelling list so you can begin practicing at home.  

I am excited for this year.  It is going to be a great adventure!

Phonogram slides

Practice Spelling List - Test on 9/4

Welcome Back to 2018-2019 School Year

I'm excited for a new school year to begin!

I hope you have all enjoyed your summer and are ready to get back into the school routine.  I enjoyed meeting many of you during Meet the Teacher Night last Friday.

This week we will spend a lot of time learning about procedures, rules and expectations.  Students will have an opportunity to show me what they know so I can better help them grow from where they are rather than starting everyone in the same place.

Behavior in the Classroom
Students have an opportunity to earn classroom money to spend on special privileges throughout the year.  Every day students begin on "On Task." If they remain on task throughout the day, they will earn $1 in classroom money.  If students become an example for their peers, they can move up to "Role Model" and earn $2.

If a students make a poor choice, I will give them a warning and they will need to pause and think about the choices they are making.  If they remain there for the day, they will owe me $1.  If they make another bad choice, they will need to refocus and I will be sending a note home for you to sign.  If they remain there for the day, they will owe me $5 in addition to a consequence.  The consequence will continue until the note is returned.

As you can see, students get one warning, then a consequence.  If students are disrupting the class, they are taking away a learning opportunity from the rest of the class.  Stealing this learning opportunity or taking time away from the class is detrimental to our goals so students will have a consequence if they can't redirect themselves.

In addition to individual rewards, the class gets marbles when everyone is on task.  When they have all the marbles, they get a marble party.

The class is also divided into teams.  The team with the most points at the end of the week gets to eat lunch in the classroom with me.

Students will be learning about this on the first day.  Don't forget to ask them to tell you about it.

I've attached the Welcome Letter I handed out on Friday in case you have lost it or would like a digital copy.

Mrs. George

Welcome Letter

Bubbles

Early in January we watched a time lapse bubble as it was freezing.

Naturally, they had many questions so we decided it would be a good idea to do our own investigation.  Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate.  In order to investigate we needed freezing temperatures.  On Tuesday, February 13th, the weather cooperated, we had 30 degrees to help us investigate.

The students  blew bubbles, caught them and observed them.  Some of them saw the texture change.  Some students waited long enough until the bubble froze and when they tapped it, it held it's form.