Dear Families,
We had a great week in school! Here are some highlights from our week.
Important dates:
· Tuesday, December 6th: Last day for Penny Drive
· Wednesday, December 14th: Holiday Shop @ 4:30 - 8:00 pm
· Thursday, December 15th: Holiday Shop @ 4:30 - 8:00 pm
· Thursday, December 22nd: Grade Level holiday celebrations
· Friday, December 23rd: Last day with students before break (full day)
· Monday, December 26th: Holiday Break Begins
· Monday, January 9th: Students/Staff Return from Break
Reading:
This week we finished up our book, The Name Jar and worked on a new thinking strategy called Sentence, Phrase, Word. We had to think really hard to come up with one word that was a powerful word for our story and then explain why. The explaining part was the hard part! They had to justify their answers and talk about what made them think that that word was the word that represented the story. Next, we will find a phrase that was meaningful and a sentence that was important to the story. We discussed the big idea of the story and what the message was.
We also worked on close reading, with our informational text on our Scholastic News. Please remember that you have the password for the Scholastic website. Your child can practice reading to you from the website and share the videos that we watched on that topic.
We also worked on close reading, with our informational text on our Scholastic News. Please remember that you have the password for the Scholastic website. Your child can practice reading to you from the website and share the videos that we watched on that topic.
Remember to encourage reading every day. Encourage your child to talk about the reading and think about the big idea behind the article, chapter or the story.
Word Work:
This past week we focused on oo word patterns. We’re trying to use them in our writing and noticing them in our reading. We’re sorting words in order to find the patterns. Practice at home: Search for words with these word patterns in newspapers or magazines. Copy them and highlight the pattern.
Writing: This week, we introduced Kidblog! The students learned how to log into their account, make an avatar for themselves, and start his/her first blog post. The students are now welcomed and encouraged to blog and comment on others' blogs at home. We did stress to the students that writing should be in paragraph form with a topic sentence, details, and a conclusion sentence before submitting for review. We also talked to the about the fact this is “KID BLOG” not “ TEACHER BLOG or PARENT BLOG". This means students should be writing this on their own with minimal help with spelling and/or writing ideas. If you notice a lot of misspelled words or missing punctuation, feel free to mention to them that they need to check over the spelling and punctuation (proofread) or their teacher won't publish, that may encourage them to get in the habit to do it on their own. I do help them with an occasional word so you can help them with a few words, but let them type them. Please try not to do it for them! We know that it is painful for you to see all of these mistakes, but it is better for them to fix them on their own in order for them to learn. They won't be perfect and that's ok! We'll also encourage them to edit at school if we see that they aren't ready for publication. We hope your child has a fun time blogging at home! We want this to be fun and exciting and we want them to want to write! Next week, we will begin our new writing unit, “Realistic Fiction”.
Math: We reviewed today and will take our test on Monday. Test cover sheets will be returned sometime next week.Some are still having difficulty with the counting back and counting up ten strategy. Please don't get too concerned. It's a really hard concept especially for beginning mathematicians! We'll continue to review, so they will see it again. Remember that the hardest part of the math test is the explaining part! If they can explain their thinking, then they know the concept! We will also be sending home the IXL skills, homelinks, and at home review soon for Unit 4. Please keep the "at home review" in a safe place until you are ready to start reviewing at home.
Character Trait of the Month: GRATITUDE. Please see the homework sheet on gratitude that was attached to my email. We are also sending a gratitude journal which we would like your child to complete at home as homework this month. It is due December 23rd, our last day before break. We take great pride in adding these character traits to your child's curriculum. We feel it greatly helps your child to grow into a well-rounded, kind and caring human being. Please continue to talk about these traits at home and we will do the same here at school!
Coats: The cold weather has arrived!!! As a reminder, students need to remember to bring appropriate recess gear DAILY. The school rule is that "If it is 60 or below, STUDENTS MUST WEAR THE COAT THEIR PARENTS SENT WITH THEM TO SCHOOL". You might want to check out your child's boots to see if those are ready to use, as well. Please remember we may have 18 pairs of black boots and mittens, so labeling ALL your child's items is a very good idea. Thanks for making sure your child is prepared for the cold weather.
Have a great weekend!
The Second Grade Teachers
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