Almost winter break!

I can't believe we are only a couple of weeks from winter break! 2011 has been a great year in our classroom. Here's what's been going on with us!

Math: Students will be assessed on 2-digit addition tomorrow. We will then be doing a short unit on telling time. Your child continues to bring home basic fact practice cards about once a week. Thanks so much for helping your child practice getting faster.

Writing: Second graders are working hard on a writing project right now. It's a super-secret surprise project that I hope you all will love! When school starts again in January, we will begin working on studying and writing poetry.

Language Arts: Our current author study is Jannel Cannon, who wrote Pinduli, Crickwing, Stellaluna, Trupp, and Verdi. Students are working on story-mapping and cause/effect with her books. During our language arts mini-lessons, students are reviewing punctuation and learning about word endings and parts of speech.

Health: During the month of December we are studying ways to stay safe, ways to stay well, and medicine and drugs. In January we will start our next science unit which involves observing and learning about weather.

Next Thursday will be a busy day for us! In the morning, 2nd grade will be doing a "Reindeer Day" similar to "Gingerbread Day" that students did in 1st grade. In the past, 2nd grade has worked with 1st grade on this fun day of rotating through activities. This year, with a bigger number of classes, 1st and 2nd grade will be celebrating this day separately. We are looking forward to a fun time! In the afternoon on that same day will be our winter party. Thanks in advance to those of you working to organize that for our class!

Our 2nd marble party will be tomorrow (Monday, December 12). Congratulate for your child for a job well done in earning this!

I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday and I look forward to working with you again in the new year!

Beginning of 2nd trimester!

We have been very busy in our class getting ready for conferences next week! It's so hard to believe that Halloween is over and the Thanksgiving season is upon us (along with cooler weather). Please read on for information about upcoming units of study. I look forward to meeting with each of you next week! If you have not returned your green pre-conference form, please do so next week to ensure that I cover what you would like me to cover at our meeting.

Math: We have wrapped up our unit on the properties of shapes. Our next unit will be on adding 2-digit numbers. Please remember to practice flashcards that are coming home with your child. Efficiency in solving basic facts will be assessed several times next trimester.

Health/Social Studies: Students did a great job on their body system assessments. We will spend next week talking about healthy eating and the food pyramid. Students will have the chance to design their own healthy menus. After conferences, we will begin our first major Social Studies unit. This unit is titled "Our Past", and covers many important events in our country's history.

Writing: I have been amazed at the progress your 2nd graders are showing in writing! They have been working very hard on writing paragraphs, as well as technical writing (how-to) pieces. I am excited to share samples with you next week! After conferences, we will take some time to work on descriptive writing. The month of December we will be spent on a super-secret writing project. I won't be giving details about this project...sorry! It will be a surprise!

Language: Students are currently learning about the many uses of the comma. We will work on this for a couple of weeks. In the coming days, we will be studying Caldecott books. After that, we will begin our next author study. We will be working with the books of Janell Cannon. Please see the link to the side for information about her books. There will not be a new spelling list given next week due to conferences.

Again, I am really looking forward to sharing your child's progress with you next week. Have a wonderful weekend!

2nd Grade Happenings

What a great couple of weeks we have had! We have enjoyed this amazing fall weather, released one last Monarch butterfly, and had our first marble party! Please read on for information about upcoming curriculum and events.

Today we began our next unit in math. For the next several weeks, students will be learning problem solving strategies for different types of story problems. Please see the Expressions note that came home today for information on how to help your child with these story problems. Today we also "mixed up" our leveled math groups. Be sure to check in with your child about what skills he or she is working on during our math break-out groups.

Reading groups continue to go well, and I am happy to report that many students are moving forward in their levels! I will have a lot of information for you at conferences in a few weeks about decoding strategies and comprehension activities that students are working on. We are currently studying the author Mem Fox. She has a great website with several activities, including a page where your child can listen to Fox read her own books! Check it out...the link is on the bar to the left. Today we also began to read one of my personal favorite books from elementary school...Sideways Stories from Wayside School. This is a great book, and is often available in the Scholastic orders for $1, so keep your eye out for it.

In writing, we are working a lot this week with the construction of a paragraph. If your child is writing at home, please have conversations about staying on topic and tying in details with a topic sentence. We are also working on strategies for editing and revising. As the year goes on, your child will become responsible for more and more of his or her own editing. If you are looking for a way to help with this at home, dictionary practice would be great!

Our current unit in health is over the body. Next week, our class will be tested over taking care of the eyes and ears, caring for the body, and the purpose of advertisements. As this is a very short unit, I don't plan to put together a study guide. The week after next, we will begin a longer unit over the body systems. If you have any books or items related to this unit and would be willing to share, let me know! We would love to have some X-Rays to look at when we study bones.

You may have heard about the very unfortunate disappearance of our class pet, Chester. He went missing from his enclosure a week ago, and has not turned up yet. Students are, understandably, sad and missing him. I do plan to replace him at some point, but would like to give "Chester Senior" the chance to come back first. Please encourage your child to hang in there and be patient as I figure out this unexpected turn of events...and cross your fingers that maybe Chester will still find his way back to us.

In the months of October and November, we will be doing many projects in class. Over the next several weeks, we will be in need of orange, brown, white, and black tissue paper, google eyes, and supplies for "pumpkin pie in a bag" (I will put out an ingredient list as that time gets closer). We are set for glue for awhile, but you might check in with your child about crayons, markers, and dry erase markers. I know some students are in need of replacements.

Please make note of the following dates. As always, feel free to e-mail, call, or stop in with any questions. I look forward to speaking with all of you in just a few weeks at conferences! Have a great weekend!

October 13 - Scholastic book orders due

October 14 - No school (professional development)

October 19 - Picture re-takes

October 24-28 - Red Ribbon Week

October 26 - October Birthday Breakfast

October 31 - Halloween party (parade is at 2:30)

November 4 - No school

November 9 & 10 - Conferences

November 10 - No school

November 11 - No school

Autumn is here!

We are now a month into school and have settled into a great routine! It has been a busy few weeks in our class. Please read on for information about upcoming topics of study and important dates!

Guided reading groups are beginning this week! If you have questions about your child's reading level, please let me know. During our language block, we will be spending some time looking at how to write a complete sentence and how to identify subject and predicate. Students will be working on several sentence writing activities. This will lead into our first paragraph writing activity in just a few short weeks. We also continue to work on long vowel patterns and will begin working on consonant diagraphs (sh, wh, th, ch, and ng) this week.

Thank you for helping your child study for our weekly spelling test! Students are receiving new spelling words each Wednesday and being tested the following Wednesday. Please continue to help your child with one spelling homework assignment of his or her choice each week.

In math, we continue our unit on strategies for solving basic facts and story problems. Students are making progress on identifying the partners and total in a missing partner problem (such as 6 + __=17). I have really enjoyed seeing some of the strategies students are coming up with! The first week of leveled math groups was a success. Four days a week, students are working on leveled skills with a group of other 2nd graders working on the same skills. It has been fun mixing things up a little!

Practice on speed and accuracy with basic addition and subtraction facts would be beneficial for all 2nd graders. There are some math games in list of links to the right of this post, and I will be sending home flashcard practice logs soon. At that time, students will spend a few minutes one night a week working on speed with basic facts. Let me know if you would like more ideas.

You may have heard that we saw our first Monarch butterflies this week! Two butterflies emerged from their chrysalises, and we expect to see more in the coming days. The butterfly and moth assessment for this unit will be on Friday, September 23. I will send home a study guide mid-week. Next week we will begin our next health unit. During this unit, students will be learning about the different body systems and taking care of their bodies. This unit will last through the month of October.

Please make note of the following dates:

September 23 - Library checkout

September 28 - Birthday Breakfast

Thanks, as always, for all that you do!

A great start!

It is so hard to believe that we have already been in school for over 2 weeks! I have really enjoyed working with your 2nd graders. We have been quite busy! Here is some information about what we are studying at this time. Please check the bottom of this post for additional announcements and upcoming dates.

MATH: Students continue to work on strategies for addition and subtraction. Today, we looked at how to count on to find the answer in an unknown partner problem. I sent home a pack of practice cards for counting on today. We have a set in class that we will be using as well. We will be starting up our math leveled groups after Labor Day. Once we have those up and running, I will begin to send home flashcard practice about once a week.

LANGUAGE ARTS: In class, we continue to work on our study of fairy tales. We have been practicing various comprehension strategies with the stories that we have read. These include comparing and contrasting, sequencing, retelling, identifying important events, predicting, and forming opinions. Next week, we will be doing some goal mapping to get a little bit deeper into some familar (and also some new) fairy tales. During our writing time, students are working on learning and using the parts of a friendly letter. We have written letters to Mrs. Mickel as well as our author of the month, Kevin Henkes. Practice will continue next week as we write to fairy tale characters, former teachers, and friends. Reading groups are scheduled to begin on Thursday, September 15. Let me know if you have any questions about reading levels.

SPELLING: Students received their first spelling lists on Wednesday! They have been doing an excellent job of practicing their words in class in various ways. Our first spelling test will be next Wednesday. Please remember that all students are responsible for at least one spelling at-home practice a week (see my e-mail from Wednesday).

SCIENCE: Our Monarch caterpillars are becoming quite chubby! I expect that we will see a chrysalis or two next week. Students have really enjoyed observing our larvae and are very excited about their progress! This week, we studied life cycles. Next week, we will learn about insects and the parts of a caterpillar. From there, we will talk more specifically about Monarch butterflies and the differences between moths and butterflies.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

No school Monday or Tuesday! Enjoy the long weekend!

Thank you SO MUCH to all of you who purchased items from our class wish list! If you were unable to come to curriculum night and would like to donate something to our classroom, please contact me and I will let you know what remains on the list. If possible, please remember to send in a box of Ziploc bags (any size). We have already gone through a couple of boxes.

Grandparents' Day will be next Friday, September 9. A blue information sheet was sent home early last week. We hope to see many grandparents in our room at 2:45 for some book sharing, discussing, and snacks! If your child will be getting a ride home from his or her grandparents, PLEASE either return the blue form to me with that information of shoot me an e-mail letting me know.

Scholastic book orders will be due next Friday, September 9. Now is a great time to stock up!

Today is your child's first day with a calendar, star chart, and book log. Please remember to check folders every night and sign or initial on the correct date to let me know that you looked in your child's folder. Students will be rewarded for getting those signed every night and bringing them to school.

Please continue to talk with your child about the three "R"s of behavior at Langston Hughes...respect, readiness, and responsibility. Many students are having some difficulty with being responsible listeners and are wanting me to repeat directions multiple times. As the year goes on, consequences will become more frequent for failure to listen to and follow directions the first time they are given.

Thanks for all that you do to help our class. Each day is a fun adventure, and I am looking forward to a great year!

Welcome to 2nd Grade!

It was so wonderful meeting all of you last night at our supply drop-off! I am looking forward to a wonderful year with your child. Our curriculum night will be on Thursday, August 25, at 6:00 here in our classroom. At that time, you will receive information about classroom management, topics we will study this year, birthday celebrations, field trips, volunteeering, communication, and much more. Some information, however, I wanted you to have right away...and here it is!

* Tomorrow morning, students will need to tell me how they will be getting home each day. Please be sure that your child knows whether he or she is a walker, bus rider, car rider, or Boys and Girls Club member. If your child will have a different routine on some days after school, please send me a note. If your child is a bus rider, please be sure he or she knows the bus number or daycare name.

* We will be starting several units of study over the next few weeks. To begin the year, we will be looking at fairy tales, the three "R"s of good behavior, writing friendly letters, the books of Kevin Henkes, story problems, friendship, and watermelons.

* Be sure to look in your child's red daily home folder each evening after school. This is where you will find important notes, homework, etc. At curriculum night, we will talk about other items that will be housed in this folder. It is very important that your child is responsible and returns his or her daily folder each day.

* Students are welcome to bring water bottles to keep in the classroom. Bottles should be the sports/pop-top kind to avoid spills. Bottles with an open or twist-top lid will be sent home.

* I regret to tell you that I will be out of town next Monday and Tuesday (August 22 and 23) for a good friend's wedding in Ohio. I hate to be gone so early in the year, but I have scheduled a fantastic guest teacher and I know our class will have a great couple of days with her.

* To wrap up our watermelon theme, we will be having a "Watermelon Wednesday" next week (August 24). On that day we will be making watermelon glyhs, watermelon writing pieces, watermelon shapes, and doing some watermelon math. If you would like to donate a watermelon or two for the activities, please let me know! These can be sent in Tuesday to be ready for the following day.

I look forward to working with all of you this year. If you have any questions about first day procedures or would like to set up a time to meet to talk about any concerns you have about your child, feel free to call or e-mail me. I'll see you at curriculum night!

Happy Mayday!

I can't believe that, in less than a month, this school year will be drawing to a close! We are in the process of wrapping up some things and fine-tuning some 2nd grade skills. It's going to be a busy month!

Guided reading groups ended last week. During the next two weeks, I will be using our Daily 5/Language block to do some year-end reading testing. Students will also be doing some reading comprehension and word work activities in class during that time. When testing is finished, we will begin our "Teach the Class" week. I will be sending an information letter home this coming week. Now would be a good time to start talking with your child about possible ideas for teaching the class. Some lessons that have worked well in the past are various cooking lessons, sports lessons, small craft projects, how to play different board and card games, how to take care of animals, and how to draw something. Be creative!

This week will be the last week of spelling groups. On Wednesday, all students will begin working on a "commonly mis-spelled words" list. The following week, all students will begin working on a fun spelling list including words from our curriculum this year. Students should still plan to turn in some sort of spelling homework for these two lists, and will still be tested on Wednesdays.

Our current math unit includes a lot of different information, as you have probably noticed! So far in unit 13, students have worked on multiplication, division, fractions, and geometry. Next week, we will spend a couple of days on probability and statistics, and then do some more work with geometry. The unit 13 assessment will be on Wednesday or Thursday.

I haven't looked at the amphibian/reptile test that students took on Thursday, but our guest teacher from that day, Mrs. Sullivan, reported to me that they all worked really hard and seemed to know their information! This coming week will be our Junior Achievement week, and we will be welcoming Sydney's mom, Mrs. Smetak, into our classroom to talk about production. For the rest of the month of May, we will be using our science/social studies block to study about animal adaptations, United States symbols, and so some geography review.

We had a great day at the Kansas City Zoo yesterday! The weather was beautiful, the animals were active, and every member of our class did a great job of following directions and being respectful to our parent helpers. Thanks so much to Shannon, Nami, Gretchen, Ashley, Bethany, and Jenn for joining us on our trip and being excellent group guides.

Please check with your child one last time about school supplies. I know that many students are working with dry markers and almost-empty glue sticks. Those things will definitely come in handy with some of our end-of-the-year projects. Our treasure box is also running low again. If you are interested in donating small items to re-stock it, let me know!

I will be sending out our final book order for the year on Monday. Now would be a great time to stock up on 3rd grade types of books for the summer! Let me know if you need suggestions!

Thanks, as always, for all that you do!

April showers bring May flowers?

Happy (rainy) Friday! I have lots of news to share with you about curriculum and upcoming events. We are definitely in the home stretch for the school year! In math, students were assessed on place value, money, and three-digit addition and subtraction on Wednesday. Yesterday we began a unit on basic multiplication. So far, everyone seems to be picking the concept up fairly quickly! After multiplication we will visit fractions, 3-dimensional shapes, and finish up with time for some review. I have really been pleased with each 2nd grader's progress in math this year! Everyone has picked up some wonderful strategies. I definitely have some junior herpetologists in my class. So far, we have studied frogs, toads, and salamanders in the amphibian category and snakes and lizards in the reptile category. In the next couple of weeks, students will learn the difference between alligators and crocodiles and will also learn about turtles. Please hang on to any reptile/amphibian sheets you see come home. These will be helpful for review when the time comes to study. Many students are in the process of wrapping up and illustrating their animal research projects. They have learned so much, and I have been so proud to see how independently they have learned to work. Most students are following the writing process very well. You are going to love reading their books when they bring them home! After research is completed, we will spend the remainder of the school year reviewing some key writing concepts, doing some descriptive writing, and reviewing the 6 trait model. The last day of reading groups will be Thursday, April 28. I can't believe it is that time already! After reading groups have wrapped up, we will take 2 weeks for DRA testing and some in-class reading lessons. The week after that will be "Teach the Class" week. Each student will have the opportunity to teach the class how to do something. This is always a SUPER fun week! Information will be coming home soon. We have been having many conversations this week about the phrases "End the year strong!" and "Put your best foot forward!" Now that the weather has been getting nicer and summer is in sight, some students have had a challenging time remembering some of the basics that they have learned this year. There has definitely been an increase in careless mistakes, nameless papers, less-than-neat handwriting, friendship conflicts, and rushed assignments. Please continue to encourage your child and praise him or her for work you see coming home that is truly his or her best work. We will continue to press on here at school! A letter will be coming home on Monday with information about the zoo field trip. All money and permission slips have been turned in...thank you for that! Please see Monday's note for details about packed lunches, appropriate attire, etc. This note will also have information about the music program on Tuesday night. I look forward to seeing all of you there! Next Thursday will be the first annual Langston Hughes family fitness event! The event will kick off at 5:45 with a family walk for interested families. Meet at the front doors for the walk. The fitness event will be held in the multipurpose room, gym, and field from 6:00-8:00. I hope that many of you will be able to make it! I think it's going to be a great time! The week of April 25-29 will be Wellness Week here at our school. That Wednesday, April 27, will be a "Walk to School with Your Teachers" day. Cross your fingers for nice weather, and plan to walk to school on that day if you are able! It's always a lot of fun seeing my students and talking with them as we make the trek to school for the day. Thanks, as always, for all that you do. Stay dry out there!

April showers bring May flowers!

As I am sitting here in my house listening to the thunder after a temperature of 89 degrees this afternoon, I am reminded that it is spring and the school year will be over before we know it. I hope that all of the 2nd graders were able to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend!

In math, we continue to practice working with place value and adding and subtracting three-digit numbers. Students are doing a great job working with money amounts and story problems! Thanks again for your continued help with flashcard practice at home. Students are showing steady growth in speed and accuracy with basic facts. This week, we will continue to work with place value and problem solving strategies.

Most students are now working on rough drafts of their animal research projects...so far, they are looking fantastic! We are using some time during writing to review the traits of good writing and the structure of a good paragraph. During our reading and language block, students are working on plural spelling rules and using the dictionary. We have been talking about how to use guide words to locate words alphabetically. This is a hard skill, but the second graders are doing a great job!

We wrapped up our trip around the globe on Friday! Students were very engaged this unit and asked a lot of great questions and learned many things! I will try to have the geography tests graded this week sometime. We are now moving into our science unit on amphibians and reptiles! Students will be learning the difference between amphibians and reptiles, as well as specific traits of frogs, toads, alligators, crocodiles, turtles, snakes, lizards, and salamanders! This Friday, we are excited to have a visitor come to Langston Hughes from Prairie Park Nature Center to show various reptiles and amphibians to the class. Be sure to check out the relevant links under our science tab!

Field trip money and permission slips are due at the end of this week. Thanks to those of you who have already turned them in! It is time to start crossing your fingers for a beautiful spring day on April 29. Please mark the following dates in your calendars.

April 8 - Board game party...students may bring in games on this day!

April 11 - Spring class pictures

April 19 - 2nd Grade music program

April 21 - Family Fun, Food, and Fitness Event

April 29 - Kansas City Zoo field trip

April 30 - School carnival (remember to send in your donations for our coffee themed basket!)

May 13 - Field Day

May 24 - Last day of school

Happy Spring Break!

What a great couple of weeks it's been! It's been so wonderful being able to spend more time outside, and lots of exciting events happened in our class this week! We have been very busy travelling the world, searching for leprechauns, and becoming researchers!

Students did an awesome job on their geometry assessments! We are now in a (rather long) unit reviewing adding and subtracting numbers above 100, estimation, and working with money. Some great things to practice and review at home right now are counting back change, using a benchmark to estimate a number of items, and working with ungrouping when subtracting. One thing that students really enjoyed in math this week was working with estimation while figuring out the mode, median, range, and mean of estimates in our classroom. We will also be taking some time over the next few weeks to look at function boxes and discuss finding an unknown addition or subtraction rule.

I have had a great time travelling around the world with our class! So far, we have visited Antarctica (brrr!), Asia (ask your 2nd grader about the kite that he or she made!), Africa (did you know the world's largest diamond was found there?), Australia (mmm...fairy bread!), and Europe (just in time for St. Patrick's Day!) After the break we will tour North and South America. Thanks so much to Gretchen and Carrie for coming in to do a baking activity with the class in Africa! We really enjoyed the sweet cornbread! As you begin to help your child prepare for the geography assessment on April 1, some things to think about are the location of the seven continents and oceans (on the assessment, students will use a word bank to label a blank world map), as well as fun and interesting facts about each of the continents. Students should also be able to use a compass rose to answer questions about the cardinal directions.

We began our big animal research project this week. Students are working in pairs to research an assigned animal. We spent some time yesterday researching on the computer, and some time this morning taking notes out of books (the class is becoming very efficient at using the index in the back of a book to locate information!). I hope that you will take some time with your child to check out the National Geographic for Kids link to the side. This is the website that we used for research yesterday, and it has so much great information about many animals. Students especially enjoyed the short animal videos on the site!

We will take the Monday after spring break to review Daily 5...the second graders have gotten a little "comfortable" during the final trimester and seem to need a Daily 5 crash course. Reading groups will resume Tuesday. Students did not receive a new spelling sort this week. We are continuing to practice dictionary use in our classroom. If students are doing writing at home and you have a children's dictionary handy, please encourage your child to use guide words and alphabetical order to search for words.

I realized today that I neglected to send out a Scholastic order for the month of March...so sorry about that! I will send out an April order the day after spring break, and will try to squeeze in one more order this school year, probably at the end of April. Be sure to stock up with books for the summer months! I received several e-mails back stating interest in a summer book club, so stay tuned for information about that. Also, please let me know if you are interested in a tutor list for the summer months. I am able to offer tutoring, and I know that several other staff members tutor and would be great as well if you would like for your child to have some one-on-one practice in reading, math, or writing over the summer.

I hope that you all have a magnificent spring break, full of sunny days and fun times! Thanks, as always, for all that you do!

2nd graders travel the world!

I really enjoyed meeting with all of you at conferences last week! It is so hard to believe that we are into our last trimester of the school year. It has been such a fun year, and I am really looking forward to many more adventures in our classroom this spring!

Students were assessed on coin counting and subtraction with ungrouping on Thursday. They did a really great job! We are now working on a mini-unit on geometry. Vocabulary words students are learning include: congruent, polygons, regular polygons, irregular polygons, area, similar, slide, flip, and turn. This unit will wrap up at the end of the week, and then we will revisit both 2-digit addition and subtraction strategies in unit 11.

During our language block, we have been working on using a dictionary. Students are assigned a different word each day to look up in a dictionary, using guide words and knowledge of alphabetical order. We will continue dictionary practice this week. We will also start our new author study...Joanna Cole, the author of the Magic School Bus books. If your child has any Magic School bus books to share, he or she is welcome to bring them in and we will have a look!

For the next week and a half, students will be working on using the six trait model to write personal narratives and stories. This week, we will be focusing on word choice, organization, and sentence fluency. Late next week, our class will begin a research writing project on animals.

We are starting one of my favorite social studies units! For the next month, students will be travelling the world! Our class will "visit" every continent and learn about language, culture, foods, and landforms in each continent. On the geography assessment at the end of the unit, students will be responsible for labeling the 7 continents and the oceans on a blank world map. This would be a great thing for you to be working on with your child! I have added a link to an online game to practice this skill under our Social Studies links...check it out!

Our field trip to the Kansas City zoo is scheduled for Friday, April 29. I will be needing 5 volunteers to ride the bus with us to the zoo and help lead student groups. 3 of you have already volunteered for this, so I need two more! This will be on a "first come, first served" basis. Of course, if the bus fills up, some of you are welcome to meet us at the zoo as well!

As always, thank you for all that you do!

Short week!

I am really looking forward to talking with all of you at conferences tomorrow and Thursday! I have so many great things to share with you about your 2nd graders. They continue to work very hard! It is so difficult to believe that we are now into our third trimester of the school year. May will be here before we know it!

In math, we continue to look at strategies for adding and subtracting two and three-digit numbers. Students are beginning to look at challenging story problems involving money and ungrouping. Remember that, as new strategies are introduced, students are not necessarily expected to master all of them. Many strategies are taught so that students can choose a few that they feel comfortable with. I have been very impressed with some of the strategies that students have been demonstrating in class! Last week, I began sending home flashcard practice to help students master their basic fact efficiency. Expect to see flashcards and a practice log coming home about once a week. It is very important that students return flashcards right away, as other students are waiting to take them home. As students become efficient with addition, I will start sending home subtraction, mixed sets, and possibly even some multiplication cards! On your child's flashcard night, feel free to omit the "reading log" portion of your evening!

For the past couple of weeks in writing, students have been working on "small moment" writing. This is when writers take an experience and choose just a small piece of the experience about which to write a story, including a lot of detail. We have looked at Audrey Penn's "The Kissing Hand" and "A Pocketful of Kisses" to see what small moment writing looks like. Students are working hard to determine what the heart of their story is!

On Monday, we will wrap up our Social Studies unit on the presidents and influential African Americans. Last week, each student researched and wrote about a president. This week, students have been studying the Underground Railroad, the Civil War, and the significance of the North Start to runaway slaves. Students are currently working on a research project about famous Americans. I hope to have these ready to share at conferences! Next week, we will begin a rather lengthy Geography unit on the continents. During the course of this unit, we will "visit" all seven continents and learn a little bit about cultures around the world. As we do this, students will be practicing their map-reading skills. As a fun project, each student will be sending a "Flat Stanley" to a friend or family member who lives in another part of the country. I will be giving you more information about this project at conferences. For your part, please provide your child with a stamped envelope with the address of a friend or family member on it next week.

There will be no new spelling words given tomorrow, as we will be spending our spelling time wrapping up some class projects. Students will receive new spelling words next Wednesday.

Reading groups were shuffled around a little bit this past week after 1st and 2nd grade assessment of reading! I look forward to sharing information about your child's current reading level at conferences. During our afternoon language block, our class has been studying homophones and homographs. We also continue to read "Mr. Popper's Penguins", which has definitely turned out to be a class favorite!

I hope that you have a wonderful (long) weekend with your child!

The busy month of February!

Well, we have made it halfway through the winter season! I hope that you all have recovered from this last winter storm and are having a wonderful weekend. There are many things for you to be aware of in the month of February....and here they are!

In math, we have finished up our study of data and graphing. This (extremely short) week, students worked with coins. They practiced counting by 25 cents to reach totals greater than a dollar and made different amounts using both like and mixed groups of coins. In the following days, we will begin our study of two and three digit subtraction. Watch for a note coming home next week with information about different subtraction strategies that second graders are working on. Please remember that, if your child leaves his or her home folder here at school, all homework papers are available to be printed off at thinkcentral.com. You all have a login that was e-mailed to you a couple of months ago. Please let me know if you need it again...there are many great resources on the website!

Next week, our class will wrap up its study of poetry with a fun "Storm of Poetry" book. Students have been collecting their best poems about weather and will pick a few to publish. After we conclude our study of poetry, we will begin working on the 6-Trait writing model during a study of writing personal narratives.

We will take a short break from reading groups for the first part of this coming week to begin reading assessments. I hope to have a lot of great information about reading levels to share with you at conferences. During our language block, we have been working on homophones (words that sound alike but have different meanings). This study will conclude this week...I will keep you posted on what sort of word work we begin next! Remember that students did not bring home a new spelling list this week. In place of spelling homework for the next few days, they should be working on their poem memorization for Poetry Cafe. New spelling lists will be coming home on Wednesday. After this upcoming sort, I plan to reconfigure spelling groups...stay tuned for any changes!

This week, we will finish our study of our January author, Tomie DePaulo. For the remainder of February, we will be reading some of the works of Shel Silverstein. We will be focusing on his poetry, but will also take a look at some of his other books. Please see the Shel Silverstein link to the right for some fun poetry activities and printouts that you can do at home.

Due to the snow days, we are slightly behind in our weather unit in science. We will spend Monday and Tuesday reviewing the water cycle, cloud types, and storms. The weather assessment will take place on Wednesday. Your child brought home a green study guide yesterday, and there are a couple of great weather links listed on this blog...check them out! After we conclude this science unit, we will begin a short study of presidents, followed by some activities about African American history.

The Scholastic Book Fair will be in our library this coming Monday-Wednesday. I will not be sending home a Scholastic book order for the month of February. I hope that many of you will take this opportunity to build your home library. If you would like for your child to purchase books during the school day, please send money with him or her, along with a note letting me know what type of items you would like for your child to purchase (for example, if you would like for your child to purchase books only, or if posters/pencils/etc. are okay).

This week I will send home a class list for your child to use while addressing valentines. Your child should plan to bring a valentine for each member of our class. We will make our valentine holders on Wednesday, and students are welcome to bring valentines to pass out Thursday, Friday, or Monday.

Please look over the following important dates and let me know if you have any questions! As always, thanks for all that you do!

Scholastic Book Fair - February 7-9

Book Fair/Pancake Feed - February 9 (5:30-7:30)

Poetry Cafe - February 11 (2:45 in the multi-purpose room)

Valentine's Day Party - February 14 (2:45)

No School - February 18 (Recording/Reporting day for teachers)

Conferences - February 23-24

Science Fair - March (I will pass on information as soon as I have it!)

Snow Days Galore!

I can't believe it is Friday already! What a mixed-up couple of weeks! I just wanted to pass on a couple of pieces of information to you.

Our class will be attending a production at the Lied Center on Thursday in the afternoon. Volunteers won't be needed on this field trip, but it would be a good time to start thinking about whether or not you might be interested in going to the Kansas City Zoo with our class in April! I will let you know that date once it has been set.

I am in need of a couple of volunteers to help with Kansas Day in our classroom. Our room will be used as the "butter churning station" from 11:35-1:35 next Friday, January 29. Students will listen to a book about pioneers while shaking jars of cream to make butter, which they will then get to enjoy on slices of fresh homemade bread! 6 different groups of first and second grade students will rotate through our class that day...that is a lot of bread and butter! If you would be interested in helping with slicing bread, spreading butter, handing out snacks, and possibly reading out loud, please let me know. The more the merrier!

Today, students picked poems to memorize for our Poetry Cafe at 2:45 on February 11. They will be bringing home a set of their assigned poems on Monday. Part of daily homework until February 11 will include practicing these poems. We will also be working on them here at school. Look for a formal invitation to the Poetry Cafe soon...we hope to see all of you there!

The 100th day of school this year will be all about math! Believe it or not, the 100th day of school will be next week on Thursday, January 27. We will be celebrating in many ways here in our classroom. One thing that we need you to do to help is to send in 100 pieces of a snack to make a "100th Day Trail Mix". Examples might be small pretzels, raisins, pieces of cereal, mini marshmallows, etc. Please send your childs pre-counted snack to school on Thursday.

Due to the snow day yesterday, I am extending the deadline for Scholastic book orders to Monday. I will submit the order than and have your books to you as soon as possible. I will not send a Scholastic order home for the month of February, due to the book fair.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Winter Wonderland!

I hope that your 2nd graders have enjoyed these past couple of snow days! I'm sure there has been much sledding, snowman-building, and hot cocoa drinking! I, also, have kind of enjoyed running around in the snow with the dog and drinking hot tea on the couch...but I am very excited to return to Langston Hughes tomorrow!

In math this week, we will continue to study data collection and analyzing of graphs. We started this unit looking at different types of pictographs. Next, we practiced putting data onto a table and solving comparison problems using the table. Later this week, we will begin to look at bar graphs. Student should be able to accurately graph information and state different facts about the graphs. Specifically, we have been working on making comparison statements using graphs and tables (for example, "Joe has 6 more snowballs than Mary"). During our daily routines in math, we continue to practice telling time and are also working on place value.

It has been so much fun starting our 2nd grade poetry unit! So far, students have been working on couplets and different types of shape poems. Be sure to check out our "Poet Tree" in the pod to see some samples on display! In the coming days, students will begin writing list poems, cinquains, and acrostic poems. Tomorrow, we will take a quick break from writing poetry to write book reviews.

We have enjoyed reading some of Tomie DePaulo's books since school resumed! Students learned that DePaulo's family is half Irish and half Italian, and that he incorporates his heritage into many of his stories. We will continue to read his books in the days to come. I also hope to start "Mr. Popper's Penguins this week! This is always a favorite...for the students, as well as for me!

What a time to begin studying weather in science! Last week, students observed some sunny and mild days. I'm sure they are going to love talking about the weather this week! Early last week, students learned about the seasons and did some writing to describe winter, spring, summer, and autumn. On Friday, the class began to learn about the different types of clouds. When our science test rolls around, 2nd graders will need to know about cumulus, cumulonimbus, stratus, and cirrus clouds. This week, we will continue our study of clouds and will also begin to look at the different types of precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, and hail). We will take a break from our weather unit of study on Friday to study about Martin Luther King Jr. and the impact he had on America.

There will be no school next Monday, January 17 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) or January 31 (professional development day). There will also be no school February 18 (recording/reporting day for teachers) or February 24 and 25. Conferences will be Wednesday, February 23, and Thursday, February 24. I can't believe it's almost that time again! I can't wait to share your child's progress with you!

I hope that 2011 has gotten off to a wonderful start for all of you! Have a great week!