Homework Information and Upcoming Dates

It's been another busy week in our class!  I continue to be impressed...this class is full of hard workers and great listeners!  We continued our study of unlikely friendships, worked with addition fact strategies in math, and launched our Writer's Workshop.  We also had our first Bobcat Buck class party!  Students enjoyed lunch in the classroom, complete with a fun video.  On Tuesday, the class will vote on which incentive we are working to earn next.

 This week in Writer's Workshop, we studied the parts of a friendly letter and created some visuals for our wall of student and teacher expectations for the year.  Next week, we will begin our first major writing unit.  During this unit, students will learn how to write like scientists and will create several expository booklets.  On Tuesday, your child will be taking a pre-unit writing assessment.  Students will be asked to create a short writing piece about a scientific concept that they choose.  Students are invited to bring in a science book from home to use as a resource, if they would like.  This is not a requirement, as I have plenty of non-fiction books available in the classroom.  I just want to give students the option in case they have something specific in mind and have a good book at home.

At Information Night, we talked about homework and how it is used in our classroom.  Students have done an excellent job this week of completing assignments!  Here are some things to keep in mind when completing homework:
* When your child completes blog homework on Tuesday nights, he or she is welcome to answer the posted question by simply commenting on my post containing the question, or by going to the menu at the top and selecting "new post".  While either option is acceptable, blog posts will only appear on your child's individual blog if "new post" is selected.  In addition, other students will only be able to comment when "new post" is clicked.
* Every single student in our class returned math homework yesterday.  Thank you so much for your support at home!  On mornings when math homework is due, students will do a "mix, pair, share" activity during which they will meet with a partner or small group and compare assignments.  In doing this, I feel that students are more likely to learn from their mistakes and practice their communication skills.  It was so wonderful yesterday morning, observing students re-solving tricky problems and helping their peers build understanding!  We'll plan to continue using math homework in this way, as a valuable learning tool.
* Please look for your child's first spelling list to come home next Wednesday.  Remember that Monday nights are for practicing spelling words in a fun way!  Spellingcity.com is a good place to start...check it out!

Sometime next week, I will be e-mailing with information about volunteering and a list of supplies we will need for our bridge building projects.  Thanks, as always, for all you do!  Enjoy the long weekend!

Upcoming Dates...Mark Your Calendars!
September 1 - Labor Day - No School

September 5 - Grandparents' Day

September 15 - No School

First full week!

I really enjoyed seeing all of you last night at our Parent Information Night!  I hope you found the presentation helpful and that I answered all your questions.  As things come up during the year, feel free to e-mail me or stop in.  It's always a pleasure to hear from you!  I appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with you all this year as we navigate 2nd grade together.  

This week, we continued our study of unlikely friendships.  We read the story of Owen and Mzee.  I'm sure your child would love to tell you this true story of a baby hippo that befriended an elderly tortoise in Africa!  Today, students watched several video clips of other unlikely animal friendships (if you click on the first link under the Language Arts tab on the right side of this page, you can watch the videos, too!)  On Monday, students will work in pairs to illustrate and write about one of the unlikely friendships.  We will also continue studying vocabulary from the story of Owen and Mzee.  We are working together to practice dictionary use, think about the context of words in books, and to put definitions into our own words. 

Next week, we will read through some of the stories in the popular "George and Martha" series.   We will have a discussion about different book genres with similar themes (Like "Owen and Mzee", the "George and Martha" books are about friendship and include hippos...but they are made up stories, unlike "Owen and Mzee" which is a true story). During this book study, we will look at how authors often use their writing to teach life lessons.  As a class, we will try to figure out what lessons about friendship James Marshall teaches in his writing.  We will also continue to practice looking at the context of unknown words to determine what the words mean.  

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to start our Writer's Workshop on Monday!  Before we jump into the four units I told you about last night, we are going to take a week to establish procedures.  At this time, we will also work on composing friendly letters.  This will tie in to a brief pen pal activity we are starting.  I have connected with a friend who teaches writing at a junior high school in Tennessee, and our class is going to be e-mailing one of her classes as a part of our "Building Bridges with Unlikely Friends" unit.  We will work on finding things we have in common with this faraway class.  We are excited to receive some friendly letters back from our new buddies!    

This week in math, we reviewed math mountains and  fact strategies.  We will continue this unit on basic addition and subtraction next week.  Since we haven't yet sorted students for our break-out math groups, we will also be taking some time in the afternoons to incorporate technology into our math lessons.  If you look under the math menu to the right of this post, there are some  great interactive math games and activities.  I will be sharing these with students in class, but you are also free to explore them at home!  

Our 2nd grade homework schedule will start next week.  Your child now has a copy of the schedule tucked into the back pocket of his or her home folder.  We won't start spelling for another week or two, so there will be no homework on Monday (if you want to start establishing the full schedule before then, this would be a GREAT time to look over the district's 2nd grade word list...let me know if you want a copy).  Our first blog question will be posted Tuesday, math homework will come home Wednesday, and I will have reading logs in each child's home folder on Thursday.  Please remember that your child is not expected to work on homework for more than 20 minutes on one night.  If he or she hits a point of frustration, particularly on math nights, please e-mail me or send me a note so that I can help support your child in class with the assignment.  

Let me know if you have any questions about upcoming activities.  As always, thanks for all you do to support learning in our classroom!  Have a great weekend!  

Welcome to 2nd Grade!

Good afternoon!

I can't believe it is already the end of the first week of school!  It has been such a joy getting to know your 2nd grade students these past few days.  They have been working really hard and have been so helpful and flexible as we have adjusted to a new building and a new school year.  Be sure to give your child a big hug and a "job well done!" 

This week, we have been working on some team building.  We have reviewed the "3 R's" of Bobcat behavior (readiness, respect, responsibility) and have worked together to come up with classroom policies.  On Monday, our school will have an assembly to kick off our new behavior system.  I'm sure your 2nd grade student has been telling you all about our Bobcat Bucks!  I will have information for you about this system at Back to School night on August 21.  

We are opening up our school year with a study of the author Kevin Henkes.  This week, we have been looking at his book Wemberly Worried and sharing ideas and strategies for dealing with worry.  On Monday, we will read Chrysanthemum and take some time celebrating our names.  On Monday night, please look for a homework assignment in your child's backpack!  He or she will be interviewing you to learn more about the story behind his or her name.

This year, we will be doing six major language arts units that also tie in with our science and social studies standards  During our first unit, "Building Bridges with Unlikely Friends", students will study the difference between literal and figurative language.  They will learn the importance of making connections with unlikely friends, and will also be doing some engineer work as we look at the structures of different types of bridges.  This unit will will begin on Tuesday.

Early next week, students will be taking a beginning-of-the-year math test so that I can see what they remember from first grade.  We will then be jumping into our Math Expressions curriculum with a study of math mountains and basic fact strategies.

I will keep you posted in a few weeks when we start leveled reading and math groups.  

Next week, I am leaving my schedule open after school.  I will be in the classroom on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 4:00 until 4:45.  If you would like to pick an afternoon to stop in for five minutes for a quick visit, let me know.  This would be a good chance to share any information about your child that you think I should know right away.  I will address general questions (birthday celebrations, behavior management, curriculum, etc.) on Thursday at Back to School night.  If you would like to pop in next week between 4:00 and 4:45 on one of those days, just e-mail me and let me know what day you plan to stop by. If you are unable to stop in during that time but have things you would like to share with me, feel free to shoot me an e-mail.  I'd be happy to arrange an evening phone conference with you from my home.

Please make note of the following dates on your calendars.  Thank you in advance for your help and support.  I am looking forward to a wonderful school year!

Upcoming Dates

August 18, 19, 20 - Mrs. Williams available after school 

August 21 - 2nd Grade Back to School night - 6:00

September 1 - No school - Labor Day