I can't believe that I am sitting down to write my lost class blog post of the year! The past few months have really flown by. I look forward to a great end to the year, and hope that your 3rd grade students will come back to say "hello" next fall!
In math, we are currently working on an introduction to multiplication and division. Multiplication is being taught as repeated addition, and division as repeated subtraction. Students are working on comparision language such as "equal shares", "twice", "double", and "half". Thank you for your continued support with homework.
Reading groups have ended for the year to make time for reading assessments. This year, for the first time at Langston Hughes, 2nd graders will be participating in reading MAPS testing. We will also be looking at reading fluency and comprehension through DIBELS testing. If you are in need of reading ideas to keep your child practicing over the summer, please let me know and I would happy to provide you with some resources. As a whole group during our language block, we are doing different comprehension activities with read-alouds and partner reads. We will end the year with an author study on Bernard Waber. Be sure to check out some of his wonderful books!
In writing, students are working on an animal reasearch project with a partner. We are using this time to review the writing process. Students began the project with note-taking, and are now working on rough drafts, editing, and revising. Next week we will begin final drafts and will also learn about constructing a table of contents, index, and glossary.
Rather than continuing our spelling groups through the end of the year, we will be doing some whole group word work activities including plural rules, apostrophes and commas, and the 2nd grade sight word list. Let me know if you would like a copy of that list.
We have been lucky this week to have a volunteer from the bank named Mr. Lindquist in our classroom. He is our Junior Achievement volunteer for this year and is doing a wondeful job teaching students about money, communities, and production of goods.
In science, we continue our unit on herps (amphibians and reptiles). Students have learned about the similarities and differences between these groups of animals and are now looking at specific types of both. We will be testing on this unit in about a week and a half, and then will end the year with a fun mini-unit on animal adaptations.
Thanks, as always, for your continued support this year. I have enjoyed working with your children and am so proud of the progress they have made!
Upcoming Dates:
May 10 - Wetlands trip. Please return the permission slip you will receive today in your child's folder.
May 11 - Field Day
May 14-May 18 - Teach the Class week - forms are due tomorrow (May 4).
May 18 - School talent show
May 23 - Birthday Breakfast
May 24 - Last day of school! Have a great summer!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
April showers bring May flowers!
Can you believe that we are almost halfway through the month of April? It seems that this year has just flown by! I have really enjoyed working with your 2nd graders, and can't wait to hear about the exciting time they will have in 3rd grade in just a few short months!
In math right now, we are working on place value with 3-digit numbers. During this unit, students are learning different strategies for adding and subtracting larger numbers, as well as working with place value and money. Students continue to practice counting mixed groups of coins, and are beginning to make change from $5.00 and $10.00 bills.
Guided reading groups will end on April 24. We will then spend the last weeks of school doing assessments and reading comprehension activities as a whole group. Our current read-aloud is "Hello, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle!". We will wrap up the school year with author studies on Bernard Waber and William Steig.
We are getting ready to start some research! In the next week in our classroom, students will do a mini-research project on a country. This will lead into our biggest writing project of the year...animal research! Now would be a great time to start checking out some non-fiction books at home and working with your child on using the index and glossary, locating information, and putting information in your own words.
Students will be tested on the continents at the end of this week. Rather than a study guide, your child will be bringing home a "travel pack" of information tomorrow. Please have him or her share with you souvenirs and maps from the seven continents we have visited. On the geography test, students will need to label the 7 continents and 4 oceans on a map, as well as tell one or two interesting facts about each continent and identify four different landforms.
Next week in science, we will be beginning our unit on herps (amphibians and reptiles). During this unit, second graders will learn the difference between amphibians and reptiles and study the characteristics of lizards, snakes, turtles, crocodilians, salamanders, and frogs/toads.
Upcoming important dates for April:
April 12 - 2nd grade field trip to the Lied Center
April 17 - 2nd grade music program
April 24 - Family Fun, Food, and Fitness night
April 25 - Birthday Breakfast
April 26 - Kansas City Zoo field trip
April 27 - No school
In math right now, we are working on place value with 3-digit numbers. During this unit, students are learning different strategies for adding and subtracting larger numbers, as well as working with place value and money. Students continue to practice counting mixed groups of coins, and are beginning to make change from $5.00 and $10.00 bills.
Guided reading groups will end on April 24. We will then spend the last weeks of school doing assessments and reading comprehension activities as a whole group. Our current read-aloud is "Hello, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle!". We will wrap up the school year with author studies on Bernard Waber and William Steig.
We are getting ready to start some research! In the next week in our classroom, students will do a mini-research project on a country. This will lead into our biggest writing project of the year...animal research! Now would be a great time to start checking out some non-fiction books at home and working with your child on using the index and glossary, locating information, and putting information in your own words.
Students will be tested on the continents at the end of this week. Rather than a study guide, your child will be bringing home a "travel pack" of information tomorrow. Please have him or her share with you souvenirs and maps from the seven continents we have visited. On the geography test, students will need to label the 7 continents and 4 oceans on a map, as well as tell one or two interesting facts about each continent and identify four different landforms.
Next week in science, we will be beginning our unit on herps (amphibians and reptiles). During this unit, second graders will learn the difference between amphibians and reptiles and study the characteristics of lizards, snakes, turtles, crocodilians, salamanders, and frogs/toads.
Upcoming important dates for April:
April 12 - 2nd grade field trip to the Lied Center
April 17 - 2nd grade music program
April 24 - Family Fun, Food, and Fitness night
April 25 - Birthday Breakfast
April 26 - Kansas City Zoo field trip
April 27 - No school
Monday, March 5, 2012
March is here!
As March begins, students are gearing up for all kinds of fun and exciting new learning opportunities! Here is what we are currently studying in our class.
In math, we are wrapping up Unit 9. In this unit, students worked with counting coins and making change, as well as many strategies for subtracting two and three digit numbers...both with and without ungrouping. The test for this unit will be on Wednesday. On Thursday, we will begin Unit 10. This is a shorter unit in which students will learn about geometry. Specifically, they will be learning about slides, flips, and turns. This unit will be followed by one on 3-digit addition and subtracction.
During our language block, we have just wrapped up our study of homophones and homographs. Students did an excellent job working with words that sound the same but are spelled differently and words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. Beginning this week, we will be spending some time working with alphabetical order and the use of dictionaries. As our read aloud, we are reading a biography written about Dr. Suess. We enjoyed celebrating his birthday last Friday! We will begin reading Flat Stanley this week as well. During writing time, we will be reviewing some types of writing that we have learned this year and introducing some of the 6 traits.
Did you know that 2nd grade is going on a trip? We are beginning our trip around the world! This week, students are studying the purpose of maps, as well as the types of landforms. Next week, we will be packing our bags and start travelling to all of the seven continents. At each continent students will be learning about culture, history, landmarks, etc. They will also be receiving a special regional snack at each continent! This unit is a lot of fun. If you have special knowledge about a continent and would like to send in some visuals, lend some books, give a short presentation, etc...let me know!
Upcoming dates:
Spring break: March 19-23
Birthday breakfast: March 28
Lied Center: April 12
Family Fun, Food, and Fitness Event: April 24
Kansas City Zoo: April 26 (this is a tentative date...I will let you know when it's set in stone. You might be thinking about whether or not you would like to volunteer for this trip!)
In math, we are wrapping up Unit 9. In this unit, students worked with counting coins and making change, as well as many strategies for subtracting two and three digit numbers...both with and without ungrouping. The test for this unit will be on Wednesday. On Thursday, we will begin Unit 10. This is a shorter unit in which students will learn about geometry. Specifically, they will be learning about slides, flips, and turns. This unit will be followed by one on 3-digit addition and subtracction.
During our language block, we have just wrapped up our study of homophones and homographs. Students did an excellent job working with words that sound the same but are spelled differently and words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. Beginning this week, we will be spending some time working with alphabetical order and the use of dictionaries. As our read aloud, we are reading a biography written about Dr. Suess. We enjoyed celebrating his birthday last Friday! We will begin reading Flat Stanley this week as well. During writing time, we will be reviewing some types of writing that we have learned this year and introducing some of the 6 traits.
Did you know that 2nd grade is going on a trip? We are beginning our trip around the world! This week, students are studying the purpose of maps, as well as the types of landforms. Next week, we will be packing our bags and start travelling to all of the seven continents. At each continent students will be learning about culture, history, landmarks, etc. They will also be receiving a special regional snack at each continent! This unit is a lot of fun. If you have special knowledge about a continent and would like to send in some visuals, lend some books, give a short presentation, etc...let me know!
Upcoming dates:
Spring break: March 19-23
Birthday breakfast: March 28
Lied Center: April 12
Family Fun, Food, and Fitness Event: April 24
Kansas City Zoo: April 26 (this is a tentative date...I will let you know when it's set in stone. You might be thinking about whether or not you would like to volunteer for this trip!)
Friday, February 3, 2012
End of 2nd trimester
Happy Friday!
As always, we have been very busy in 2nd grade here at Langston Hughes! Students are working hard and learning many new things. Here's what's going on in our classroom!
In math, we are currently working on a mini-unit on geometry. Students are learning about quadrilaterals, parallelograms, and midpoints. Next week, we will begin our next major unit...subtracting two-digit numbers with and without re-grouping. At the beginning of the unit, students will also be working on counting money. Now would be a GREAT time to play some money games or count some spare change at home.
In science, we are wrapping up our unit on weather. The test on this unit will be next Thursday. Students will be expected to show understanding of the water cycle, the types of precipitation, cloud types, seasons, and tools used for measuring weather. Please keep an eye out for a study guide next Tuesday or Wednesday. We will kick off our next trimester with some Social Studies! Students will be learning more about our past, including information about several presidents. In March, we will begin our tour of the world during which students will explore mapping, landforms, continents, and different cultures. I will be providing information about our Flat Stanley geography project at conferences.
After a couple of weeks of assessing, we have restarted guided reading groups! Many changes were made, and I can't wait to share your child's progress with you. During our language block we continue our study of poetry. We have enjoyed sitting down and reading many types of poems together, and our class has come up with some really great and creative poems of our own! There are some awesome poetry links to the right of this post...check them out! At the conclusion of our poetry unit, we will take some time to look at the authors Tomie DePaulo and Shel Silverstein. Our current read-aloud is Mr. Popper's Penguins.
Special Announcements:
The book fair is next week! I will not be sending home a Scholastic book order this month, so this is your chance to stock up on great book deals! To promote this event, students are invited to wear pajamas on Monday, Hawaiian shirts on Tuesday, and to dress like a favorite book character Wednesday. Don't forget to come to the pancake feed Tuesday night from 5:00-7:00. If you will be unable to attend, your child is welcome to purchase books during the school day.
Thank you to those of you who have already confirmed your conference spot! If you have not yet returned your green form, please do so as soon as you can or send me an e-mail.
I look forward to seeing all you soon! Have a great weekend!
As always, we have been very busy in 2nd grade here at Langston Hughes! Students are working hard and learning many new things. Here's what's going on in our classroom!
In math, we are currently working on a mini-unit on geometry. Students are learning about quadrilaterals, parallelograms, and midpoints. Next week, we will begin our next major unit...subtracting two-digit numbers with and without re-grouping. At the beginning of the unit, students will also be working on counting money. Now would be a GREAT time to play some money games or count some spare change at home.
In science, we are wrapping up our unit on weather. The test on this unit will be next Thursday. Students will be expected to show understanding of the water cycle, the types of precipitation, cloud types, seasons, and tools used for measuring weather. Please keep an eye out for a study guide next Tuesday or Wednesday. We will kick off our next trimester with some Social Studies! Students will be learning more about our past, including information about several presidents. In March, we will begin our tour of the world during which students will explore mapping, landforms, continents, and different cultures. I will be providing information about our Flat Stanley geography project at conferences.
After a couple of weeks of assessing, we have restarted guided reading groups! Many changes were made, and I can't wait to share your child's progress with you. During our language block we continue our study of poetry. We have enjoyed sitting down and reading many types of poems together, and our class has come up with some really great and creative poems of our own! There are some awesome poetry links to the right of this post...check them out! At the conclusion of our poetry unit, we will take some time to look at the authors Tomie DePaulo and Shel Silverstein. Our current read-aloud is Mr. Popper's Penguins.
Special Announcements:
The book fair is next week! I will not be sending home a Scholastic book order this month, so this is your chance to stock up on great book deals! To promote this event, students are invited to wear pajamas on Monday, Hawaiian shirts on Tuesday, and to dress like a favorite book character Wednesday. Don't forget to come to the pancake feed Tuesday night from 5:00-7:00. If you will be unable to attend, your child is welcome to purchase books during the school day.
Thank you to those of you who have already confirmed your conference spot! If you have not yet returned your green form, please do so as soon as you can or send me an e-mail.
I look forward to seeing all you soon! Have a great weekend!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Happy new year!
It has been wonderful getting back into our 2nd grade routine. I hope that you all had a terrific holiday season with your family. Here's what's going on in our classroom!
In math, students are learning about different types of graphs in unit 7. During the course of this unit students will learn about picture graphs, bar graphs, line graphs, and circle graphs. They will practice gathering, showing, and interpreting data. We also continue to work on using basic addition and subtraction facts accurately and efficiently.
In science, we have begun our unit on weather. I will admit...it has been nice having our first days of weather observation be mild and sunny! It has been a beautiful winter so far. During this unit, students will learn about the different types of clouds, the water cycle, storms, precipitation, and what it means to be a meteorologist. There are a couple of great weather links in our link bar to the right...check them out with your child if you get a chance.
We will be taking the next couple of weeks off from reading groups in order to assess reading level. I should have some good information to share with you at conferences. During our language block, students are doing various reading comprehension activities. We are currently reading the classic "Mr. Popper's Penguins". In writing, students are working on poetry writing. Over the next few weeks we will cover couplets, cinquains, acrostic poems, shape poems, and free verse poems. We are also incorporating poetry into our reading activities with comprehension and fluency practice.
I look forward to seeing you all at conferences in just a few short weeks! It's hard to believe that we are nearly through another trimester. Enjoy the rest of your long weekend!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
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!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
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!
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