September 27-October 1st

Can't believe October is here on Friday! I'm loving the cooler weather and give me all the pumpkin food/drinks. 

Important Dates: 

Tuesday, 28th- I will be attending a training that will include an overview on our new language arts units. I will be on campus, but just not in the classroom. 

Friday- Rock N' Roll. See you Friday morning to walk your child to class. 

Math

We have finally reached numbers to the 1,200. We will continue place value which includes: ordering numbers, comparing numbers, composing/decomposing, etc. 

Reading

We are starting a new genre this week. We will spend some time in non fiction for awhile. We will discuss the purpose of non fiction and characteristics. I'm starting book clubs this week.  

Writing

We've wrapped up small moments. I will spend this week grading their small moment piece. I'm taking two grades on this assignment. One grade will be on structure and the second grade will focus on  conventions. 

We will start learning about non fiction writing. 

Grammar: Subject/Predicate

Social Studies

What a fun week. Students will be creating timelines with important events. We will look back at important events that happened here at Wilchester and put them on a timeline. Then students will do some research on past decades and placing important events on their decade timeline. 

Homework: a new snap word menu will be passed out tomorrow. Math worksheet will be due on Friday. 

September 20-24

Housekeeping: 

Monday: We have pictures tomorrow. 

Tuesday: See you at 5 for curriculum night. Please start in the cafeteria and then we'll make our way to the classroom. 

Math

We are continuing with place value but working with numbers up to 900. The kids have been doing well. Just need a little practice with number lines and looking at numbers in a pattern. 

Reading

This week we will be talking about what authors are trying to teach us. We will look at different themes using the picture books we've read so far. I love teaching themes because it brings good conversation. If you're looking for talking points when reading at night, you can ask "What do you think the authors message was and how do you know?"

Writing

The kids first writing piece is due this week. I've given the kid a checklist to help them with their piece. Lessons this week will focus on noticing and naming craft in writing. 

Science

This week's focus is forms of energy. We'll end the week with a fun Kahoot game. 

September 13-17th

What a crazy week! I hope you all are safe and with power after storm Nicholas. I lost power from 3 am - 10 am, but I can't complain too much. Glad to be back tomorrow because we have a lot to cover. 

Math

We are continuing with place value up to 600. We will end the week with composing and decomposing numbers. For math stations, I've been introducing new math games that allows the kids to practice their math facts. They are having fun. 

Reading

Two more running records and I'm about done! Whoo-hoo! I'm looking forward to starting my reading groups. This week we will notice what craft moves authors do and discuss the message the author is trying to teach us. For reader's workshop, we are continuing to build our reading stamina. 

Writing

The kids are working on their graded small moment piece. I've been stressing the steps to writing a small moment piece. We've discussed writing a small moment worth telling, writing across the pages, and developing our characters by making the talk and think. Some students are having a hard time thinking of an idea. Ask your child what they plan on writing about and/or think of small moments together. 

Snap words: A new snap word menu was passed out yesterday. Test will be next Friday. 

Social Studies

This week is all about Freedom Week. 

Please make sure your child brings a set of headphones to bring to school. We use them daily and I have limited ones in the classroom for the kids to share. 

Let's make it a great week! 

September 6-10th

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. The weather was hot but I'll take hot/sunny over a rainy weekend. 

We have Garden day tomorrow. Please make sure the kiddos wear their tennis shoes. 

Math

We are continuing with place value but with numbers up to 600. We will discuss how to represent numbers in different ways, place numbers on a number line, and compare numbers. I've been impressed with how well the kids are doing with place value. I'm working on having them read word problems that involve place value. This is an area where the kids are a little unsure. 

Reading

We are in bend two of our  "Second Grade Reading Growth Spurt" unit. This bend contains lessons on how to solve tricky words. I will discuss how to use different strategies to sound out words, making sure what we read makes sense, and working on vowel teams. 

The kids are continuing to check out just right books during readers work shop. I am half way done with my running records. I will continue to assess their reading this week, 

Snap Words: Students will be tested on their snap words this Friday. They also need to complete two activities from their snap word menu by Friday. 

Writing

This week in writing, lessons will include writing our stories in small steps, unfreezing characters, and making our characters think and feel. We are continuing to share seed ideas to give the the kids plenty of ideas to write about. 

Science

This week is all about changes in matter by adding and removing heat. We have a couple of experiments lined up. Fun times ahead. 

Homework

Read 20 minutes, complete two snap word menu activities, math sheet to be passed out Tuesday morning, and practice math facts up to 20. Ex. 9+7=? or 13-6= ? (this could be done by using flash cards, Xtra Math, parent asking math facts, or there are plenty of kid math apps to help) We do practice our math facts daily during station time as well. 

August 30- September 3rd

 I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Week 3 of school is a busy one. 

-Thursday, September 2nd is a half day. Students will be dismissed at 12pm.

- Homework will start this week. Students will have a math sheet and two snap word activities to complete that will be due on Friday. Students should also read for 20 minutes each night if possible. 

* Please remember to have your child bring headphones to school. They will be kept in their desk. We use them on a daily basis. Thank you! 

Math

We are continuing with place value. We will compare numbers, place numbers in order from greatest to least or least to greatest, and compose/decompose numbers. 

Reading

Readers workshop has been going well. I'm impressed with their stamina so far. This week we will discuss how readers keep tabs on comprehension by jotting down our thoughts on sticky notes. 

Writing

It's been fun sharing stories about my past with the students. They're funny because they would love for me to share a new story everyday, but I told them I have all year to tell them stories. Students are working on their small moment piece. 

Science

Whoo hoo! This week is a fun one. We are learning states of matter. On Wednesday there will be a fun experiment including gummy worms. Can't wait. 

August 23-27th

Hi Parents, 

We had a great first week. I've been thoroughly impressed with the kiddos. They got back into the swing of things quickly, learned the new routines, and were so happy. Here's what's happening this week...

Math

We are starting our math unit with place value. We will be working with numbers up to 300. We will discuss odd/even, expanded form, pictorial form, etc. We will start our math rotations as well. The kids will need their own headphones for the technology station. Please have them bring a pair that can stay in their desk for the year. 

Reading

This week in reading we are discussing how second grade readers will be reading longer books. This week starts my running records. I'll be sharing this data at our October conferences. The reading MAP test will be given this week. Students are taking a different MAP test than last year. This year it's a 2-5th grade test. There is a lot of reading on the test. The kids tend to get tired so I'll make sure to tell the kids to take breaks. 

Grammar: Nouns, proper nouns, singular/plural nouns

Writing

For writing, we are starting with small moments. Please talk with your child about small moments they can write about. This could be the first time they rode a bike, one part of a vacation they took, first homerun, etc. I love this unit because I can share my stories with the kiddos and it's the perfect way for them to get to know me. 

Social Studies

We are discussing the Pledge of Allegiance this week.

I have a class wish list. If you would like to contribute, please see the list here. 

 Welcome to Second Grade!

I'm so glad you're here. Can't believe the school year is right around the corner. Goodness, summer went by fast. Things to know for Monday....

1. Please have your child bring a dry snack. We will have snack time around 12:30ish. 

2. Monday students will have Mindful Movers so the kiddos need tennis shoes. 

3. Make sure your child know how they're getting home. :) 

I think that's it for now. It's going to be a great first day!