Friday, February 22, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Thursday
Today, we had math in the morning. We worked on more measurement and looked at things that measured about 1 meter, less than 1 meter, and more than 1 meter. Students had fun using a meter stick to measure things around the classroom. We had time for Daily 5 math.
In writing, everyone finished their notes for our biographies! We will write the reports after break.
During reading, we went to the Into the Book website and did an activity with visualizing. Students worked on the laptops or desktops to do this. It was fun! In word work, we put this week's words into our word wall list in our writer's notebooks. Then we quizzed each other on the words.
This afternoon, after PE, we finished Mr. Popper's Penguins and did a math assessment.
I'm still missing a few permission slips. If you could get them in tomorrow, that would be fabulous.
In writing, everyone finished their notes for our biographies! We will write the reports after break.
During reading, we went to the Into the Book website and did an activity with visualizing. Students worked on the laptops or desktops to do this. It was fun! In word work, we put this week's words into our word wall list in our writer's notebooks. Then we quizzed each other on the words.
This afternoon, after PE, we finished Mr. Popper's Penguins and did a math assessment.
I'm still missing a few permission slips. If you could get them in tomorrow, that would be fabulous.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Wednesday
Today, we started a new (refreshing) topic in math: measurement! It was nice to focus on something different rather than computation. We talked about units used to measure length. The focus is metric units of measurement for this chapter (meters, centimeters, etc).
In writing, we continue to consolidate our notes onto a graphic organizer to prepare for writing our reports. I'm thinking the reports won't be done until after the break. The goal is to get all graphic organizers done by tomorrow.
In reading, we did a visualization activity after discussing the actual strategy. During word work, we played a game with r-controlled vowels.
We are almost finished Mr. Popper's Penguins!
In writing, we continue to consolidate our notes onto a graphic organizer to prepare for writing our reports. I'm thinking the reports won't be done until after the break. The goal is to get all graphic organizers done by tomorrow.
In reading, we did a visualization activity after discussing the actual strategy. During word work, we played a game with r-controlled vowels.
We are almost finished Mr. Popper's Penguins!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Tuesday
We continued our work putting our biographies onto the program Kidspiration. With these notes, students will be able to write reports on the people about whom they have learned. Students either worked on the computer or on a laptop in the classroom. In reading, we read the February poem of Chicken Soup with Rice. Also, we did guided reading groups and focused on nonfiction reading. I introduced 5 new word wall words today too.
This afternoon, we took a math test on multiplication and division. We also did Daily 5.
This afternoon, we took a math test on multiplication and division. We also did Daily 5.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Monday
Happy Monday!
We began our day with our Weekend News, as usual. It is great to see children able to write a detailed paragraph on one focused topic. They have really come a long way! In computer lab today, we put our notes from our biography project into a graphic organizer using Kidspiration. This will be really helpful when it comes time to write our reports. In reading today, students were able to choose what they would like to do for Write about Reading. Many worked on the work board, while I met in guided reading groups to read other biographies and Mrs. Jones did Scholastic News. In word work, we played 20 questions and made a record of guessing the word in 6 questions!
This afternoon, we had math and did more multiplication and division. We had time for Daily 5 math! We used Kidspiration to make arrays that related to multiplication.
Please return permission slips to go to the Capital Center for the Arts. That trip is the week we come back from vacation and I would LOVE all of the permission slips before the break. Thank you!
We are in desperate need of tissues. Any help would be so appreciated! Thanks! Here's to a great week!
We began our day with our Weekend News, as usual. It is great to see children able to write a detailed paragraph on one focused topic. They have really come a long way! In computer lab today, we put our notes from our biography project into a graphic organizer using Kidspiration. This will be really helpful when it comes time to write our reports. In reading today, students were able to choose what they would like to do for Write about Reading. Many worked on the work board, while I met in guided reading groups to read other biographies and Mrs. Jones did Scholastic News. In word work, we played 20 questions and made a record of guessing the word in 6 questions!
This afternoon, we had math and did more multiplication and division. We had time for Daily 5 math! We used Kidspiration to make arrays that related to multiplication.
Please return permission slips to go to the Capital Center for the Arts. That trip is the week we come back from vacation and I would LOVE all of the permission slips before the break. Thank you!
We are in desperate need of tissues. Any help would be so appreciated! Thanks! Here's to a great week!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Thursday
Happy Valentine's Day today!
It was an amazing day...very busy! We made compliment cards for each other today. On Monday, in the computer lab, we designed the cards for ourselves. Then, today, we sat in a circle and passed them around. Each child wrote a compliment to everyone in the classroom. It was awesome! The students couldn't wait to read their cards at our Valentine Party this afternoon. It is a great day when we can celebrate our friendship in the community of our classroom.
Mrs. Maynard came in today too. She read some books and mentioned a few things happening at the library. On April vacation, the library will be hosting a Star Wars party (April 24). You can sign up at the library or you could call them. There seemed to be a lot of interest in our class about this.
We had our last WIN group today for this round. We will start again in March.
The party was fabulous. Thank you for all of the donations. A special thank you to Tammy E. for organizing the whole thing!
It was an amazing day...very busy! We made compliment cards for each other today. On Monday, in the computer lab, we designed the cards for ourselves. Then, today, we sat in a circle and passed them around. Each child wrote a compliment to everyone in the classroom. It was awesome! The students couldn't wait to read their cards at our Valentine Party this afternoon. It is a great day when we can celebrate our friendship in the community of our classroom.
Mrs. Maynard came in today too. She read some books and mentioned a few things happening at the library. On April vacation, the library will be hosting a Star Wars party (April 24). You can sign up at the library or you could call them. There seemed to be a lot of interest in our class about this.
We had our last WIN group today for this round. We will start again in March.
The party was fabulous. Thank you for all of the donations. A special thank you to Tammy E. for organizing the whole thing!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Tuesday
I hope to see you all at the spaghetti dinner tonight! There is a 5:15 and a 6:15 seating.
It was another busy day today. We began taking notes on our biographies. Students were looking for facts about their famous people in certain categories: growing up, middle years, later in life and amazing facts. This process will continue tomorrow. Figuring out which facts are important from reading a page is a challenge, but we are certainly working on it.
During reading today, we read a Valentine poem and talked about what we noticed and what we liked. Students were so good at looking at the poem in the ways that we've been talking about in class: the rhythm, the rhyme, the comparisons.... I LOVE it!!!!! Makes my heart sing for sure! I also explained the Write About Reading for the week which has to do with making connections.
For word work today, I tested children on the January word wall words. The results will help determine WIN groups for the next round in March.
During math, we did more multiplication. Tomorrow we will look at division as part of the fact families. We also had Daily 5 groups.
It was another busy day today. We began taking notes on our biographies. Students were looking for facts about their famous people in certain categories: growing up, middle years, later in life and amazing facts. This process will continue tomorrow. Figuring out which facts are important from reading a page is a challenge, but we are certainly working on it.
During reading today, we read a Valentine poem and talked about what we noticed and what we liked. Students were so good at looking at the poem in the ways that we've been talking about in class: the rhythm, the rhyme, the comparisons.... I LOVE it!!!!! Makes my heart sing for sure! I also explained the Write About Reading for the week which has to do with making connections.
For word work today, I tested children on the January word wall words. The results will help determine WIN groups for the next round in March.
During math, we did more multiplication. Tomorrow we will look at division as part of the fact families. We also had Daily 5 groups.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Monday
It was a very busy day today in 2F! We began with our Weekend News, as usual. When students finished, they got to decorate their Valentine Bags.... Fun! In computer lab we made cards for ourselves that we will fill out on Thursday (you'll see.....). During reading, we read a biography and talked about what will we do with our own biography books. In word work, I introduced the new word wall words for the week.
In math this afternoon, we talked about multiplying by 10. We had Daily 5 Math today!
I sent home homework. As usual, everything is due on Monday, with the exception of the timeline activity. I would like those by FRIDAY please. We will do something with them in the computer lab on Monday of next week. Thanks for your help with that.
Remember our Valentine party is Thursday afternoon. Thanks to Tammy E. who organized the whole thing!
In math this afternoon, we talked about multiplying by 10. We had Daily 5 Math today!
I sent home homework. As usual, everything is due on Monday, with the exception of the timeline activity. I would like those by FRIDAY please. We will do something with them in the computer lab on Monday of next week. Thanks for your help with that.
Remember our Valentine party is Thursday afternoon. Thanks to Tammy E. who organized the whole thing!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Thursday
Good Afternoon!
Today we began our day with math. We are talking about all of the different ways to represent multiplication: "groups of; an array; a multiplication sentence; and repeated addition". We keep reviewing our 0 tables, 1 tables, 2 tables, 5 tables and 10 tables.
In reading today, we read the poem "Sick" by Shel Silverstein (one of my all time favorite poems!) and talked more about fluency. Students had a turn to read the poem "What If?" to each other to practice. It's great to hear them verbalize what makes fluent reading!
We had WIN groups today. Also, after recess we had PE. Our day ended with an assembly about the
IKidarod happening at the high school on Sunday.
Today we began our day with math. We are talking about all of the different ways to represent multiplication: "groups of; an array; a multiplication sentence; and repeated addition". We keep reviewing our 0 tables, 1 tables, 2 tables, 5 tables and 10 tables.
In reading today, we read the poem "Sick" by Shel Silverstein (one of my all time favorite poems!) and talked more about fluency. Students had a turn to read the poem "What If?" to each other to practice. It's great to hear them verbalize what makes fluent reading!
We had WIN groups today. Also, after recess we had PE. Our day ended with an assembly about the
IKidarod happening at the high school on Sunday.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Wednesday
I succumbed to the stomach bug and had to stay home yesterday. My apologies for not updating the blog yesterday. Seems as though there are many things going around. We are using the anti bacterial wipes and washing our hands like crazy! I am in need of tissues for the classroom. Thanks for any donations.
Today, we went to the library and Mrs. Alibrandi did an introduction to our unit on biographies. Students chose their own biographies and will be reading them in class. We will focus this unit on taking notes on important information. We will then turn those notes into a written report in writing. Please let me know if you have any questions about the unit.
We also began something in class today called the Magic Pocket Name. This is a system to manage classroom behaviors that I am noticing. We are all focusing on the 3B's: being safe, respectful and responsible. Students, as of late, have been interrupting, talking out, not settling down after transition times and overall being very chatty. My solution to this is the Magic Pocket Name. For each time frame during the day (today it was morning meeting and snack; library and reading; and quiet time and math), I pull a name from a bucket where all the students' names are. I put this person's name in my pocket and keep an especially close eye on that person to see if he/she is following the 3B's. At the end of the time frame, I will announce what this person (by name) has done (by following the 3B's) and put his/her name into another bucket. If the person did not follow the 3B's during that time frame, his/her name goes back in the original bucket but I do not announce his/her name. Students are then asked to reflect on whether they think the Magic Pocket Name was his/hers. I want students to be reflective in their behaviors and I believe this system really will allow for that. AT the end of the week, we will have a drawing of all the Magic Pocket Name winners. If a student's name is picked for that drawing, he/she will win a "prize". The prize will not be a materialistic thing but something like a chance to eat in the classroom with a friend or extra iPad time, etc. Let me know what you are hearing at home about this. I am interested in your thoughts.
Please don't forget about our Valentine party on Thursday of next week. If your child chooses to make Valentines, please have him/her do so for the whole class. Thank you!
We had WIN groups today. Also, we learned about our 5's times tables in math.
Today, we went to the library and Mrs. Alibrandi did an introduction to our unit on biographies. Students chose their own biographies and will be reading them in class. We will focus this unit on taking notes on important information. We will then turn those notes into a written report in writing. Please let me know if you have any questions about the unit.
We also began something in class today called the Magic Pocket Name. This is a system to manage classroom behaviors that I am noticing. We are all focusing on the 3B's: being safe, respectful and responsible. Students, as of late, have been interrupting, talking out, not settling down after transition times and overall being very chatty. My solution to this is the Magic Pocket Name. For each time frame during the day (today it was morning meeting and snack; library and reading; and quiet time and math), I pull a name from a bucket where all the students' names are. I put this person's name in my pocket and keep an especially close eye on that person to see if he/she is following the 3B's. At the end of the time frame, I will announce what this person (by name) has done (by following the 3B's) and put his/her name into another bucket. If the person did not follow the 3B's during that time frame, his/her name goes back in the original bucket but I do not announce his/her name. Students are then asked to reflect on whether they think the Magic Pocket Name was his/hers. I want students to be reflective in their behaviors and I believe this system really will allow for that. AT the end of the week, we will have a drawing of all the Magic Pocket Name winners. If a student's name is picked for that drawing, he/she will win a "prize". The prize will not be a materialistic thing but something like a chance to eat in the classroom with a friend or extra iPad time, etc. Let me know what you are hearing at home about this. I am interested in your thoughts.
Please don't forget about our Valentine party on Thursday of next week. If your child chooses to make Valentines, please have him/her do so for the whole class. Thank you!
We had WIN groups today. Also, we learned about our 5's times tables in math.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Monday
Have you heard about Storybird yet? It's a really cool website where you can choose artists' work and make books out of it! Your child had a chance to explore this a little on Friday and we worked more with it today. If you are interested, go to storybird.com and log in. Your child's user name is his/her first name and last name as all one word with no capitals. Passwords are the passwords that your child uses to log into the computer at school. If you need help, let me know. You can see some of the work that we've been doing over these last 2 days. This is a great avenue for the reluctant writer. It's digital storytelling at its best!
In reading today, students learned what book reviews are as well as how to write one. This will be their Write about Reading for the week. They continue to work on their fluency videos this week as well.
The new lunch menu went home. Make sure you remember that February 13 is second grade eats hot lunch free day!
I sent homework home today. There is the usual reading log and math log. Also, I've attached the February word wall word list. One last thing is a Scholastic News calendar activity. This calendar is not part of the math log and should be completed for Monday. Thanks!
We had a test on multiplication and division today. The beginning of the test was difficult, really testing understanding of the concepts. Students struggled, which means I will spend more time on the concepts in class in the future. No Daily 5 Math today.
In reading today, students learned what book reviews are as well as how to write one. This will be their Write about Reading for the week. They continue to work on their fluency videos this week as well.
The new lunch menu went home. Make sure you remember that February 13 is second grade eats hot lunch free day!
I sent homework home today. There is the usual reading log and math log. Also, I've attached the February word wall word list. One last thing is a Scholastic News calendar activity. This calendar is not part of the math log and should be completed for Monday. Thanks!
We had a test on multiplication and division today. The beginning of the test was difficult, really testing understanding of the concepts. Students struggled, which means I will spend more time on the concepts in class in the future. No Daily 5 Math today.
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