Last week of the second quarter

These last few weeks have gone by so quickly! Here is a recap of our class happenings and objectives.

Thanksgiving Activities

The week of Thanksgiving, we participated in Thanksgiving themed centers.

We learned about how Thanksgiving today is different from the first Thanksgiving. For example, the Pilgrims and Native Americans were not able to just go to the grocery store when they needed food. To bring this idea to life, we put heavy cream into containers and shook them until it became butter. We then spread the butter on crackers. 

We also made turkey headbands and wrote the sight words we knew on the feathers.

And now on to what we've been working on for the past few weeks

Math

-identifying and describing 2D shapes (square, rectangle, triangle, circle, and hexagon). The emphasis has been on describing the shapes in regards to the number of vertices, and the number and length of their sides. For example, a rectangle has 4 vertices and 4 sides. Two of the sides are long and two of the sides are short.

-identifying and describing 3D shapes (cube, cone, sphere, and a cylinder).

Again, the emphasis has been on describing the shapes using vocabulary such as number of vertices, number and shape of faces, and the number of edges. For example, a cone has one vertice, 1 face shaped like a circle, and 1 curved edge. 

To support this objective at home, encourage your kiddo to identify 3D shapes at home. For example, the salt shaker is the shape of a cylinder. Cylinders have 0 vertices, 2 faces shaped like circles, and 2 curved edges. The soccer ball is shaped like a sphere. Spheres have 0 vertices, 0 faces, and 0 edges. 

Language Arts

-In writing we have introduced opinion pattern books. For example, I like kittens because they are soft. I like turtles because they have a shell. The students understand that in order to state an opinion, you must have the word because in your statement. As always, we continue to work on our writing conventions such as writing most letters correctly, using a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence, using mostly lowercase letters, sounding out unknown words, using sight words/spelling them correctly, spacing between words, and have a punctuation mark at the end of each sentence. 

-In reading, we continue to work on retelling a story in order. We have introduced vocabulary such as character and setting for the kiddos to use when retelling the story. 

-We also continue to work on our sight word mastery as the more words you know, the more books they can read

-We also continue to work on using one to one correspondence while reading, sounding out unknown words, and using picture clues to determine unknown words. 

To support these objectives at home, have your child read to you everyday day. Let them show you how smart they are by sounding out a word a recipe. Go to the library and choose a fun holiday book. Let your child identify all the sight words in the book. 

Almost halfway through the second quarter....

Can you believe we are almost halfway through the second quarter? It feels like just yesterday, the kiddos were coming in for the first day of school! We have been working hard all quarter to master our 2nd quarter goals and I hope you have seen evidence of all of their learning at home:-)

Language Arts

Reading

This week in reading, we have been focusing on

-sight word identification

A, and, can, is, I, it, see, the, this, like, to play

The kiddos know that the more sight words they know, the more books they will be able to read. Encourage your little guy or gal to see how many sight words they can identify in a day. See if they can identify 5 sight words and reward them when they do. Ask your child to show you the gestures for the sight words. The gestures are important,as "muscle memory" is vital to sight word mastery. 

-identifying all the sounds in CVC words (consonant, vowel, consonant words such as cat, log, pig, etc...) 

Challenge your kiddo to see how many CVC words they can write! 

We continue to work on:

-asking and answering questions about fiction and nonfiction text

After reading a fiction story at home (you can use the book sent home with their homework), Ask,your child to tell you about it. Who was in the story? Where did it happen? What happened? 

If you are reading non-fiction, ask your child to share with you 2 interesting facts,they learned from the story. 

-identifying the number of syllables, or parts in words

Have your child show you the 2 ways we can identify the number of syllables in a word (clapping or robot method)

Writing

We continue to work on the genre of pattern books. Today, we had an author's celebration, where the kiddos got to share the pattern books they created this week with their friends. They were really excited that they were able to take their books home and share with YOU!

Math

In math this week, we introduced:

-identifying and writing numbers in the teens

Ask your child what all numbers in the teens have (they all start with 1). Then ask them how to figure out what number comes next. For example, the number sixteen. It has the word teen, so it starts with a 1, then there is the number 6 in the word sixteen. So, the number sixteen must be written as 16. Lastly, ask your kiddo about the tricky teen numbers like eleven and twelve

-using a tens frame to represent numbers in the teens. For example, the number 16 would be represented as follows:

XXXXX

XXXXX        XXXXXX

   10                 6

We continue to work on:

-counting by ones to 40 and counting by tens to 40.

Just an FYI about end of the quarter expectations:

We have about a month until the end of the quarter. To be considered on grade level in reading, your child should be able to...

-read a level B book

That is, read a book with an AB pattern. For example, I like grapes. They are sweet. I like pizza. It is cheesy. 

-Identify ALL of the sight words on the homework sheet

The sight words in the level B books correlate to the list you have been given for homework.

-Demonstrate at least 5 out of the 6 reading behaviors listed in your child's homework

-Be able to identify identify all the sounds in 20 words in a minute (phoneme segmentation). Practice for this can also be found in your child's homework.

Please know we are working everyday with your child on these objectives to make sure they are on grade level. Any support and/or practice you can do at home is very much appreciated. 

NOTE: The end of the quarter reading assessment will NOT be completed by your child's teacher. Instead, it will be completed by a first grade teacher. Until then, I will be providing opportunities for your child to get to know the teacher who will be completing their assessment so they will feel comfortable when this person is assessing them. 

Please feel free to email me with any concerns and/or questions. 

What's Going On In Room 210?

Language Arts

In reading, we have been working on 

-asking and answering questions in a story. In fiction text, that means being able to answer questions such as who is the story about? Where does the story happen? What happens at the beginning of the story? What happens at the end? In non-fiction text, that would look like asking a question you want to know before you start reading, and seeing if the question is answered in the text. If it isn't, a student should be able to tell a fact they learned about the topic of the text. For example, I didn't find out if panda bears can run fast, but I did find out they eat bamboo for up to 12 hours a day.
You can support this objective at home by talking and asking questions about what you are reading each night.
-breaking apart words into parts, or syllables, then using the syllables to blend into a word
For example, alligator has 4 syllables and tractor has 2 syllables. There are many ways to determine how many syllables there are in a word, but the most common way is to clap it out (/al/ /li/ /ga/ /tor/) or use 'robot talk' (/tra/ /tor/).  When blending syllables into words, we would say /mo/ /vie/. What word would I made if I put those syllables together (movie)? You can support this at home by making a game out of breaking words into syllables and blending them back together. For example, how many syllables does the word mommy have in it? /mo/ /mmy/ (2). Or say what word would I make if I put these syllables together? /da/   pause  /ddy/. That's right, Daddy!

In writing,
we have moved on from

-Thinking and Writing like a scientist. In this genre, we picked objects from nature and wrote about them according to their physical properties. For example, "This is a gem. It is purple. It is smooth. It is sparkly." 

This week, we have introduced the genre of pattern books. That is, books that start the same way on each page. For example, "I can swim. I can run. I can slide." 

In each genre, we continue to focus on 

-starting each sentence with a capital letter

-using spaces between words

-sounding out most sounds in unknown words
-using a period at the end of each sentence
-proper letter formation 

-using sight words in our writing

*as of today, the sight words we have learned are: a, is, I, see, the, this, and, it, can
Ask your child to show you the gestures for these words. You can practice more words using the sight word list from your child's November homework.

 

In math, we have been working on:

-adding one more to a group of numbers

-taking away one less to a group of numbers
the goal is to further solidify the understanding of number sense to where the kiddos would not have to recount. For example, if I had a group of 5 and added one more  ( X X X X X         X)
I would NOT want a child to recount and say one, two, three, four, five, six, but instead count on from 5 and say 6 (although this does take time). The same is intended if we take away a number from a group (X X X X X   take away 1). I would want a child to mark out one of the Xs and say 5 take away 1 less is 4.
Do you feel like your child has a firm understanding of number sense through 10? Trying extending their learning doing this same skill with a number in the teens, or a number in the 30's.

-comparing groups and numbers to determine which is more, less, and equal
At the beginning of the year, we focused on comparing groups of numbers. However, now, we are focusing on comparing the numbers themselves. For example, which is more? 4 or 9? Which is less? are they equal? In addition, we are proving their responses (9 is more than 4, 4 is less than 9, they are not equal) by drawing pictures to represent their responses.
You can support this objective at home and/or extend your child's learning by comparing number sin the teens.

Early Release Reminder

Mark your calendars....This Friday, November 7th is an early release day

Book Fair Information

Our book fair will be up and running starting tomorrow. Our class will have a preview day, where they can browse the books and write down what they want, as well as a day to purchase books. The preview date and book purchase date are forthcoming. I will email with them ASAP. 

Pumpkin Day 

Last Wednesday, we celebrated Pumpkin Day. 

We used a pumpkin's physical properties to think and write like a scientist. When the kiddos felt the inside of the pumpkin, they described it as gooey and wet! 

We created our very own book to practice sight word identification and one to one reading correspondence (pointing to each word as we read). 

And lastly, we had some yummy fun and made some pumpkin fluff dip:-) 

Our Trip to Naylor Farms in Pictures...

A ride on the bus....

Fun on the Farm...

"What was your favorite part of the field trip?" 

Cade- the slides

Sean- the bus

Isaac- the slides

Daniel- going in the corn maze

Ben- the hayride

K'Yana- feeding the goat

Jocelyn-going on the spooky hayride

Emily-the (pretend) spider coming down on the hayride

Kyra- the (pretend) spider dropping on my head during the hayride

Amelia- the goats

Amani- the goats

Elizabeth-the goats

Luke- the hayride

Caylee- I was scared climbing up the ladder

Apple Day!

Hooray for Apple Day! The kiddos had a blast and reinforced their learning at the same time...

When the kiddos came in in the morning, they helped use the apple peeler/corer to peel/core apples for our apple sauce

Then in math, we cut numbers and their corresponding groups on ten frames. We then played 'Memory' with our seed shaped cards.

Later, we used what we learned in science to describe our apples by their physical properties. Can you guess what their favorite physical property was???? Of course, it was tasting the apples!

We then graphed our favorite kind of apples and determined that most of our classmates liked the green apples the best! 

In the afternoon, Mr. Meares, our wonderful instructional assistant, read the book, Ten Red Apples Up On Top. We then made our own apples up on top using the letters in our name.

And last, but not least, we enjoyed the delicious apple topping we made with some vanilla ice cream. A perfect treat for a cool September day! 

What In the World Have We Been Up To????

It's been awhile since I've had an "official" blog update. So, here's a snapshot of what we have been up to in the classroom.

In Math, we continue to work on...
-using one-to-one correspondence (touch counting) to count up to 10 objects in a line or objects that are scattered
-represent numbers with groups of objects
-determining if 2 groups of objects are more than, less, or equal
to each other
-using a tens frame to represent a numbers 1-10

This week, we are learning how to use a 5-group to represent numbers 6-10 and count on from 5. For example, if we are representing the number 7, we would represent it the following way:

XXXXX            XX
5- group            

Then, instead of counting and starting from 1, we would use the 5 group to count on from 5 and say, "5, 6, 7".

In reading, we continue to work on....
-using/understanding reading behaviors such as reading top to bottom, left to right, and page to page to read and enjoy stories
-using our understanding of print concepts (differentiating between a letter and a word, the first/last letter f a word) to read and enjoy stories
-Using the Letterland program to identifying the following uppercase/lowercase letters a, c, d, i, h, o, g, s, t, m, p, and 1 and their sounds
-"reading the illustrations" of a story
That it, looking at the illustrations of a story closely and creating words to match the illustrations.
-recognizing the sight words "I", "see" and "the"
Ask your kiddo for the gestures

In writing, we continue to work on
-using a combination of drawing, writing, and dictating to convey an idea or thought
-making sure the illustration that is drawn supports/matches the idea or thought shared
-labeling the picture with at least beginning sounds
-stringing along letters to represent a sentence that matches the illustration

Apple Day
We will be having Apple Day, Wednesday, September 24th. We will spend the day participating in apple themed, curriculum based activities. However, we will need a something from YOU to help make the day extra special. And that item is....you guessed it....APPLES!! Red apples, yellow apples, and green apples are all needed. So, if you are out at the grocery store this weekend and see a few (or a bag), please think about buying some for our classroom:-)

Field Trip
Mr. Meares, our instructional assistant has been working diligently to collect and receipt the signed field trip forms and payments. If you haven't signed/returned the forms/payment, don't worry! You have next week to turn in the forms. However, please turn them in BEFORE track out, as we are going on our field trip the day after we return, October 21st.

Fall Festival
Our Fall Festival is Friday, October 26th. It is one of the most fun (in my opinion) fundraisers that our PTA during the year. There will be face painting, bounce house, food, and more! And speaking of more, there will also be an auction where each class will sell a themed basket. Our theme, as you probably know is "Baby Love". Thank you to everyone who has donated items including Candice Maher and Liza Kiger!

Things to keep an eye out for...
-Quarter 1 report cards coming home next Friday
-Sign Up form for Quarter 1 conferences
-volunteer opportunities
-Letterland Dress Up Day information

Guess Who We Met With Today????

Our 2nd grade book buddies! Book buddies are a great way for the kiddos to reinforce their reading skills and listen to others read. Even more, it creates a positive connection with students in older grades:-)