December 16-January 6

Hello Families!
I hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying the holiday season. We are doing a good job staying focused at school- even while I was away for Jury Duty (I did not get selected to serve on trial-it was a very interesting experience though!)
Project Care: Project Care was a huge success! Thank you to everyone for donating travel sized items to be packaged and given to our Buddy School- Cross Trainers Academy in Milwaukee. It felt so wonderful to do something kind for others. Thank you families for supporting our project!
Keyboarding: We're working really hard trying to learn the online position (home row) and the correct finger movements for each letter/symbol. We'll be continuing keyboarding daily after the break then we'll work on it about once a week for the rest of the year. Please encourage your child to use the correct key s at home instead of "pecking" with their index finger.
Math Homelinks: In this unit and some upcoming units, the homelinks will ask your child to bring in materials to be used in class or cut out items from a magazine/newspaper. If you don't have the materials needed, just talk with your child about what materials you might use. It is fine if your child cannot complete the task due to materials.
Ask Your Child:
What are parallel lines?
What does it mean to infer while reading?
Why do you have a Packer tent in your classroom?
What book is Mrs. Dahms reading aloud? Who are the characters and what is the problem?
Which hand is the hour hand?
Important Dates:
Holiday Music Program- Tues. Dec. 20 2:45pm
Class Winter Party Thurs. Dec. 22 11:00am

December 2- December 16

Hello Families! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! December us here already. We have lots to look forward to...a Winter Music Program on Dec. 20, our class Holiday party, Art For Youth, Winter Holiday rotations, Reader's Theatre... I will be out of the classroom on December 14 and 15 at least, as I have been summoned for Jury Duty. I will let you know if I will be gone longer than 2 days. Have a fabulous weekend! Go Badgers and Packers!

Cog-at Testing: We completed our Cog-at testing today. The kids did a great job listening to directions and filling in the standard test bubbles for the first time!

Reading With Dogs: We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to read with service dogs on Wednesday. The kids brought a book from the classroom to read to their new furry friend. It was a fun and unique experience.

Pebble Jar Reward- Rest Time: We filled our pebble jar again! I tell you, this is a very motivated group of kids! The class chose rest time with pillows and blankets. We did this at the end of the day. It was fun and relaxing!

Dahms Dollar: I added a new incentive to the Mrs. Dahms store this year. I told the class at the beginning of the year that whoever saves enough class money to earn $1.00 would receive the Dahms Dollar and, as a bonus, I would buy them a new book from the scholastic catalogue. The kids can earn pennies for completed homework, helping others, bringing their reading bag back to school, following directions... I also open my store at the end of every month where the kids can use their money to buy items like pencils, stickers and small toys. So I thought this incentive would encourage kids to try and save their money over time to help better understand the value of saving your money.

Holiday Trivia: An information sheet came home on Thursday describing this optional activity that will be sent home everyday in December. It can be a fun way to search for information in books and on the Internet together as a family and learn something new too! Remember this is completely optional!

Math Facts Tests: We are moving on to subtraction facts tests next week. Every child's goal should be to improve their personal score by as many points as possible. In second grade, 53 facts in 3 minutes is the end of the year goal.

Making Roller Coasters: In science, we completed our Balance and Motion unit with a fun investigation of the rolling motion. In small groups, we created roller coasters with turns and loops. Then we tested our tracks with a marble. Every group built a successful roller coaster! Ask your child "Where did the marble need to start to make it to the end without a push?" (high) What force set the marble in motion? (gravity)

November 18-December 2

Hello Families! We have had a great couple of weeks in school. Be sure to read the sidebar to see what we are doing in every subject. We filled our pebble jar again and had all the leaves fall off of our Kind Words Tree. The kids are working really hard! I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Book Clubs-For the past two weeks, your child has participated in 2 character book clubs. This week will end our study. It has been so fun for me to watch the students meet in clubs and discuss their characters.

Double Digit Addition- You may have some double digit addition problems in homelinks recently. Please continue to support your child without teaching carrying- adding the tens fist, then the ones. We will learn more strategies in the coming weeks.

Art For Youth- Beth's mom came in this week to teach us about impressionism. We completed a fabulous watercolor project using pencils, crayons and little bit of water. Your child should have brought home their watercolor portrait of them sharing their talent with others.

Ask your child:

*How do we use maps?

*What are different ways objects move? (spin, twirl, rotate, roll)

*What does Never Eat Soggy Waffles mean? (NESW- cardinal directions)

*What is a Thick Question vs. a Thin Question?

*What is happening in the class read aloud- Thanksgiving on Thursday?

Coming Up:

*Cog-ats-This second grade standardized test will be given the week we return from Thanksgiving Wed-Fri at 9:00am. Please make sure your child is well rested, nourished and on time to school. There is a letter in the Friday folder.

*Reading with Dogs-On Wed. Nov 30, we will get a chance to participate in the Read to Dogs program. We will bring our Just Right books to read the dogs in Mrs. Olson's room. It should be super fun!

*Project Help- Second graders along with our 4th grade buddies are teaming up to collect travel toiletries and other small hygiene items to package and send to local shelters. We will also collect plastic shoeboxes (about $1) for packaging. We will send home more information next Tuesday. It should be a great project and opportunity for the kids to show kindness to others.

November 4-18

Hello Families! Happy November. The weather has definitely changed and the trees are almost bare. I have to face it- winter is coming! As quarter 1 of second grade draws to a close, I am amazed how much these kids have learned and grown since the beginning of the year! I am just so excited to see where we will go as learners this year! I must say that I have been delighted to be able to try new lessons and activities this year, all with the confidence in knowing that this class will embrace any new challenge. I am very thankful to have such a wonderful group of second graders!

Reading Homework: Thank you to all parents for helping your child bring their reading book back in their reading bag everyday and completeing the book log with a signature. The kids have been very responsible!

Character Book Clubs: We will be starting charcter book clubs next week. The kids will chose a character from a book series to study for the week. Everyone will read at least 5 books from the series and dicuss character traits, feelings, changes, ask questions and make predictions. It will be a great opportunity to read books, evaluate characters and discuss books in a small group (much like we do as adults when we read books and dicuss it with friends).

New Social Studies Unit: We just started a new unit on How Do We use Maps.

Math Tests: After every math test I will send home the test for you to go trhough with your child. It will not have to be retuned to school anymore. I will let you know via the blog or assignment notebook when to expect the the test to come home.

Facts Tests: We will take a facts test every week. When the test comes home, have your child complete the remaining problems and retuun to school- there is no due date. Your child's goal is 54 facts in 3 minutes.

Changes to the November Calendar:

*Author's Celebration- I pushed the celebration back from Tuesday to Thursday next week. The kids are publishing their favorite Small Moment story. Look for their published piece in the reading bag next Friday. Please return the story to school so we can put them in our classroom library.

*Scholastic Book Order- I am moving the Nov/Dec scholastic book order due date to Fri. Nov. 18. Books make great gifts for the holidays. If you are interested in ordering any books for your kids, I can keep them secretly at school when they arrive and you can pick them up in the office. Just send me an email to let me know.

Thank you to all parent volunteers who chaperoned and donated items for the Fall Party. It was a great success. The kids enjoyed it very much! Thank you!

"I am Thankful" Turkeys

Spinning Tops

Making Zoomers

October 21-November 5

Hello Families! It was a pleasure to see everyone at conferences! As the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, I am reminded how quickly this year as already gone. Here is what we have been up to in 2nd grade:
Reading: We continue to work on the skill of retelling as we narrow our focus to characters. As readers we have been really thinking about the characters we read about and listing character traits in a web. Next week, we'll add setting to our focus and how it relates to the characters in the story.
Writing: We have been working very hard drafting small moment stories that have a B, M, M, M and E (ask your child what the letters stand for). We have also focused on writing strong leads to hook our readers. In this unit, we will focus on the entire writing process which includes thoroughly editing and revising our work.
Spelling: We will finish our short vowel study with our review test on Wednesday. Then we will study the /ou/ and /ow/ sounds and then contractions.
Math: We just took our Unit 2 Test on Thursday. It will be returned on Wed. 10/26. Our next unit is Place Value, Time and Money.
Social Studies: We completed our 2nd unit: How Are Communities Different? The tests will come home on Wed 10/26. We will begin a new unit entitled How Do We Use Maps?
Science: We will begin to study about motion, specifically spinning.
Reminders:
*Book bags should be returned everyday with the book and completed book log.
*Our Fall Party is on Wednesday at 2:30.

Ye Olde School House

October 7-21

Show and Share

Hello Families! What a beautiful week it has been! We were able to enjoy an extra 20 minutes outside this week as a reward for filling our pebble jar (again!). We have had some other extra fun recently: Mrs. Hughes was our substitute on Tuesday, we met our Buddy class today (Mr. Nicholas' 4th grade), Mrs. Dahms' store opened for the first time and we had our first Show and Share day. (Mrs. Dahms' store and Show and Share are always on the last Friday of every month). Here is what we have been up to:

Reading-Our Reader's Workshop is fully running: reading groups, independent read, buddy read, reader response (plus word work and shopping). I have been very impressed with this class' reading stamina and focus during Reader's Workshop. Thank you to all parents for helping your child remember to read their book at home and return the book in the bag the next day. I placed a new reading log in your child's bag. Please just write the book title and initial the log everyday! We have been working on reading strategies- what to do when we get to unknown words. Also, we have worked on being a reading coach to our buddy. Look for the list of strategies and coaching tips in your child's reading bag this weekend.

Author's Celebration

Writing- We had our first Author's Celebration. Every student shared their favorite writing piece from September. All month, we really worked as writer's building our stamina, stretching out our stories and making lists of ideas in our memo pads. We are now starting our Personal Narrative (Small Moments) writing unit. We'll focus on writing about a small moment from our lives and stretch it out using lots of details. We'll also focus on the writing process- planning, prewriting, writing, revising, editing and publishing.
Spelling-I have added a piece to spelling homework. Every Wednesday, I will send home handwriting lines for the kids to write their spelling words and use each one in a sentence. See the right sidebar for a suggested schedule for spelling homework.
Social Studies- We are continuing to study communities in unit 2 (Our first test came home last Friday) We are looking at urban, suburban and rural communities.
Science- We experimented more with balance by making mobiles and getting a pencil to balance on a popsicle stick with a wire. Next week will will be investigating motion- specifically spinning.
Math- Our first test came home this week. Please go over the test with your child, sign and return to school. We are working on addition and subtraction strategies to build our fact power. I tell the kids that they can get the right answer by counting on with fingers or drawing pictures, but strong fact power will help them know the answers in a snap. We have been practicing doubles, the plus 9 shortcut, doubles plus 1 and 2...ask your child to show you these strategies.
Ask Your Child:
*Who is your 4th grade buddy?
*What is the +9 shortcut?
*What reading strategy do you use the most when reading?
*What small moment are you writing?
*What are the three types of communities? (urban, suburban and rural)
Reminders-
*Ye Olde Schoolhouse form and fee were due today, 10/7

September 23-October 7

Balancing Crayfish on Our Fingers

Hello everyone! It was nice to see some of you at Elm Grove Park last night! Now that we are almost 1 month into school, we are starting to get into a nice routine and understand classroom and school expectations. I really enjoy working with this group of second graders; they are kind, hard workers and each brings their own unique personality to the community. I look forward to a great year!

Here is how we are keeping busy:

Reading: We have finished our first unit on Establishing Good Habits and will now begin Reader's Use Strategies and Story Elements. Reading groups will also begin this week. You will see your child's reading bag come home the first week of October. Please help your child take responsibility for bringing the book in the bag back to school everyday. The books he/she will bring home should sound like easy reads- we are bringing home mostly books that we have read in group and will reread them to family at home to help strengthen our reading fluency.

Writing: We have been talking about many ways that writers get ideas for their stories: people/animals they love, places they love, something that frightens them, their imaginations, special memories, everyday life... Each kid received a small memo pad to keep track of their ideas for writing throughout the year. We will finish our short unit on Launching Writer's Workshop this week. We'll have a small Author's Celebration for kids only on Fri 9/30) (We'll invite families in twice during the year for our celebration). We will then begin our unit on Small Moments (writing about a small moment in time from their life- stretching out the moments to include lots of details and feelings)

Math: We will have our first math assessment on Wed 9/28. Homelinks came home for the first time on Thursday. As a reminder, all the answers are in the Family Letter in the front of the homelinks packet. Please check your child's work every night. The homelink packet will stay in your child's folder until the end of the unit. I will check for completeness and give the homelink a stamp every morning.

Spelling: Since this is such a new process for the kids, it is taking us a while to feel good about spelling routines. Please let me know if you have questions about the homework. Everyone should have received a list of highlighted words your child misspelled on our preassessments. Please use these words to practice at home.

SS: We worked in groups in develop our own communities using butcher paper and our own drawings of buildings. We made sure to include many different types of homes, places where people work, play and make decisions.

Science: This week we used our knowledge of balance point and counterweights to set an isosceles triangle and arch to balance on a popsicle stick in many different ways.

Show and Share: On the last Friday of every month, we will have Show and Share in the morning. The kids can bring in 1 item to share with the class. We will take this opportunity to work on speaking and listening in a group. For the September Show and Share day (9/30), kids from Mrs. K's class asked if they could bring in a Me Bag (a bag filled with lots of stuff representing them). I thought that was a fine idea so that's what we'll do for this Friday. This is an optional activity.

Ye Olde School House: Our field trip to the 1920's one room schoolhouse will be on Monday Oct. 17. The information and permission was sent home in Friday folders. This is a fabulous trip. I encourage everyone to look over the suggestions for attire and lunches. This will be my 4th year taking this trip. I can say it is most fun when everyone dresses authentically. You can look at past blog postings to get ideas (check May 2011 and April 2010)

Reminders:

*Bring in an art smock if your child does not have one already

*Our school rule is that all toys stay at home- we have some kids bringing in toys and playing with them in the classroom. It becomes an issue if the child loses the toy at school- it's hard for him/her to concentrate on anything during class if their toy gets lost. So please help remind your child not to bring toys to school.

*Birthday Treats- please send anything necessary to distribute your child's treat along with the treat i.e napkins, cutting utensil (or precut), plate. I will work on getting extras for me to keep in the classroom.

*It would be helpful if every child had a water bottle at school. It helps eliminate the need to take breaks throughout the day to leave the classroom and get a drink.

*We are starting MAP testing on Monday at 9:00. Then we are scheduled Tues. at 11:00 and Thurs. at 1:00. This will be a new experience for everybody. Please make sure your child is well rested and eats breakfast everyday, but especially on on our testing days.

Ask your child:

• What is the new book Mrs. Dahms is reading aloud?
• What does it mean to Check for Understanding?
• What time is it?- make sure you have an analogue clock around
• What did your class earn a PAW slip for?
• How many baseballs are in the "Catching Compliments" glove?

2011-2012 School Year!

Welcome To Second Grade

Hello Families! We have a wonderful first couple weeks of second grade! Our days have been filled with getting to know each other, working together, building a community of learners and building good habits as learners. Please notice on the right sidebar I will update what we are studying, keep our specials schedule and update the assignment notebook every week (so if your child ever forgets to bring it home- check the blog) I will post every other week so please look for my reminder email when I make a new post. Enjoy!

Reading: We have been talking about our reading identites- what our favorite book is and why, our favorite place to read, our favorite reading memory, our favorite type of book and what we read other than books. We have also started practicing Reader's Workshop procedures: how to take care of books and how to choose just right books. We'll continue to do lots of practicing independent read, buddy read, rotating, conferencing, making reading goals, shopping for books and making entries in our Reader Response Journal before we fully dive into reader's workshop at the end of September.

Writing: We have been working on lots of fun activities, including a Me Poem and Summer Was Awesome- a class ABC book. Starting Monday, we will share our writing collages and talk about where writers get ideas. This will begin our Launching Writer's Workshop mini unit. After we feel comfortable as writers, we will begin our 1st major unit: Small Moments. Writers will be expected to have an organized piece of writing, with a clear idea, good beginning and ending, interesting words and some voice. We will always conclude each unit with an Author's Celebration. Parents will be invited 2x a year to join us for our celebrations.

Spelling: The spelling will begin next week, so the first test will be Fri. Sept 16. Your child will bring home a small packet of skill sheets to practice as homework, along with 6 personal words. The completed packet will always be due on Friday. The personal words come from each child's personal misspelled words on the pretests we took and words mispelled in their daily writing. So your child may know how to spell the word when, but is misspelling it in his/her daily writing. Now when will be added to that child's personal words.

Math: We started our 1st math unit: Numbers and Routines. It is basically a review chapter highlighting: calendars, telling time, number lines, counting coins and addition strategies. You will see a couple corrected Math Journal pages come home for the first few weeks because our student journals are not in yet. Once the Journals are in, most of the class work will be done in them so you will not see them come home. Math Homelinks begin in lesson 1-11- we will most likely complete this lesson on Thurs. Sept 22. So theer will not be any formal math homework until then. You can begin practicing math facts, telling time and counting coins at home.

Science: We will start our first science unit: Balance and Motion, this coming week.

Social Studies: We'll begin our first unit in social studies: Communities. We'll learn about urban, suburban and rural communities, as well as, what components make up every community: a place to live, work, play and make decisions.

Book Orders: Scholastic book orders were due today. If you are still interested in ordering, you can order online at scholastic.com/bookclubs. Enter our class code: GQM3K

Volunteers: I am meeting with our room parents this week Wed. If you indicated you were interested in volunteering, you will be contacted soon. Thank you in advance for volunteering!

Reminders:

*Writing Collage is due Mon.

*Family Contact Info (half sheet of white paper from PIN) is due ASAP

*Sign up for Surpirse Reader (the schedule is in the email)

Ask your child:

*What is your class number?

*What is the pebble jar?

*What does attentive listening mean?

*What book is Mrs. Dahms reading aloud to the class? (Magic Tree House Afternoon on the Amazon)

Last Post of the Year!

Hello Families, this is our last post of your child's second grade career! They are going to be third graders in one week- so crazy! It has been my privilege to be your child's second grade teacher. I will miss each and every kiddo! I have told them that they may not ignore me in the hallways next year- they must smile and wave:) It is always a hard transition for me every year to let my class go. I am grateful that I will be at Tonawanda teaching second grade so that I can still see everyone. Thank you to everyone for your support throughout the year, especially while I was away on maternity leave! I hope everyone has a fabulous summer!

Reader's Theatre: You are all invited to attend our Reader's Theatre on Monday at 2:45 in our classroom. The kids will show off their fluency as readers while they read a part in a fairy tale readers theatre. Ask your child which part he/she has.

Bag: Please send a bag with your child next week Wednesday. We will take home all our materials on Wednesday, rather than the last day, Thursday.

Extra Materials: If anyone is considering throwing away school supplies left over from this year, please consider donating it to the classroom. I am in need of scissors, markers, crayons and colored pencils. Please let your child know if he/she can donate materials to the classroom.

Reading: While summer days can fill up very quickly, it is important to make time every day to read. We worked hard all year long in reading; it's important to maintain and practice good reading skills throughout the summer. Here are some suggestions for summer reading:

1. Participate in your library's summer reading program- it's free!

2. Participate in Barnes and Noble or Borders summer reading program- it's free and your child will receive a free book or gift card at the end of summer

3. Do the reading Bingo sheets in your child's folder today

To quick off your child's reading for summer, I am gifting each child a book. It is both a thank you for a great year and a motivation to continue reading!

*See the Ye Olde School House photos below (most of the photos were taken by Sylke Vonk- Ethan's mom)

Ye Olde School House

May 20-June 3

Hello Families,

We have a lot of fun and exciting activities coming up! The first is our trip to the Ye Olde School House on Monday. Please help your child pack a cold lunch. We are trying to make this experience as authentic as possible. So if you can help your child pack their lunch in a pail or basket and dress more old-fashioned or in rural attire, that would be great! (there are suggestions attached to the field trip note)

Community Project: Your child's building is due on Wednesday. We will put the communities together on Thursday so they will be on display at the Fine Arts Fair on Thursday night.

Math: U11 Math Test is on Wednesday. We will finish the year with a review unit. Please continue to work on math facts until the end of year and through the summer. Fact power is very important in math- flash cards can help your child practice and memorize the facts. Second grade proficiency is 54 facts in 3 minutes.

Surprise Reader: If someone in your family has not come in to read this year, I am still open to any day of the week and time for you to come in to read a short book to the class for 5-10 minutes. Please let me know if you are interested.

Mark Your Calendars:

Wed May 26-Fine Arts Fair 6-8:30 come see our community projects on display

Mon June 6- Readers Theatre 2:45-3:30

Our Poetry Cafe-Friday May 6

*Sorry there are not more pictures- I was so immersed in poetry, I kept forgetting to take pictures!

May 6-20

It is May already! We have a lot to get done before the end of the year-yikes! But, it should be a fun journey to the end of 2nd grade! Here are some of the things we have planned:

Reading/Writing: We are finishing our fabulous Poetry study and moving into Reading and writing Fairy Tales. We continue to work on reading and responding to text. I encourage you to ask your child questions after he/she finishes a chapter or entire book. We talk about how good readers think while they read. It is so important for 2nd graders to comprehend what they are reading. This might mean they need to slow down as a reader.

Math: Unit 10 tests went home on Tuesday. Please go over the test with your child. Remember only the non-shaded problems on the front sheet need to be proficient by the end of the unit. The shaded questions should be mastered at a later date.

Social Studies: We have a social studies community project coming up- a note will come home in next week. Students will chose a building to create that would fit in either an urban, suburban or rural community. The individual building will be done at home and then brought to school on May 25th for students build a community in small groups. The communities will be on display for the Fine Arts Fair on Thurs. May 26 from 6:00-8:30

Reminders: Please turn in the Ye Olde Shcool House field trip form and fee by Friday May 13.

*The All School field trip to the Brewer Game is Wed. May 11.

Ask Your Child:

*How did you create a a water fountain with air?

* Who is your favorite charter in the read aloud Sideways Stories from Wayside School? Why?

*What was your favorite part of writing poetry?

*When making change, what does Mrs. Dahms tell you to do (Count up)

April 15-May 6

Hello Families! We thought spring was here and then... Swooosh! Winter weather returned (We're working on adding sound words to our writing!) Our class filled our pebble jar this week-Yay! We earned a Teddy Bear picnic- we'll eat our lunch outside with a stuffed animal from home(kids can have school lunch or cold lunch). The stuffed animal must fit into a backpack. I told the kids we'll wait until next week to schedule a day. We are hoping for good weather Wed or Thurs next week. Poem in My Pocket Day: We had a wonderful day sharing our poems with our buddies, first graders and other teachers in our school. Ask your child to read you their poem with good fluency. Poetry Cafe: Mark your calendars! Our second grade Poetry Cafe is scheduled for Friday May 6 at 2:45. All families are welcome! Field Trips: We have 3 upcoming field trips to end the year. #1 Brewer Game on Wed May 18. Justin's dad will be joining us! #2 Ye Olde School House Mon May 23rd. We have 3 chaperones- both Ethans moms and Abby's mom. #3 Our walk to Elm Grove Village Day there is no date set yet. I will need about 3 chaperones for that trip as well. Thank you to all the volunteers for the entire year! Reminders: Schloastic Book Orders were due today. If you are still interested in ordering you can either order online or email me your list of book by Sunday. Ask Your Child: What is happening in the class read aloud The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane? What is a similie? (using the words "like" or "as" to compare- often used in poetry) What are some of your favorite poems you have written? How did you get the plunger to pop-off during your science experiment? Why did it happen?

Planning a Community

Readers' Theatre

April 4-15

Hello Families! It was wonderful to see some of you for conferences! We are now in the home stretch of 2nd grade: 4th quarter. This will be a fun, but always busy quarter. Some of the fun things we will be studying and learning are communities, air and weather, reading and writing poetry, reading and writing fairy tales, multiplication and continued keyboarding practice. We have some big events coming up as well: Our Poetry Cafe for families to attend in the beginning of May, Readers' Theatre with a Fairy Tale theme in the beginning of June and a field trip to the Ye Olde School House on May 23rd (I can take 4 parent chaperones along with us. We will leave at 9:00 and return by 2:30pm. There is a $3 fee for chaperones. Let me know if you are interested!)

Spelling: Please let me know if you have any questions about the new spelling format where the kids choose their own 6 personal words. I think it will be great for the kids.

New Student: We are welcoming a new 2nd grader to our class on Monday. Her name is Drew and she just moved to Elm Grove from Atlanta. The kids are so excited!

Surprise Reader: Please check your email for the open surprise reader dates. Lat me know if you are interested in reading on one of those days.

Reminders: Please turn in the Brewer Game permission slip and fee ASAP. It was due on Thursday. Thank you!

Ask Your Child: What is happening in the class read aloud The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane?

What is a summary?

What did you publish for your Humor writing unit?

How do you keep a paper towel dry while submerging it under water?

March 15-April 1

Hello Families! We are back in the swing of things. I think we are all adjusted after the transition of teachers. We are working on RESPECT in our classroom right now. Ask your child what does respect look and sound like, what does it not look like and who are the respect reporters. We are celebrating when we see respectful behavior. We are working towards a popcorn party. Ask your child how we are going to earn the party.

Here is what we have been up to:

*In reading, we have been making inferences (using the pictures and/or text clues to understand the text better). This week we participated in character book clubs. The kids choose a character. Then read books with that character. As the kids read, they had to write down character traits and support their trait with clues from the text. So I could say that Clifford is caring because he helped a cat get down from a tree. The kids have had time every day to meet with their book club and share their ideas and read books.

*We are reading my favorite read aloud in 2nd grade: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. Ask your child who Edward is and what words can you use to describe him.

*We will begin to publish our humor pieces we have been writing. We will each make a Funnies page with our work. After our Humor unit, we will begin to write poetry (This is my favorite writing unit!) After spring break, we will host a Poetry Cafe that all families will be invited to attend!

*Our Measurement unit in math will be ending next week (Test is Wednesday). The Everyday Math program loves to expose kids to lots new concepts and math skills that the kids will not be expected to master. So if the concepts have seemed challenging, it is because they are; the kids are simply being introduced to the concepts (like liters and milliliters and conversions)

Class News:

*Knuffle Bunny Field Trip Mon March 21st- no need for a bag lunch, we will return in time for lunch at school

*Conferences Thurs Mar. 24 and Tues Mar. 29

*Visit the Book Fair:)

If It Could Talk...

"Is it my birthday?" by Sonia

"Help! I'm going bananas!" by Ethan S

"Thump, Thump, Thump! Come on! I'm tired people." by Taylor

"I'm so warm. Where is the AC?" By Justin

"Please don't break me again!" by Will

March 4-18

Hello Families! It was so nice to return to big smiling faces on Monday! The kids made my return so much easier with their hugs and smiles. I am glad to be back- it almost felt like I never left! I thank Mrs. Schessler for that!

This week we have been celebrating Dr. Seuss and finishing up some big units like Plants, Fractions, Nonfiction and Animal Reports (WOW did these turn out great!). We have also begun some new units like exploring the genre of Humor in writing, learning about making inferences in reading (using clues from the text and pictures to better understand the story/text). We have also begun...keyboarding. The kids seem to be excited about learning how to type. It is a hard skill that takes patience, a positive attitude and focus to learn. Please encourage your child to place their hands in the "online" position (fingers on home row keys) when they type at home. It is especially hard for kids this age to use the correct fingers as kids are use to "pecking" with two fingers. We also started learning about communities this week when our Junior Achievement representative, Kelly, came into our room to discuss what makes a community. The Junior Achievement program will teach the kids an interactive lesson about community every Friday for 6 weeks. It is a fabulous program that the kids seem to love.

Class News:

*Knuffle Bunny field trip permission slip is due on Friday March 11.

*Send a couple photos to school to be used to write captions in our Humor study

*Conferences are approaching- please turn in your green confirmation sheet if your child has been scheduled a conference