Hello Families! We have had a fun week celebrating Dr. Seuss with the themed days- red/blue day, hat day. crazy sock day and green day. Here's a picture Mrs. Schwarz took of our class on Red/Blue day. 

Animal Research Reports: A half sheet of white paper was sent home today requesting help from home to find pictures of your child's animal for their animal report. If you cannot find photos or are unable to print from a computer, I can help your child find some at school. Please send in the pictures by Friday March 14. Thank you for your help.

Nonfiction Celebration: Families are welcome to join us in the classroom for our Nonfiction Writing Celebration on Friday, March 21 at 2:30pm. The kids will be sharing their animal reports, True/False books, Question and Answer books, Community Worker slideshows and a "Bet Your Didn't Know" magazine article. 

Author Visit: On March 26, author (poet) Douglas Florian will visit our school. You will receive information about a pre-sale of his books. Any purchased books will be signed by the author.

Math Rotations: Our next unit is Fractions. As a second grade, we are going to share kids among the three teachers. So your child may go to Mrs. Petersen's or Mrs. Shinners' classroom for this unit. We are excited to use a new strategy to personalize learning. 

Ask Your Child:

Why is the book called The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane?

Did Edward change in the story? Why or why not?

How do you know whether it is AM or PM?

What is the name of your Book Series Club?

February 21- March 7

Hello Families! Here are some classroom happenings. Scroll down past this post to see pictures from the Nature Center.

Kid Chat: Valentine's Day was exciting! At our classroom Valentine's party, we had lots of fun seeing all the wonderful gifts we got from our friends. There was a bunch of yummy, yummy food to eat, like strawberries, cupcakes with frosting and sprinkles, string cheese and cookies with candy hearts. At the end, we played Minute to Win It. We had to stack as many candy hearts as we could in one minute. Whoever had the most at the end won. We were very grateful to our friends and families for a great party!
Field Trip- On Tuesday, February 25th, we are headed to Boerner Botanical Gardens for a great presentation on Plants We Eat. This field trip ties in beautifully to our science investigations of Plants. We will only be gone for the morning-we'll return to school for lunch.
Conferences- If a conference was requested by me or you are interested in coming in for a conference, please remember to sign up via the Tonawanda website. Conferences are next week Tuesday and Thursday.
100 Clouds Project- As of Thursday, we have 55 clouds written with a random act of kindness noticed by classmates. While we did not reach our goal of 100 clouds by the 100th day of school, we have extended the challenge through the end of February.
Flat Stanley Project-9 Flat classmates have returned from their trips so far. Here is a photo of our Map to chart where we have traveled.

Ask Your Child:
Is a tomato a fruit? Why or why not?
Has the character Edward Tulane changed in the story The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane?
When reading a nonfiction book, ask "What is the author trying to teach me about the world?"
What are you working on in writing? What are the three rotations?

The Nature Center

February 14-28

Hello Families! Here are some important happenings in our classroom:

 Brassica Plant growth 

 Engaged in independent reading

100th Day of School challenge- As a class, we have been on the "lookout for 100 Random Acts of Kindness". Our goal is to reach 100 bay day 100 of school, which is Thursday, Feb. 13th. We are a little less than halfway to our goal. We'll see if we make it!
Field Trip Tuesday: We will be heading to the Nature Center on Tuesday, February 11, 9-11am. We will be spending app. 20 minutes outside if the weather allows. Please have your kids dress in cold weather gear- snowpants, boots, hats, gloves...
Valentines: Our Valentine Party will be on Valentine's day- Fri. Feb. 14th. We will be making bags for our Valentine's in class.
Subtraction- We have JUST begun working on double digit subtraction  we have used the number grid, base ten blocks and coins to represent tens and ones. We have also started to learn the Trade First Method (very similar to how we all learned as kids) Here is a link to a demonstration of how the Trade First method works:https://www.everydaymathonline.com/free_resources_main.html?frnologin=1&PHPSESSID=53427160ab94cc17f9ede28ee372dc7c
Go to Algorithms in Everyday Math- Grade 2- Subtraction

Ask Your Child:
What is the new class read aloud? (The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane)
Why did you have to replant your grass in science?
What part of the plant makes the food? Bonus: what is that process called? (photosynthesis)
What is PebbleGo?
What are you writing about? What are the three writing projects your class is working on? (Community Helper Slideshows, Bet You Didn't Know Articles and True or False Books)

January 24- February 7

Hello Families! I hope everyone is staying warm! It has been a tough winter at school- lots of indoor recesses, not a lot of fresh air and time to run. Despite the cold weather, the kids are holding together very well at school. The picture below shows one of the new indoor recess activities-Adventure to Fitness

Kid Chat-Adventure to Fitness-JUMP, LEAP, CRAWL...Adventure to Fitness is an active exercise video we have been doing at recess time. Mr. Mark leads us on adventures around the world. He transports us to different countries to complete a mission. We're curious to see what our next mission around the world will be!
MAP Testing Complete- So proud of this group of second graders! Everyone did a great job of slowing down and trying their best. Some kids will finish up their testing next week.
Report Cards Home Tues. Feb. 4- Along with the report card, you will find a yellow conference request form and directions for scheduling and your child's Quarter 2 facts test with Proficiency targets.
Math Fact Practice-As mentioned above, you will get your child's Q2 scores and 2nd grade's Proficiency targets. The addition target for Quarter 2 was 85% of problems correct in 1 minute (There are 20 facts)- This requires students to be able to recall facts within 3 sec. We still need a lot of work in fact fluency. We will continue to practice at school with our fact triangles and through a variety of math games/activities. Please take some time at home twice a week for just 5 minutes to build fact power. Your child can practice with fact triangles, flash cards, online games listed on the right sidebar or simply writing addition/subtraction facts on paper and solving them. Thank you for your support at home!
Scholastic Book Orders- I am extending the book order deadline to Tues. Jan. 28- you can still place orders online or send in a check to school. You can click the link on the Right sidebar.
Ask Your Child:
What was the Author's message in The Quiltmaker's Gift?
How was the play similar and different from the book?
How can a new plant get started? (Plant a seed, seeds can travel by air, water or animal)
What did Mrs. Olson teach you that a constructed response should include?
What does content vocabulary mean?
Why is your class hanging clouds on the wall?

January 10-January 24

Hello Families! It is great to be back, especially having missed 4 days before winter break. I got hit really hard with the flu- in bed for 5+ days. Sorry about confusion with homework, spelling, assignment notebook... I'm glad to back!
Kid Chat: Here is the friendly letter we wrote as a class:
Dear Families,
Our class is doing a project about kindness. It was inspired by the book The Quiltmaker's Gift. Just like the King learned that kindness made him happy, we are going to be on the When we see someone being kind, we will  write a kindness cloud. We made an extraordinary goal of writing 100 clouds by the 100th day of school. We feel confident that we can do it! We're excited!
                                                                                                                Sincerely.
                                                                                                                Mrs. Dahms' Spectacular Class

2 Rescheduled Field Trips: Due to the  freezing cold day on Tues. Jan. 7th, we had to reschedule our all school field trip for Mon. Jan. 20th, which is the day our class was scheduled to go to the Nature Center. I will have our room parents send out an email about chaperones for both trips
Nature Center: Tuesday, February 11th
HELP-Materials Needed: Our class in need of dry erase markers and pencils- almost out! If you are willing to donate materials, we would REALLY appreciate it!
MAP Testing: Our Winter testing sessions start next week and continue the following.
1/14 Reading 11:00am
1/22 Math 11:00am
1/23 Language Arts 11:00am
*Please help your child to get enough rest, eat a healthy breakfast and try their best!
Flat Stanley Project: A purple sheet was sent home on Wednesday explaining this project and asking for your family to select a person your child can send a letter, then return to school with an address and a stamp (no envelope needed) 
Ask Your Child:
What is the class goal for MAP Reading Test? (Take at least 45min to complete the test)
What is a line segment? What tools are needed to draw one?
Retell the story Flat Stanley using characters, setting, and events in order (be sure to include the problem)
What is our next science unit?

December 15- January 10

Hello Families! I hope everyone is staying warm- Brrrrr! While we have been indoors for more recesses than outdoors this month, this group of second graders has remained pretty focused (even though their bodies are a little squirrly!) Here are some important classroom notes:

The Quiltmaker's Gift: Our all school field trip to see The Quiltmaker's Gift will be the Tuesday we return from winter break. There is no fee for students, but I do need the permission slip signed a returned. I can take two chaperones with the class. The chaperone fee is $4.50. The first two interested parents to email me can join us!
*If you have not read the book, I HIGHLY recommend it! It is one of my very favorite children's books. It has a great message and beautiful illustrations!
Word Study: You will have noticed that this week's spelling list came home stapled to a word sort page. This is the word study sort your child will be working on in school that week. I told the kids that it is their choice how they use the page. They could cut and sort the words in many ways and play games like we do in school. Or they can just talk about the sort with someone at home- What do you notice? What patterns do you see? Nothing has to be returned to school.
TGIF Journals: Today in your child's BEE folder, you will see a packet of letter writing paper with a special letter from your child. Please write back to your child sometime this weekend (Refer to the inside cover for the Friendly Letter format the kids have learned). The kids will read their letters from you Monday morning privately. The TGIF letter writing project lasts about 4-5 weeks. Thank you for your support in this unit. Enjoy the letters from your kids!
Typing Camp: We have just finished our 2nd week of keyboarding! I am so impressed with the dedication and hard work the kids have shown! It is a very difficult task to use the correct finger to tap a key, especially when pecking with your index finger is so much faster for them right now! The kids are enjoying reading in the classroom tent that was set up to add to the camping atmosphere.
PJ Day: We are keeping our fingers crossed that our school earns a pajama day next Wednesday, December 18. If our school earns a total of 1,350 PAW slips, we earn the reward. In addition, the top two grade levels earn a hot cocoa party. Last Friday, Second grade was in the lead. I will keep you posted!
Ask Your Child:
What is the difference between fiction and nonfiction?
Can you name 3 Nonfiction features?
What do you put on the class Parking Lot?
Why is there a tent in your classroom?
What does persuade mean? "You wrote a letter to the character Mrs. LaRue to persuade her to either bring Ike home or leave him in Obedience school."
Can you name all the digits? (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9)