Reminders - Week of September 17th

Here are few things to keep in mind for the coming week:

~  The Unit 1 math test will take place on Tuesday, September 18th.  A review sheet was sent home today (9/14) to help you prepare at home.  This review sheet does not have to be reviewed, but can be.  it is just a tool to help your child.

~  The Unit 2 spelling test will take place on Friday, September 21st.  This test will include words with bonus letters, glued sounds, blends, digraphs, and first grade trick words.  Many of you requested a list of first grade trick words.  I will send the list home with your child on Monday, the words can also be found on Spelling City.

~  The Scholastic Book Order was placed today.  Your books should arrive late next week or early the following week.  October order forms will be coming home when the orders arrive.

Have a GREAT week!  Please let me know if there is anything I can do to support your child's learning at home!

Weekly Review - Week of September 10th

We are finally getting into the swing of things with our classroom routines.  Although we have only been together for about a month, I feel like it has much longer already.  I am really enjoying getting to know your child.

In reading we have been focusing on identifying fantasy and realistic elements when reading. This skill helps children to better identify and understand the genre they are reading.  We have also been working with story elements - characters, setting, beginning, middle, and end.  Students are being exposed to a variety of different graphic organizers to aid them in recalling texts.  This week Listening to Reading was introduced to the Daily 5 workstations.  Students have really been excited about trying out this new  station.  

In math we have been working on reviewing many first grade skills - money, time to the quarter hour, number order, and basic addition and subtraction facts.  We will continue to focus on building fluency with basic facts throughout the year.

In social studies we are continuing our study of government and citizenship.  We have started our study of government leaders (president, governor, mayor) and their roles.  We will also be studying famous US monuments and symbols.

Reminders - Week of September 10th

~  Thank you to everyone that has been sending in paper towel rolls!  We will use these for a variety of activities throughout the second grade year.  Please continue to send them as you come across them.  I would like to build up a stock of them.

~  Thank you to everyone that returned their child info sheets from Meet the Teacher Night.  They really help me get to know your child better.  Please feel free to return those to school.

~  I will be placing this months Scholastic Book Club order next Friday, September 14th.  If you would like order books please send the order form and check payable to Scholastic Book Clubs to school by Friday or place your order on-line using our class code.  Remember you get a free book when you place your oder on-line.  Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can assist you any way.  

~  Finally we will be launching Listening to Reading this week as part of our Daily 5 literacy workstations.  Students will be able to listen to a variety of books on cassette, CD, and the computer. I have a small class set of earbuds that we we will be using.  If you would like your child to have their own earbuds you may send them in.  I will assist your child in stickering them with their name.  They will store these in their desk for personal use.  

Weekly Review - Week of September 4th

I hope your child is having a wonderful time in second grade!  We are still learning our routines and getting into the swing of things.  Your child will be completing Daily 5 literacy workstations to help them better develop their reading and comprehensions skills.  We have just completed launched two of the components - Read to Self and Word Work.  They seem to be having a great time learning with these stations.

In math we have been reviewing many of the math concepts from first grade.  I have been doing my best to send supplemental homework home to mirror the skills we are completing daily in class.  Some math concepts you can continue to practice with your child are calculating coin combinations, telling time to the quarter hour, understanding the number grid, and solving basic addition and subtraction problems.  We are aiming to have our first math test next Friday, September 14th.  Please check your child's agenda for more information.

We had computer for the first time this year today.  The students had the opportunity to use the iPad's and use the Math Bingo App.  This ABCya.com App allowed students to develop their computation (addition and subtraction) skills.  This App can be purchased for $0.99 from the Apple App store.  I had a difficult time finding this App, you can use the following link to connect you to it on the Apple App store -  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/math-bingo/id371338715?mt=8.

Next week students will have the opportunity to work with the SpellingCity App.  The SpellingCity App is a free App that can also be downloaded from the Apple or Android App store.  We are continuing to develop our App library, are there any educational Apps your child loves?

Thank you once again to all of you who took time out of your busy schedule to come to Meet the Teacher Night.  It was so nice to meet you!  I have set up the on-line ordering for Scholastic.  You will need to the code H7PG8 to place an order.  You will be able to place orders on-line or send them in until September 14th.  Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or problems with the new on-line ordering.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to attend Meet the Teacher this evening.  I hope I was able to answer all of your questions.  We will use this blog to update you about what is going on in the classroom.  Please check back to see what we are learning about!