Week of 9/23-9/27

*Things have been going great!  We've been practicing many routines and have really dived into the curriculum.  A lot has been review but now we're moving on and I look forward to see how we do!  

*Blog: Each Friday at the end of a full week, I will add a note to the blog to let you know what we've been working on and what's coming up.   Please check it for important information as well as use it as a tool to start a conversation about school.  I'm trying to figure out a way to have it come directly to your email if there is a new post...when I know, I'll let you know.  

*I'll be sending the book order in tomorrow am, so if you haven't ordered and would like to...please go ahead and do it tonight. If you need the information, see the post below.

*Next week we will begin talking about homework...2nd grade will be expecting students to read for 20 minutes every night next week.  After that, we will begin doing 1 reading response online and the following week will be reading nightly, 1 night a response online, as well as a Fundations or math worksheet.  More info will come later.

What's been happening in room 235?

Literacy: We've finished assessments and have started reading groups.  We're off to a good start...we've been reading and responding to our reading in our notebooks.  We've also been focusing on using post-it notes to help keep track of our thinking.  Ask you child how they would mark something they questioned or their favorite part.  In writing, we've started brainstorming stories and practiced telling across all 5 fingers to make sure we're stretching it out.  Using our 5 senses is another way we stretch out our story by adding specific details.  We also started some basic grammar review.  Ask your child what punctuation goes with an asking or telling sentence.  Next week, we'll focus more on making connections to the stories we read and hear and using our schema (what we already know about a topic or idea) to help us understand what we're reading.  In Fundations, we finished unit 1, a review of 1st grade, and have moved on to unit 2 which is a review of bonus letters as well as the letters pairs that make the 'r' sound (ex. -er, -ar, etc.).  We also started using Tumblebooks on the laptops to hear stories which helps our own fluency. 

Math: We took the first unit test and overall students did very well.  We talked a lot about not understanding something and making careless mistakes.  I will be sending them home next week.  We worked on adding combinations by playing some Kathy Richardson games and we started using the laptops during math to do Xtramath.  Next week, we'll keep working on adding and subtraction combinations as well as reviewing easy number facts and doubles.  

Science/Social Studies: We finished up our mini-unit on plants where we observed seeds, let them germinate, and then observed them again once the root began to grow.  We also talked about how seeds travel.  Ask your child 1 way seeds can travel.  We will be starting social studies and will begin with continents and oceans.  We will begin learning where our place in the world is and where Newton is located in the U.S.A.  

If you have any questions...don't hesitate to ask!  

Have a wonderful weekend!

Xtramath

Hello Families,
Going home today is the paper sign up for XtraMath.  This is an online math program that helps students build their addition skills.  Students sign on and practice their addition skills by doing pre-assessments, activities such as "Race the Teacher", and practice.  This has been successful for many students in the past.  I am expecting students to do this at least 2 days a week and I will be monitoring progress through the program.  Students should be able to add within 20 by the end of the year.  It only takes about 10 minutes at the most each time.  You can sign up using the code given to your child on the information sheet sent home today.  If your child has already started it in 1st grade, they will enter their code and it should pick up where they left off.
If you are unable to get on the Internet or after a few weeks, XtraMath is not working well for your child, please let me know.  There are many other ways to practice math facts such as flashcards, addition top-it with a friend, or simply writing down facts and learning fact families.  

Any questions...don't hesitate to ask!

September 2013 Newsletter

Welcome to 2nd grade in room 235!  I'm so looking forward to a great year!  

Important Information:

**School begins at 8:25 and doors open at 8:20.  We will begin shortly after the 8:25 bell so the sooner your child is at school the better.

**Dismissal is at 3:00 on M, W, TH, and F.  Please allow us space to get out the door at the end of the hallway.  We usually exit the door and walk towards the edge of the school to wait for parents so please meet us there.  It's very congested during dismissal!  Dismissal is at 12:30 on Tuesdays.

**There is no school on Thursday, September 5.

**Open house is scheduled for Thursday, September 12 at night.  More info to follow.  An email was sent earlier this week to families with attachments for library sign up and Open House schedule.

Each month, usually by the 1st of the month, there will be a new newsletter posted.  Each newsletter will have important information/dates for the month that you should make note of, curriculum information regarding what we worked on so far and what is to come in the next month, and information about activities or projects going on in class.  This is a great way to engage in a good conversation with your child about what's happening in school.  Instead of hearing "Nothing." when asked what we're working on in writing workshop, you can ask specific questions about their information or narrative book.  

I hope you find the monthly newsletters very helpful and informative.