Week ending 12/15

Hi Families!  What a chilly week it has been!  Happy Hannukah to those of you that are celebrating! Are you a family that likes to get out there all that winter and snow has to offer or would you rather curl up on the couch with blankets and play family games together?

Important information:

• We have one more full week of school coming up.  If your child will not be here for part of that, please let me know. 
• Snow pants and boots are needed to play in the snow.  If there is snow on the ground, children without boots will need to stay on the blacktop during recess.  
• Supplies needed:  If you're out shopping this weekend...we would love it if you could pick up some tissues, paper towels, and cleaning wipes for the classroom!  There are many colds in our room and we're trying to stay as healthy as possible.  Thanks in advance for your help!

3, 2, 1 things you should know about our week...

3 math skills we have been working on reading, understanding, and sharing information from a bar graph, making change when shopping at the fruit market, and reviewing place value skills with the game, Race to 100 and Race to 0.  

* Ask your child to count up to $1.00 to see how much change they'd get back for a 40 cents pack of gum.

2 special visitors we had this week were guests from China who visited us for about two hours Tuesday morning.  The students enjoyed learning to count in Chinese, working with chopsticks, making a paper craft, and hearing the story of the Monkey King.  We also had a visit from illustrator, Ralph Masiello.  He is always funny and engages the kids throughout the whole presentation.  You may have seen their drawings they took home.  

*Ask to see your child's drawings and look for shapes within each one!

1 special activity we had this week was pajama day in Friday!  The students earned it say earning 9 baseballs.  They can earn baseballs by receiving compliments from other staff in the building and going above and beyond in their work, their problem solving, kind words, positive attitude, and putting for a strong effort.  Myself, Ms. Houston, and Ms. R. do not give baseballs even though we are with them all day...they earn them from others who notice.

Here's as few pics from our presentations this week!

 

Have a great weekend!

-Megan

Week ending 12/1/17

Welcome to December!
This is a busy time for many families and it's also a busy time in school for our class!  We have many exciting things coming up including visitors from China sharing with us and a visit from a great author/illustrator!

Important information:

• Thursday, December 7th, is an early release day with dismissal at 12:30.  
• If your child is going to be out as it gets closer to the holidays, please let us know so we can plan accordingly.  
• Be sure to send in the right clothes for outdoor play as the weather is getting colder!

3, 2, 1 things you should know about our week...

3 activities we worked on in math were focused on place value with hands on activities including estimating and counting cubes with different lines and shapes,  working with Base-10 blocks to show our understanding of hundreds, tens, and ones, and learning a new game called Race to 100 to understanding the meaning of what many of you probably call "regrouping".  

2 literacy skills we've been focusing on are identifying non-fiction features (such as labels, captions, index) and their purpose as it relates to the individual story and identifying what's most important in the text.  

1 activity we've been working on more often is using paintings from our country of study (U.S.A. right now) and delving into Visual Thinking Strategies.  The conversations between students has grown quite a bit and it is amazing to hear their ideas laid out clearly  and with meaning as they express WHY they THINK something.  They've developed skills on how to show agreement and disagreement and we've all realized that there are many different opinions in our class and that's what makes this strategy so interesting.  

Below is the painting from Grant Wood that we used this morning:

Week Ending 11/17/17

Hello families!
We've had a busy week in Room 250!  We've been working on finishing up different curriculum areas and visited the book fair!

Important Information:

• Wednesday, November 22, is an early release day with dismissal at 12:00 NOT 12:30 and no ASCA classes.  Please plan accordingly.  Thanks in advance!
• There is no school next Thursday and Friday. 
• Don't forget Integrating the Arts morning is Friday, December 1st. Hope you can join us!
• See the information in this link regarding a coat drive: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HzIfwmLlI3qwyVEAczUH8Yet8_vZB7n8mvPwsEvlFTQ/edit?usp=sharing

3, 2, 1 things you should know about our week...

3 literacy activities we've been focusing on are comparing original version of The Three Little Pigs to James Marshall's version, learning about James Marshall's life, and practicing our reader's theater.  The students have done a great job working on fluency, a little acting, and working respectfully in a group.  *Ask your child which reader's theater play they have been working on.

2 math skills we've been working on are adding tens quickly as we play the Leapfrog and Fly Capture games and adding on an open number line.  The open number line helps the students focus on addition strategies such as adding tens, finding landmark numbers, and adding in groups.  

1 new activity we started was looking at a piece of artwork and using the Visual Thinking Strategy to have a discussion.  We view the artwork, have some think time, and then discuss what we notice, what we think, and why we think this.  We also work on how to disagree with someone if you feel that way.  We've only done one, on Thursday, but I was very impressed with their discourse ability and manner in how they disagreed respectfully with others.  The conversation was held by them...I simply just helped keep it moving along.  

Week ending 11/3/17

Hello families!
We've had a great week!  Despite the weather outside earlier this week, we've been plenty busy inside the classroom!
Important Information:

• Information regarding homework will be coming home Monday.   Please be sure have books at home that are just right for your child or ones you plan to read together.  The Newton Public Library came earlier this week so they know all about it and that may be an option for books. Also, if you need  books, please let me know.
• Next Friday, November 10, there is no school.
• Wednesday, November 22, is an early release day with dismissal at 12:00 (NOT 12:30).
• Some of you have been asking about class emails.  The PTO directory is set up and is a great way to find our class contact information.   
• Save the date: Integrating the Arts morning is Friday, December 1st. 

3, 2, 1 things you should know about our week...

3 reading skills we have been working on writing summaries, using the book Goggles, understanding cause and effect, and problem and solution as part of our author study on James Marshall we began this week.

2 math activities we've worked on were measuring different paper sizes using cubes and discussing not only the total number of cubes, but also how did they measure, did they use a corner, or did they organize the cubes a particular way.  The students had a great discussion regarding their thinking and different ways to measure.  

1 activity we completed on Tuesday am was pumpkin observation and seed counting.  HUGE thank you to those that sent in pumpkins and to those that could join us this time in the classroom.  I was amazed at their different counting strategies, how well they worked together, and their observations about the number of seeds and pumpkin sizes in our discussion.

Here's a few pics: 

Have a great weekend!

Megan

Week Ending 10/23/17

Hello families!
It's been starting to feel a little bit like Fall these days!  I hope you've all had a chance to enjoy some of the wonderful Fall activities such as apple picking, pumpkin picking, and leaf jumping.

Important information:

• Thursday, November 2, is an early release day with dismissal at 12:30.  
• Friday, November 10, there is no school.

3, 2, 1 things you should know about our room...

3 reading strategies we've worked on this week were visualizing, making predictions, and identifying character traits.  *Ask your child which character they chose from the story, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, either Manyara and Nyasha, and which character traits they chose.  

2 math skills we finished up our second math unit and focused on number facts and solving doubles and doubles plus 1 quickly.  

1 writing workshop skill we worked on was using precise words when writing.  For example, instead of using "happy", we brainstormed a list of more exciting words, such as "thrilled".  

Week Ending 10/13/17

Hi Families,
We had a busy week last week in second grade!
Important information:

• Be sure you have signed up for a conference, if you have not done so yet.  
• If you'd like to donate books to the classroom, you can check out our Amazon wish list right here:  Amazon Wish List
• A big thank you to those of you that have donated already...the students are so excited and I very much appreciate it!
• Please remember that Thursday is our library day.  It's really important for books to be returned then, so students can choose new books as well.

3, 2, 1 things happening in Room 250...

3 read aloud we listened to during literacy to practice  making connections were When the Relatives Came, Knuffle Bunny, and Matthew and Tilly.  The more students can make connections to their books, the deeper their comprehension will be. 

*As your child is reading with you, be sure to ask them if they can make a connection to their life or to another book.  

2 math skills we worked on were addition with in 20 and learning an easier way to add 9.  

*Practicing math facts daily (in the car on the way to school, while making dinner, etc) will help your child gain automaticity. 

1 fun activity for the end of the week was with Ben L.'s mom who came in to math puzzles with us!  The students loved in!  Thank you for coming in!

Week Ending 10/6/17

Hello families!
We've started Fall though this week has felt wonderful like late summer.  It's been beautiful out and I love seeing all the students play and enjoy themselves at recess!

Important Information:

• If you have not signed up for conferences yet, please do so.  Here is the Sign Up Genius Link: Conference Sign Up
• Tuesday, October 10th is picture day.  Forms were sent home the same day as Open House.
• Reminder...please have your child keep toys or cards of any kind at home.  They can be a distraction, be lost, or damaged.  For their safety, keep them home.  Thanks!

3, 2, 1 things you should know...

3 math skills we've been working on this week were number combinations to 10 when we played the game Build a Floor, number facts with doubles and doubles +/- 1 when we played Doubles More or Less, and addition number stories.  * Ask your child to share with you an addition number story.  

2 read aloud books we heard this week were Sheila Rae the Brave and When Vera Was Sick to focus on making connections to our own lives.  We think about what happened in the story and what that reminds us of in our own experiences.  * As you read with your child each night, ask them if they've thought of any connections.  This helps to deepen their comprehension of their book.  

1 science concept we learned about was How Seeds Travel.  * Ask your child to tell you 2 ways that seeds travel.  

We also learned about bike safety today during our assembly.  * Ask your child to tell you 1 thing they learned.  

Week Ending 9/22/17

We've had a great week in room 250!  Our routines are getting solidified, students are following expectations, and our learning throughout the day is amazing!  

Important information:

• The conference Sign Up schedule was released earlier this week.  If you have not signed up for a slot yet, please do and remember that it's a time for you and your child to attend. Here is the link: Sign Up Genius
• If your child has a dismissal change, please be sure to let me know.  Also, there is no riding the buses if you are not assigned to that bus so please make other arrangements for play dates.
• Our Flu Clinic is on Tuesday, September 26th...please be sure to return your forms if needed.  
• Wednesday, September 27, is an early release day at 12:30.  
• Wednesday, September 27, is Open House.  This is an adult evening where you will learn from the 2nd grade team what the year will look like and then have an opportunity to visit our classroom.  6-6:40 is grades 3-5, 6:45-7:15 is PTO and our principal, and 7:20-8:00, you will meet with our team.  For the first part, we will meet in the auditorium, and then continue on to classrooms until 8:00.  
•  I have started an Amazon wish list for books for the classroom.  If you would like to help, you can check out the wish list here: Amazon Book Wishlist

3, 2, 1 things you need to know about our week...

3 books we read this week were Going on a Book Hunt (to talk about choosing just right books), Chrysanthemum (as part of our Bulletproof lessons), and Slowly, Slowly, Slowly Said the Sloth (to talk about how to sound out words).  *Ask you child one way they can sound out a difficult word.  

2 math skills we worked on completing hundreds charts with a team and using <, >,  and = signs to compare numbers.  Ask your child to compare two numbers, such as "Which is larger?  343 or 123?"

1 writing activity we completed for writing was the narrative writing prompt. Students worked hard and though it was difficult for some...that information lets me know where they are in their writing and how to move forward with what they need to know and build on what they already know how to do.  

Week ending 9/15/17

We've had our first full week of school!  The class has been getting along really well, learning about each other, expectations, and the classroom.  We've also started some real work and I've been getting to know them a little bit more each day about their academic strengths.

Important Information:

• Next Thursday, September 21, there is no school.
• Tuesday, the 26th, is the flu shot clinic.
• Wednesday, the 27th, is an early release day at 12:30.  
• Please keep in mind there is no climbing on the large tree outside the art room.  
• If you'd like to send in extra clothes in a zip-loc bag for your child, you may and it will stay in their lockers.  Sometimes extra clothes are needed due to spills, mud at recess, etc.  
• I will be setting up a conference schedule over the weekend and will post in Monday morning.  Conferences are held the end of October during the time given to us by the district.  I will be posting it early so you have to time to adjust schedules if needed.  This will be a time for you and your child to discuss work and behavior.  
• Our AD and OO buses are full, so there is no riding another bus or going on a play date with a student who takes the bus.  If you have a play date with students who ride the bus, please make other arrangements for pick up.  Thanks!

3, 2, 1 things happening in room 250...

3 math skills we worked on this week were counting the value of coins, counting the value of bills, and learning to play Top-It and Number Squeeze.  

*Ask your child at home to play number squeeze with you!

2 books we read during reading workshop were Wild About Books and Mrs. Brooks Loves Books.  We are spending this time setting up reading workshop routines, talking about choosing just right books, and starting to begin reading groups.  

1 Responsive Classroom activity we completed were writing our hopes and dreams for the school year.  

First Week of School!

Hello families!
We have a had a great first week of school!  It's been wonderful to get to know your children and I look forward to learning more and more about them as the year goes on.  Almost each week, I write a short blog so you can see what we've been working on and use it as a start to a discussion about your child's day and week.

Important Information:

• Please follow this blog by entering your email address in the "Follow" section on the right of your screen.  That way, you should receive updates automatically. 
• Please continue to send in yummy and healthy snacks each day.  We have lunch at 11 so on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, we will have snack in the afternoon.  On Tuesdays it will be in the morning.  
• Specials: Monday is PE and music, no special on Tuesday, Wednesday is PE, Thursday is library, and Friday is art.

3, 2, 1 things you should know about room 250 this week...

3 morning meeting activities we did were the clap game, hula hoop around the group, and the game 4 Corners.  It's so important your child is here on time so they will able to join our morning meeting.  It's a time to check in with each other, share and learn about each other, and play a cooperative game to begin working as a community.  

2 read aloud we heard this week were First Day Jitters and Wemberly Worried.  We talked about how many of us were really excited about school to begin...but also a little nervous as well.  

1 closing circle activity we shared was "What was something you felt proud of yourself for this week?".  Ask your child what they said.

Also, I need your help!  I would like to do one big Scholastic book order just for September and then I won't ask again!  When families order books, not only do their children receive books, but as the classroom teacher I receive points based on how many books were sold.  Those points...I then use to shop for books to add to our classroom library!  It's a fabulous way to put new and fun books in the students' hands to read and enjoy all year.  I also may be looking at doing a book raffle at the end of each month but still need to think about the details!  :)

The shopping link is right here and it will stay open till Friday, the 22nd, then I will send it all in.  

Ordering link: https://orders.scholastic.com/H6JBB

Week ending 6/16/17

Can you believe it!  In one week from today we'll be out of school!  We hit 175 days today and I can assure you that that's ALOT of tally marks to make the number of the day sheet!

Important information:

• Please be sure to check at home for any library books that need to be returned.
• We are having a book swap as a school on Monday and Tuesday so if you have any books at home you'd like to donate...please send them in!  Students are able to drop off books they have already read and are able to choose new books (new to them) for the summer.  It's a great way to get the summer reading buzz going! 
• Friday, June 21 is our LAST day.  If your child will be leaving us early, please be sure to let us know so we can send home anything that needs to go.  

3, 2, 1 things you should know about our room this week...

3 poems we've written are I Remember, I wish, and Color poems.  It's fantastic seeing the students' creativity come out!  

2 math activities we've finished up were pre-requisite skills for multiplication and wrapping up Unit 11.  

1 fabulous activity this week was...Color Day!  I must say the students were fantastic!  There was lots of cheering for their own team, for other teams, for those doing well, and for those that found a particular activity challenging for them.  I was very impressed and the sportsmanship I saw can not be beat!  

Here's two pics below...

Week Ending 5/26/17

Hello families!  19 days after today...4 more weeks of school!  Can you believe it?  It has gone by so quickly and we still have so much to do!  The China projects are going great!  We all enjoy seeing and hearing the work from the students...very impressive!

Important Information:

• Tuesday, June 6, is Color Day and more info will be sent home next week.
• Wednesday, June 7, is our field trip to the Children's Museum with Ms. Patteson's class.  More info will be sent home next week.  
• Save the Date!  Friday, June 9, at 8:45-9:30 will be an end of the year celebration!  Come see some of our finished writing pieces and more!  

3, 2, 1 things that have been happening in our room...

3 math activities we've been working on are to continue developing our sense of place value by building houses/buildings with a team and determining how much it is worth, practicing making numbers and writing using place 10 blocks, and drawing tens and ones to add to find the total. 

2 reading activities we've started is understanding the different between poetry and prose and finding poetry lines that speak to them.  

1 presentation we had was from Joe and Vida from Ghana last Friday.  They do a fabulous presentation and the students loved it!

Here's a few pics of letting our butterflies, Base 10 building and the Ghana presentation...

Flying to Ghana

 Checking out some Ghana products

 Learning  a dance

Praising the King

How much is the house worth?

Bye, bye butterflies

Week ending 5/12/17

Hello families!
I see next week is really going to look and feel like May and I can't wait!  Have you seen the new blue table on the playground?  It's fantastic!

Important information:

• China projects are due on THURSDAY, May 18th.  Please be sure that both the project and the written information is here on that day.  We will start sharing them to teach each other what we learned while researching.  

3, 2, 1 things you should know about our week...

3 pourquoi stories we heard were How Zebras Got Their Stripes, How Grandmother Spider Got the Sun, and Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears.  

* Ask your child to tell you why we hear mosquitoes buzzing in our ears!  

2 math activities we worked on were solving measurement story problems and solving the problem, How many skittles were in the light bulb?  It was a good activity!  We had lots of information to solve it but it was a good time to really focus on the details of our addition strategies and practice sharing out thinking and solving skills.  They each solved it a little bit different so it was really informative for them to hear other ways.  

1 writing activity we began was writing book awards!  The students love this!  They choose a book they enjoy and write an award for it.  The awards are varied and I don't think many are the same so it'll be very interesting!  

* Ask you child which book and award they are writing about.  

Week Ending 5/5/17

Hello families!
We've had a busy and productive week here in room 250!  We enjoyed getting out with the beautiful weather and can't wait for more time as the year continues on!

Important information:

• The information regarding the China project was sent home on Thursday on a yellow sheet of paper.  Please read it over and assist your child in what they may need, for example printing pictures off the internet or gathering materials.  This is a project they can do on their own with just a little help from you so please keep that in mind as they are working.  Thank you!
• Next Thursday, May 11, is an early release day with dismissal at 12:30.  

3, 2, 1 things you should know about our week...

3 math activities we concentrated on were measuring with meters and centimeters ( and the relationship between the two units of measurement), measuring various items of choice in the classroom using a variety of measuring tools, and stretching our mind with an activity called "The Race" where we needed to ask questions, focus on our work and showing the work in a logical way, and talking through our thinking...not just getting the right answer.  This was a challenging one for us but overall they did a great job!

2 strategies we worked on in reading were determine the why in a pourqoui story (such as Why is the sun and moon in the sky?) and determine the lesson of a short play we participated in.  The groups worked very well together on this play and I'm impressed with how much their fluency and speaking aloud has grown over the year.  Check out a few pics below!

1 new activity we have started recently is "Stump Mr. DeKing"!  We call Mr. DeKing and ask him a question related to our curriculum work for the week and see if he can answer.  Today we asked him, How many inches are in a meter?...do you know the answer?  Ask your child for the answer.  Today he even asked them a question!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. DeKing

Week ending 4/28/17

Another month has passed and we have hit 141 days in school!  Can you believe it?  Only 39 days left this year with so much left to do!
Important information:

• We will continue to go out for recess, so be sure to send appropriate clothing.  
• If you have any cleaning wipes at your house that you'd like to donate, we'll gladly take them.  
• Monday, May 29th, there is no school for Memorial Day.

3, 2, 1 things happening in room 250...

3 fables we've read this week were Frogs and the Well, Boy Who Cried Wolf, and the Crow and the Pitcher.  We've been focusing on the lesson the story is trying to teach us.   

*We read the Ant and the Dove today...ask your child what the lesson/idea was for that fable.

2 math stretching your thinking activities we did this week were finishing up a Coins activity independently and working on a new one called Color Day.  It was amazing watching the students work, share ideas, discuss their math thinking, explain their understanding or confusion, and works through what was difficult to come to a start of solving it.  This one was tricky!  We focused on showing the math work and talking about it is so much more important sometimes than just the actual answer.  Students took time to check out each other's work very quietly and respectfully and noticed all the different ways the problems could be solved.  Another great mind stretching activity for all students, no matter where they are in their math journey.  

1 fabulous presentation we had this week was from the Museum of Science on life cycles!  We learned about life cycles for mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, played guessing games, and saw the largest living thing!  Amazing!  

*Ask your child what the largest living thing is!

Here's a few pics for you to see...

Bearded Dragon

 Using our bodies to show the life cycle of a plant

 M helping to show us the life cycle of an amphibian.

Week ending 4/7/17

We made it through our first full week of April and Ms. Kariotis has finished all of her take over weeks!  Have you had a chance to enjoy the better weather?  I hope you can get out this weekend and take a walk, ride bikes, and play like a kid!

Important information:

• Next Friday, April 14, there is no school.  
• Please check your email and your child's folder for information regarding the CAP program that will be visiting us in May.  

3, 2, 1 thing you should know about our week...

3 math skills we worked on were naming fractions, using pattern blocks to show our fractions to peers, and identifying equivalent fractions.  

* Show your child a square with a line down the middle or showing thirds and ask your child to show you 1/2 or 1/3.  

2 reading strategies we worked on were summarizing our non-fiction reading on the rain forest and thinking about the big ideas with books such as Secret Place and The Great Kapok Tree.  It's important for students to understand that authors write about ideas that are important to many people, such as taking care of the environment, family, and friendship.

* Ask your child what the bigger idea was in one of those stories.  

1 activity we worked on social studies was identifying people in photographs that were consumers, producers, and buyers.  We looked at various photographs of people working and buying in China, discussed what they noticed in the pictures, and chose a photograph to sketch in our journals to help us remember.

Have a  great weekend!

Week ending 3/31/17

It's the end of March already!  Can you believe we start April tomorrow?  2 1/2 months of school left!

Important information:

• Friday, April 14th, there is no school and then school vacation starts.  
• If you have any cleaning wipes or paper towels you'd like to donate, we'd love to take them off your hands! 

3, 2, 1 things we've been working on this week...

3 writing activities we worked on as we started our new opinion unit were writing opinion letters to someone about what they thought of a class read aloud, getting energy for their writing by talking with a peer, and choosing a character they have an opinion about by rereading their favorite books.  

*Ask your child which book and character they have chosen to begin writing about.

2 math activities we used to practice our measuring skills were working with a partner to measure our arm spans and working in teams to measure our jumps, both in inches and centimeters.  

* Ask your child to tell you about inches and centimeters.   

1 activity we worked on in literacy was making inferences based on a poem we read together.  

* Ask your child what animal they inferred the poem to be talking about and how they knew that.

Week ending 3/24/17

Hi families! Spring has sprung even though we don't feel it yet!  We are all very excited regarding the Chinese Cultural Field Trip on Monday!

Important Information:

• Please send your child to school with a paper bag lunch and be sure to write your child's name on the bag. 
• Students will be making dumplings, and are offered them at lunch, so if there is an allergy concern, please let me know.  
• Should there be any concerns regarding weather, please plan as though we are still going and send a bag lunch.
• Also, if you have any paper towels or tissues you'd like to donate to the classroom, that would be great!

3, 2, 1 things you should know about our week...

3 activities we worked on to practice inferencing were: "What's in my teacher's bag?" to make inferences about what our Mrs. K.  likes and participates in, listening to the read aloud No! David to infer qualities of David, and read together and discussed the poem "Things" to infer what the girl was doing.  

*Show your child an item that is important to you and ask them what they can infer about you.  (Ex. Showing a Starbucks gift card and your child may infer you not only like to drink coffee, but like to drink coffee at Starbucks. 

2 math skills we've been working on are doubling and dividing  numbers and understanding the relationship between that.  We used the activity called Wubbles to do this.  We also worked in teams to show see who would win a "basket ball game" with dice and addition.  

1 social/emotional piece we're working on with all of our students is getting refocused back on our rules, our understanding of glitch and disaster, thinking of other's tone of voice before responding upset, and thinking about problems in our class and how we can work together to fix them.  I have noticed more students given each other a kid positive postcard and for both the giver and receiver, they both are rewarded in their heart.  

Week ending 3/10/17

We've had a great week and it's been so nice to meet with many of you at conferences.  Next week, Ms. Kariotis takes over again as part of her student teaching.

A few reminders:

• Depending on the weather, please send in clothes accordingly for recess.  
• There will be more information regarding field trips as it gets closer.  If you were chosen out of the box to chaperone, you have been emailed.  Thank you to everyone who has offered!

3, 2, 1, things you should know this week...

3 skills we worked on in math are adding and subtracting double digit and three digit numbers while explaining how we solved them to a partner, learning about estimating, when we might estimate, and how it goes with rounding  numbers, and we practiced comparing numbers through number stories.  

* Ask you child which addition strategy they feel most comfortable with and have them show you an example.  

2 reading skills we've worked on are creating questions or wonderings in our mind regarding fiction and non-fiction stories and comparing Ivy and Bean's friendship to one of our own using evidence from the text.  

1 read aloud book we listened to was Recess at 20 Below.  

* Ask your child what it's like when the students in Alaska go out for recess when it's 20 degrees below zero.

Week ending 3/3/17

Hello families!
It's been a great week back from vacation.  The students have adjusted nicely back to the school routine and we've been working hard in so many areas!

Important information:

• Going home TODAY is field trip paperwork.  Please read over the information, sign BOTH permission forms, check if you would like to be considered for a chaperone, and send the money in, in an envelope in cash only.  We can not accept checks.  If you do not have a current CORI on file, as I've mentioned before, you can not be considered for the field trips.  One is the end of this month and the other is in June.  If your CORI is not complete now, you will not be considered for the field trip this month,  you can check yes on the form and complete the paperwork with Ms. Sheehan for June but if you're chosen and it's not completed, you will not be able to attend.  All the information is coming home today so please look at it and send back on Monday. Thank you for your support in doing this quickly!  
• Conferences begin on Tuesday.  This is a time for you and your child to meet with me to discuss how the year is going so far.  
• Thursday, March 9, is an early release day.  Please let me know if there are any changes to your child's dismissal schedule.  Thanks!

3, 2, 1 things you should know about our week...

3 skills we've been working on throughout our Friendship Unit while reading Ivy & Bean  have been making predictions based on evidence from the text, deciding how Ivy and Bean's friendship has changed over the book so far, and then using our own reading workshop just right books, deciding how the characters have changed in those books.  

*Ask your child what they've learned about the characters Ivy and Bean so far.

2 math skills we've been working on are learning how to add using the strategy of partial sums and how to add three numbers at once using a variety of strategies.  

*Ask your child to solve this problem: 74+56 = ?

1 skilled we activity we have begun in writing workshop is reading and taking notes regarding our topic for our informational Mexico books.  Students have read various Mexico books, used post it notes to mark the parts related to their topic, and have taken notes on the important information.  

*Ask your child which topic they are researching.

Have a great weekend!

Week of 2/13/17

Hello families!
How are you all enjoying this weather and the snow days?  I can't believe we've had winter come to us all at once and we've had three snow days.  It's been nice to be home but I'm ready to get back!  Since we're home again today, I decided to write our classroom blog today.

Important information:

• Don't forget to have your child bring in their bag of 100 things and the clue sheet.  Students love doing this activity!
• If your child is bringing in valentines to hand out, be sure there is one for every student and remember not to send in food with them.  
• We will be celebrating the 100th Day of School AND Valentine's day tomorrow, Tuesday the 14th.  
• Vacation is next week!  I hope you all enjoy a wonderful and fun week. 
• Later this week, I will be sending out a Sign Up Genius for Spring conferences which begin the second week of March.  Again, these will be on the afternoons given to us and a few mornings before school begins.  I will send an email with the link when ready.

3, 2, 1 things you should know about room 250 this week!

3 skills we'll be working on in math this week are making tally charts and bar graphs to represent the colors and numbers of conversation hearts we'll be counting on Tuesday, creating a time line to record our own birth years and those of our family members, and we'll use that time line to determine the ages of people in our family using subtraction and explain our thinking to a peer.  

2 writing activities we will begin working on this week are using the Mexico non-fiction books to compile pages of information that will be useful in writing our own Mexico non-fiction, informational books.  We'll also be deciding which topic we would like to research using the texts and various web resources, such as Pebble Go and Brainpop Jr. 

1 skill we are working on is identifying a character's feelings and actions and how they relate to each other.  Our friendship unit focuses a great deal on character's feelings and how that impacts in their actions.  

Week ending 1/27/17

Hello families!  January is closing up quickly and February will be here before we know it!  We are less than 10 days away from the 100th day of school.  I've added some additional websites/apps that are great for spelling, reading, math practice at home.  You can check them out on my Newton schools website.

Important information:

• Next Wednesday, February 1st is an early release day with dismissal at 12:30.   Please plan accordingly and don't forget there is no ASCA on early release days.  

3, 2, 1 things you should know about our week...

3 math activities we worked on were identifying and recognizing 3-D shapes in the classroom and real world, identifying attributes of quadrangles, and sorting polygons based on number of sides and number of angles.  

* Ask your child how many sides and angles a triangle, quadrangle, and hexagon have.  

2 writing skills we continue to work on as we finish publishing our informational books are editing for complete sentences and using the word wall to help spell words unfamiliar to us.  

* Ask your child what their topic is and to tell you 2 ideas they've written about.

1 whole class read aloud book, we're reading is Have You Filled a Bucket Today?  They class really enjoyed it.  We also introduced peer positive postcards to the class.  This is another way students can support each other, recognize others' efforts, and be mindful of how we're building a classroom community.
https://www.amazon.com/Have-Filled-Bucket-Today-Bucketfilling/dp/099609993X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485545619&sr=1-1&keywords=have+you+filled+a+bucket+today

Last Week's Post (1/23/17)

Hi families!
I hope you all had a nice weekend!  I apologize for not posting this earlier this weekend but wanted to still share with you what we worked on last week.

3, 2, 1 things we did this week...
3 math skills we worked on this past week were identify attributes of different shapes and we worked on an attribute train putting shapes together but the rule was to change one attribute as they chose the next shape.  We also worked on identifying parallel lines and quadrangles (quadrilaterals).
*Ask your child to show you with their fingers how to make parallel lines and intersecting lines.

2 writing skills we worked on focusing on choosing which chapters we wanted to publish (as a good writer always chooses from what's written the best parts to share) and adding introductions.

1 activity we completed in reading workshop was comparing the traditional Three Little Pigs story to James Marshall's version and wrote an opinion piece of writing to convince a friend which to read.
*Ask your child which version they liked better.

Final notes on homework (for now):
Beginning this week, your child will be bringing home a fluorescent green sheet of paper.  This is both their homework reading log and their response sheet.  This single sheet of paper is what homework will look like for the remainder of the year; it replaces the packet format we had been following.  This one homework product should be returned to school on Fridays.

Your child has spent some time in the classroom last week learning and practicing homework expectations with an emphasis on achievement and effort.  These  are two of our school's core values.  We expect to see them represented in students' homework just the same way we seek to see these values represented daily in school across all academic and social domains.

The second grade teaching team expected to see the one homework product done well.  Sentences should be properly constructed and follow conventions (i.e., capitalization and punctuation used properly).  Handwriting should be neat and letters should be properly formed.  Work that is less than a student's best effort or which does not meet these standards will be returned.  We thank you in advance for holding these same high expectations at home.

We appreciate your ongoing partnership and active participation in this process more than we can say in words.
Sincerely,
Second Grade Team


**I am working this week myself, to collect more websites and activities for students to work on at home if they/you wish.

Week ending 1/13/17

The weather this week has been up and down but it was so nice to get out today for both snack and lunch recess!

Important information you should know:

• Monday, January 16, there is no school.  
• Continue to send in snow pants, boots, mittens, etc and help your child practice putting them on quickly at home.  

3, 2, 1 things you should know about our week in room 250...

3 lessons we worked on during social studies were learning about Diego Rivera and how he painted to share the stories of the Mexican people, watched a Pebble Go video on Mexico's holiday Day of the Dead where they remember and celebrate people that have passed on and decorated our own skulls which are typically worn on this day, and we learned about the different items sold at the Mexican market place in our book.   

*Ask you child 2 items sold that the market place that we discussed.

2 skills in writing we continue to work on are asking the reader a question in our introduction and how to use twin sentences to make our writing more varied, interesting, and longer.  

* Ask you child to tell you a twin sentence that goes with "The beach is my favorite place to go!"

1 day we  celebrated was Beach Day!  Students really enjoyed beach day today!  They wore sunglasses, used their beach towels to read on, played beach ball math, greeted each other by tossing a beach ball, listened to "The Sand Castle Contest" and wrote about our favorite times at the beach, and watched a Magic School Bus video regarding the beach.

Update on homework:

Dear Second Grade Families,

As you know, we've asked for your feedback regarding homework and have been working to reiterate expectations in the classroom.  To this end, we've been working to redefine expectations as necessary.  Our work with your children over the past two weeks has focused on clarifying what needs to be done to achieve individual hopes and dreams; and, as importantly, how this will be done.

Our team has decided that homework tasks will change but will remain within the district's guidelines for total time spent on homework based on the following conclusions:

• Homework routines are important

• Most families value homework

• Teachers and families value reading tasks above other homework tasks

Moving forward:

• Total time spent on homework will remain 30 minutes.

• Nightly reading of at least 20 minutes will continue.
• BEGINNING JANUARY 23^rd - Nightly reading response

• Nightly math and spelling review worksheets will not continue. 

• Additional resources will be available to families on our websites, and may be given as “homework” at the discretion of individual families.

Our team will spend next week teaching and practicing homework routines with students in the classroom.

Week ending 1/6/17

Happy New Year!  Welcome back families!  We are back up and running this week and we've spent a lot of time refocusing on routines, expectations, revisiting our goals/hopes for the new year, and sharing about our break.  

3, 2, 1, things you should know...

3 math skills we've focused on this week were addition and subtraction skills in math games, understanding how to use a "Parts-Parts-Total" diagram to help add money, and how to tell the temperature and why it's important to know that.  

**Ask your child why we play the game "Wipe-Out".

2 books we've read this week as we jump started our James Marshall author study were Portly McSwine and Eat Your Vegetables.  Our author study is focused using the texts to compare characters, identify cause and effect of a character's actions, identify story elements, and read with expression.  

**Ask your child what happened when the brontosaurus ate the leaves at the owl's tree.

1 activity we did to learn more about a child's responsibilities in Mexico was breaking into groups of three, choosing a child to read about together, and comparing the child's life in Mexico to their own lives.  It can really be an eye opener!

**Ask your child one responsibility that is the same as the other child's and one that is different.

Important information regarding homework:

Thank you for your feedback regarding homework this past week.  We've heard a variety of opinions and have looked closely at the data we've collected via the survey.  Our second grade teaching team has spent a significant amount of time considering your feedback, studied research on the matter by thought leaders in the field, and discussed our past and current research practices at length.  

At this time, we would like to extend the conversation of another week so that we may make what we feel would be the best-informed, most reasonable decision regarding future homework practices at the grade level.  

Please take a moment to share your voice via the brief homework survey if you haven't already done so.  The homework expectation for next week will be the same as for last week: Read for 30 minutes each night.  Homework Survey

Thank you in advance for your feedback and flexibility as we "reset" expectations for the remainder of the year.  

--Second Grade Team