Week Ending 3/16

It's vacation!  Everyone is so excited for vacation and we heard a lot of great plans for the week...from traveling to different places, to meeting friends, to watching the Olympics on tv.  There's lots to be excited about!

Important information:

• If you're looking for books for your child, here's a great way to shop for your child and support our classroom.  Check out Scholastic: Scholastic Books
• Sign ups for conferences went out earlier this week.  This is a time for you and your child to meet with me to discuss successes so far and what we're still working on.  Please sign up at the link below if you have not done so.  Thank you
• Conference Sign Up

3, 2, 1 things happening this week...

3 inferencing activities we've worked on this week are using different poems to infer "What Am I?".  We read and worked on poems about mailmen, policemen, bakers, teachers, and much more!  

2 skills we worked on in math were determining how old Carlos will be when he is his family member's age and how long ago each person was Carlos' age.  The math thinking and discussion of how they solved the problems has been very interesting and thought out.  

1 activity we worked on Friday was recognizing when we are kind to others and when others are kind to us.  

Have a great vacation!

Week Ending 2/2/18

We have hit the 95th day of school!  We all can't believe how close it is to the 100th day!  It's a big day around here!

Important Information:

• Reading homework is expected to be completely nightly.  If your child has lost the sheet, there are always extras they can take at the bottom of the cubbies.  Please hold them to this expectation.  
• Friendship Week/Valentine's information is coming home today. Please read it carefully.  If you would like to have valentines to pass out, please be sure they are for the whole class and there is no food allowed.  Often students will pass out valentines, pencils, erasers, bracelets, etc.  as an alternative to food.  
• 100th Day information is coming home today as well.  Please read it carefully.  Over the next week, your child is find 100 things to put in the brown paper bag given with the sheet.  They should be sure to count items carefully and with a plan (by 5's, 10's, etc) and write clues.  Once your child has done this, they can bring the bag in anytime next week.

3, 2, 1 things happening this week:

3 math skills we focus on were identifying quadrangles/quadrilaterals, identifying 3-D shapes and naming their attributes, and using pattern blocks in a planned way to build a  rocket design.  

* Ask your child about quadrilaterals with 4 sides.  

2 writing skills we've been working on how to ask questions to help us research our informational topics and using a checklist to determine if our work has met the expectation with letter writing.  

* Ask your child what topics they've decided to write about for their Mexico Informational book.

1 activity we did to learn more about how to make an inference was "What's in My Teacher's Bag?".

I showed students different items from my life and they needed make an inference about what those items tell them about me.  

* Ask your child something they learned about Mrs. DeKing this week.

Week Ending 1/26/18

Hello families!
We've had a busy week and today we hit day 90!  We're halfway through the year already!  Can you believe it?

Important Information:

• Please send your child in with boots event if it's not snowing.  The field can often be wet and sneakers get soggy quick.  
• I've notified those that were chosen from the jar to be chaperones.  More info for everyone on the field trips will come as we get closer.  
• Next week, I will send home information regarding the 100th day of school and Friendship week.
• A reminder about homework.  The conversation sheet with sentence starters is meant to check off 2-3 you used that night.  Making the conversation between you and your child stronger and deeper versus using as many sentence starters as you can.  
• If you'd like to donate paper towels, cleaning wipes, or hand sanitizer...we'd greatly appreciate it!

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

3 math skills we worked on were being strategic in choosing what to add or subtract in order to capture the square.  It's a great math game that allows students to put operations together to capture the square.  We also worked on identifying attributes of shapes and parallel lines.  

* Ask you child what parallel lines are and look around your house to see if you can find any!

2 writing strategies we focused on was adding an introduction that captured the reader's attention by writing to the reader, asking questions, or sharing facts.  We also worked on double checking our table of contents to see if it needed some work.  Did we have to rearrange the order of our chapters?  Add chapters in or take something out?  This is all part of the writing process and working pairs, they thoughtfully made decisions.

* Ask your child what their writing topic is and to share more info about one chapter.  

1 area we are continuing to work on is using quiet signals for class conversations.  We are working on responding to each other's ideas for more conversation in the classroom with less teacher prompting.  Students have been building on each other's ideas, agreeing and disagreeing respectfully, commenting, and questioning with others in whole group and in pairs.  

* Ask your child more about our quiet signals and words to say when using them.

Week Ending 1/12/18

Hi Families,
I hope you all have warmed up this week after last week's snow storm.  We've been busy getting back into routines and back into the curriculum.

Important Information:

• Monday, January, 15, is no school.  
• In your child's folder coming home today, is FIELD TRIP paperwork. Please read over information below and let me know if you have any questions.  

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

3 science/social studies activities we worked on were finishing up our unit on Earth, Moon, and Sun by learning about the phases of the moon, completed our passports, and we "flew" to Mexico in the library.

2 informational writing skills we worked on were completing a table of contents with chapters we think we might write about and working on adding more to our writing by telling more information, give advice to the reader, and talk to the reader. 

1 math skill we continue to work on in each unit is problem solving.  This week we focused on determining which number was missing and making sure we answered the actual question given to us.  

In class we are also working on accountable talk between students and making our thinking visible through discourse in the classroom.  We have begun working on hand signals to show that we want to build on to other's thoughts, disagree, or agree (just a few examples), which helps the students gain instant feedback.  We'll begin using sentence starters to help us build our conversation confidence as well.  

FIELD TRIP INFO

The Second Grade Team is excited to announce our two field trips for this year.  They are to the Chinese Cultural Center (Friday, March 23rd) and to the Children's Museum (Thursday, June 7th).  Students brought home a letter regarding these trips today as well as the necessary permission slips.  Please be on the look out for them.

The per-student cost for both of these trips is $55 total.

If you would like your child to go on these field trips, you must return both permission slips and $55 to school by Thursday, January 18th.  Please make your payment in cash and in exact change.  Please contact me if the cost of this trip is a concern for you.

If you are interested in chaperoning this trip, you must make this indication on the reverse side of the permission slips. Please have a current CORI on file with Ms. Sheehan.

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!