Newsletter 2/9

In Reading Workshop this week, we learned that while using SOUND POWER we need to focus on the first letter, check for a blend, and the ending sound.  We always have to ask ourselves, not only "Does this sound right?"  but also "Does this look right"?

We are finishing up our How To writing.  This week we learned a few more strategies to make our writing even better: How To writing sometimes gives a warning or a tip, uses connecting words like "first", "then", "next" and "finally" and often has a fun ending.

Our math lessons this week revolved around a story called The Sleepover.  Sarah has a new bunk bed and seven friends come over.  They love to play tricks on Aunt Kate, who comes into the bedroom repeatedly with snacks, drinks and napkins.  Every time she enters the girls have moved around on the bed!  Four on the top and four on the bottom.  Three on the top and five on the bottom.  Two on the top and six on the bottom.  What's happening?  How many ways can the girls trick Aunt Kate?  We used a math rack to explore all the possibilities.

In Second Steps this week we learned how to handle an accident.  What is an accident?  What if you hurt someone by accident?  What should you do?  We learned to say: "I'm sorry.  It was an accident.  Are you OK?".  We can have empathy for one another when an accident occurs and show that we care.

Happy 100th Day!  For the 100th Day of School we did everything the 100 way!  We played games with a 100 number board, counted to 100 by fives and tens, made a 100th Day crown, wrote about what to do with $100 and lastly, we attended the 100th Day Parade of first graders!  Yippee!  We're 100 days smarter!

We are getting ready for Valentines Day!  We made our valentines bags, headbands to wear at the concert and made valentines for veterans with our 5th Grade Buddies.

News and Notes:

• Book sleeves due on Monday.  No new books will go home next week.  Please read on RazKids during your vacation!
• Kindergarten Valentines Concert will be 2/14 at 9:30 am.  All are invited.  You won't want to miss this adorable performance.
• Please send in your child's valentines ASAP.  We'll keep them safe until 2/14!
• Our class collected 133 cans of tuna for the local food bank!  Way to go!  THANK YOU for your generosity and for surpassing our goal.  The class was SO excited.
• Dr. Seuss days are coming up!  Be on the lookout for more information next Friday!

Valentines rehearsal

Ways to make 8 with the math rack

Newsletter 2/2/18

We continue to strengthen our reading muscles and work on our partnering skills in Reading Workshop.  We learned how a partner listens carefully and doesn't miss it when a friend makes a mistake.  Good partners catch mistakes and help one another through.

This week's paper book "Where We Go" is the last of the year!  Please continue to ask your child to read these paper books and, more importantly, the Just Right books in their book sleeve.

Our How To books are getting more detailed!  This week, we learned that "How To" authors usually begin their writing with a list of things you'll need, and sometimes they use BOLD for important words.  We can write like that, too!  Ask your child what s/he is writing about.

We continued to build and take apart teen numbers this week, building with straws and sticks and on the smart board.  We're learning about place value.  We also collected and organized a lot of data this week.  We predicted what would happen on Groundhog's Day and who would win the Super Bowl!  See the photos below for your child's thoughts.

Our current science unit is on matter.  This week, we examined items and used our five senses to make predictions, sort and classify.  We organized groups of natural vs. man-made, items made from glass, plastic, wood and metal, items that attract vs. repel magnets and items that are heavy vs. light.  We really enjoyed conducting classroom experiments this week!

We also gathered January's weather data and discussed special days on our February calendar.

Ask your child about Wednesday's bus meeting.  All Ox Ridge students met in classrooms by bus and listened to 4th and 5th graders teach them how to follow our code while riding the bus together.

Matter:  Natural or Man-Made?

Recording data in our science journals

Playing with rods and cubes

Using rods and cubes to learn place value and build teen numbers

Using the Smartboard for place value lessons

TWO ways to make 20!  Woah!

Matter:  Sorting by material

Collecting and organizing data: Our preferred winter activity

Our groundhog predictions

News and Notes:

• We have 68 of our 100 cans of tuna so far.  Please send in your 5 cans if you have not done so.  Our goal is to have 100 for the 100th Day of school- NEXT WEDNESDAY!
• Book sleeves are due on Monday
• 2/14 Kindergarten valentine show at 9:30 am.  Save the date!
• It's almost Dr. Seuss week!  Be on the lookout for news coming home about how we'll celebrate each day of the week of 2/26.  There will be something special for your child to wear each day.  Hat Day, Silly Sock Day, Twin Tuesday... etc.   More information coming soon!

Newsletter 1/26

Miss Emily from the Darien Nature Center visited us on Monday and taught us about animals in the winter.  Some are active, others hibernate or migrate.  We learned what animals do which.  We got to touch animals

We continued our unit "Bigger Books, Bigger Reading Muscles" this week, carefully examining pattern books and being on the lookout for pattern breaks.  Sometimes authors try to trick you at the end of the book and you have to use super powers to figure it out!  We also had a "Whole Class Conversation", which is unlike any other time of day (see photo of anchor chart).  At this time, students are encouraged to have a conversation that flows naturally (no teacher direction) about a book we've read multiple times, not raising hands and giving everyone who wants to a chance to participate.  We recorded our "big ideas" about dragonflies on the white board.  We learned and wondered about so much!

We are excited to use post-its in our reading, too.  Readers often find a "WOW moment" or a place where they wonder or are stuck.  We mark these with a post it to remember to discuss this spot with a peer.

We began a new unit in Writing Workshop called "How Tos".  We are writing non-fiction pieces that teach the reader how to do something, in organized steps.  We read mentor texts and tried to write the same way.  We were inspired by some authors from Mrs. Battersby's second grade who visited us and shared their published pieces.  Very impressive!

Math is all about TEEN numbers right now!  What are they?  How are they made?  We worked on numeral identificaition, composing and decomposing teens into tens and ones, and using addition notation to record each composition.  We noticed that teens are always made up of 10 + another number 1-9.  It's a pattern!  10+1, 10+2, 10+3... etc. We played math games to become more familiar with this concept.  Notice and point out teen numbers at home, too!

We continue to "tap out" words in our phonics lessons and are moving forward with lower case letters in handwriting lessons.

We went to our "observation station" and examined our tree outside during our science times this week.  It has changed so much since the fall!  Ask your child about how.

News and Notes:

• book sleeves are due on Monday
• Look for a note about Valentines Day coming home in your child's backpack today
• Save the Date: 2/14 at 9:30 am: Kindergarten Valentines Day Music Show!
• Your child can now play Dreambox at home. See the email sent home for more information.
• It's almost the 100th Day!  Have you sent in your 5 cans of tuna fish for our collection?  Thank you!

Hearing our heartbeats with Miss Emily

What we know and wonder about dragonflies

Building teen numbers

2nd Grade writers visit

Choice Time fun!

Scientific observations

Using Post-its in Reading Workshop

How to Clean Up and How to Go to the Doctor

Newsletter 1/19

In Reading Workshop this week, we learned how to play a reading game with our partners called "Guess What Comes Next".  This game is played with books that have patterns of words.  We have to be careful, because as books get harder, the patterns break!  We read a ton of bear books this week, too.  We read fiction and nonfiction bear books, and bear poems.  We even read TO our bears!  See the photos below.

As a group, we have learned a lot of sight words.  See the photo below to know which ones we've learned together.  Everyone also has their individual sight word rings as well.

We sharpened our editing skills in Writing Workshop this week.  Check out a morning message that we had to edit in the photos below.  We edited our narrative pieces and then celebrated by sharing our work with Mrs. Battersby's second graders!

We continue to measure in math, using wooden sticks as units of measurement this week.  We measured hidden lines all over the room.  We played a new game called "Double Compare" with a partner.  Each student pulled two cards from the deck, added them together to get the total and then compared the totals.  We also did another Exemplar.  If I am making six gingerbread men, and using raisins for eyes, how many raisins will I need for them all?

On Teddy Bear Day, we sang and read to our bears.  We wrote about our bears, too.  We read the classic book, Corduroy and then made our own bears to decorate the room.  Now we have bears hanging from the ceiling!  Last, we tucked them in and said "Goodnight", but they didn't go to sleep!  See the photos below to see what they did!

We did one of my favorite lessons in Second Steps this week- we learned about empathy.  Empathy is looking at someone and being able to understand how s/he feels.  Please use the word "empathy" at home when appropriate.

News and Notes:

• Book sleeves due Monday.
• Valentines Show (everyone's invited!) on 2/14 at 9:30 am
• Please send back your smocks by next Tuesday.
• Has your child logged on to Raz-Kids at home?  Don't forget!  I have made an individualized reading account for your child.  Check it out.  

Measuring with sticks

Can you find the 6 errors?

Our new Reading Workshop partners!

Our shared sight word wall

Look at how we found our bears on Friday morning!

Our publishing party!

Celebrating with second graders