Friday, December 16, 2016

Hanging in there!

We are hanging in there these last few, exciting days before break!
Announcements:

Monday is a full, regular day of School. Tuesday and Wednesday are half days with release times of 11:45, 12:05, and 12:20. We will not have lunch on Tuesday or Wednesday so please back your sweet scholar an extra snack to hold them over!


Secret Student letters. Today in your child's red folder are instructions to write a secret student letter. Please have your child write a letter on the provided piece of paper, color the tree on the back, and put it in the envelope with the secret students name on it! These are due back on Monday 12/20.


The upcoming week is a short one, which is perfect to review some of the concepts we have learned!

Language arts: Students will review some challenging Spalding words from this year! We will also work on alphabetical order and use our phonemic awareness to make words from other words. How many new words do YOU think we will be able to make from the word gingerbread?

Math: We will use the week to review concepts learned in math! From arrays to addition and subtraction with renaming, we will working hard (and having fun)!

Science: We will take our insect unit test on Monday, and make corrections if needed on Tuesday. We will also talk about what we know about the human body to prepare for our next unit in January.

History: This week students will use what they have learned about the Greek gods in order to create their own mythical god/goddess. We will enjoy some Greek myths and create our own!


Friday, December 9, 2016

Week 18

Well this week sure flew by in a flash...here we are on Friday again!

Announcements:


Boxcar Holiday Party: Next Wednesday, December 21 we will celebrate the end of the semester with a fun Boxcar themed party! Please sign up here if you'd like to donate anything to our celebration.

Boxcar Project: The Boxcar Project is due Monday! Students are coming home with their books today, as well as a brainstorm list we made in class in their planners! Below are some idea's to gently guide your students towards if they are struggling, as well as some pictures from previous years projects.
Items inside the boxcar:
Beds made of pine needles
Table
Table cloth
Broom
Cup (pink for Benny)
Forks
Shelf
Dog

Outside the boxcar (can still be included in the project for points towards the 5 items)
Stump
River
Clothes line



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Here are some cute snaps of our learning last week:
Working on memorizing their stanza from The Night Before Christmas

 Team work makes dream work!


Mailing our letters! We've worked SO hard to write on envelopes, and learn how letters look!
P.E. is the BEST!

Here is a look at next week:

Language Arts: This week in language arts students will write a letter to a secret student! Your child will come home with a letter on Friday to work on over the weekend, they will be exchanging letters with their secret student on December 21! We will also continue to diagram and label parts of speech in sentences, and master our editing skills by finding mistakes in sentences. Students will practice reading a story with inflection and expression this week too!

Math: We will work hard in math this week to master our 3's times table. We will also dive into division facts and talk about fact families! A car trip is a great time to give your child a math problem (5x2) and ask them not only for the answer but for the fact family it belongs with (2x5, 10÷5, 10÷2)!

History: Students will experience the birth of Democracy in the heart of Ancient Greece, Athens! They will also learn the connection between the goddess Athena and the great city. Ask your scholar to explain the premise of the Trojan War as well as compare the lifestyles of ancient Greeks to our own!

Science: It is our last week learning about insects before we move on to our next unit: simple machines! We will meet an entomologist who will teach us about how insects can be friends or foes. On Monday a study guide will be sent home with your scholar. Please read and review it all week so they are ready for their test on Thursday. We will also be reviewing in class! Happy studying!


Friday, December 2, 2016

Week 17!

Hello!

Updates and Announcements:

Sweater Weather: Please make sure your child's name is written somewhere inside their uniform sweater! They are MUCH easier to track down if they are labeled!

Boxcar Project: Instructions went home this week! Here is a link to the rubric for your reference.

Boxcar Holiday Party: Our Boxcar Holiday Party will be on December 21! We will feast on things the Boxcar Children eat regularly, be thankful for what we have, do a book exchange, and do a fun train craft! Please sign up here if you'd like to help out!

Book Exchange: Please send in a gently loved book with your child by Monday December 21. We will be doing a really fun book exchange as a class!

Holiday Gift: Students will be making a gift for their sweet parents in class in a few weeks. If your student needs to make 2 gifts please send me an email before Friday December 16.
This is the one and only picture this crazy teacher took this week! Basketball in P.E.! I'll make up for it next week, I promise!

Here is a look at our learning this week:

Language arts: We are still working hard on prepositions, and objects of prepositions in grammar! Students also be introduced to direction quotations this week! In literature we will finish The Boxcar Children. We will have class discussions on assumptions and reputations. Students will write a journal reflection after each of these last 3 chapters from a perspective of one of the Alden children. We had a great brainstorming session about the differences between us and the Boxcar Children last week, ask you child about it!

Math: On Monday we will take a quiz covering the first five chapters we have covered this semester! On Tuesday we will move into Chapter 6, multiplication of 2's. This is a quick chapter, as most of the students are already showing master of the 2's times table! On Friday we will introduce the students to the 3's table!

Science: Our entomologists will continue their study of insects by learning about singing and glowing insects! Do you know which insects these are? See if you scholar can name them! We will also learn more about the largest group of insects on earth - armored insects: bees!

History: From China we will now journey into Ancient Greece! Students will learn many of the origins of western culture and influence. This week, we will introduce the geography of Greece and learn about the legendary Greek Gods and Goddesses! Ask your history expert to tell you a fun fact about one of the deities and areas of interest in Ancient Greece!





Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving week!

I am so thankful, today and everyday. I have the best job in the world. I have the privilege of helping to shape and mold amazing young humans every single day! Something that I do not take lightly! The fun crafts, jokes, and activities are just an added bonus :)

I hope you all have a great break, and eat lots of yummy foods! I cannot wait to hear about Thanksgiving from your children's perspective when we return!

Announcements: We will be having a Boxcar and Holiday celebration on December 22. Please donate one (gently used) book to our classroom, as well as a toilet paper or paper towel roll!

Boxcar Project: On Monday students will come home with a Boxcar Project. Students will be creating a diorama of the boxcar inside a shoe box! More instructions will be sent home Monday, just want to get this on your radar!

Address: Please email me your address, or write it down in your students planner. We will be addressing envelopes to ourselves next week!

Here are some pictures of our learning this week:
Students worked hard to make cards full of thanks!

Celebrating Chinese New Year with red lanterns! Ask your student why red is so important!

Our Thankful Bubble Map! Not pictured: Target, Legos, and cheese :]+

Here is a look at next week:

Language arts: In language arts next week we will introduce students to writing a friendly letter! This will tie in perfectly with a holiday activity we do where each students writes a letter to another student telling them how wonderful they are! Students will learn parts of a letter next week, including how to address an envelope! In literature we will be reading chapters 8-10 in The Boxcar Children, and having a class discussion about what makes our homes feel special, and what makes us homesick!

Math: In math we will continue to work on dividing things into equal groups. Students are ROCKING this! We will introduce what to do when things cannot be split into equal groups, and we have "leftovers." We will review all week, Friday nights homework will provide great practice for a test on the following Monday (12/5).

History: In history we will continue learning about China! We will learn about ancient Chinese inventions, and we make a cross-curricular connection between a silk worm and insects!

Science: Last week we spent time reviewing complete vs. incomplete metamorphosis. Next week our young (adorable) entomologists will continue their study of insects through learning about bees (honeybees, drones, and queens!), paper wasps, termites, and ants. Ask your scholar if they can describe the difference between a social and a solitary insect. Can they tell you what each bee must do in order to survive? Can they tell you how ants and termites are different from other insects?

Friday, November 18, 2016

Announcements:

Thank you to all of you that completed the homework survery! I have reviewed the results, and the second grade team has met to discuss the data. We are working to make homework a more enjoyable experience for your scholar, but are very happy that YOU feel well equipped to help them! Again, if you feel like homework is exceedingly difficult, or taking too much time, please do not hesitate to reach out to me personally!

Winter Concert! The winter concert was INCREDIBLE! The students looked cute as buttons, and sang wonderfully! My teacher heart was full of pride! Some great pictures are below!

Coming up: We will be having a winter celebration and Boxcar feast on Wednesday December 22. I know it seems far away but it will be here before we know it! A sign up genius will go out when we return from Thanksgiving break, but please be collecting toilet paper rolls! Students will also need to bring one book for a book exchange!


Pictures of our learning last week:
Showing our arrays in math!


Practicing for our Boxcar Children plays!


Taking turns being the teacher! Ms. Quintana and Mr. Bentley!


Grammar Girls vs. Boys!


Our Spelling Bee Finalists!


Some picture from the winter concert:





Here is a look at our learning for the short week ahead!

Language arts: Due to the short week we will not have Spalding words (it's ok to cheer!). We will spend the class time reviewing tough words and phonograms. We will be introducing prepositions and prepositional phrases in grammar! The students have been wanting to use prepositions all year, and starting next week they will be able to! We will learn 2 new jingles, and students will set to work memorizing a long list of prepositions. in literature we will read chapters 7 and 8 of The Boxcar Children. We will have a class discussion about how the children show initiative!

Math: In math next week we will introduce students to division! Division will be presented as sharing a whole amongst EQUAL groups. We will do some fun Thanksgiving craft-ivities in math with Turkey's as well!

Science: Our young entomologists will continue their study of insects through learning about bees (honeybees, drones, queens) and paper wasps. Ask your scholar if they can describe the difference between a social and a solitary insect. Can they also describe what a bee must do in order to survive?

History: Although we will be gearing up to celebrate Thanksgiving, we will experience a little taste of Chinese New Year as well! Students will review concepts like Confucianism, important rivers (Yellow and Yangtze), Emperor Qin, calligraphy, and the importance of family! Ask you child to share a "fun fact" about China with you!



Friday, November 11, 2016

Entering week 14!


Happy Veterans Day! Happy Three Day Weekend! And shamelessly, happy anniversary to me and  Coach Cook!
Last weekend I volunteered at a festival and got to meet Baby Wilbur!
 This week we practiced measuring and comparing weights! The students LOVED getting to explore and figure out what different classroom items weighed the same!




We brainstormed nouns and verbs that described Veterans



Writing thoughtful, kind, thankful letters to our veterans.

Here is a look at our upcoming week:

Language arts: Next week in ELA we will start memorizing a new poem! The Night Before Christmas BY Clement C. Moore! This poem is broken into 4 stanzas that we will learn each week! Students will choose one stanza to memorize and will recite it the week of December 14. We will continue working on writing interesting sentences in grammar. We will focus on using all the parts of speech we have learned. Students will be assess on their understanding of subject nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs on Friday. We will also continue practicing narration and dictation using one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE stories, The Mouse and the Motorcycle! In literature we will be reading chapters 5-7 in The Boxcar Children! Students are loving the adventure that Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are on! Next week we will find out what strange noise coming from the woods was!

Math: In math next week students will be finishing up our unit on weight and move into a new and exciting unit on multiplication! We will introduce multiplication and repeated addition, and look for arrays everywhere in our everyday lives.

Science: Next week our second graders will become entomologists as we start a new unit on INSECTS! We will learn what make an insect an insect through understanding the parts of their body like head, thorax, and abdomen. We will also study their life cycle. Does is go through incomplete or complete metamorphosis? Finally, our entomologists will design their very own insect!

History: We will continue our journey through ancient

Math: In math next week we will finish up our unit on weight and move into a new exciting unit on multiplication!


Friday, November 4, 2016



Announcements:
This week in class we will start the spelling bee process by taking the written test! All students will participate in the written test, and students who receive a score of 100% on the test will participate in the oral spelling bee the week of November 14!

We do not have school on Friday in honor of Veteran's Day. Veteran's Day is very near and dear to my heart. We will be writing letters to Veterans this week, if you have a veteran in your family please reach out to me. I'd love to send some letters their way!

Monday starts our winter dress code. Boys need to be in pants, and girls need to either wear pants or tights under their skirts.

We are reading Boxcar Children in class, and the students are LOVING it! We will start Literature centers next week! Centers will be on Tuesday and Thursday from 10:40-11:10. Please sign up here if you'd like to have some sweet students read to you!

A look back at last week!
The water cycle song - it WILL get stuck in your head - you've been warned! If the video doesn't work, here is the YouTube version.

After each chapter of Boxcar Children we choose and character and write about a virtue they showed! Students LOVE writing under the document camera :]



Working on reading with expression with partners!



Here is a look at our learning this week:

Language arts: We will continue practicing diagraming sentences this week, and making our own interesting sentences! Students will also learn how to revise their sentences, by adding in synonyms, add, or delete words. Our writing is sounding beautiful! In Literature we will continue reading The Boxcar Children. The students are doing SO well with this book, and I hope they are coming home excited about it! We will talk about how the kids are resourceful and show courage this week! We will also discuss Veteran's Day, and write thank you notes to veterans early this week.


Math: In math this week, we will start a new unit on weight! We will start by comparing weights and learning different units of weight this week. The students will be introduced to grams and kilograms this week. We will look at scales and learn how to measure. This can be tricky for students. While I introduce a scale as a "curved number line" they are thrown off by the fact that each individual dash is not labeled. Please closely monitor you children's homework and guide them through this!

Science: Next week, we will review the Water Cycle! A review guide will be sent home early in the week, and the test will be Friday. Ask your water expert to sing the water cycle song, and share the vocabulary words they have learned (condensation, precipitation, and evaporation) with you!

History: We will start a new unit on China! Students will learn about early Chinese civilizations and why they were built up around rivers. We will also discuss Confucius and his beliefs!


Monday, October 31, 2016

Read-a-thon


Wow! What a fun FILLED day! We went non-stop from start to finish! One unnamed student even fell asleep at their desk at the end of the day (now THAT is a teacher victory!)!!
I hope you all have a great time tonight, please be safe!
Here are some pictures of our day!





















Flashlight reading in the fort!


Using what we've learned about parts of speech and guess what's on our head!

Listening to Grimms Fairytales and enjoying a snack!

Writing SPOOKY stories!

Craft making!




We read in partners on the field with 5th graders!

Rachel, a senior from Prep came to read to us!