News & Notes {and a photo overload!}

We've been having a fantastic time in second grade!  We completed several different formal assessments to monitor progress since the beginning of the year, and I'm overjoyed at the progress each student has shown in a variety of areas!  In addition, we've also been working on creating goals for our third quarter of school (I can't believe we're into the third quarter!).  Needless to say, we've been busy, busy, busy!

I was really looking forward to moving into a more typical week this week, but... with the impending weather, I'm a bit skeptical.  At the moment, I'm pretending that our week will begin tomorrow morning at 8am with the usual cheerful, morning greetings I exchange with students on a Monday.  :)

A Peek At Our Week:

- Bible ---  We will slowly wrap up our study of the Israelites' journey to the Promised Land in the next two weeks and move into a study of Jesus' life and ministry.

- Language Arts --- In our Writer's Workshops, students will be putting the finishing touches on their second published pieces.  We've also been discussing adding "spice" to our writing by choosing more descriptive words as we write.  Our comprehension focus will be on cause and effect, while our phonics focus will be on reading ou/ow words.

- Math --- As the latest family letter stated, Unit 7 will focus on number stories and operations.  The upcoming week will focus heavily on strategies for solving number stories as well as distinguishing between addition and subtraction stories.

- Science --- Students will have opportunities to explore how air acts under pressure, studying both compression and air resistance.

Below are pictures of several students sharing their talents in music class last week.  I found it refreshing to see the interests and extra-curricular abilities of so many second graders, and, of course I was so proud of their courage to share.  (Many also shared in chapel!)

 We had some indoor recess fun (and I expect we'll be having more with the upcoming inclement weather)!

 Students completed several shape sorts over the past weeks.  The polygon sort below is an example of one such sort.

 Here we're studying quadrangles by creating various 4-sided figures on geoboards.

 Creating pyramids out of toothpicks and play dough!  

 We examined how pyramids changed when the shape of their bases changed.

I have a feeling that everyone enjoyed our unit on geometry so much because it's so easy to make it very "hands-on".  

On top of all of that, we watched a little book on the smartboard called "The Greedy Triangle".  What a fun way to integrate reading and math!

 We also began our science unit on air.  Students explored what air can do with a variety of objects including feathers, straws, balloons, and cotton balls.

The balloons were definitely the most exciting.  ;)

News & Notes {and a new year!}

Well everyone, Christmas break is winding down very quickly.  I hope you were able to enjoy the extended time with your children, found rest, hope, and rejuvenation, and are ready to dive into a new year!

Thank you all for the encouraging gifts, cards, and class gift!  How wonderful to feel the support of families!  I am blessed to have a small part in each of your lives and thank you for allowing me to be a part of your children's education.

Here are a few reminders to note before the first school week of 2015 begins!

- Please return December Book-It calendars by Tuesday so I can award Pizza Hut certificates to students who met their reading goal for the month.

- I will be assigning two Bible memory passages for the month of January.  One for the first half and one for the second half.  The first passage will be placed in the clear pocket of each student's take home folder tomorrow.

- Just a reminder that you may still give towards the $50 in 50 days challenge!  If you need information about how to give, please contact Mrs. Hess.

A Peek At Our Week:

- Bible --- This will be a week in which we wrap up our Christmas projects (pictures to come in the next blog post) and revisit the Moses story, continuing on with the Israelites' journey to the promised land.

- Language Arts --- Our theme for the week will be farming (a topic near and dear to my heart)!  Students will focus on cause and effect using some humorous farm-themed books.  Our writer's workshops will aim to help students create "awesome endings" for their writing pieces.

- Math --- We began a unit on geometry shortly before break.  Students will continue with this unit, focusing mainly on parallel lines, 2D shapes and how shapes change.

- Social Studies/Other --- Students will be comparing school in the past with present-day schooling as advance preparation for their field trip to the Museum School in April.  On Tuesday afternoon, students will also participate in dental hygiene activities with the first and third grade students.

Below are some pictures of pre-Christmas activities.  Enjoy!

 What a good-looking group!

 Making Bethlehem stars for our Christmas party!  I didn't get a picture of the final product, but I'm sure you saw it come home.  They were beautiful!

Playing a little "left-right" Christmas game.  Thanks to all of the parents who helped with the party, sent in food and paper products, and helped us to have a wonderful celebration!

 The students enjoyed a little bit of "I Spy" math review before break.

 I love these "I Spy" activities because they get students up and moving around the room.  Gotta get those wiggles out!  (And I might as well give the wiggles some direction to go in!)

 Students also worked on identifying polygons with a few different activities.

 These flap-ups are pretty fun and quickly let me know if students are understanding the basics.  

They are.  :)

News & Notes {and a fantastic Christmas program!}

Can you believe there's only 7 days of school left before Christmas break?!  That means the school year is nearly half over!  I know I'll say this several more times before the school year ends, but "how time flies!"
Thank you for coming to the Christmas program to support your children and the fruits of their preparation.  They did a great job!  I found myself getting a bit emotional several times throughout the program.  I believe the Lord was speaking through your children as they brought Him praise.  :)

A few items of note:

- The class Christmas party is this Wednesday afternoon.  If you are helping our room parent with the Christmas party and have any questions, please contact me.

- Scholastic book orders are due on Thursday, December 18th.  Please note that the books will likely not arrive before Christmas break but will be waiting for students upon their return.  Just a reminder if you are submitting a paper copy of a book order to pay by check made out to Scholastic.

A Peek At Our Week:

- Math --- Students will be completing a brief review of Unit 4 before taking the written assessment this week.  We *may* begin Unit 5 which focuses on geometry concepts including shapes and line segments.

- Language Arts --- Our social studies and language arts are closely integrated this week, with reading selections focusing on music and instruments from the past and present.  Our phonics focus is on decoding words with r-controlled vowels.

- Bible --- This week, students will be working in small groups to create a creche of the manger scene so they can retell the story of Christ's birth with these special props.

Have an enjoyable week!

News & Notes {and glitter galore!}

Hello all!

I trust you enjoyed a great weekend with your children.  I heard from several students that they had busy weekends and anticipated plans.  It is an exciting time of the year, especially for young ones and it's certainly easy for them to become overtired quickly.  We are trying very hard to keep a routine flowing in second grade while still enjoying the advent season and the anticipation of the Christmas celebration.

The big thing to keep in mind for the upcoming week is the New Danville Christmas Program.  The program will begin at 7pm on Thursday, December 11th.  We ask that students arrive in their classrooms no later than 6:45pm.  Students should come dressed in their Christmas best.  :)

One other item of note regarding spelling:  I have reassessed all students' spelling development.  I am so proud of how much progress they have made!  I have adjusted spelling groups and assigned spelling words accordingly.  Your child may or may not be assigned a different "color" of word (the color are strictly for me to keep track of spelling groups and are not indicative of a student's spelling level).  I have done my best to put students in a group relatively close to their level of spelling development.  If you have questions or concerns regarding the new words that come home this week or your child's spelling development, please contact me.

A Peek At Our Week:

- Bible --- We have started our ABC Advent books to help us prepare for the celebration of Christ's birth.  We are taking a break from the Moses story for the month of December (though we will be finishing up a few pages of our Ten Commandments class book).  Activities for Bible will help students to focus on what Christmas truly means.

- Language Arts --- Our phonics focus for the week will be on r-controlled vowels and silent letters, while grammar will focus on present-tense verbs.  Students will work on summarizing the main points of their texts.

- Math --- Students will continue working on 2-digit addition.  Now that they have a solid base of strategies for mentally adding 2-digit addition, we will provide a bit of extra framework for their addition by utilizing a pencil and paper record.  Please bear in mind that the strategies taught will feel foreign to you at first when you help with homework.  I am not teaching traditional addition (adding ones and then tens, carrying the ones, etc.) yet.  Fear not!  I will teach that later in the year.

- Social Studies --- We will be comparing and contrasting how Christmas was celebrated in the past with how Christmas is celebrated in the present.

 All of the students helped me to brighten up our room for the Christmas season... even though our tree isn't very reflective of this time of year, the lights certainly are!

 Each student created a "shining synonym" light bulb.  

There was glitter galore!

 Earlier in the week, students teamed up to add 2-digit numbers mentally using the parts and total diagram from earlier this year.

After finding the answer mentally, some students decided to check their answers using the class number grid.  Way to use those strategies!

 Knowing that we would be working on 2-digit addition again next week, we took a short break from all of the adding to explore measurement and the difference between inches and centimeters.

 Students measured the height of their chairs in both inches and centimeters to compare the results.  We also measured the height of our desks and the width of the classroom doors, but with all of the excitement of comparing the measurements I did more conversing than snapping of pictures.  ;)