We have been working hard in 2nd grade.  Here is a little about what we have been doing in the classroom:

READING– In reading we are working on amping up our reading power.  We spent this week woring on fluency strategies.   We learned the following strategies to help us read more fluently:  1.  Read aloud and in your head and make them match. 2.  Scoop words into longer phrases.  3.  Talk like the characters. 4. Make your voice match the mood of the story.               5.  Read with a “just right” pace.   2nd graders can be using these strategies when they are reading at home as well.

WRITING –  This week we started our Poetry unit.  We have learned about and written alliterations, adjective poems, and rhyming phrases.  We are starting a poetry portfolio and will gather all our poems together when the unit is done.

MATH – We working are learning double digit subtraction right now.  We have learned how to solve these problems using base-10 pictures and expanded method.  Next week we will focus on Ungrouping or what parents call “borrowing”.

PHONICS – We are learning how to build bigger and longer words.  This week we learned how to build words quickly by listening for word parts we know.  We also practiced writing words syllable by syllable.

S.O.A.R. – We continue to work on SOARing at school, in the classroom and the playground!  Please encourage your 2nd grader to remember to SOAR in all they do!

SPECIALS SCHEDULE:

Monday, Feb. 24  – Music

Tuesday, Feb. 25 –  Art

Wednesday, Feb. 26 – Steam

Thursday, Feb. 27 – Gym

Friday, Feb. 29- Music

Monday, March 2 – Art

Tuesday, March 3 – Steam

Wednesday, March 4 – Gym

Thursday, March 5 – Music

Friday, March 6 – Art

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

1. CLASSROOM NEED: Our stash of Clorox wipes has been depleted.  I am asking for a 2nd round of donations.  If you are willing to donate, please send them to school with your kiddo.  Thank You!!
2. Please remember that THURSDAY is our Library day.  Many kids are continuing to forget to return books each week.  Please help remind your kiddo on Thursday mornings to pack their books.
3. Reminder:  Next Friday we will be going to the Hudsonville Byker Library to learn about Hudsonville History then will be taking a short bus tour to see Hudsonville today.  We will be leaving school at 9:15.
4. Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up on Monday, March 9 and Wednesday, March 11.  Look for the sign-up to be sent out next week.

We have been working hard in 2nd grade.  Here is a little about what we have been doing in the classroom:

READING/WRITING – In reading we are focusing on different ways to focus on and learn about characters.  We are learning about character traits and different ways to describe the character using outside traits and inside traits.  We have also been using SCOOP to help us retell stories.  Here are the steps of SCOOP: 

S – setting (where & when), C – characters, O – Oh No! the Problem, O – Order of Events,  P– Problem Solved.  This is a great acronym for the 2nd graders to use at home when working on retelling a story.

MATH – We working on finishing up Unit 3 on geometry.  We have been learning shapes and practicing measuring using inches and centimeters.

WRITING – We are now learning how to write Opinion letters.  We started this week by writing letters to Mrs. Fellows telling her our opinions of different books.  Next week we will be writing our opinions on all sorts of things such as food, restaurants, games and places to visit.

S.O.A.R. – We continue to work on SOARing at school, in the classroom and the playground!  Please encourage your 2nd grader to remember to SOAR in all they do!

SPECIALS SCHEDULE:

Monday, Jan. 27 – Music

Tuesday, Jan. 28 –  Art

Wednesday, Jan. 29 – Steam

Thursday, Jan. 30 – Gym

Friday, Jan. 31 -Early Release

Monday, Feb. 3 – Winter Break

Tuesday, Feb. 4 – Winter Break

Wednesday, Feb. 5 – Music

Thursday, Feb. 6 – Art

Friday, Feb. 7 – Steam

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

1. CLASSROOM NEED: Our stash of Clorox wipes has been depleted.  I am asking for a 2nd round of donations.  If you are willing to donate, please send them to school with your kiddo.  Thank You!!
2. Friday, Jan. 31 is an Early Release and Mon/Tues, Feb. 3/4 is Winter Break.

We have had another great week!  The kiddos did great at the Christmas program!!  Here is what we have been working on in the classroom:

READING/WRITING – We finished up our nonfiction unit.  We are now working on a fun reading project for the holidays.  We are “traveling” around the world learning about how different countries spend the holidays.  We started in the USA and then traveled to Brazil.  Next week we will make more stops!!

MATH – We finished Unit 2 lessons.  Next week we will be doing a test review and then taking Unit 2 assessment.

S.O.A.R. – We continue to work on SOARing at school, in the classroom and the playground!

 

SPECIALS SCHEDULE:

Monday, Dec. 9 – Music

Tuesday, Dec. 10 –  Art

Wednesday, Dec. 11 – Steam

Thursday, Dec. 12 – Gym

Friday, Dec. 13 – Steam

Monday, Dec. 16 – Music

Tuesday, Dec. 17 – Art

Wednesday, Dec. 18 – Steam

Thursday, Dec. 19 – Gym

Friday, Dec. 20 – Music

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

1. A note is coming home today regarding our Holiday Gift Bags (in lieu of gift exchange).  2nd graders can start bringing in their gift bag goodies next week.
2. Our Christmas Party is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 19 from 1:00 – 2:00.
3. Many kids are forgetting LIBRARY books on Thursdays.  Please help your 2nd grader remember to pack these in their backpacks.
4. SHOES – please help your kiddo remember to pack shoes when wearing their boots.
5.  Santa Secret Shop is next week.  We will be shopping on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
6. Next Friday, Dec. 13 is Early Release.

The 2nd graders recently read multiple books on a topic in hopes of becoming and “expert” and growing their knowledge.  They then took this knowledge, designed a poster, and “taught” the rest of us about their topic.  I have attached pictures of the kids with their posters.

PS:  I will update the blog on Tuesday with what has been going on with academics.

The last couple of weeks has been a little crazy hectic for me.  I have been out of the classroom quite a bit with meetings, a family emergency, and then on Friday the stomach flu.  Hopefully this will be the end for a while.  We have still managed to get lots done in the classroom!

READING – We continued reading nonfiction this week.  This week the 2nd graders all chose a topic to read about.  We are learning how reading multiple books on one topic can help our knowledge grow.  

MATH – We are working on double digit addition!!  The kids learned 3 different ways of solving a problem.  Ask your 2nd grader if they can show you the 3 strategies.  Just so you know….the New Groups Above strategy is also known as “Carrying”.

WRITING – The kids finished up a nonfiction booklet this week.  I will be sharing them with you at conferences.

S.O.A.R. – We continue to work on SOARing at school, in the classroom and the playground!

PHONICS –  In unit two we have been working hard at learning strategies to figure out tricky words.

 

SPECIALS SCHEDULE:

Monday, Nov. 18 – Music

Tuesday, Nov. 19 – Art

Wednesday, Nov. 20 – Steam

Thursday, Nov. 21 – Gym

Friday, Nov. 22 – Music

Monday, Nov. 25 – Art

Tuesday, Nov. 26- Steam

Wednesday, Nov. 27 – No School – Thanksgiving Break

Thursday, Nov. 28 – No School – Thanksgiving Break

Friday, Nov. 29 – No School – Thanksgiving Break

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

1. Parent Teacher Conferences –  I am looking forward to meeting with everyone on Monday & Wednesday.  If you have not yet signed up for a time please use this link to to do. https://signup.com/Group/1245791768099/
2. Our next Social Studies Friday is scheduled for Friday, December 6.  Please mark your calendars so your 2nd grader won’t miss important content.
3. Many kids are forgetting LIBRARY books on Thursdays.  Please help your 2nd grader remember to pack these in their backpacks.
4. SNACKS – Please remember to send a morning snack (PEANUT FREE) with your 2nd grader.  We have a long morning and the kids enjoy a little snack right after recess.
5. SHOES – please help your kiddo remember to pack shoes when wearing their boots.
6. Upcoming dates:   Nov. 27 – 29 – Thanksgiving Break, Tuesday, Dec. 3 – Alward Christmas Program,  Friday, Dec. 6 – Social Studies Day, Friday, Dec. 20 – Christmas Party
7. Report Cards will be coming home on Monday, Nov. 18.

It has been a busy week.  Here is what we have been working on in the classroom.

READING – We continued reading nonfiction this week.  Our lesson topics this week were:  1.  When we have moments of surprise when reading nonfiction, it usually means we are growing our knowledge with new information.  2.  When reading nonficion, readers will come across tricky vocabulary words that are specific to the topic.  3.  We have to stop and ask, “What is this part teaching me?”

MATH – We finished up math Unit 1 by taking our test.  Today the kids are coming home with their Unit 1 Pretest and Posttest.  It is great to compare them and see the growth that happened over the unit.  All 2nd graders showed growth!

WRITING – We continued writing our non-fiction booklets.  Our lesson topics were:  1.  Setting a goal and making plans for writing.  2.  How to add table of contents and glossaries to our informational booklets.  3.  Knowing who our audience is helps us know what information to include and how to write it.

S.O.A.R. – We have officially filled our SOAR pocket chart three times now.  We are   The 2nd graders are doing awesome!!

PHONICS –  Some of our topic this week was learning how to read tricky and challenging word.   We learned you can break words into parts.  One way is to break a word apart by its syllables.  Another way is to look for a word that has two consonants next to each other and split the word between the consonants.

SOCIAL STUDIES – We had our first Social Studies day today.  The kids rotated through the three 2nd grade classrooms.  Our topic was COMMUNITIES.  In Ms. Reisdorff’s room they learned that a community is a place to Live, Work, & Play.  In Mrs. Heethuis’ room, kids worked on coming up with questions to ask our visiting community members.  In Mrs. Harmsen’s room, we learned about how every community has Natural Characteristic and Human Characteristics.  We talked about how communities are different based on these characteristics.  We followed up the rotations with a panel of community members that we were able to ask questions.  We heard from people who live and work in this community.

SPECIALS SCHEDULE:

Monday, Oct. 28 – Steam

Tuesday, Oct. 29 – Gym

Wednesday, Oct. 30 – Music

Thursday, Oct. 31 – Art

Friday, Nov. 1 – Steam

Monday, Nov. 4 -Gym

Tuesday, Nov. 5 – Music

Wednesday, Nov. 6 – Art

Thursday, Nov. 7 – Steam

Friday, Nov. 8 – Gym

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

1. XTRA MATH – Please encourage your 2nd grader to log into Xtra Math from home.  Our goal is to master all basic addition/subtraction facts this year.  The more they log on from home, the quicker they will get through the program.  Once addition and subtraction is complete, 2nd graders will be able to play Prodigy….another fun math program to play.
2. Continue encouraging your 2nd grader to read their Reading Counts library book and take a quiz on it.  Their goal is to earn 45 points this year in 2nd grade. Each week 1 of the library books should be a reading counts book.  The reading counts books always have a letter sticker on the spine.
3. Our next Social Studies Friday is scheduled for Friday, December 6.  Please mark your calendars so your 2nd grader won’t miss important content.
4. Our Halloween Party is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 31 from 1:15 – 2:00 followed by the Halloween Costume parade at 2:00.  2nd graders will change into their costumes right after lunch recess.  Please remember that students should be able to put on their costumes independently and have NO weapons.
5. SNACKS – Please remember to send a morning snack (PEANUT FREE) with your 2nd grader.  We have a long morning and the kids enjoy a little snack right after recess.
6. COOLER WEATHER is here.  Please make sure your 2nd grader is dressed appropriately for playing outside.  Please make sure their outdoor clothing is labeled with names as well.

We have been super busy here in 2nd grade!  Here is a run down of what we have been working on in the classroom:

READING – We started Unit 2 this week.  We are now focusing on reading strategies for Nonfiction.  This week we worked on the following lessons:  1.  Focusing on all the details of nonfiction….not just the words.  2.  Asking questions about our reading.  3.  Asking, “What does the author want me to learn from this section or book?”

MATH – We finished up math Unit 1 by learning about two-step story problems.  We will be doing a Unit 2 review and taking our test this week.

WRITING – We also started unit 2 in Writing this week.  Our focus in writing is also nonfiction.    Our lessons included:  1.  What are we experts on?  (brainstorming a list of topics to write about)  2.  Looking at what other nonfiction author did in their books and trying that in our own writing.  Our completed stories are going into a basket for others to read.

S.O.A.R. – We have officially filled our SOAR pocket chart twice now.  This week we will be having another SOAR celebration.  The 2nd graders are doing awesome!!

PHONICS –  Some of our topics have included rhyming and word patterns, learning the homophones to,too, two and there,their, and they’re.

SPECIALS SCHEDULE:

Monday, Oct. 21 -Art

Tuesday, Oct. 22 – Steam

Wednesday, Oct. 23 – Gym

Thursday, Oct. 24 – Music

Friday, Oct. 25 – Art

Monday, Oct. 28 – Steam

Tuesday, Oct. 29 – Gym

Wednesday, Oct. 30 – Music

Thursday, Oct. 31 – Art

Friday, Nov. 1 – Steam

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

1. XTRA MATH – Today log-in information is coming home for the program Xtra Math that we use here at school.  This program is used to help increase addition/subtraction fact fluency.  This program can also be accessed from home.  Our goal in 2nd grade is to complete the addition and subtraction programs.  Students are currently working on addition.  They will receive a certificate when they complete each program.  The more they practice, the quicker they will get through the two programs.  I am encouraging each student to access this program from home at LEAST 1 time per week.  Once they complete the Addition/Subtraction they will be allowed to access another math app called Prodigy which is very fun to play.
2. Continue encouraging your 2nd grader to read their Reading Counts library book and take a quiz on it.  Their goal is to earn 45 points this year in 2nd grade. Each week 1 of the library books should be a reading counts book.  The reading counts books always have a letter sticker on the spine.
3. Our first Social Studies Friday is coming up this Friday, Oct. 25.  It is important that all kiddos are here on that day in order to receive the instruction.  We have some fun activities planned.
4. Our Halloween Party is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 31 from 1:15 – 2:00 followed by the Halloween Costume parade at 2:00.  Please remember that students should be able to put on their costumes independently and have NO weapons.
5. SNACKS – Please remember to send a morning snack (PEANUT FREE) with your 2nd grader.  We have a long morning and the kids enjoy a little snack right after recess.

We have been super busy here in 2nd grade!  Here is a run down of what we have been working on in the classroom:

READING – We are wrapping up unit 1 in reading.  We have learned alot about how to grow as a 2nd grade reader.  We will be finishing up next week.  Please encourage your 2nd grader to read everyday at home for 15-20 minutes. 

MATH – The last couple weeks we have been working on different types of story problems.  We are learning the process to follow when solving a word problem:  1.  Read the problem.  2.  Look for key words that help us determine if we add or subtract.  3.  Write an equation.  4.  Solve the problem using a strategy.  5.  Write the answer with a label.

WRITING – We will finish our small moment stories next week.  We will be editing and writing an All About the Author page.

S.O.A.R. – The kiddos are doing great at SOARing like an Eagle Champion.  I introduced notes to the 2nd graders that they can write to a classmate if they see their friends SOARing.  We also discussed how students need to start monitoring themselves as well.  Next week the school staff will be starting to hand out SOAR tokens to students doing the right thing.  Each classroom has a SOAR pocket chart to collect the tokens.  When the chart is filled up, the class gets to have a SOAR celebration.  Student Champions of the Month will be chosed using the SOAR tokens as well.

PHONICS –  We were introduced to our new friend GUS.  We are working hard at teaching him phonics.  We have been working on capitals, punctuation, homophones, and troublesome words.

SPECIALS SCHEDULE:

Monday, Oct. 7 – Music

Tuesday, Oct. 8 – Art

Wednesday, Oct. 9 – Steam

Thursday, Oct. 10 – Gym

Friday, Oct. 11 – Music

Monday, Oct. 14 – Art

Tuesday, Oct. 15 – Steam

Wednesday, Oct. 16 – Gym

Thursday, Oct. 17 – Music

Friday, Oct. 18 – Music – EARLY RELEASE

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

1. XTRA MATH – Today log-in information is coming home for the program Xtra Math that we use here at school.  This program is used to help increase addition/subtraction fact fluency.  This program can also be accessed from home.  Our goal in 2nd grade is to complete the addition and subtraction programs.  Students are currently working on addition.  They will receive a certificate when they complete each program.  The more they practice, the quicker they will get through the two programs.  I am encouraging each student to access this program from home at LEAST 1 time per week.  Once they complete the Addition/Subtraction they will be allowed to access another math app called Prodigy which is very fun to play.
2. Continue encouraging your 2nd grader to read their Reading Counts library book and take a quiz on it.  Their goal is to earn 45 points this year in 2nd grade. Each week 1 of the library books should be a reading counts book.  The reading counts books always have a letter sticker on the spine.
3. Our first Social Studies Friday is coming up on Friday, Oct. 25.  It is important that all kiddos are here on that day in order to receive the instruction.  We have some fun activities planned.
4. Our Halloween Party is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 31 from 1:15 – 2:00 followed by the Halloween Costume parade at 2:00.  Please remember that students should be able to put on their costumes independently and have NO weapons.
5. Monthly Goals:  Each month the students are setting a school goal for themselves.  Today we reflected on our September goal and wrote a new one for October.  Please have them share their goals and reflections with you this weekend!

Lot’s of learning took place this week.  Here is a little about what we did this week:

READING – This week we reviewed how to figure out tricky words.  We practiced using more than one strategy.  We also learned that as 2nd graders our tricky words are going to be longer and harder and that sounding these words out doesn’t always work.  

MATH – We kept working in unit 1 math.  We worked on the following skills this week:  1.  Solving equations using the Doubles Plus/Minus 1 or 2 strategy. 2.  Writing equations and equation chains. 3.  Using strategies to add 3 and 4 addends together.

WRITING – We started writing our first small moment story together.  Our focus this week was to STRETCH out our stories.  This week we finished the middle of our stories.  We learned how to add more details by adding in dialogue, our five senses, and adjectives.

S.O.A.R. – The kiddos are doing great at SOARing like an Eagle Champion.

PHONICS –  This week we focused on silent e, r-controlled vowels, and snap words.  We also made teaching videos for a new friend that might be joining us on Monday.

SPECIALS SCHEDULE:

Monday, Sept. 23 – Steam

Tuesday, Sept. 24 – Gym

Wednesday, Sept. 25 – Music

Thursday, Sept. 26 – Art

Friday, Sept. 27 – Steam

Monday, Sept. 30 – Gym

Tuesday, Oct. 1 – Music

Wednesday, Oct. 2 – Art

Thursday, Oct. 3 – Steam

Friday, Oct. 4 – Gym

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

1. Walk-A-Thon – We are still collecting money for the walk-a-thon.  Remember to collect donations on line or collect cash/checks and return to school in the envelope.  This Friday, Sept. 27 is the Walk-A-Thon.  One week left to collect donations! Our class has earned $560 towards our goal of $900.
2. This week we started Reading Counts.  It is a program where kids can read books and take quizzes to test their comprehension.  Their goal is to earn 45 points this year in 2nd grade. Each week 1 of the library books should be a reading counts book.  The reading counts books always have a letter sticker on the spine.  Encourage your 2nd grader to read that book carefully and take a quiz.  Our classroom goal is that every student takes 1 quiz per week.
3. Just a reminder……we are a peanut free classroom.  Please do not send snack that have peanut butter in them.  Thanks!
4.   This month starts our birthday classroom celebrations.  We do have one milk allergy.  Please try and be thoughful in sending birthday treats that all kids can enjoy.  Students are no longer allowed to walk around and give out treats to other teachers due to several severe allergies within the building.  There are 25 students in the classroom.  Thanks for your understanding.
5. NEW FRIEND ANNOUNCEMENT:  Mrs. McClure stopped in our room on Friday to let us know about a new 2nd grade friend that will be joining us on Monday.  She said this new friend needs help with phonics.  So we decided to make posters and videos to help this new friend learn about what he/she missed in phonics.  The kids did a great job explaining some of the things we learned about so far.  Follow the link below to watch the teaching videos!

We had another BUSY week.  Below is a rundown of what we accomplished this week in the classroom.

READING –  We continued talking about how 2nd grade readers Grow and Grow.  Strategies we practiced this week were 1.  Reading in bigger scoops to help with fluency. 2. Stop, Think and Retell….learning to stop in the middle of books or at the end of chapters and doing a quick retell to help with comprehension. 3.  Using sticky notes to Stop & Jot ideas down as we are reading.  I have almost completed my reading assessments.  I am looking forward to all the progress we will make this year.

MATH – We kept working in unit 1 math.  We worked on the following skills this week:  1.  Solving equations with unknown addends.  2.  Solving equations with teen totals. 3.  Identifying numbers as odd/even.  4.  Solving equations using the Doubles Plus/Minus 1 or 2 strategy.

WRITING – We started writing our first small moment story together.  Our focus this week was to STRETCH out our stories.  We practiced stretching out our stories into 5 steps (first, then, next, after that, finally).  We are now working on stretching out each one of those steps into a whole page of writing with lots of details.

S.O.A.R. – The kiddos are doing great at SOARing like an Eagle Champion.  This week we were practicing hard at walking down the hall with a level 0 voice and staying in a very straight line in order to share the hallway.  The kids are doing great.

PHONICS –  We started our new phonics program this week.  We took a look at our names to see what we could find in them (ie: vowels, blends, consonants, digraphs, short/long vowels, r-controlled vowels, and many more).  We also talked about the silent e and how it changes how we sometimes say the vowel name in a word.

SPECIALS SCHEDULE:

Monday, Sept. 16 – Steam

Tuesday, Sept. 17 – Gym

Wednesday, Sept. 18 – Music

Thursday, Sept. 19 – Art

Friday, Sept. 19 – Art – *EARLY RELEASE

Monday, Sept. 23 – Steam

Tuesday, Sept. 24 – Gym

Wednesday, Sept. 25 – Music

Thursday, Sept. 26 – Art

Friday, Sept. 27 – Steam

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

1. Information went home this week regarding Walk-A-thon which will be held on Friday, Sept. 27.  Online fund raising is available this year.  The walk-a-thon committee is planning some incredible activities.  The money raised this year will help fund many different school activities!  Register on-line to collect donations or send in cash/checks in the walk-a-thon envelope that went home this week.  Our classroom goal is for everyone to raise $35 dollars.
2. We had Library this week for the first time.  Our Library time is scheduled for Thursdays.  Please help your 2nd grader remember to return his/her books each week.  We will soon be starting Reading Counts quizzes as well.
3. Just a reminder……we are a peanut free classroom.  Please do not send snack that have peanut butter in them.  Thanks!
4. Next Friday is Early Release.  Kids will be dismissed at 12:15.  Please let your child know on Friday morning if you want them to order a sack lunch to take home or take to daycare with them.