The Amazing 2MP

Sorry for the Absence

2012-02-06T16:51:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

I have been fighting with this darn computer for weeks trying to get my password to work. I finally have it.

Things are going very well. I have sent home progress reports and am glad to see that you have received them.

The students are currently working on measurement (using non-standard units; things like paper clips, blocks, coffee stir sticks, etc.) which is great because it allows them to continue to work on their stellar addition and subtraction skills. I am proud to say that all students met the proficient level in our adition and subtraction assessments the first time around. What smart kiddos.
In english they are working on their projects about endangered animals. It is my hope that they will complete most of it in the classroom but it may come home if they are struggling to finish in the classtime given so watch their backpacks. If they would like to do any additional research on their animal at home they are more than welcome.

I wanted to share some samples of their latest work. We read the book "Winston of Churchill" about a group of polar bears protesting to bring awareness about global warming. Here is what some of the students wrote they thought the polars in the book would be thinking:

My apologies once again for the long absence. Hope to speak to all of you soon.

New Year Upon Us

2012-01-05T14:25:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,
So the new year is here. It is still so weird writing 2012 on things.

School is getting off to a good start. The students have dove into their work. In Science and ELA (this is the short term for English Language Arts) we are focusing on Animals, particularly their life cycles and the interrelationship between humans and animals. The students have been asking so many interesting questions, which is perfect, seeing as we are focusing on the Reading Power of Questioning. I know that won't be a problem for this group. Today we discussed the final project for English this unit. The students will be making a presentation as an endangered animal of their choosing. They will speaking from the perspective of the animal and discussing how humans can help "them" survive. I am excited to see what they come up with. This project will likely be the first that requires the students to be doing some research at home so be prepared for some homework over the next little while.

In math we are moving into Addition and Subtraction. Seeing as the students have had so much practice doing this already with their calendar books I am not anticipating that it will be a problem whatsoever.

In gym we are moving into Target Games so the students will get to explore some sports (like soccer, baseball, basketball, bocce ball, etc.) and will play some games using the skills they would need for these sports. They absolutely loved practicing their kicks today. It was great. I am also already seeing an improvement in their stamina.

What hard workers!

Seasons Greetings

2011-12-19T15:39:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

Things have been going well in class. The students have shown amazing insight and inquisitiveness as we have discussed different celebrations and traditions. They are really interested in learning the meaning behind the symbols of both familiar and unfamiliar holidays.

They have been practicing very diligently for the Christmas concert. As a reminder, the concert will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 21st at 1:30pm and 7:00pm. There will be limited seating at the 1:30 performance as the entire school be there to watch.

During English, the students have been learning about visualization, predictions, and retelling stories. They love to share what they are thinking about as they are reading.   They love it so much in fact, that I often have to cut our conversations short because we would simply not finish any books otherwise.

We have finished our math unit for this month. All of the students have done very well and have more than mastered their understanding of numbers from 0 to 100. I anticipate that it will be smooth sailing when we get to addition and subtraction, particularly when some already have begun to work with multiplication and division.

Just a reminder, students will be dismissed on Thursday Dec. 22nd at 2:00, as a little Christmas present from the School Board.

If you have any questions or comments please post or call.

Early Dismissal and CTV Presentation

2011-12-07T11:12:00.001-08:00

Hello Everyone,

This is just a quick reminder that the students will be dismissed early on Thursday (at lunch time).

The video of the children singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas will be on Saturday Dec. 24th at 6:30pm and on Monday Dec. 26th at 12:00 pm.

Thanks

Just a Quick One

2011-12-05T06:07:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,
Just a quick note on the week.

Today Susan Robertson will be coming in again to help develop the ELA structure in our classroom. We are working towards a system that allows the children to be more independent. It is called the Daily Five. If you are interested more information can be found at http://www.the2sisters.com/.

Wednesday will be a very exciting day. The majority of the students will be singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas for a CTV filming. I do not have the broadcast day as of yet but I will let you know as soon as possible.

Finally, Early Dismissal Day is on Thursday the 8th. Please remember that students will be brought home or picked up at 11:55 that day.

Thanks for reading everyone.

Report Card Day

2011-11-25T14:25:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,
Today report cards come home. Parent-Teacher Interviews will be on Nov. 30th and Dec. 1st. Your child will have brought home a sheet telling you when your appointment is. If they didn't they will likely have it in their bag. If they don't... please call the school and Mrs. Silbernagel will be able to help you. I am really looking forward to speaking with you all.

Things are continuing to go fantastically here at school. We are currently working on Traditions and Celebrations in ELA. We are discussing some of the different winter holidays that are celebrated in North America. As a heads up to parents, this means that we are discussing different religons and their beliefs, at least those associated with the holidays. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me through email or at the school.

Have a great weekend everyone. Bye for now

Report Cards Near

2011-11-22T06:15:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,
It has been an extremely long time since I last posted. Things have been going very smoothly here at school but a family illness has been taking much of my attention outside of school times, hence my prolonged absence.

The children are continuing to do amazing things in math. They are given a lot of time to explore and play with numbers and the number sentences they have been able to create have been astounding. They are so capable when we give them to space to really explore what they can do.

Reading and writing is coming along nicely. We have been focusing on the Reading Powers
(connecting, inferring, questioning, visualizing, and transforming) with our friend Chester. Chester has shown us that reading includes thinking, not just decoding the words. The kids have taken to it like ducks to water.

Report cards will be sent out this Friday (Nov. 25th). We are having Parent Teacher Interviews next week. Your child was given forms for you to fill out to pick times that particularly suited you. If you didn't get the form, not to worry. Mrs. Silbernagel will schedule a time for you and a letter will be sent home letting you know what time the appointment is for.

Thanks for reading everyone. Have a great week.

Thursday after Halloween

2011-11-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,
Once again it has been quite a while. We have been so busy here, what with Halloween and workshops on my part.

I will be posting some halloween pictures but I will be trying to remove faces. If you are interested in having some pictures of your child please send me your email and I will send you our pictures.

The workshop I went to this week was about teaching literacy in the classroom more effectively. The school board has given us an amazing book called Reading Power. We have been using the reading strategies addressed in this book but we will be adopting the Reading Power method of learning them. Once we have settled into the process I will be sending home some fun activities to do with your child.

Your children were given Parent/Teacher Interview forms for you to fill out. Report cards will be completed for our class prior to Nov. 16th. They will be given out on Nov. 25th, if I am remembering correctly. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Not Much To Tell

2011-10-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

There isn't much extra to share today. We had a good day together though. We are doing some amazing things in math, looking at multiplication and division. We have learned how it relates to skip counting and how we can break larger numbers into even groups and use these to figure out multiplication and division number sentences. Not everyone is working at this point yet. Many of us are still working on adding two or three numbers together but a large number of students have been able to explore these more difficult concepts.

I am asking parents to send in any empty cereal boxes that you may have. I mentioned that Susan was going to teach us about how to make better use of independent reading time. She taught us I PICK (where the students think of the PURPOSE for their reading, their INTEREST in the book, their COMPREHENSION, and whether they KNOW most of the words. To help make the reading process smoother we came up with a list of rules, one of which is that the kids read for the whole time. Because they are such fast readers this means that they need several books at their desk. We are making file folders to hold their books out of old cereal boxes. This supports not only our classroom's goal of reusing and reducing as much as possible but also supports my bank account balance HeeHee!

One small reminder about the party on Friday. Kids can bring their costumes but they need normal clothes as well. Feel free to send goodies. Thanks for all of your support.

I guess this wasn't such a short message after all :P

Tuesday Morning

2011-10-25T07:03:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,
Thank you for the lovely comment. It would be absolutely fine if you would like to send treats. We don't have any peanut allergies in our classroom but if it is possible it would be great if there weren't any peanuts. That's so generous of you to even think of it. I am going to send a note home in their agendas about this but I wanted to remind parents to send their child with their street clothes on Friday. This is not the official parade day, which will take place on Monday, so students will need to be able to put on some regular clothes for recess.

We have another busy day planned today. We are starting to wind down in our Air and Water unit in science so we will be working towards finishing that off. The kids also have health and music today. They always seem to really enjoy the time they get to spend with the other teachers in our school. With P.E., Math and English thrown in it will be another busy day.

Today Mrs. Robertson is going to teach the students how to make sure that they have picked out a perfect fit book. As a class we have discussed how to make sure that you are going to understand the book by using the five finger test (you read the first page and if you can't understand 5 things then the book is too hard. If you understand it all it is a little too easy; we aim for 2-3 mistakes). We have also discussed putting a book down if you are not enjoying it and trying to find a book with subject matter you do enjoy. Mrs. Robertson is going to take this process further for us though. I am not sure as of yet what her strategy entails but I am looking forward to learning along with the kids.

Once again, thank you so much for the positive comments. It's so nice to know that the blog is being read.
Have a great day!

Heading to Halloween

2011-10-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,
Once again, it has been a while since I blogged.
Last week I was away for Monday and Tuesday attending a workshop on Classroom Management. We learnt how to create positive communities within our classroom and how to approach behaviour issues as a skill deficiency, rather than as a lack of drive or motivation to behave. It really sounds like common sense but it means a large shift in how we do things in our room. We are removing reward and punishment systems and moving towards a skill development approach. The assumption will be that if the student is not behaving it is because they are lacking the skills to resolve the problem in a positive way. The students and I will be discussing the problem and talking about more appropriate ways to resolve them.   It will take some time for us all to get use to it but I hope that it will bring positive results for all of us.

On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, Mrs. Susan Robertson, a literacy coach from the school board has been working with our class on how to make our reading and writing times the best they can possibly be. We have loved having her and I think that we have all learned a lot so far. She will be working with us all of this week as well.

I have decided to have our Halloween party on Friday, rather than on Nov. 1st, the day designated for the school's Halloween Parade. This is due to the fact that we have a student in our class who is new to Canada and we want to introduce her to our traditions before the actual holiday.   Students can bring a costume to class. I do recommend, however, that they wear normal clothes as well.

Thanks everyone,
Have a great week.

2011-10-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

What a great day!

The students from 5/6S came to spend the day with us today. They were an awesome addition. They helped the students explore the number 14 and played math games with ten frames in the morning (if you don't know what ten frames are...I sure didn't... ask your child to explain...I am sure they would love it).

The older students also helped our grade 2's make magazine covers showing off what they have learned about air and water in science class.

We also played tag and angry farmer. I think it was the best tag game ever.   It was an absolute blast.   I would love to have them back any day.

As an fyi, I am away on Monday and Tuesday next week. I am going to Saskatoon to attend a workshop on how to improve classroom management (how well the students listen, how well they behave, how well they get their work done, etc.) by creating a positive classroom environment. I am really looking forward to bringing what I learn back to Columbia.

On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday Susan Robertson, one of our school boards Literacy Coaches is coming to the classroom to help make sure that our classrooms approach to teaching reading and writing is effective and fun. I can't wait.

Oh, before I forget, there is a book fair on Oct. 19th as well as an Open House. Please come and allow your child to show you what they have been doing so far.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Opps! It has been a long time.

2011-10-11T08:06:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,
Sorry it has been so long since I have last posted. Things have been so busy both in and out of school. No news is good news. The children have been doing a great job. We are continuing to work on our reading and writing as well as the water and air unit. In math we are now focusing on the numbers 1 to 100. I am so impressed with what I have seen so far.

I hope everyone had a great long weekend. The kids celebrated the holiday season at school by writing several pieces on what they are thankful for and by creating adorable turkeys with their reading buddies from Mrs. Slater's class.

I apologize for not getting back quickly enough to be effective to some of the comments. For some reason, the notifications for the comments did not come until a few days after they questions were submitted.

The shoe donations have finished unfortunately but we are still accepting food donations.

Once again, my apologies for being absent for so long.

Have a great day everyone.

Terry Fox Run Day

2011-09-29T17:01:00.000-07:00

What a busy but good day today.

It was Terry Fox Run day at school today. All of the students in the school walked or ran in memory of Terry Fox. We had buddy reading right before (which the kids love) so some of the grade 5 and 6's ran with them. They loved it.

Next week the kids are going to be making a craft with the buddies. They will need an apple or a potato to make Thanksgiving turkeys. I will be sending out a letter soon about it.

Busy but Great Day

2011-09-28T15:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

It's been a while.

We had an interesting day today. We learned about increasing patterns again in math. Some were struggling at the beginning but by the end of the class most of the students understood. Those that didn't joined me later in the day for a special tutorial. I think we have worked out most of the kinks now.

We also had double gym today. The kids really seemed to enjoy that. We learned how to check our pulse and why it is important to make our heart and lungs work.   The children also learned that they are the only ones responsible for making sure that they work hard and get enough exercise.

The kids also had Health and Music today. They have been behaving better and better for the other teachers. I am happy to see that all of the students are remembering how to behave at school.

Last but not least, the children had Science. I think they surprised Mrs. Gallagher with just how much they already knew about the states of water. We have really been enjoying this unit. I know that they are going to absolutely love solids and liquids as well, when we come to that unit. They will already know so much.

On a side note, we have had a lot of kids sick lately... part of coming back to school I suppose. Colds and sore throats have been the most common.   Please encourage your kids to cover their mouths with their elbows when they sneeze and to avoid things like licking non-eatable objects, picking their noses and not washing their hands before meals. Thanks so much. Hearing it at home as well as school really helps it sink in.

End of Week 4

2011-09-23T15:13:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,
Another great day today.

Mrs. Warick came in today to speak to them about what it feels like to be stressed and what happens if we let our stress make us out of control. The students learned how to rate how they are feeling on a 5 point scale, with 1 being That Never Bothers Me and with 5 being This could make me lose control. Mrs. Warick is coming back next week to teach us how to make sure that we don't get to a level 5.

The kids made some great discoveries today in Science. They discovered that cold air is heavier than warm air and that this is what causes moving air, like wind. We also talked about how the transfer of energy from something warm (like our hands) to ice will make it turn into water. The students were able to grasp that this change happens because the molecules now have more energy. They even understood how the process works in reverse. What a smart bunch.

We worked on increasing patterns and all of the students were able to continue a pattern that increased by two bugs (in this case) each time. We struggled a bit with the problem solving templates we are using but I think that has more to do with me being new to grade two and not know how much, or really how, to introduce something that requires such high level thinking. They didn't get frustrated though. They kept on working, even when it was difficult.

We did have some set backs today. After lunch recess a large majority of the class was very rowdy. After being told several times to sit and wait for instructions they were told that if the behaviour continued the class would not be going to gym (I explained that the gym can be dangerous if people do not follow the rules or listen to instructions). Unfortunately, the behaviour did not change.   I do not particularly like, or agree with, taking away phys. ed. as a punishment but in this case it was the natural consequence, and an effective one at that.   The children instead wrote sentences about why it is important to follow the rules and why it is important to listen.   I was so proud of the students who were behaving all along.   They did not complain; they understood that we all work together and deal with the consequences together. They also understood that when so many aren't following the rules it is hard for the teacher to see where the issue is coming from.   I am very proud of them. They were ALL very grown up about the situation, totally understanding and accepting.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.
Bye for now.

Quick Note

2011-09-22T06:58:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
I have had a couple questions about agendas. Basically, I have the students get you to sign them every day so I know that you are checking them to see if there are any notes or if there is any homework. Other than reading each night, I don't give homework unless the work for the day hasn't been completed. The signature can be anywhere on the boxes for that day. It can be a signature or just initials, anything that lets me know that you have seen their agenda. I hope that clears things up. :)
Have a great day!

What a Wednesday!

2011-09-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

We had a busy day here today.

The kids did a really good job of getting their work done today.

We are continuing to have struggles with people not speaking nicely to each other, pushing, and name calling.

I think that I am going to have students create posters and letters about why we should not engage in these behaviours. I will also be continuing with our behaviour plan.

If you have any ideas please feel free to send them either by email or by commenting on the blog.

Oh... I am going to be adding some links to the site as well. I am not tech savvy enough to do it tonight but I am going to seek the people in the know and have them show me how to add this gadget to blogger.

For now, I will give you the link as part of the post. The site I found today that I thought people might enjoy contains the Dolch Sight Vocabulary Words. Basically, these are high frequency words (they are in most of what we read). Lots of kids struggle with these words though because many of them do not lend themselves to being sounded out. (ex. busy, laugh, etc.). This site allows you to print off flash cards and provides an electronic flash card power point. I am going to print off a set of cards for the class, probably just the grade 1 to 3 cards, but if you would like a set yourself the address is:
www.mrsperkins.com/dolch.htm

It's been a while

2011-09-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
It's been a while since my last post. In this case, no news is good news. Things have been moving smoothly at school. The children are moving on in Math into increasing patterns. I think they will pick this up quickly. We started buddy reading yesterday and the kids all really seemed to enjoy it. We will be doing that twice each 6 day cycle.

We have been having discussions as a class about some proper behaviours. We have been talking about what it means to be a good listener (making eye contact, turning your body towards the speaker, waiting for your turn to speak, and actually hearing what the person is saying). We have also been talking about the proper way to respond to someone when they are doing something that is upsetting you (asking them to stop in a polite way and explaining that it is bothering you). For some students these things have been a struggle in our classroom. Having parents emphasize this at home would be absolutely wonderful.

Thank you so much everyone. I will talk to you soon :)

Water Cycle Wednesday

2011-09-14T20:06:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,
Wow... today might have been a little information overload for the kids. We were working on our math templates again today. They are pretty difficult to understand so we focused on how to figure out what you are suppose to figure out in a word problem. I hope we made a little progress.

We have been working on learning how to write the days. Many of the students have been struggling with understanding the months and the year. This might be a great thing to talk about at home... what month it is, when the seasons change, when the year changes, and special events that happen in each month to help the kids associate what we are doing in class with something in their own life.

We really got into our science unit today as well. The kids had some great questions. They asked
"where does water come from"
"where does rain come from"
"why are clouds dark"
"what is lightening"
"what is thunder"
"where do rainbows come from"

Here is the website we went to to figure out why storm clouds are dark (http://weatherquesting.com/dark-clouds.htm)

During class we had time to talk about how solids turn into liquids then into gas and vise versa, and how this related to the water cycle. Many of them picked it up very quickly and even had some great observations to make and some spectacular questions to ask. What a great class.

Just as an fyi, there seems to be a cold going around the school. Many people are experiencing sore throats, coughing, runny noses, and upset stomachs, pretty much your typical cold season.

Wild and Windy

2011-09-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

Well... I guess I asked for this fall chill. I shouldn't have complained about the weather last week. Heehee.

We struggled a bit today to keep everyone focused and listening. I think it might partly be because we were dealing with some difficult concepts in Math. We are learning how to fill out the math templates used for problem solving in the Good Spirit School Division. The templates require a lot of the students. Definitely not more than they are capable of but perhaps more than they are used to. We will be working hard to all become expert problem solvers.

The students also wrote letters today. They did a great job. We will be writing more notes and letters, all with a special message in them. I am sure the students would enjoy practicing their new skills by writing letters and notes to family members.

What a Sweltering Friday

2011-09-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,
Wow, that was a hot one but even with the steamy weather the kids were super well behaved, best day yet. Our only struggles with paying attention today came at the end of the day. I was very proud of how far they have come in such a short time. There is more work, more listening, and a lot more laughing done lately.

I think the kids favourite part of the day was meeting Math Monkey. He read them a book about a Toad and Frog losing a button and used the story to teach about attributes (the characteristics that change among the elements that make up a pattern. I think Math Monkey will definitely be coming for another visit.)

I have sent home some information about parents about how to infuse reading into your home life. I hope everyone finds some fun things they can do together.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I will see all of the kids again on Monday.

:)

First Early Dismissal Day

2011-09-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
Did you hear about all of the fun we had today? The kids made bracelets for math. They did a great job. I've attached a picture so you could see all of their hard work.

We also made kites to decorate our classroom, listing the things that the students knew and would like to learn about air and water.

A few parents have been asking about the Welcome Back Breakfast. The breakfast is run by the SCC and we have not been given information on it as of yet. I do know that the SCC has had difficulty getting volunteers in the past so if you are interested in bringing events like the Welcome Back Breakfast back to the school they would love some help.

Thanks for another great day kids.

Wonderful Wednesday

2011-09-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,
Today we learned what makes a good story (staying on topic, lots of information, correct spelling, full sentences). The students will be writing all about themselves. We will be working on this topic for a few more days.

Some of the kids wanted to practice their printing so here is a link to a great printable practice page.
http://www.kidslearningstation.com/preschool/practice-printing.asp
I will be sending some home with kids who expressed an interest or with those who need a little extra help.

In math today the kids finished their first worksheets. Everyone did amazingly. I don't think there was a wrong answer in the group. We will be making things a little harder for them but I have no doubt that each and every one of them will pick it up.

We did a little drama today as well. The kids acted out how they felt a character in the book we were reading would feel in certain situations. Again, I can't get over how good they are. Lots of facial expression and they can easily hold their expressions without laughing.

One thing that the class has been working on together to improve is listening to instructions and not interrupting the teacher. We have added a sticker board to our classroom behaviour. I write the word sticker on a board and cross it off, letter by letter, if the class isn't paying attention. If one or two students aren't paying attention, we add the letters of their name, one by one, until four letters are on the board. If the word stickers is still on the board and their name isn't up there than they get an extra reward sticker at the end of the day. It has been slow going with this but I think that once they get used to being back at school things will improve quickly.

Don't forget about early dismissal tomorrow. The kids leave at lunch time (11:55)

Have a great evening everyone.

After Labour Day

2011-09-06T17:43:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
Today was another great day. The kids presented their Me Bags today. It was great getting to know everyone. How wonderful to learn that so many of them love to read.

We have been working on patterns in class. Your children have been learning how to extend patterns and how to create patterns with three attributes, in our case, changes in colour (ex. red, yellow, red, yellow), shape (ex. triangle, square, triangle, square), and position (ex. up, down, up, down). Some of them have come up with some very creative ways of creating patterns, things I wouldn't have come up with myself. I am impressed.

I am attaching a link to a website that has some printable pattern blocks/colouring pages so they can show you at home if you'd like.

Thanks for commenting on the blogs. Please don't hestiate to contact me at the school if you have any questions or comments.

Here is the link. Just click "pattern blocks pack" under SPECIAL PAPERS:
http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/math1-3/p-printables.html

What a Great Day!

2011-09-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

I think today was the first day that I got to see how the kids really are. What a great group. I can't believe the amazing work they produced today. There was amazing reading, writing, and problem solving. I can see that these kids are going to make this year fly by in a wonderful blur.

After the First Day

2011-09-01T17:50:00.000-07:00

We had a great day in class today. The kids settled in well and are already following the classroom procedures. I'm very impressed. I have attached the class' behaviour plan and procedures manual. Things may change as the year goes on but at least you will have the plan here :) .

It's great to see that some of you have already found the blog. Please feel free to post any comments or questions or make requests for content.

I'm looking forward for a fantastic year with some really fantastic kids.

Cheers

Can't Wait for September!

2011-08-17T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
Welcome to the blog for Classroom 2MP. This blog will be used to share with parents and the world wide web all the fun things we will be doing in our classroom this year. I can't wait to see the amazing work these grade 2's will do. See you all soon!