I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving long weekend.
Last week the students made some beautiful "I am thankful" pumpkins. I wanted to share a photo but its not working this week. Sorry for that. They had some lovely, thoughtful responses, including being thankful for their family members, the Earth, and their country.
We will be starting an animal unit in both English and Science. It is going to be a blast. During this unit I will be focusing on non-fiction text elements. Students will learn how to understand non-fiction texts as well as how to write non-fiction texts.
In math we are beginning our unit on numbers from 0 to 100. This won't involve addition yet. We will instead make sure that we know all of the numbers, odd vs. even, counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s. We will also be focusing on making sure that the students understand the concept of digits and place value.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Increasing vs. Repeated Patterns
This is a repeating pattern. It has a core that repeats at least three times. The core of this pattern is rectangle, circle, star.
This is an increasing pattern. It follows a rule. In this case the rule is start at one star, add one start each time.
You can see repeating patterns and increasing patterns using letters, numbers, shapes, and more.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Suprise Guests
What a wonderful day!
The students listened so well today and worked super hard. I was so incredibly proud of them.
We had a couple of special guests today. My parents, Mr. and Mrs. Myers, came in to read with us this afternoon. The kids really showed off their reading skills. Once again, I was incredibly proud.
I also want to thank parents and guardians for coming to the Open House night. It was a blast and it was so nice meeting you and getting to know you better.
The students listened so well today and worked super hard. I was so incredibly proud of them.
We had a couple of special guests today. My parents, Mr. and Mrs. Myers, came in to read with us this afternoon. The kids really showed off their reading skills. Once again, I was incredibly proud.
I also want to thank parents and guardians for coming to the Open House night. It was a blast and it was so nice meeting you and getting to know you better.
Friday, September 18, 2015
Another Great Week
We had another great week.
We are finishing up repeating patterns. The kids have done a great job. They've shown that they understand that a pattern will have a repeating core, that needs to be repeated at least 3 times before it's technically a pattern. They have also shown that they can label a pattern type using an ABC system. They can create, extend, fix, and discuss repeating patterns. Good job grade two.
In ELA we have started writing stories. We are learning about the writing process. The kids are doing pre-writing, where they write down their ideas for a story before they start their draft. We will also be adding in revision, editing, then publishing. They have also shown that they can identify the main idea of a story, the problem, the characters, the setting, and the solution to the problem.
In Social Studies we are looking at what communities we belong to. It has been fun hearing the students share what communities they and their families belong to.
In Health we are focusing on Respect. I have told the students this week how grateful I am feeling for having such a respectful and hard working class this year. The third trimester of pregnancy can be tiring but I end every day with a big smile on my face because of the lovely, respectful students in my class.
Have a great weekend everyone.
We are finishing up repeating patterns. The kids have done a great job. They've shown that they understand that a pattern will have a repeating core, that needs to be repeated at least 3 times before it's technically a pattern. They have also shown that they can label a pattern type using an ABC system. They can create, extend, fix, and discuss repeating patterns. Good job grade two.
In ELA we have started writing stories. We are learning about the writing process. The kids are doing pre-writing, where they write down their ideas for a story before they start their draft. We will also be adding in revision, editing, then publishing. They have also shown that they can identify the main idea of a story, the problem, the characters, the setting, and the solution to the problem.
In Social Studies we are looking at what communities we belong to. It has been fun hearing the students share what communities they and their families belong to.
In Health we are focusing on Respect. I have told the students this week how grateful I am feeling for having such a respectful and hard working class this year. The third trimester of pregnancy can be tiring but I end every day with a big smile on my face because of the lovely, respectful students in my class.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Week of September 8th
I hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend.
Another great day with the kids. Today we really started to dive into grade two material, rather then focusing on pre-assessment as we did last week.
In English Language Arts we are looking at story structure. Students will be expected to understand the major elements of a story (such as character, problem, setting) and story structure (Bold Beginnings, Mighty Middles (we will be working towards a 3 sentences minimum for the end of the year) and Excellent Endings.
We also introduced our first spelling list. This list is based on the kid's results from their pre-assessment last week. These words are Grade One High Frequency words (as I mentioned last week, this means they appear a lot in the English language). This is the list of words that the children are still struggling with. We will be working on these words in class and the students will be tested on them for Friday.
1. by
2. from
3. what
4. you
5. was
6. they
7. the
8. we
9. that
10. this
11. to
12. of
13. have
We also began our first Math unit today which is Patterns. The students will first look at Repeating Patterns. Repeating patterns contain a unit that repeats at least three times. The students worked with different materials to try and make patterns. We took pictures of their patterns and discussed them, particularly what their repeating unit was. This week students will be expected to use what they learned to create more patterns.
Another great day with the kids. Today we really started to dive into grade two material, rather then focusing on pre-assessment as we did last week.
In English Language Arts we are looking at story structure. Students will be expected to understand the major elements of a story (such as character, problem, setting) and story structure (Bold Beginnings, Mighty Middles (we will be working towards a 3 sentences minimum for the end of the year) and Excellent Endings.
We also introduced our first spelling list. This list is based on the kid's results from their pre-assessment last week. These words are Grade One High Frequency words (as I mentioned last week, this means they appear a lot in the English language). This is the list of words that the children are still struggling with. We will be working on these words in class and the students will be tested on them for Friday.
1. by
2. from
3. what
4. you
5. was
6. they
7. the
8. we
9. that
10. this
11. to
12. of
13. have
We also began our first Math unit today which is Patterns. The students will first look at Repeating Patterns. Repeating patterns contain a unit that repeats at least three times. The students worked with different materials to try and make patterns. We took pictures of their patterns and discussed them, particularly what their repeating unit was. This week students will be expected to use what they learned to create more patterns.
Friday, September 4, 2015
End of the First Week of School
We had a wonderful week together.
The students and I spent our week going over the classroom procedures (how we do things in 2MP) and doing pre-assessments (this is how teachers get an understanding of where students are academically).
We will be beginning our academic units next week:
In Math we will be looking at Patterning. Students will be expected to know what a unit is (the part of the repeating pattern that repeats), that a repeating pattern needs at least three repetitions of the unit, that an increasing pattern will follow a rule (for example, add 2), and more.
In English we will be looking at Stories, particularly what elements make up a good story (for example, characters, settings, and an interesting beginning, middle and end).
We will also be sending home a spelling list next week. This will be the Grade One High Frequency Words (words that come up a lot) that the pre-assessments showed us were still difficult for the students.
I hope that your child had as much fun this past week as they appeared to and that you and your family have a wonderful long weekend. See you Tuesday!
Question to Ask Your Child:
- "How can you pick a good fit book?"
The students and I spent our week going over the classroom procedures (how we do things in 2MP) and doing pre-assessments (this is how teachers get an understanding of where students are academically).
We will be beginning our academic units next week:
In Math we will be looking at Patterning. Students will be expected to know what a unit is (the part of the repeating pattern that repeats), that a repeating pattern needs at least three repetitions of the unit, that an increasing pattern will follow a rule (for example, add 2), and more.
In English we will be looking at Stories, particularly what elements make up a good story (for example, characters, settings, and an interesting beginning, middle and end).
We will also be sending home a spelling list next week. This will be the Grade One High Frequency Words (words that come up a lot) that the pre-assessments showed us were still difficult for the students.
I hope that your child had as much fun this past week as they appeared to and that you and your family have a wonderful long weekend. See you Tuesday!
Question to Ask Your Child:
- "How can you pick a good fit book?"
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
2015 School Year Begins
Welcome to (or back to) Columbia School.
I am so excited to start this year with a new batch of amazing students. This will be a short year for me but I know that it is going to be absolutely wonderful.
Check this blog for: questions you can ask your child about their day, examples of student class work, monthly award winners from our room, and more. I have also included links to some great websites that your child can use to expand their learning. I will be adding more in the coming weeks.
Thank you so much for checking us out.
Have a great first day of school everyone.
I am so excited to start this year with a new batch of amazing students. This will be a short year for me but I know that it is going to be absolutely wonderful.
Check this blog for: questions you can ask your child about their day, examples of student class work, monthly award winners from our room, and more. I have also included links to some great websites that your child can use to expand their learning. I will be adding more in the coming weeks.
Thank you so much for checking us out.
Have a great first day of school everyone.
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