Writer's Workshop
Yesterday we had our first Author's Celebration. Each student shared his/her published personal narrative. Then we enjoyed cider and donuts from Yates Cider Mill. Next week your child's published piece will come home with his/her first draft stapled behind it. For the first published piece, I met with each student to help with revisions. I have taught several lessons on revising, but this can be difficult for second graders. We will continue to work on making revisions throughout the school year. In the spring, we will invite family members to be a part of our poetry and nonfiction Author Celebrations.
Math Workshop
We started the first lesson of Unit 3 this week. Please click on the "Math" tab above to read the Unit 3 Family Letter. We also completed several first quarter math assessments. Some students have made great progress from the first basic math tests taken the second week of school. Keep practicing quick recall of basic facts at home!
Friday, November 2, 2012
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
Weekly Word
Reader's Workshop
This week we focused on the nonfiction genre--Informational. Students read several bat books with a partner and gathered facts in their own bat booklet. Students learned how to take notes from the books they read. They recorded their notes on sticky notes. Then I taught students how to turn their notes into an informational paragraph. Students had a choice to write a paragraph about what bats eat, where bats live, what bats look like, or interesting bat facts. We talked about how to start a paragraph with a topic sentence, include at least three supporting detail sentences, and finish with a closing sentence. I was very impressed how well students gathered facts from the nonfiction books this week! Our classroom is full of bat experts!
Writer's Workshop
Students committed to one personal narrative from their Writer's Workshop folder this week. Then we focused on working hard to make the piece even better. Students learned how to make revisions to their piece with their partner. We also focused on trying our best to spell words correctly. Students learned to use their resources--spelling dictionary, word wall, spelling patterns, and partner.
Math Workshop
We wrapped up Unit 2 this week and took our unit test. We continued to practice addition and subtraction basic facts. Students have learned several different strategies to use if they don't yet have their facts memorized--doubles, doubles plus one, +0, +1, +8, +9 shortcuts, and Touch Math. Keep practicing the facts at home. We will take another basic fact assessment next week for a report card grade. I also gave a brief introduction to estimation and nonstandard versus standard units of measurement for a bat activity. We will revisit these math skills later in the year.
Science & Social Studies
Although we are still waiting on our waxworms to turn into adult moths, we finished up our insect science unit. Students did an excellent job on the insect test!
Because of the upcoming election, we are jumping ahead in our social studies text. This week we learned about voting for community leaders. We learned to vote for leaders who want what we want. We also learned about what community leaders do, such as make laws, pay for services, and decide what to build within a community.
This week we focused on the nonfiction genre--Informational. Students read several bat books with a partner and gathered facts in their own bat booklet. Students learned how to take notes from the books they read. They recorded their notes on sticky notes. Then I taught students how to turn their notes into an informational paragraph. Students had a choice to write a paragraph about what bats eat, where bats live, what bats look like, or interesting bat facts. We talked about how to start a paragraph with a topic sentence, include at least three supporting detail sentences, and finish with a closing sentence. I was very impressed how well students gathered facts from the nonfiction books this week! Our classroom is full of bat experts!
Writer's Workshop
Students committed to one personal narrative from their Writer's Workshop folder this week. Then we focused on working hard to make the piece even better. Students learned how to make revisions to their piece with their partner. We also focused on trying our best to spell words correctly. Students learned to use their resources--spelling dictionary, word wall, spelling patterns, and partner.
Math Workshop
We wrapped up Unit 2 this week and took our unit test. We continued to practice addition and subtraction basic facts. Students have learned several different strategies to use if they don't yet have their facts memorized--doubles, doubles plus one, +0, +1, +8, +9 shortcuts, and Touch Math. Keep practicing the facts at home. We will take another basic fact assessment next week for a report card grade. I also gave a brief introduction to estimation and nonstandard versus standard units of measurement for a bat activity. We will revisit these math skills later in the year.
Science & Social Studies
Although we are still waiting on our waxworms to turn into adult moths, we finished up our insect science unit. Students did an excellent job on the insect test!
Because of the upcoming election, we are jumping ahead in our social studies text. This week we learned about voting for community leaders. We learned to vote for leaders who want what we want. We also learned about what community leaders do, such as make laws, pay for services, and decide what to build within a community.
Batty about Bats!
To start off bat week, Miss Michelle brought a few bats from the Bat Zone at the Cranbrook Institute of Science. Second graders learned some fun facts about bats, such as bats are the only mammals that can fly. Students were challenged to differentiate between bat facts versus myths. One myth is that bats are blind, but they are actually not blind! We learned ways to help bats, like building bat houses in our backyards or planting gardens to attract bugs. Students accessed their prior knowledge about bats from the Think, Puzzle, Explore routine they created on Friday. We sat very quietly and were even able to hear a bat using echolocation (or radar) to figure out where things were located in the room.
For more information visit the Bat Zone
For more information visit the Bat Zone
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Addition & Subtraction Facts
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule last week to meet with me for Parent-Teacher conferences! I had 100% participation! I really appreciate the opportunity to chat with you about your child and his/her current progress in school.
As I mentioned to some of you during conferences, we are working on quick recall of our basic math facts in second grade. There are many different ways to practice addition and subtraction facts. I taught students how to use Touch Math, which I wrote about in a post previously. The top 3 apps currently listed under "iPad Apps We Love" are great apps for practicing addition and subtraction facts!
As I mentioned to some of you during conferences, we are working on quick recall of our basic math facts in second grade. There are many different ways to practice addition and subtraction facts. I taught students how to use Touch Math, which I wrote about in a post previously. The top 3 apps currently listed under "iPad Apps We Love" are great apps for practicing addition and subtraction facts!
Visible Thinking
Throughout this school year we will be engaged in various Visible Thinking routines in our classroom. These thinking routines will provide opportunities for students to generate deeper thinking and understanding through their learning. The first routine we tried in Room 8 was Think, Puzzle, Explore. This routine asks students to access prior knowledge (schema), wonder about the topic, and make plans to explore wonderings. Below is a picture of our Think, Puzzle, Explore routine we completed together about the topic of bats. I was really impressed about their thinking and wondering! They also came up with some good ideas for exploring the topic of bats further. Students are excited to learn more about bats. We get started tomorrow with a visit from the Cranbrook Institute of Science. Thank you for supporting bagel sales and thanks to a donation from our PTO for this wonderful opportunity!!
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