What's+Happening+in+Room+407?

Here are some photographs from our field trip to Fallen Timbers. We spent the day learning all about animal life cycles and adaptations. It was a fun-filled day packed with tons of learning! 

Click the link below to see a recap of our awesome bat unit! You will even be able to hear the students reading poems about bats. Enjoy! Our Bat Movie

Westwood Apparel Sale Orders are due November 10th to ensure all clothing is received in time for the holidays. Here is a color picture of the items you can purchase!

We published another class book. Click below to check it out! The volume should work a little better than the last one. There Was An Old...

We wrote and illustrated our first class book. It is a book of riddles. Then we turned it into a movie using PhotoStory. Click here to watch it and make sure your computer volume is turned all the way up. Thanks! Our Riddle Book

Reminder - Next Tuesday, the 29th, is Picture Day! 
 * September 25, 2009**

A recap of our week:



Reading - This week we added two additional components to the Daily 5. The students now know how to properly use the listening center to listen to reading and they know how to work on writing. We discussed how listening to reading is a great way to improve our fluency so that we can read at the same rate we talk. Work on Writing is a fun part of the Daily 5 because students can write about absolutely anything they choose! Together, we brainstormed a list of writing ideas that included writing letters, jokes, lists, stories, and much more! We also learned a new comprehension strategy called "keeping track of our thinking". We discussed how all readers, no matter how young or old, need to think while they read in order to learn. We read two great books to practice keeping track of our thoughts while enjoying stories. We read __The Art Lesson__ by Tomi dePaola and __Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day__ by Judith Viorst. We discovered that keeping track of our thinking means we might be reminded of another book, movie, or something that has happened to someone we know. It also might mean we start to wonder something or form an opinion about a character in the story.

Writing - We turned our class riddle book into a movie using Photostory. Click on the link at the top of this page to see and hear it! Please make sure your volume is turned all the way up. Our first individual writing project of the school year will be writing a memoir. The students learned that a memoir is a memory or true story of something that has happened to them. We learned how to brainstorm specific ideas and then begin the writing process by selecting an idea and making a web that includes the details about our idea. Talk with your child about the memory he or she chose to write about!

Math - We completed our first math assessment and the tests went home on Friday. We also started our timed math-fact assessments. Everyone starts at +0 facts. Once those are mastered (all problems are completed and correct in 3 minutes), students will move up the ladder to -0, +1, -1 and so on.

Social Studies - We continued our continent study and students each created a Macaw, a parrot that lives in the Amazon Rain Forest that is located in South America. We then "traveled" North to North America. We learned that there are many countries in North America besides the United States. Our craft from North America came from Mexico and is called an Amate Painting. See the pictures above of our two crafts!

Spelling - We had our first spelling unit this week. The students practiced their words in school by writing, sorting, and alphabatizing them. Each student recieved suggestions of how to study and practice the words at home. Tests will be corrected and returned on Monday.

Reminder - Next Friday, the 25th, we have an early release. Students will be dismissed at 11:40 and lunch will not be served.
 * September 18, 2009**

Here's what we've been up to this week:

Reading - We learned two new parts to the Daily 5: Read to Someone and Listen to Reading. The students really enjoy reading with partners and using our listening centers. During Read to Someone we learned that it is important to sit EEKK (Elbow to Elbow, Knee to Knee) so that we can use quiet voices and both people can see the book that is being read. We continue to build our stamina for Read to Self. We are up to 20 minutes. We also learned a new accuracy strategy to help us solve words we are unsure of when reading. All you have to do is match the pictures to the words.

Writing - Our riddle book is almost finished. We worked on revising and making our final drafts. The illustrations look great! We are still working on starting sentences with a capital letter and ending them with a punctuation mark. Please encourage your child to practice this when writing at home.

Math - We did a lot of work with the number grid this week. We solved number grid puzzles and even learned a new game to help us recognize patterns on the number grid. We continue to practice telling time and skip counting.

Social Studies - We learned about the first of seven continents. Students should be able to locate South America on a map and share some fun facts about the continent. We learned that the Amazon Rain Forest is in South America and a major crop grown there is coffee beans. We also learned about our country's constitution and why it is important to all Americans!

Spelling - We completed a practice spelling list and learned how to complete a variety of word sorts based on spelling patterns. Real spelling lists will start next week.

Can you believe we have already completed our 8th day of school? We accomplished so much this week! Here's some of what we've been up to:
 * September 11, 2009**

Reading - We have been learning some great reading strategies to help us become better readers. We know how to cross check when we come to a word that doesn't seem right - Stop and ask yourself three questions! 1.) Does it sound right? 2.) Does it look right? 3.) Does it make sense? If we answer NO, then we need to go back and try that word again. We also learned how to tune in to those interesting and juicy words that appear in our books. The students are building their stamina for Read to Self. We are up to 18 minutes of independent reading time. Here are some pictures to show you how good they are getting!

Writing - We have spent all week practicing how to start and stop a sentence. Capitalization and punctuation marks count! Sometimes it can be tricky to remember whether to use a period, exclamation mark or question mark. We started writing riddles for our first class book.

Math - We learned how to play two math games this week that will help with addition facts and counting money. We also have been working hard on telling time because quarter-to-the-hour can be challenging.

Social Studies - We have started our mapping unit and now know these key words: **map, atlas, globe, compass rose**. We are working really hard on our location in the world: planet, continent, country, state and city.

__**Some Reminders:**__
 * Our first R/M Log is due on Monday, the 14th
 * Book orders are due this Wednesday, the 16th
 * Agendas are checked daily for an adult signature

Today Reading and Math Logs went home in your child's take home folder (R/M Log) and was recorded as homework in the agenda. Second grade students are required to read for 15 minutes each night and practice math facts for 5 minutes. Blue fact triangles were sent home in a baggie for your child to use for practice. They can also be quizzed orally or write math facts out on paper. If you have internet access and would like to incorporate some online fact practice, a useful website is www.aplusmath.com. My favorite website is www.abcya.com and you can play some fun fact games at [|Addition Match!], [|Subtraction Match!], or Addition is Fun!. (Simply press CTRL and click on the link.)
 * September 8, 2009**

Here is a link to the parent note that was sent home with the R/M Log. [|r_m_log_note[1.pdf]]

I will be sending home an example R/M Log tomorrow (Wednesday). If an R/M Log is ever misplaced, please click on the link "Reading and Math Log" on this Wiki and print a new one at home.

Today we had fun and busy day! We learned a new comprehension strategy called Check for Understanding. It means that while we are reading a book, we need to stop and retell what we just read. If we can't, we need to go back and **reread**. We also learned how to pick a book that was just right for each of us. It follows the I PICK strategy: Here are some pictures from our classroom treasure hunt!
 * September 3, 2009**
 * I** choose the book
 * P**urpose - why do I want to read this book?
 * I**nterest - does this book interest me?
 * C**omprehend - am I understanding what I am reading?
 * K**now - I know most of the words

I've been busy getting our classroom all ready for the first day of school. Here are some pictures of what our classroom looks like!

