Week 8 in Review

We had another great week in our classroom! Most of the pictures are from our study trip to Schwallier's County Basket.  We went there on Friday to learn about the life cycle of an apple and pumpkin. Of course, we had some fun too. :-) We are so thankful to the Family Council for paying for our trip. I am going to keep this entry short and let the pictures do most of the talking. 

We are learning how to find the perimeter of a square, rectangle and triangle. 

We went on a shape hunt around the school.

The students practiced their spelling words on our Word Wall board.

We LOVED the cider and donuts!

Everyone got to pick out a pumpkin to take home with them.

We learned how to pick apples fresh from the tree.

We had fun feeding the goats too.

The students also had the chance to pet one of the bunnies at the farm.

Mrs. Skinner and I got in on the fun and took a ride down the huge slide!

Lily needed her picture taken by Lilly's Pad (the bunnies house).

Learning about the life cycles of apples and pumpkins.

No School on Friday!

There is NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS on Friday, November 4. Enjoy the day!

Reminders!

There is a skating party tonight (Tuesday, Oct. 25) at Terry Hall! All proceeds will benefit the family of Officer Slot.

There is NO SCHOOL for students on Friday, November 4.

Week 7 in Review

Welcome Back!

 

 In math, we have finished up Unit 1.  The students took their test on Tuesday.  Most students did very well.  Those that didn't do as well, just made careless mistakes in their addition.  We have started on Unit 2 (measuring perimeter).  This is a short unit and the homework will be done in class.  We are learning to measure with centimeter rulers and need to use them in class. The class learned how to play Around the World with math facts.  Max made it all the way around the World (classroom) the first time around! Way to go Max! The students loved this game and we will definitely be playing it again soon.  You can help your child by having them practice math facts at home. 

In science, we continue to learn about the parts of a plant and their functions.  The students have been bringing in leaves and plants from home. Some students started talking about leaf rubbings. I promised the class that if they brought in leaves, I would show them how to make leaf rubbings.  The kids had fun making their rubbings and some students decided to make rubbings of other items and textures in our classroom (coins, carpet, walls). It was a lot of fun!

During our Read-Aloud time (every day after lunch), I've been reading books from the Fudge series by Judy Bloom.  We are currently reading Double Fudge and the students enjoy hearing the adventures of Fudge and his family.  In Double Fudge, Fudge is obsessed with money.  His family travels to the Department of Treasury in Washington D.C. I was able to find a Bill Nye video on YouTube that explains how money is made. We have also found some videos from the Fudge TV show that was on in the 1990's. 

Our reading skill for this week was comparing and contrasting. We have been able to compare and contrast the Fudge book and short Fudge video clips.  We have also compared books that we have read and the characters in the books. We finished reading Henry and Mudge and the Stary Night and now many students are reading other Henry and Mudge books.

Spelling tests have begun!  We have a pretest each Monday and those who get one or no words spelling wrong will get List 2.  These words are a bit harder than List 1 (pretest) words.  We do a little bit of studying at school, but I expect that the majority of studying is taking place at home.  The students were very excited to play a spelling game called Sparkle.  They learned it in first grade and Shane reminded the class how to play. Thanks Shane!

The students of Zinser brought in $1.00 and got a blue ribbon to wear in memory of Officer Slot. Our school of 275 students raised over $400! That is amazing and the money will be donated to the Slot family.

On Friday, the students in Kenowa Hills and Grandville were dismissed two hours early because of the funeral procession for Officer Slot, who was killed in the line of duty.  The procession was going to be in our district around the time of dismissal.  There was a concern that the buses would get stopped by the procession.  I went to the procession and it was a very moving event. I hope that some of my students were able attend this unique experience. We are thankful to Officer Slot and the Walker Police for risking thier lives and keeping us safe.

Weeks 5 & 6 in Review

Wow! It has been a couple of  BUSY weeks in our classroom. We have been busy with Picture Day, a Fire Safety assembly, dental students from Calvin College coming to talk to us about dental hygiene, two substitute teachers, beginning homework and Book Bags, emergency drills (fire, severe weather and lock down) and finishing up the MAP Test. In addition to all of this, we are continuing to learn and grow as students. I don't have a lot of pictures from last week or this week, which is why I am combining this update into one blog.

I continue to be amazed by my well behaved class. Despite our busy schedule, the students continue to be patient, friendly and most of all flexible.  They are really thriving and love school. 

During our writing time, the students have learned how to stretch out a small moment. Basically, they have learned how to add details to an idea. We are learning how to write in booklets (paper stapled together).  The students work with a partner to plan their writing.  They touch a page and then say what will be written on it. The partners discuss how an idea can be stretched.  I continue to hold individual conferences with students who want to publish a piece of their writing.  It takes about 10 minutes to meet with each child.  Therefore, the publishing process is a slow one. I will soon  begin to type the stories that have been completed and edited.  It has been fun to read the small moments and stories written by your children.  I know that you will enjoy reading some of their writing at conferences.

 I have finished up reading testing and will begin reading groups next week. I can't wait to begin working with the small groups of children.  I have selected Good Fit Books for us to use.  The students are all good readers.  This year we are going to spend a lot of time working on fluency/expression and written responses.  During the individual reading testing, I noticed that these are two areas that most students were the weakest in.

As a class, we will begin working on long vowels sounds. I have specific activities planned to help each child improve their ability to read, write and recognize long vowels.

In math, we are finishing up our first unit.  We will have a test in class early next week.  There is no need to study because we will do that in class. Our next unit will be learning how to find perimeter and area. 

Thank you for taking the time to read our blog! I hope that you will check back again in a week to see more pictures (I promise to use my camera more next week) and an update!

Week 4 in Review

Greetings from our second grade classroom! We were so busy this week that I didn't have time to take many pictures. We did start the week with an assembly called Brainstormers.  This is a troupe of people who perform about writing.  They teach the children about the parts of a story (characters, setting, event, problem, solution and title).  They performed two plays based on the ideas from the audiences.  Brainstormers will come back again in May to perform a few of the stories written by students at Zinser.  Speaking of writing, our class is so excited to spend time writing each day.  We have learned how to add on to a piece. We are also learning how to 'fancy or fix up a piece.'  It won't be long before we start publishing pieces of our writing.  The students love when it is their day to share from their Writing Folder.

During our ELA (English Language Arts) time, we continue to work on vowel sounds.  This week we focused on the short i, e, and u sounds.  Vowels sounds are a difficult concept for many students.  We played a scavenger hunt type game.  Each Learning Club was given a vowel and they had to

brainstorm as many short vowel sounds words that fit their vowel.  We started off playing the game for 5 minutes, but ended up playing for 15 minutes! The students just didn't want to stop!

Our feature story was Julius.  It is another story illustrated by Dav Pilkey.  In the past few weeks, we have read three stories by Dav Pilkey. Here is a link to his website. It is filled with information about him and also some fun games. http://www.pilkey.com/  During the week we spend time reading a specific story in our basal reading book.  This story is accompanied by specific skills we are learning about reading.  We practice these skills during our story and while we are reading independently. Our skill for the week was to monitor and clarify. This means to Check for Understanding and to go back and reread if something doesn't make sense.  The students are getting much better about using these skills.  We will continue to practice these skills all year long. 

I am continuing to do reading testing with the students. I love spending the time listening to your child read. I am so excited at how well everyone is doing this year! I will share these results with you during conferences on Nov. 8 & 10.

In math, we are working on strategies for addition and subtraction.  Homework will begin next week and your child will bring home math homework. It will support the concepts that we have learned in class. Nothing should be new to your child!

Shane, our Student of the Weeks, shared a book with us. He was so excited to read the book to the class. And very patient when he had to wait until Monday to finish it.

We ended the week with our first Friday Finale.  It was a time to celebrate our September Students of the Week. We also said good bye to Mr. Ghareeb, our principal. He has moved on to a job at the KISD. He will be missed, but we are excited to see a familiar face around Zinser. Mr. Vermeulen, our former principal, is back until a new principal can be hired. 

Curriculum Night

Just a reminder that our Curriculum Night is on Tuesday, Oct. 4.  There will be two sessions. The first one begins at 5:30 and then it will be repeated again at 6:00. Childcare will be provided. I'll be discussing homework (which will begin next week), Book Bags, class volunteers, curriculum and some online resources you can use to help your child. I hope to see you tomorrow!

Week 3 in Review

Welcome Back! We had another busy week of learning and growing. All of the students in Kenowa Hills starting taking the NWEA MAP test this week.  There are three parts to the tests that my students will take; math, language usage and reading.  During the week, we completed the reading test and the first half of the math test. On Friday, we will complete the second half of the math test and then next week we will do the language usage test. Each test is on the computer and the students have to read the questions and and then select the answer. I cannot help them with reading. The test results are used to help for instruction groups and to give us data to see how well the students are learning.  The MAP test will be administered again in January and May.  It is very important that the children take their time and do their personal best.   You will receive the test results at conferences on November 8 & 10.

Emily was our Student of the Week and she read the class a book on Friday.  The Student of the Week gets a different privilege each day of their week.  On Monday, they share their poster. Tuesday they can wear a hat to school. On Wednesday, they can bring in something for show and tell. Thursday is their day to get two pieces of gum from me.  Friday is the day they can read a book to the class (if they want to).  Every day they get to be our line leader. I love learning more about my students and enjoy seeing what the students do for their poster and show and tell items.

  

 In math, we continued to work on break apart and finding partners. (ex. 6 + ___ = 9) We have also begun our Math Routine. This routine is lead by the students.  It helps us get better at counting, making groups of ten, adding on and money. 

 This Learning Club is working together to make Math Mountains with a specific number.  They were working to find as many partner combinations for their number.  The students will bring homework home next week. You will see some of these math concepts as their homework.

We played a fun math game on Wednesday.  The students had to work with a partner to find the math partners for numbers 2-10.  They had dot cards to help them find the partners.  Everyone brought the game home when we were finished so that they could play it again.

 We have been working VERY hard during our Writers Workshop time. I am extremely impressed with how well everyone is doing. I LOVE to watch the students get excited to write and add on to their pieces.  We have learned how to begin a piece, add on and to do our  best and keep going (especially when it comes to spelling).  Each day four students can share their writing.  The students have been assigned to a specific day.  Everyone looks forward to their day to share and are disappointed when the have to wait.

Each day after lunch I read aloud to the class.  This week we finished one of my favorite books: Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume.  Peter Hatcher has a little brother name Fudge. The book is all about their relationship and the crazy things that happen.  The students wanted to read another 'Fudge' book so we have started to read Superfudge. I absolutely love reading these books aloud to my class. The students can make so many text-to-self connections and laugh outloud at the things Fudge says and does.  Maybe you remember reading these books when you were a child.

                        HAVE A GREAT WEEK!



Week 2 in Review- A little late

  I apologize for this update being so late in the week.  I am thankful for the pictures to remind me of what we did last week. ;-) The students spent time working on classroom procedures.  They are getting much better at following the school expectations. 

We spent time practicing the Daily 5 routines.  The Daily 5, written by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, provide a framework for literacy instruction which is centered on five literacy tasks that build student stamina and independence, including a model for student accountability.  It is a research-based approach to delivering literacy instruction, allowing for more intense targeted instruction through one-on-one and small group strategic conferences. The system provides means to monitor each studentʼs progress with continuous, reliable, and authentic formative assessment. Kids respond positively as they meet with teachers, set learning goals, and have choice to work on reading and writing strategies. They feel a sense of being in charge of their learning because they understand the purpose of their work. I LOVE using the Daily 5 in my classroom. This week we worked on 'Read to Self' and 'Read to Someone.' Next week, we will introduce 'Work on Writing.' 
During our ELA (English Language Arts) time, we have been reviewing short vowel sounds, clusters and H-Brothers. In the picture, the students were playing a relay game. They were given a word family and had to take turns making words. I was so impressed with how well the students worked together as teams.  

Our writing time was spent working on our school bus pictures. The students spent time reading and following the directions to make a school bus. Next, they put their bus in a scene. Finally, the wrote about their picture. Some students were very creative about their pictures.  The pictures are now hanging in the hallway above their lockers.
The students learned about their brains. We watched a movie, looked at some pictures, labeled a brain picture and learned how to make a brain using our fists. The students learned about the three main parts of their brain: brain stem, cerebellum and cerebrum. They also learned that it is important to eat healthy and drink plenty of water.

In math, we have spent the week reviewing math skills learned in first grade. We are working on solving story problems, making groups of ten and simple addition. On Friday, we worked with the students in Mrs. Skinner's second grade class. We were able to use our document camera (ELMO) to teach the lesson. The students can follow along with the teacher.

Happy Birthday to Hannah! Her real birthday is in the beginning of September. We were glad that she celebrated with us at school!

Our week ended with celebrating Constitution Day! This is a day that schools across the country celebrate and use to teach about our Constitution.  We read a book about the Preamble and then we made our own class Constitution. Everyone took a turn signing our Constitution, just like the 'real' one.