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.

Week 2 in Review Coming Monday Night

I just finished typing the Week 2 Review and it didn't publish. There was a problem with the blog site! UGH! Isn't technology wonderful? I will redo it tomorrow night.  Have a nice night.

Week 1 in Review

We have had a great week here at Zinser Elementary! The students seem to have adjusted to being back in school.  I am so impressed with my class. They are well behaved, kind and hard workers. I can't wait to see where this year is going to take us. It will be a fantastic year! Here are a few pictures to show you a few of the many things we did this week. There aren't pictures of everything, but I'll get better at taking more pictures. :-)  I plan to update the blog each weekend. Feel free to 'follow' our blog or sign up for the email updates. Also, you are welcome to pass the blog address on to family members who would like to 'follow' your child's second grade experience.

Our weekly class picture was taken on the first day of school.  Of course we had to do a serious picture and a silly face picture.

This is our gathering area where we hold Community Circle (sharing time), stories, whole group instruction and read aloud.  You can also see my 'office' area with our new technology carts.  We are so lucky to have the document cameras. You can put anything under the camera and it is projected on to the screen. It also hooks up to the computer to project images.  This camera has truly changed the way that I teach.  Thank you for the bond that passed a year ago.

The students are grouped in learning clubs.  This picture shows our Word Wall that will soon be filled with words that we use frequently during our reading and writing.

Each child has their own browsing box.  This box will be used for them to keep their 'Good Fit Books' thorough out the year.  Good Fit Books are those books that they are interested in reading, they can read most of the words and comprehend what they are reading.  I'll post more about Good Fit Books and the Daily Five later.

M & M math was so much fun! Each child was given a cup of M & M's. We did estimating, sorting, graphing, adding, and counting during this lesson.  Of course, we also had fun eating our work. :-)

Snacks!

Our brain and body need food to function properly.  The students are allowed to have snacks twice a day, in the morning and after last recess.  Please send you child to school with a HEALTHY snack (no fruit snacks, Pop Tarts, sugary snacks or chips/Doritos, etc).  If they need a utensil, please send that along with them.  We will be having snack time on the first day of school.  I won't normally provide snacks, but on the first day I will have graham crackers for anyone who didn't bring a snack. Thanks for your support!