2-2 News!

Hello 2nd grade families! Thank you for visiting our blog! It was so nice to see everyone at curriculum night on Wednesday. The children are very fortunate to have such involved and supportive parents!  Read below for details about our week at school!

Book Orders:  To view the online order forms and place your Scholastic order, you will first need to create a username and password. Visit: www.Scholastic.com/bookclubs to do this. You will need to enter our class activation code, which is: GTFQ8. This code will ensure that your orders come directly to me! Make your book selections, submit your order by the morning of September 9th, and your order will come to our classroom as usual. The children get SO excited about reading when they help choose their own books! They made a wish list at school today. :)


Reading: The children and I are practicing our "Daily 5" reading stations. The first station the children were introduced to was Read to Self.  They are learning what it means to be independent readers during this time. The children are gradually building their reading stamina, as they slowly increase the amount of time they are able to focus on their good-fit books.

We also practiced how to complete our reading homework every day at school this week. The children and I read a story and then completed one box of the reading log together at school, just as they will be expected to complete it next week on their own! Please look over this reading log together, and note the complete sentences, detail, and effort your child put into the work we completed together. I will be looking for work that looks like this next week, too!

Spelling: The children took their first spelling pre-test of the year today, due to the short week next week. They will usually take their pre-test on Mondays. They will practice their words at school next week, and they will also receive homework practice pages. They will take their spelling test next Friday. Please keep those lists safe in the red home folder, so we can practice at school!

Writing:  The class learned the term autobiography this week! We have been practicing thinking, drawing, labeling, and writing about small events in our life.  The children are working on a miniature autobiography as they break down their life into 4 specific time periods: their life as a baby, as a kindergartner, as a first grader, and now as a second grader!

Handwriting: We are working on the proper formation of our printed letters. The children are reminded to sit properly in their chairs with good posture, use their guide hand to hold their paper steady, slightly slant their paper, form their letters properly and stay within the lines. The children are responding so nicely to this instruction!

Math: We have been learning about the math tools we have in our classroom, including our hundreds chart, individual clocks, and slates. The children are becoming comfortable with our math routine, as we begin with our math message each day and move into guided and independent practice. We also discussed how important partner work will be during math lessons, and we identified important behaviors that will help our partner work go smoothly!

Social Studies:  Our geography lessons have begun, as we explore the various landforms using our textbooks, glossaries, and classroom posters and online resources! Terms we will be reinforcing include: lake, valley, river, mountain, valley, hill, plain, ocean, peninsula, and island.

It has been a fantastic first week! Enjoy the long Labor Day weekend!

Here are some pictures of the children as they "coach" their neighbor during writing! One student (the coach)  is listening and offering compliments, while their  friend (the player) reads their writing from today. Both students had the opportunity to play both positions!