Our Super Star... Joe!

Our star student of the week was Joe! He started off his star week with a birthday (on Sunday!) He showed us a bundle of fun family pictures- many of those included his older sister Sophia! We noticed that Joe loves to spend tons of time with his cousins, he loves soccer, and he has had some fun family vacations in Florida! Joe's mom, dad, and sister Sophia popped in for a visit on Friday afternoon. In Joe's science experiment, he demonstrated that the air from a balloon can propel a straw across a string like a rocket! Air pressure can be a powerful force! Sophia read us a cute story about a clumsy "Mr. Bump," and then we had a few minutes left to celebrate Joe's week with a dance party. What a fun afternoon- and week- Joe had!

Reading Update

The theme for our literacy activities this week was “Being Yourself.” Our whole group story this week was a photo essay about a little girl named Rosina, who is deaf. We learned that even though she cannot hear, she is just like us in many ways! She learns the same things we do in school, plays the same sports, and enjoys arts and crafts like we do! She just happens to learn these things through the use of sign language. Our comprehension strategy continued to focus on summarizing. The children created a web displaying the main idea and details that we pulled from the text. New vocabulary words from this selection included: celebrate, cultures, deaf, language, relatives and signing. This story led us into a really nice discussion about developing an understanding, awareness, and respect for individuals who may be a little bit different from us. We talked about how important it is to acknowledge others around us, especially those with different capabilities, and even offering a helping hand (ex: opening a door, waiting a little longer for our turn, etc) if we are able to do so. The children and I also noted how lucky we are that we don't need the extra assistance that others might in their daily life, and how it would be so nice to offer a smile or a helping hand whenever we can.

The children practiced identifying the predicate in a sentence this week. We found that a good strategy for finding the predicate after in the sentence, was to first identify the subject of the sentence! We also learned that commas are placed in sentences to separate cities and states, as well as the date from the year! We “acted” out the punctuation in our sentences by raising our arms for a capital letter, stomping for a period, jumping for an exclamation point, and wiggling for a comma. Ask your child to show you!

Science Update

Our students have been doing a wonderful job during our science explorations! This week we explored how the weight of an object can affect the amount of force it has on another object. The children performed a series of collision tests using metal, glass, and cork balls of varying sizes. We placed them on a track and predicted and tested the impact they would have when colliding with each other. The children noticed that the cork ball did not have enough force to move the metal or glass balls. They also noticed that the small metal ball had more force than the large glass ball. We practiced raising and lowering the ramp that the balls were rolling down- to see if the incline of the ramp (speed) would affect the impact of the collision. The children did a really great job of not only taking their experiments seriously, but predicting, testing, questioning, observing, AND taking turns, too! (Proud teacher moment!) We went on to investigate the concept of friction. The children and I conducted a number of penny races! We placed one of our classroom tables on an incline, and covered half of the table with a number of different materials (sand paper, wax paper, plastic wrap, newsprint, and even carpet!) We raced two pennies down the table- one was down the control group side, the plain table, and the other was down the variable side. Again the children had their scientist hats on and were eager to feel the material prior to each race in order to make a solid prediction. They noticed that the more "rough, sticky, or bumpy" the material was, the SLOWER the penny traveled- if at all! We saw friction happening with our own two eyes! We went on to investigate friction with a few of our shoes. We first took a look at the bottoms of the shoes to decide which shoe we thought would have the most friction and which would have the least, and then we tested them out. The children noticed that the flatter shoes that were a little bit more "worn" moved much more quickly down the table because they had less "bumps" and ultimately less friction. The shoes that had more bumps or ridges seemed to grip the table a bit more showing more friction! There was one show that didn't move at all! The kids really grasped how the force of friction can sloooow things down!

Here is another link where the kids can practice changing the amount of friction on the surface of the track to see if they can get the truck to cross the finish line. Give it a try! :)

Math Update

During our math lessons this week, the children played a game called “Beat the Calculator.” Through playing this game, the children realized that even though the calculator can be a pretty quick tool to help solve math problems, it is no match for the brain when it comes to solving our basic facts. The brain is always faster! We continue to dedicate a few minutes each day to the focused practice of our basic addition math facts. The children have grown quite comfortable with their doubles and doubles +1 facts. They are really picking up our latest strategy, "Doubles in between," too! We reviewed the concept of a “turn around” fact- in addition, the numbers can be switched back and forth. The children will be working on their +9 facts this week. Our goal is to move away from counting on our fingers or using the hundreds chart to solve our math facts, and instead use mental math to solve these problems! Don't forget to use your child's "Xtramath.org" or Everyday Math Online account (both are linked to the side bar on the right) at home to practice math facts! What a fun way to practice!

Reminder! Its PHOTO DAY tomorrow!

Remember to bring your smiles (and any picture order forms!) to school tomorrow- we'll be taking our pictures in the morning! :)

A Special Visitor!

We were so fortunate to have a science expert visit our class today! Samantha's dad is a high school Physics teacher, and he popped into our classroom to talk to the kids a bit about the concepts we have been covering during our science lessons! Mr. Patterson demonstrated how friction works by pushing a round disc across the floor, he got us thinking about gravity as he spun a cup full of green water upside down in a complete circle, and he discussed electric and magnetic forces too! To get us to understand magnetic force, we watched him create a makeshift motor using batteries and some magnets! The children and I were just fascinated with all of the demonstrations Mr. Patterson prepared for us today. They really got us thinking! Thank you for your visit today, Mr. Patterson, and for deepening our understanding of MOTION!

Our Super Star... Jill!

Our super star of the week was Jill! She did an amazing job of leading our line each day. We enjoyed seeing her baby pictures and the poster she created- they both told us so much about her! (just so you know, Jill was just about the CUTEST baby ever!) We especially enjoyed having Jill's mom, dad, and older brother Luke in for a visit on Friday. Jill showed us an amazing experiment during which she put a piece of paper in a tub of water and she managed to keep it dry! She also read us a cute story about a unique little elephant named Elmer. The kids learned that its okay to be different, just like Elmer! We ended Jill's week with a special rendition of the HAPPY BIRTHDAY song! What a great week you had, Jill!

Moving on to Motion!

We have begun our Science unit on Motion! We have been practicing describing an object's motion with words and drawings. The children are becoming aware of the distance, time, speed, and path of motion into their descriptions. We've been looking at describing an object's motion by considering how far the object travels, how fast it moves, and the path it follows. We conducted some "time trials" this week that allowed us to investigate which motions allowed us to move faster (ex: jumping, walking backwards, crawling).

We have also touched on the forces of friction and gravity, as well as their role in the motion of an object. The children are beginning to see that an object's weight affects the amount of force that is necessary to move the object! The children experimented with some toy cars and a variety of materials, including straws rulers, cardboard tubes, and more to find a way to get their car to move. We have some great thinkers in our class. Encourage your children to search for examples of motion at home, too!

Math Update

The children took their Unit 1 assessment on Monday. We moved right into Unit 2. The children will be really focusing on learning their math facts during this unit. We've already covered our "Count up" strategy, as well as our "Make a 10," "Doubles" and "Doubles +1" facts. We are going to touch on our "+8," "+9" and our "turn around" facts in the next few days. The children's "mad minute" scores are starting to really take off! Hooray! During our math lessons this week, we reviewed the parts of a story problem- including: a unit box, number model, and a labeled answer. The children solved problems like these, and practiced creating their own, too! They have even started creating story problems for each other on their blogs! I'm so impressed to see them come up with such wonderful story problems to challenge their friends!!

Reading Update!

Our theme this week was “Firefighters at Work.” Our new vocabulary words were: flames, forest, heat, safe and tell. These words popped up everywhere! They were on our spelling list, in our whole group stories, in our read aloud story, and even in our small group stories! The children were exposed to a variety of texts about firefighters this week. The comprehension strategy we worked on was summarizing. We worked to identify the main idea and details! During grammar, we focused on locating the subject and the predicate in each sentence.If one of these parts was missing, we worked to add it. The children also worked to punctuate a friendly letter. We are now about 2/3 of the way through our reading assessments! These are very time-consuming assessments and it can be challenging to find an isolated amount of time to devote to each one. We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! :)

2nd Grade Authors!

I don't know if you've heard, but the 2nd graders are hard at work on their very own autobiographies! They are breaking down their lives into 4 sections: life as a baby, life as a pre-schooler, life as a Kindergartener/1st grader, and life right now! The children have completed about half of their life stories so far. It is so much fun hearing about the memorable highlights that they are choosing to share from their life history! They are also learning to work with a partner to share compliments and suggestions that will make their writing even more clear and interesting. We can't wait to share our autobiographies with you when they are finished! :) Miss O'Sullivan

Math Update

This week in math, we learned the term “equivalent,” and found equivalent names for given numbers. (For example, other names for “5” include: five, nickel, 3+2, 9-4, 6+4-5.) The children played a game called “Broken Calculator,” in which they had to get an answer on their calculator without pressing a particular button that we determined would be broken. The children reviewed the concepts of "greater than" and "less than" and completed their first math homework assignments- known as "Home Links." The children are practicing and reviewing a variety of skills as they complete the Math Boxes in their math journals at the end of each lesson, including: counting coins, telling time, and completing “frames and arrows” problems. We continue to practice our addition facts, too! The children are preparing for their first math test next week.

Reading Update

Our theme this week was “Making Friends.” We read a whole group story in our texts called “Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea.” The children analyzed the story structure and plot. They identified the beginning, middle, and end of the story. New vocabulary words we worked on include: company, delighted, enjoyed, share, thinning, and wonderful. The children noticed the inflected endings in delighted, enjoyed, and thinning. We noticed that words that end with ‘ed’ happened in the past tense, and words that end in ‘ing’ are happening right now! During our grammar lessons, the children practiced identifying commands and exclamatory sentences. The children took their first "Treasures" assessment as a class on Friday. This test is only about 12 questions, but it is spread across several pages. It does contain an extended response answer based on a passage the children are asked to read during the test. I think its important to practice this assessment once together so the children understand how it works, before I can really use it for assessment purposes. These assessments will come home on Monday. I have listened to each of the children read in order to determine their reading fluency rate of speed. I'm now in the process of assessing the children's comprehension to narrow in on the their individual guided reading levels. I'm anticipating that in the next few days we will have our guided reading groups fully formed and functioning!

A Super Star... Anya!

Our very first star student was Anya! She did a wonderful job of leading us off for the year. Anya shared photos of herself, her family, and even her adorable dog Toby. She was also our line leader all week! Anya's mom and dad popped in for a visit on Friday afternoon. Anya's mom helped her show us a really cool science experiment that taught us a bit about how our eyes work- after looking at the black dot in the center of a green/yellow box! Anya's dad read us an awesome rhyming story about one of our favorite sports... Soccer! What a great week you had, Anya!

Our KIDS are blogging!

You might recall from our chat on Curriculum Night that I have set up a blog account for each one of our students! During our time in the LMC this week, the kids logged into their blog accounts for the very first time and created their very first post! I've linked their individual blogs to the sidebar of our classroom blog so it would be very easy to find and use. Blogging is a great way to not only encourage the children to practice their typing skills, but it will also be a wonderful format for the children to discuss the material we are learning at school! Make sure to comment on your child's post, and let them know its okay to comment on each other's posts, too! Happy Blogging! :)

A Message from our Room Mom, Mrs. Strimling!

Hello fellow O'Sullivan Parents- I hope things are finally settling down for you - it's always crazy during the beginning of the school year. There are two items at hand for us to cover... 1. Our classroom gift for the Dryden Progressive Party (takes place on October 19th this year). In case you didn't attend last year, the Dryden Progressive Party is a fun evening and one of the most successful fundraisers sponsored by the PTA. Dryden parents are invited to a home for an hour and a half of food, drinks and great conversation. Our class is responsible for creating a gift to put up for raffle at the Progressive Party. I would like to create a gift that will be personalized at the hand of our children. It would be great if you could send $5 in an envelope to school with your child to be sent to me via backpack mail (attn: Jen Strimling). I will then compile our funds and get the gift going...if you are creative and would like to help, please let me know :-) 2. Our first field trip is scheduled for Friday, October 19 to the Police Department. We will be leaving Dryden at 10:00 AM and returning at 11:50 AM. It is a walking trip, so our volunteers have to be ready and willing to make the 30 minute trek with us each way. :) We go rain or shine... We can only have parents along with us that have signed the white volunteer waiver form that everyone received on curriculum night. If you would like to participate but haven't gotten the form in, please be sure to do so ASAP. We would need a minimum of 3 parents, but we can go up to five. Please email me if you would like to chaperone. Have a great weekend! Enjoy the weather :-) Jen Strimling (jen@strimling.org)

YOU Matter!

Our class celebrated "Dot Day" yesterday at school. First, the children and I listened to the story, The Dot, by Peter Reynolds, via Tumblebooks through the Arlington Heights Memorial Library online. After the story, the children thought about what they thought the message of the book was. They told me some of the following statements: "We are important." "We are powerful!" "We shouldn't give up." What an intelligent bunch of kids! Then, the children thought about one way that they "matter." They wrote it down on a dot, and then illustrated their idea in a framed drawing. I'm so proud of all of the ideas they came up with! It is wonderful to see children identify and verbalize their individual strengths. Every single child in our class matters! Sharing the story and thinking about our own unique qualities was a really fun way to highlight such a powerful message. In order to deepen the message that even the smallest people can achieve great things, the children and I have ADOPTED a DOLPHIN! I let them know that their hard work at school each week will cover the cost of our dolphin. Our "adoption" will help to keep our amazing animal safe and protected in its natural ocean habitat. We thought it would be a great way to show the kids that they not only matter at school and at home, but they also matter to the world. We all can make an impact! The kids were so excited to hear about this added surprise! Every chance you get, make sure you tell your kids how much they matter. I promise to do the same at school! :) Miss O'Sullivan

Happy 60th Birthday, Dryden!

Happy 60th birthday, Dryden School! It was really wonderful to see and visit with so many former (and current!) students, teachers, and principals on such a special day!

The Awesome Monday. By Joe

Today we had PE and Music. We played soccer in PE. We sang a happy song in music class called "Step in Time!" We took our spelling pre-test for the week and we got our new spelling lists! We practiced our words by writing them in SECRET CODE. The vowels we wrote in red, and the consonants we wrote in blue. But don't tell anyone our secret! Shhhh! In math we worked on different ways to say a number. For example some ways to say 10 are: 5+5, a dime, 8+2 and 20-10. We played a game called Broken Calculator. There was one "broken" key that we couldn't use. It made us think a little bit harder. We learned all about our new star student this week! It's Anya! Did you know that she has a dog named Toby? And... she has been to Ecuador! Cool! See you tomorrow! Joe

Busy little bees in 2nd Grade! By Gianna

We learned about landforms. We learned about the 7 continents and the 5 oceans! The oceans we learned are the Indian, Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic and the Southern Ocean. We also learned about maps and globes! Maps are a flat picture of the earth, while a globe is a model of the earth, only smaller. We learned that the compass rose has all of the directions- north, east, south, and west! A silly sentence to help us remember that is "Never Eat Squirmy Worms!" We went to the LMC this afternoon and learned all about where the different kinds of books are located. We checked out books for the first time today. We get two books this year! We have also been learning about the Daily 5 centers. Yesterday we learned about word work and how to use the computer as a listening center in our classroom! See? We are hard at work! Have a nice day! Gianna

An Amazing Start to the School Year!

Hello Everyone! It was so nice to see all of the parents (and grandparent!) at Curriculum Night on Thursday. Hopefully I answered any questions you might have had about what the children will be learning in second grade this year. Thank you for sitting through all of that information, I know it was a lot! As I mentioned, our first field trip will be a walking trip to the Police Department on October 19! We hope to have a few of you along with us! Thank you in advance to Mrs. Strimling, our room mom, who will help us to coordinate. The children and I have covered a lot of ground in our first 7 days of school together. We spent a lot of time going over and practicing classroom routines and procedures. We learned about the class rules, discipline policy, and homework expectations. The children learned about the different “classroom set-ups” that we will use to arrange our desks based on different activities (working alone, with a buddy, or with a group!) We also went through the building safety checklist. The children practiced where to go in case of an Evacuation drill (formerly known as a fire drill), a Shelter-In –Place drill (formerly known as a Tornado drill), and both Hard and Soft Lock-Downs (formerly known as our “Code Red” and “Code Blue” drills). The children already put this practice to work with our first school-wide fire drill on Friday afternoon. Our class did a really great job staying together and quiet during this time. The children have listened to many of my favorite “back to school” books since our first day including: How I Spent My Summer Vacation, First Day Jitters, The Teacher from the Black Lagoon, Wemberly Worried, Nobody’s Mother is in Second Grade, and A Fine, Fine School. They are starting to see just how much I LOVE to READ! They also had the opportunity to go "book shopping" in the classroom. We talked about what makes a good book choice for us (it should be a book that interests us, we should be able to read the words, and we should be able to understand the content.) The children chose 5 books for their book bags (2 fiction, 2 non fiction, and at least one picture book) and we got to work on building our reading stamina. The children reached 9 minutes and 33 seconds of silent reading without any interruptions! Way to go, Class! We will continue to work to build this stamina next week. We will begin our actual reading curriculum next week. These skills will include spelling, grammar, vocabulary and reading comprehension. The children have begun learning about the "Daily 5," which is what we call the reading centers that the children will be working through while I teach small guided reading groups. We have already worked on "Read to Self" and "Writing" and coming up we will learn about "Listen to Reading" "Read with a Buddy" and "Word Work." We are learning about the expectations that go along with each of these centers! The children took their first spelling test today! They will usually take their spelling pre-test on Mondays, but since we have a short week next week, the children took their first pre-test today. They will take their final test next Friday. They will receive homework activities throughout next week in order to help them to practice their spelling words. The children will be asked to list their new words on the back of their reading log each week. Please encourage your child, however, to keep their spelling list in their red folder. We need to use it to practice at school, too! Our introductory math lessons refreshed our memories on the use of number lines and completing patterns, using a calendar, and telling time. We reviewed the months, as well as the number of days and weeks in a month. The children became familiar with the math tools we have available in the classroom, including dice, shape templates, tape measures, rulers, etc. Coming up next week the children will begin working on their addition facts, ways to properly work with a partner, grouping by tens and exchanging money. The kids and I also decided to log in to our Xtramath.org accounts on the laptops yesterday for the first time. With the help of Mrs. Breaux, we were able to do it. The children learned how to sign in and took their preliminary test. They should be all ready to go if they want to practice at home! Remember you can find their log-in information in your folder from curriculum night. We've begun practicing our addition facts this week in the classroom, so any additional practice at home would be awesome! We have been reading and learning about various landforms this week! The children were exposed to these terms using our Social Studies text book. After brainstorming about each of the landforms during our “Vocabulary Visit” around the classroom, the children went back to their desks and located the glossary in the back of their textbook. We learned that glossaries only contain words that are found in the text we are reading! They practiced identifying our new terms in their glossaries, and transferred the definitions to their landform packets. Illustrating these terms really helped bring them to life! The children will be working on a “Landform Mural,” next week which will allow them to demonstrate their understanding of each term in a visual way. Terms include: River, lake, ocean, plain, desert, mountain, hill, peninsula and island. We will also be practicing the 7 continents! Don't forget, there's no school on Monday due to the Labor Day holiday! I wish you all a nice, long, relaxing weekend! :) Miss O'Sullivan