Math Update

We've moved right into Unit 8, which is our unit on fractions! Our first lessons reviewed basic fraction concepts, including the identification of the numerator (top number) and denominator (bottom number and total number of pieces.) The children recognized that in order for something to be a true fraction, all of the pieces must be the same size! The kids are also working to split a whole number of items into small, equal groups. They are identifying how many pieces make up one-half or one-third, or one-fourth of the group. Using plastic counters is proving to be very helpful in our practice. The kids are doing a great job so far!

Grammar

The children continued to work this week with irregular verbs. They reviewed that irregular verbs are action words that do NOT end in ‘ed’ in the past tense.

Reading Update

Our reading theme this week was severe weather. Together we read the main selection called, “Super Storms.” Did you know that hail can be the size of a marble or a baseball! Or that a thunderstorm can drop millions of gallons of water in just one minute? The children learned all kinds of fascinating facts like these this week. Vocabulary words found in their texts this week include: beware, destroy, grasslands, prevent, uprooted, and violent. We worked on the comprehension strategy of making and checking predictions while reading. Additional skills we covered over the course of the week were: compound words, and identifying repetition and mood in poetry!

A Skype chat with Mrs. Sessler in JAPAN!

Mrs. Sessler has been away this week, traveling and learning all about the schools in Japan. It was very exciting for our class to have a SKYPE chat with Mrs. Sessler while she is there! She stayed up late at night to talk to us, although it was bright and early in the morning for us. The children were very eager to ask her about her flight, the food she is eating in Japan, any landmarks she has seen, and especially about how the schools in Japan are alike and different from our school! Mr. Robinson happened to pop in during our chat, and he was happy to say hello, too! It's truly amazing how connected we can be- even when we are a world apart! We hope you get home safely, Mrs. Sessler!

Happy Valentine's Day!

The children had a bundle of fun on Valentine's Day yesterday! Both Ally and Sebastien's moms came in to share a sweet Valentine's story, stack towers of candy hearts, distribute delicious treats, and watch the children deliver their adorable valentines! Thank you again to the parents for all of your contributions to our little party! We hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day, just like we did!

American Gothic

Mrs. Hiskes came in this week to teach the class an art appreciation lesson. Together, they reviewed Grant Wood's "American Gothic" painting. They discussed the characters in the painting, the shapes they saw, and more! When they were done, they posed in a similar style as the painting, using props of their choice. They look great! Thank you for a fun lesson, Mrs. Hiskes!

Packing for our trip...

Now that we have concluded our unit on rocks and minerals, the children and I have been preparing for our upcoming trip to Australia! We created our own passports and suitcases, and we also spent some time packing our suitcases- based on preliminary information we have learned so far about both this country and continent! The children "packed" hiking clothes for a trip to the outback, beach clothing and snorkel gear for our trip to the Great Barrier Reef, fancy clothes to wear to dinner and a show at the Sydney Opera House, and especially their cameras to photograph amazing sights such as Uluru and the Harbor Bridge! The children's "flight" leaves on Tuesday afternoon. We'll be sure to send a post card!

Homework Survey

Thank you for your responses to the homework survey I sent out on Friday! I am curious to know how homework has been going at home. I want to make sure that the homework is both manageable and valuable. I received responses from about half the class in such a short time! I appreciate the feedback very much! Homework isn't going to be going away entirely, but we might change things up a bit for a few weeks and see how it goes. We have recently added cursive homework to our daily regimen, so changing our reading log to more of a reading record might help a bit!

Grammar Update

The children worked with quotation marks this week! We noticed that there are certain words that are used when someone is “talking” in a sentence, including (but not limited to!) : said, shouted, whispered, asked, and exclaimed.

The children also learned a little bit about comparative and superlative words this week. They learned that comparative words compare two people or things, and end with “er.” Ex: My desk is wider than my paper. Superlative words compare three or more people or things, and end with “est.” Ex: I am the happiest student in my whole class!

Reading Update

Our whole group story this week was called, “Goose’s Story.” It was about a young girl who is eager to see the geese fly to the pond near her home every spring. She is very happy until one year she sees a goose who has an injured foot. The goose is confused and scared, and eventually loses the foot. In this story, a sequence of events happen. Each event leads to another. We were sad to see that the other geese would stay away from the injured goose because she appeared different. We talked about how unfortunate it was for the geese to treat her this way. We were relieved at the end of the story to find that she had found a great friend in another goose. This new friend did not leave her side, and she was happy again. She was no longer alone and we imagined how that must have made her feel. The vocabulary words that went along with this story are: balance, deserted, freezes, imagine, saddest, and wider. This story really encouraged our class to think about people who are different than we are. The children could see first hand how important it is to be kind and considerate to all people no matter what differences they may have from us. Our small groups continue to meet where the children reinforce their decoding skills while building their comprehension skills simultaneously.

Math Update

Over the course of the week, the children continued to build their automaticity with their subtraction facts. I can't believe how these scores are growing each day! We also worked to find "half" of even numbers. They solved “What’s My Rule?” problems involving doubling and halving.

We went on to practice reading numbers on a scale. The children reviewed that there are 16 ounces in a pound, and they even noticed that there were 8 ounces in half a pound, and 4 ounces in 1/4 of a pound! We practiced estimating weights of different objects.

Coming up this week, the children will have a “Data Day,” during which they will take turns doing standing jumps. The children will record, sort and analyze the data they collect! Math wasn't this much fun when I was in 2nd grade! :)

Ally is a SUPER star!

It was our Ally's week to shine! We had a lovely visit from Ally's mom, dad, and her younger sister Sidney! Ally and her dad showed us how to create LIGHTNING by rubbing two balloons against the wall and wool gloves to create static electricity. When they put the balloons near each other, we heard them crackle, just like miniature lightning! The kids were excited to go home to try this out! Ally and Sidney then shared a story about Ally's favorite topic- HORSES! We are starting to love horses almost as much as Ally! (She also created a cereal this week called "Horsey Crisps!" We are so lucky to have such a sweet, hard working, and caring student in our class!

Cereal Designers

For our last persuasive writing assignment, the children DESIGNED their very own cereal! First we watched a few cereal commercials online. The children and I generated a list of important words/ideas we gathered from our research, such as: "low in fat/sugar," "full of fiber," "a great way to start your day," "no artificial colors," "tasty" and "will keep you healthy!" The children then went back to their seats and decided what they would call their cereal, the shape of the cereal, and then they began the design of their boxes! The last step was to write a persuasive letter to General Mills explaining why they should consider actually creating this brand new cereal. (Again we made sure to include persuasive terms, including: clearly, obviously, just think about, consider, The children LOVED this project! They were so creative and came up with some truly great ideas. These kids amazed me with both their boxes AND their writing!

Thank you for all of the cereal box contributions (the extra boxes were especially appreciated!:), Having the boxes really helped increase the interest and excitement of this project! These are some pictures of the kids who have already presented their work!