Happy Halloween!

 It was so great meeting with all of you during our parent-teacher conferences last week! It's clear that the children have supportive families that care about their learning. Thank you for all of the wonderful conversations! 

Reading: 

We are enjoying our fiction reading unit. The children compared/contrasted The Wolf's Story vs. Little Red Riding Hood A Newfangled Prairie Tale. As a class, we looked carefully for similarities and differences regarding the characters, setting, problem, events, and solution of each story. The students went to compare the story of Cinderella with Cinderella and the Vampire Prince so they could practice this skill independently.  We also took a close look at the journey the characters go on in traditional fairy tales. We read a Norwegian folktale called "The Most Valuable Treasure." We thought about how the main character, Halvor, went on a personal journey. He changed during the story, realizing that he is his mother's greatest treasure. Thank you for re-reading and discussing this story with the children at home. We went on to analyze the character of the Wolf in The Wolf's Story. We learned that characters may change as they go through a journey in the story. The change may affect their age, personal appearance, their actions, beliefs, or what they say. Sometimes, characters in a story don't change at all. We noticed the Wolf did not learn a lesson in this story. Nothing changed for him, except for his injured tail at the end.

Writing: 

We read a "scary" story called Harry and the Whatzit. We jotted down the scary words we heard while reading. Our writers then opened up their writing notebooks and wrote down some scary sentences that they might use in a scary story. We are focusing on beginning with a capital letter, ending with punctuation, and sounding out all of the words that we write carefully. The children began writing their own scary stories!

The kids also had some fun writing a "For Sale" Ad for a Haunted House! We loved stretching our imagination to think about how to sell something so spooky! :)

Word study:

We practiced identifying nouns that "own" something, and adding the possessive 's to show ownership. We also worked to split two-syllable words that have double consonant in the middle of the word, in between their double consonant. The children have been encouraged to use their personal word wall during writing that they keep inside their desk. A dictionary/glossary full of alphabetized word wall words was shared with the children on Seesaw to be used as a resource to increase our spelling accuracy.

Math:

We have been working on subtracting 3 digit numbers within 1,000. The children have been checking to if there's "more on the top" or "more on the floor" to decide if they should regroup or not. The children took a review test in their math workbook, we reviewed it together, and then they took their chapter 3 test. You should find a Chapter 4 parent letter inside your child's red home folder.

Science:

We changed our focus to plants and how they grow. We learned about seed dispersal, and how seeds can spread with the help of wind, water, and animals. We will learn about pollination tomorrow before we shift gears and move into our social studies curriculum.

Upcoming Dates to remember:

10/31 - Last day for 5% off Yearbook price

11/1: Math and Reading Homework logs are due! They can also be brought to school on Tuesday.

11/1:  New intervention cycle begins. Changes to student support services (that have already been shared with parents) go into effect this week.

11/4 - PTA Reflections Art Program entries due

11/4 - Chess Club (pre-registration required)

11/5 - Deadline for Veterans Day RSVP

Have a fun and safe Halloween!

 The 2nd graders have accomplished so much over the last several days of school! Please remember that we have a short week this week due to Parent/Teacher Conferences. I look forward to meeting with everyone on Thursday and Friday.

* Shane H. was a wonderful star student and line leader! We enjoyed learning more about him and his family during his star student week.

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PenPals!

* The children worked hard to write beautiful letters to our new 2nd grade pen pals who live near Los Angeles, California! We received our first letters from our pen pals this week, too. The children squealed with excitement when they opened their letters! You will find both letters posted to your child's Seesaw account. The kids can't wait to write back! (See pictures below! :)

Handwriting

* We have been working hard to improve our handwriting. We are focusing on holding our pencil correctly and forming our letters beginning at the top. We have learned about the "David" letters... David likes to dive down, and swim back up through his own bubbles. Letters that dive down and swim right back up include p, m, n, h, and r. 

Reading

* In reading, we continue to explore the 3 types of fiction. We read a traditional fiction story, The Ugly Duckling, and noticed several examples of figurative language including similes, personification, and onomatopeia.  We made images in our mind and thought about the author's message.

* We read another story called, Simply Completely and Totally the Messiest, which was a realistic fiction text. We noticed that the main character, Sophie, was very life-like in her very messy ways. We recognized that even though this story was made up in the author's mind, it could happen in real life. We analyzed the main character carefully, taking a close look at what she looks like, what she says, and what she does during the story.

Writing

* In writing, we continue to think about ways to get ideas for our writing. We read a book called Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type.  After reading, we thought about silly animal sentences that we could create a story about! After some time brainstorming, the children selected a sentence and set off to write a story about it!

*We went on to read My Little Sister Ate One Hare, and again realized that a whole story can build from one single idea. We brainstormed different things that a real (or imaginary) little brother or sister could do. We are excited to write these stories next!

Math

* In math, we have been regrouping in subtraction non-stop! The children know to line up their ones, tens, and hundreds places carefully before solving. The children know to put the LARGER number on top when subtracting! And the children know to recite a little rhyme we've been practicing to remind themselves if they need to regroup or not.  We have also been practicing checking our work by using the inverse operation. If we are subtracting, then we will add to check our work!

Science

* In science, we are enjoying learning about our 3rd habitat, the kelp forest. We are learning about the diversity of life in this habitat, including kelp, sea otters, sea urchins, sea stars, and more. We are recognizing that living things get the things they need to survive in their habitat. This includes food, shelter, protection, air, and space.  

* The children enjoyed drawing pictures of the Saguaro Cactus habitat. They were encouraged to include at least 4-5 living things in their drawing. These beautiful works of art are hanging in the hallway outside our classroom for you to view when you come into the building later this week for conferences.

* We enjoyed a virtual field trip through NearPod on our iPads with Mrs. Goldstein this week! We were able to virtually transport ourselves to the Oak Tree, Saguaro Cactus, and Kelp Forest habitats!

Bus Evacuation Practice

* The children demonstrated WONDERFUL behavior during our bus evacuation practice last week. We learned to pay careful attention to the bus number when boarding a bus, we located the first aid kit, and counted multiple emergency exits. We know to stay quiet and seated on the bus while it's moving, so our bus driver can concentrate on driving and we can have a safe journey.

Homework

* Please continue to encourage your child to get in their 20 minutes of reading and 5 minutes of math practice each night! I check in with the children and remind them every day, and they assure me they are practicing! :)

Thank you!

* Another big thank you for all of the wonderful replies the children are receiving in their "Friday Journals." It is so much fun watching the children write to you each week. They are very eager to share the highlights of their week with you, and they love to read the letters you write them back. Thank you for the time you take to bring these smiles to your children's faces! They love it!

* One more thank you to Gabe's Mom for helping us plan an afternoon of fun for our Halloween celebration during the afternoon of the 29th. She is working hard to organize games, crafts, and a memorable time for the kids. Thank you to Mrs. Kraniotis, Mr. Marston, and Gabe's mom for volunteering to come in to help in the classroom! (Volunteers, please be sure to check-in at the office during conferences, so they can pre-print your volunteer badge ahead of time. That will help you to avoid the traffic in the office during our Halloween celebrations on Friday afternoon the 29th. :)

* Please remember that children will be changing into their costumes during lunch that day. School-friendly costumes will ensure that we all have a fun experience. (Don't forget to fill out the Google doc letting the office know your child's lunch plans on the 29th, if you haven't yet done so!)

Upcoming dates:

10/20 - PTA Running Club, 8:10 am in the Dryden field

10/21 & 10/22 - Parent Teacher Conferences (No School for Students)

10/25 - RULER Parent Presentation, 7:00 pm, Dryden LMC

10/26 - Dryden PTA Dine Out at Lou Malnati’s

10/29 - Halloween Parade & Classroom Parties

10/31 - Last day for 5% off Yearbook price

11/4 - PTA Reflections Art Program entries due