As we approach our holiday break (which FINALLY begins next week), we have been really busy trying to finish up with "business" so we can have some fun next week.
This week we read a nonfiction story called At Play: Long Ago and Today. This was a longer story with a lot of details, so it proved a little more difficult than some of the stories we have read in the past. This is the first of the longer, more difficult stories. Expectations are increasing as we look forward to third grade! We continued with author's purpose this week. We completed three separate writing assignments that addressed each of the three main purposes (persuade, inform, and entertain). Students began with an paragraph written to inform - they wrote a paragraph full of facts about a bag of M&Ms I gave them (size, shape, colors, how many, etc.) Then they wrote a persuasive paragraph about why you should buy them a bag of M&Ms. Finally we wrapped up with an entertaining story about an M&M. They turned out really nicely! High-frequency words for the week were board, cook, enjoy, imagine, favorite, popular, year, and expensive. Robust vocabulary words were recreation, leisurely, archaic, and ramble. I was worried about these words because it seemed at the beginning of the week that these words were all brand new to the students. BUT we used them like crazy all week long, and by the end of the week I think the students really had a good idea of what they mean and how to use them correctly. We wrapped up abbreviations at the beginning of the week and didn't begin a new grammar skill. This week was supposed to be singular possessive nouns, but I know that this is a very difficult concept for second graders so I decided to push it off until after break. Hopefully we will have fresh minds at that point! We finished up our snowman stories, and we wrote letters to Santa. Our letters to Santa were not your typical Santa letter, though. Students were asked to write a letter to Santa persuading him to put them on either the nice list or the naughty list. They had to list reasons justifying why they belong on the list they chose. Some of them were pretty convincing! We will have Mr. Rethman judge our letters, and he will choose the top three most convincing letters in the entire second grade. Those letters will be read on the announcements next week! Stay tuned for winners...
This week we also made our holiday craft. We used bricks to make snowmen, and boy are they cute! I really meant to take some pictures while the kids were painting, and I completely forgot. So sorry! I'll try to get some of the kids with their finished projects and post them next week.
Next week we will be enjoying several activities that have to do with The Polar Express. We will be reading the book, watching the movie, enjoying hot chocolate, and more. Students will be allowed to wear their pajamas to school on Tuesday - the day we watch the movie. Students will complete a sequencing activity as well as an activity detailing all of the story elements (characters, setting, plot). A BIG thank you to the parents who have already sent in some of the supplies we will need for these activities. We still need a few items, and any donations are greatly appreciated.
We did manage to fill up all of the slots for donations for our Winterfest party on Wednesday. We will be snacking and having a small gift exchange. If your child is choosing to participate in the gift exchange, please remember the limit is $5.00. Boys should buy for boys and girls should buy for girls. Please make sure your child's gift is something ANY boy or girl in the class will like - do not buy for one specific student. We will be playing a game to determine who gets each gift.
Our specials schedule for next week will be:
Monday - library
Tuesday - music
Wednesday - computer
Enjoy your weekend - it's the last one before Christmas!!!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
We've Been Busy Little Elves
Whew, what a week! Things were a little out of the ordinary for a few days, but we survived. Mrs. Lawniczak had a few meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, so we had subs for a little while each of those mornings. We also visited the Santa Shop on Wednesday morning.
This week we were reading a story called Jamaica Louise James. We started talking about author's purpose and thought a lot about why different texts may have been written. We learned that the three main purposes spell P.I.E. (persuade, inform, and entertain). Ask your second grader to give you examples of each. When your second grader reads for his/her reading log next week, ask what they think the purpose of each text may be. Persuade is the hardest, so look for examples in newspapers and magazines (such as advertisements). High-frequency words for this week were draw, question, picture, minute, sure, especially, bought, and worry. Robust vocabulary words were renowned, kin, original, and adorn. We did really well with the word adorn - ask your second grader how Jamaica adorned the subway walls in the story. Ask how some of the second grader teachers adorned their classrooms, and discuss the various ways you may have adorned your house for the holidays. Our grammar skill this week was abbreviations. We learned that most abbreviations begin with capital letters, and they all end with a period. We focused on abbreviations for days, months, titles, and locations (street, road, etc.). We wrote snowman stories.
Next week we will read a nonfiction selection called At Play:Long Ago and Today. This story details many ways that toys, games, and recreational activities have changed from long ago to today. It is a more difficult story than we have been reading so far this year, but the students usually seem to like it. We will continue with author's purpose. High-frequency words will be imagine, favorite, year, enjoy, cook, board, popular, and expensive. Robust vocabulary words will be recreation, leisurely, ramble, and archaic. Our grammar skill will be possessive nouns. We will finishing our snowman stories and beginning letters to Santa. In these letters we will be practicing our persuasive writing and explaining whether we think we should be on the naughty or nice list and why. This writing assignment will be part of a contest! Spelling words for next week will have the long e sound at the end of the word and will be spelled with a y or ey at the end. Please note that we now have three different spelling lists between the two classes. Your child's list may vary from week to week. Please check the list in your child's folder on Friday for confirmation of which list your second grader should study for the week. Words are:
very, messy, lady, happy, key, baby, money, funny, candy, sunny, chimney, nobody, breezy, twenty, keyhole, ask, went, men, read, need
Challenge list:
chimney, nobody, breezy, twenty, keyhole, activity, absolutely, monkey, family, anybody, probably, eighty, mystery, everything, crybaby, ask, went, men, read, need
Also note that reading logs are due early this month - December 20th. Your second grader only needs to read 200 minutes for the month of December. I will not accept late logs after break.
Next week we will be working on a holiday craft. If you would be willing to help prepare materials in advance, please let me know. You can do it at home - I just need someone to cut pipe cleaners and squares/strips of fabric so they are ready to go for the kids on Thursday. Let me know if you can help us out!
I think we have all of the drink carriers we will need for the week before the break. A big thank you to everyone who donated!
Our holiday party is scheduled for Wednesday, December 22nd at 2:30. At some point next week I will be sending home a list of what everyone signed up to bring.
Our specials schedule for next week will be:
Monday - music
Tuesday - computer
Wednesday - art
Thursday - music
Friday - gym
This week we were reading a story called Jamaica Louise James. We started talking about author's purpose and thought a lot about why different texts may have been written. We learned that the three main purposes spell P.I.E. (persuade, inform, and entertain). Ask your second grader to give you examples of each. When your second grader reads for his/her reading log next week, ask what they think the purpose of each text may be. Persuade is the hardest, so look for examples in newspapers and magazines (such as advertisements). High-frequency words for this week were draw, question, picture, minute, sure, especially, bought, and worry. Robust vocabulary words were renowned, kin, original, and adorn. We did really well with the word adorn - ask your second grader how Jamaica adorned the subway walls in the story. Ask how some of the second grader teachers adorned their classrooms, and discuss the various ways you may have adorned your house for the holidays. Our grammar skill this week was abbreviations. We learned that most abbreviations begin with capital letters, and they all end with a period. We focused on abbreviations for days, months, titles, and locations (street, road, etc.). We wrote snowman stories.
Next week we will read a nonfiction selection called At Play:Long Ago and Today. This story details many ways that toys, games, and recreational activities have changed from long ago to today. It is a more difficult story than we have been reading so far this year, but the students usually seem to like it. We will continue with author's purpose. High-frequency words will be imagine, favorite, year, enjoy, cook, board, popular, and expensive. Robust vocabulary words will be recreation, leisurely, ramble, and archaic. Our grammar skill will be possessive nouns. We will finishing our snowman stories and beginning letters to Santa. In these letters we will be practicing our persuasive writing and explaining whether we think we should be on the naughty or nice list and why. This writing assignment will be part of a contest! Spelling words for next week will have the long e sound at the end of the word and will be spelled with a y or ey at the end. Please note that we now have three different spelling lists between the two classes. Your child's list may vary from week to week. Please check the list in your child's folder on Friday for confirmation of which list your second grader should study for the week. Words are:
very, messy, lady, happy, key, baby, money, funny, candy, sunny, chimney, nobody, breezy, twenty, keyhole, ask, went, men, read, need
Challenge list:
chimney, nobody, breezy, twenty, keyhole, activity, absolutely, monkey, family, anybody, probably, eighty, mystery, everything, crybaby, ask, went, men, read, need
Also note that reading logs are due early this month - December 20th. Your second grader only needs to read 200 minutes for the month of December. I will not accept late logs after break.
Next week we will be working on a holiday craft. If you would be willing to help prepare materials in advance, please let me know. You can do it at home - I just need someone to cut pipe cleaners and squares/strips of fabric so they are ready to go for the kids on Thursday. Let me know if you can help us out!
I think we have all of the drink carriers we will need for the week before the break. A big thank you to everyone who donated!
Our holiday party is scheduled for Wednesday, December 22nd at 2:30. At some point next week I will be sending home a list of what everyone signed up to bring.
Our specials schedule for next week will be:
Monday - music
Tuesday - computer
Wednesday - art
Thursday - music
Friday - gym
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