Weekly Update

Writing:

We planned out our fire drill story as a class and the second graders are almost done planning their own next small moment! We spent a lot of time this week talking about the craft or writing. The second graders learned how to write different tag lines so they don't always have to use "said", but can use "whispered", "yelled", or "answered". We talked about the importance of using feelings, and how powerful sound words can be. Ask your second grader about onomatopoeia! 

Phonics:

Our class got a new phonics mascot: A dragon named Gus! He's not so great at phonics yet, so the second graders have to teach him a lot! This week in phonics we worked on learning to spell some common homonyms. We read some jokes with homonyms and figured out exactly what makes them so funny. Ask your second grader about these ones:

Math:

We are working on adding and subtracting up to 20.  The homework that went home Friday will help the second graders practice what we are doing in class. We have our first math test on Tuesday of next week, so it would be great if you could help your second grader get their homework done before then - just to get that extra practice in. Something that will for sure be on the test is even and odd - not just identifying even and odd numbers but also explaining why those numbers are even or odd.

Reading:

This week I was able to assess just about every second graders' reading by listening to them read and having a discussion about the book they read. I do this throughout the year during reading time, but informally. Three times a year I will do it formally by doing a running record and then record the scores to keep track of each students' progress. The STAR test is another way we formally assess and track student achievement. STAR parent reports went home Friday. If you have questions or concerns about what is on there please email me.

Homework:

The two-sided math page is due by Friday, September 26 (Early Release Day)

Extra Information:

September 24- Picture Day

September 26- Early Release Day

October 3- Color the Park

Thank you so much for helping your second grader get into Spirit Week!

They all had fun with the dress -up days!

Weekly Update

We do so many extra activities and projects throughout the year that we need a little help with supplies. This week both second grade classes used bandanas and pony beads to make bracelets. If you would be willing to support the fun, teambuilding, and service projects that we do in second grade we have made a Sign Up Genius list. You can access it here: 2nd Grade Supplies Thanks for all your help and support of all we do in second grade!

Writing:

The second graders finished their first small moment story of the year last week. Next week we will be scoring them, writing goals, and starting the next small moment story. This time around we will all be writing about the fire drill we had on Friday. Writing about the same event is a great way to share examples of leads, transitions and wrap ups as well as dialogue. The students will be sharing ideas and examples and learning from each other.

Math:

We have been working on making partners of 20 this week as well as focusing on doubles facts. Facts to 20 are a priority for the first few units because fact fluency is essential to everything we do in math for the rest of the year. Studying the doubles facts is a great way to talk about odd and even numbers. In second grade we want the students to be able to not only identify numbers as even and odd, but also be able to tell how they know.

Phonics:

The kids have been learning about the r controlled vowel and how it can be a little tricky! There are so many words that sound like the er, but are actually spelled with an ir or ur. We also continued our study of high frequency words and vowel teams. These last two areas are ones that we will come back to often!

Reading:

We have been talking about how the best way to get better at any skill is practice, practice, practice and to get better at reading we all have to read, read, read!  We worked on fluency and word solving strategies this week as well as building stamina to give us that essential practice.

SEL:

The second graders made bracelets in class to represent the three words from our class charter. We made them on Friday and our two high school football player volunteers helped us. Each student chose three colored beads, one each to represent each of the three words we chose for our charter. They then put the  beads on a strip of a bandana to make a bracelet.  Not only does this help our class feel like a community by having matching bracelets, but it's also a daily reminder of how making the right choices helps build the classroom environment the second graders decided they wanted in our classroom charter. The picture of the charter also shows the actions the students came up with to help achieve the goal of a safe, happy, and calm & relaxed classroom environment.

Homework:

The math paper is due by Friday, September 19.

Extra Information:

Check out our Spirit Week dress up days:

September 24- Picture Day

September 26- Early Release Day

October 3- Color the Park

Weekly Update

Writing:

The second graders have started starting writing their first small moment story. Personal narrative is the genre we spend the most time on in second grade, so you will hear about small moment stories a lot this year. This week we practiced planning a story across five pages. We also started learning about different leads and wrote two different ones for the same story. Next week we will learn continue with leads and maybe get to how to start learning about the importance of transitions.

Phonics:

We have been talking about identifying open and closed syllables. These are important skills when decoding and sounding out unknown words. There are words the second graders have heard in conversation, but maybe never seen written down. Knowing syllable types can help figure out those know but unfamiliar-looking words. It also helps so much with spelling. You are not going to believe how much your second grader will grow as a speller this year! 

Math:

We are continuing to have fun while doing math! The second graders are loving the different work stations, and have also been doing some graphing, addition, and subtraction. Another part of math they have been loving is math talks. Getting the second graders to talk about their mathematical thinking is a huge priority in second grade. See if your second grader can remember the four big reasons we do math talks. 

Reading:

We went to the new library for the first time this week!  Our library day will be Monday, so that will be the day we will all go to get new books. If your child finishes his or her books early and you don't want them hanging around the house and maybe getting lost, send them back early. We will get them returned and your second grader will be all set to check out new books on Monday. Our time is combined with Mrs Hills' time, so your child may come home talking about reading with a friend from the other second grade on Mondays. This combined library time is part of our effort to build a second grade community in the building, not just in our individual classes.

We have also been continuing to work on reading stamina and talking about how good readers read. They sit away from distractions, do a book preview and make some predictions, and then read with a narrator and character voices, or maybe a teaching and learning voice - depending on the genre. We are building good reading habits to grow good readers!

Homework:

The 5-star sentence page is due by Friday, September 12. The 5-star sentence your child did last week was in his or her mail on Friday. This way you can see the expectations on the rubric I use to score it. The second graders have a week to work on the sentence - but it shouldn't take that long! It is due on Friday, but bring it back to school anytime it is done.

Extra Information:

September 24- Picture Day

September 26 - Early Release Day

October 3- Color the Park

Our class has raised $185 in donations from five donors in two states!! Our Parent's Club has made donating easy with an online option.

Check out our fundraising page here: Fund Hub

Click here to Register for the event.

Click here to Volunteer at the event.

Weekly Update

We had a big week! It was only four days, but we did A LOT!

Mrs Stefanich read to our class, we started math and SEL curriculum - lots of team and community building - and we met our high school football players!

Here's the breakdown:

Writing:

We have been practiced sentence writing last week.  The second graders know to use capital letters at the beginning of sentences, but don’t always remember to do it. It’s a habit we will work to build all year long. Everyone knows to use punctuation as well, but again it’s a habit we will continue to build. Last week the second graders chose their very best sentence to turn in. I scored them on a 5-point rubric that we will refer back to often this year. Those sentences will come home next week and you can review them with your child.

Next week we launch our personal narrative unit and shift from sentences to ideas. In second grade our focus is on writing small moments, focusing in on one small moment, rather than writing a many-moments story.

Phonics:

The second graders took a spelling assessment last week, and I have to say I am impressed with what they all learned last year and hung on to through the summer.  This assessment will help me to differentiate instruction, and target skills the students need for spelling.

Math:

This math curriculum is really hands on and I hope your second grader said they had fun when you ask them about math last week. We solved math mysteries using clues, played games  and explored work stations. The students made bugs, categorized and sorted them and often I think they didn’t realize it was math. In second grader we spend far more time doing math than writing math.

Reading:

Our current focus is building reading stamina during independent reading along with making sure everyone has chosen 'just right' books.  We talked about how we want to make sure that the books are interesting to us, and also not too hard (if there are five or more unknown words on a single page then it's too hard), but we also don't want books that are too easy.  The second graders have also been trying out different flexible seating around the room, trying to find a comfortable spot away from distractions.

SEL:

As a class we made a classroom charter. We thought of words that we want to make sure we feel every single day when we are in the classroom, and came up with happy, safe, and calm & relaxed. Ask your child what they said will help them stay happy, safe, and calm when they are in our classroom. We also played an "I Have, Who Has?" game with our whole class's names and pictures, and worked in teams to keep a gummy worm from falling in the ocean. This is a great group and we are going to have a great year!

Homework:

Have a WONDERFUL Labor Day weekend!  If you are traveling, please stay safe. I’d love it if you would encourage your child to read at least 20 minutes a day.

Extra Information:

August 29- No School

September 1- No school- Labor Day

September 5 - Bike Bus is starting!

September 24- School Picture Day

September 26 - Early Release Day

October 3- Color the Park (sign-up links below)

Click here to Register

Click here to Volunteer

Weekly Update

We had two great days in 2nd Grade!  This is such a great group of kids! I'm so excited to spend the year with them. These past two days we did a lot of getting to know you activities and routine practicing. We will continue that next week too, but will also get started on curriculum!

Writing:

The second graders wrote stories today about something they did over summer vacation, and I noticed we may need some practice with writing sentences.  So next week we will practice sentence structure and talk about punctuation. 

Phonics:

Next week we will take a spelling "test". There is nothing to study for because I want to see how they spell and what strategies they use. This will help me determine who needs help with certain phonics skills and we can put these students into different groups for W.I.N. Time (What I Need).  

Math:

Next week we will start our first math unit! It will be all game-based activities designed to get us back into mathematical thinking and into the routine of math learning. I am so excited to help these kiddos LOVE math! 

Reading:

Our focus next week we will be building reading stamina. We will also work on routines and review how to select good fit books. This is the year students make the switch from Learning to Read to Reading to Learn so developing independent reading skills will be an important focus this year. 

Homework:

Homework will be in your child's yellow folder on Fridays, and usually it's a math worksheet. In second grade we use homework to keep parents informed about what we are doing in class, but also to give the students an opportunity to apply their math knowledge outside of the classroom and show off their learning to their parents. I know from experience how busy families are, so you will have the entire week to work on homework. Your child can turn in his or her homework any day before the following week. I will check the homework and go over anything that your child didn't understand. So feel free to write me a note and ask me to go over something specific. I don't keep track of who turns their homework in or when. This gives you as parents a chance to lay the foundation for homework habits at home now, before they are attached to a grade. 

Your child got his or her first homework assignment on Thursday. It is a pennant to fill out, decorate, cut out and return to school next week. We will use these to as community-building springboards when we share them with the class. A strong positive community and a team mentality are foundational to second grade at Park. It's going to be a great year!

  

Extra Information:

The specials calendar for August and September is in the back pocket of your child's yellow folder. That folder should travel back and forth with your second grader every day.

August 22- No School

August 29- No School

September 1- No School

September 24- Picture Day

October 3- Color the Park

We will take a snack break every day in the morning, but many kids also need a snack in the afternoon. We work hard at school! Please discuss with your child what will work for him or her and help them pack what they need to keep them energized for all the learning we do all day long.