Fall Has Arrived!!

                                                                                          September 28, 2015
Dear Parents,

Room 17 had a very busy week!!  We presented our first project, completed our first writing piece that went through the entire writing process, celebrated 3 birthdays, and enjoyed "Pajama Day".

We also completed our first round of "Mystery Students" from Room 17.  It is so much fun to have the opportunity to focus on one student for the day looking for the positive student behaviors.  Students get so excited to learn who the "Mystery Student" is at the end of the end of the day.  They love hearing the note that goes home and when the "Mystery Student" pushes the send button, to share the note with their parents.  Students are equally disappointed if the "Mystery Student" does not earn their note.  If the note is not earned the "Mystery Student" remains a secret and their name gets put back in to be selected again in the future. The second round has already started--be looking for another "Mystery Student" note soon.

Math
In math we spent the week on Part-Whole Word Problems.  Word problems are always a bit tricky for students.  As we work on them we are "dissecting" the problems looking for the important clues, to help us to understand and answer the problems.  Students are working on identifying whether a number in the problem is the "whole" or one of the "parts".  Our mantra has been...
Part + Part = Whole (If the problem gives you the parts, you would add to find the whole.)
Whole - Part = Part (If the problem gives you the whole and a part, you would subtract to find the other part.)
In our answer we are writing an equation and writing an answer sentence.  Below is an example.    

Part-Whole Word Problems
Sarah drew 7 pictures on Saturday.  She drew a few more pictures on Sunday.  She drew 15 pictures altogether.  How many pictures did she draw on Sunday?
Number Bond (Whole 15 -- Part 7 = Part 8)
Equation: 15 -- 7 = _8_ or 7 + _8_ = 15

Answer Sentence: Sarah drew 8 pictures on Sunday.

Our work with word problems will be ongoing. 

Here's the homework for this week.
Mon.  Worksheet Word Problems Whole-Part
Tues. Workbook pages 39-40
Wed.  Worksheet Word Problems Comparison
Thurs. Worksheet Adding and Subtracting Branches

Language
In Language, students started learning about verbs.  We created a circle map that included many verbs.  Students listened to a verb "rap", then completed their own verb "rap" which they performed in groups for the class.  We also discussed the present and past tense of verbs.  Students used a bridge map to show present tense verbs and past tense verbs made by adding the "ed" ending.  They then used the present and past tense verbs in sentences.  

Writing
The writers of Room 17 completed their first piece of writing that has gone through the complete writing process, a riddle about themselves.  The riddles are now hanging up in the hallway with their self-portraits.  Hopefully parents will be able to stop by and try to guess which riddle belongs to your child. 

With our first writing completed we spent time working on sentence fluency this week.  Students completed an activity in partners where they selected a topic from a list.  They then rolled a die to determine how many words needed to be in the sentence.  The pairs needed to write at least 6 sentences on the topic and no two sentences could begin with the same word.  Going through this activity helped students to see how varying the beginning of sentences and sentence length, makes their writing more interesting.

Projects
Although our Tribes in Action Project took longer than anticipated, we completed it this week!!  I was so proud of all groups.  The puppet shows were great!  Students did a wonderful job presenting to Mrs. Marsh's kindergarten class and the parents that were able to attend.  

Our next project will be in the area of science and will begin this coming week.  More on that in next week's blog.

Reminders
Picture Day for Room 17 will be Wednesday, October 7th at 10:30 AM.  Students are to wear their uniform on picture day.  More information on picture day will be out later this week.

Nachos will be available to purchase at lunch every Wednesday for $3.00.  Last week was the first "Nacho Wednesday" and it seemed to be a BIG hit!!

Here's wishing you a great week!

Sincerely,
Anne Bloomfield

And now some information from Mrs. Loop...

Hello Second Grade Families,

It is hard to believe that October is fast approaching and the first grading period is almost coming to an end.  I began report card assessments last week and will continue them every Thursday throughout the remainder of the grading period.  (The grading period ends on October 16.)  This means that your child will have assigned reading books every day but Thursday.  On Thursdays I will be conducting small group and individual report assessments.  I still want your child to continue to read over the weekend.  It is imperative that they stay in the habit of reading so their brain can continue to build stamina and grow in strength as they read.  On the weekend I would ask that every student spend a minimum of 20 minutes reading something of their choosing aloud to a parent.  If they would like to read every day during the weekend that would be amazing but they are only required to read one night for a minimum of 20 minutes during the weekend.  Please have your child write down what they read and bring it to me to share on Monday or email me what they read at kloop@oasisacademyfallon.us  Second graders are assessed on their reading fluency every Wednesday.  It is easy to have your child practice their reading fluency at home by counting 100 words in a book at their ability level and timing them for one minute and having them practice reading all 100 words.  Speed and accuracy are two things we are working on during reading fluency.

Happy reading,

Katy Loop