Classroom News: August 28th

I can't believe we just finished our 4th week of school! We are off to a great start in second grade!
This week we finished up our unit on place value. Students rotated through 8 differentiated centers to review place value concepts. We will take our post test tomorrow and begin our new unit on Making Tens.

In science, we finished up our unit on matter.  Students made a flipbook on the 3 different states and their properties. We then made Root Beer Floats. They were able to see all 3 states of matter and how they can change. Next week, we will begin learning about the compass rose and the regions of Georgia.

We will officially begin our guided reading and daily 5 rotations tomorrow. Students will be meeting with Ms. Wade or I each day. They will rotate through the 5 daily 5 rotations. Ask your child to tell what reading group they are in!

In writing, we have been working on having a beautiful beginning, a magnificent middle, and an excellent ending to our writing. We have also been working on our heart maps and writing in our journals daily. On Friday, students also practiced using the transitional words first, next, then and last in their writing. Students have been given a variety of choices for their writing and have many resources to use when working on their writing. Ask your child about one of their pieces from last week!

Leader of the Month- each month students will choose one of their classmates to be the Leader of the Month. Students are nominated and then voted on by their peers. The leader of the month for September is Abigail! Congratulations!

Important Reminders

1. Please make sure you are recording your child's reading minutes on the monthly calendars in the front of the agenda. Students will be rewarded at the end of the month if they have been doing so.

2. Please sign your child's agenda daily. It helps us to know that you have reviewed their day with them and see their behavior color.

3. Thank you for the wish list donations! I really appreciate it and so do the students.

Important Dates

Thurs. Sept. 1 - Chick-Fil-A Night 5-8pm

Mon. Sept. 5 - Labor Day - No School

Wed. Sept. 7 - Brewster's Spirit Night -   4-7pm

Thurs. Sept. 8 - Grandparent's Breakfast Grades 3, 4, and 5

Fri. Sept. 9 - Grandparent's Breakfast Grades K, 1, and 2  

Foundation

Thank you to all the families that have joined our Foundation. If our class has the most participation, we will earn an extra i-pad for our classroom. This is a great tool for the students to use during our math and reading time.What an awesome opportunity that would be!! The most exciting part is that if the school reaches the goal of $25,000 then Mrs. Hallmark and Mr. Cohen will kiss a pig! If we reach $30,000 they will be taped to the wall at school! Please consider donating if you have not already done so. Our science lab is an important part of our school. You can click on the link below.

http://addisonelemfdtn.wix.com/addison-foundation#!donate/c1ghi

Daily 5 in Action!!

The past two weeks we have been practicing the routines of Daily 5. Today, was the first day of implementing all 5 rotations. Here are a few pictures.

 Work on Writing 

 Work Word with Play-doh

 Hidden Words in Word Work 

 Read to Someone

 Listen to Reading 

 Listen to Reading 

 Work on Writing 

Science Lab Orientation

Today we visited the Science Lab. Mrs. Knobbe and the students reviewed the rules for the lab. Students rotated through 3 centers and practiced using a variety of tools that will be used throughout the year. Students also had the opportunity to visit the garden to see what had grown over the summer. Tomorrow we will get to sample some of the vegetables!

Classroom News: August 8-12

We had another busy week in 2nd grade. I want thank you for attending Open House on Thursday. We had a great turnout! I am sending out the power point presentation this afternoon. Please let me know if you have any questions.

In math, we spent  a lot of time working on place value and different ways to represent numbers. Students used manipulatives to build numbers to the hundreds place. They then practiced writing the value of each digit by showing the number in expanded form. They also learned how to play the game Race to 100. This week we will continue to with our place value unit.

In reading and language arts, we are still working on building our reading and writing workshop routines. We have been reviewing the Daily 5 components and will begin reading groups and daily 5 next week. We also have been writing daily and will start working on narrative writing next week. The pictures below are of the students practicing Read to Someone and of our wonderful writers sharing their writing pieces.

In science we began our unit on matter. Students learned that matter is everything and that it is everywhere. We talked specifically about solids and learned a special poem to help us remember what solids are. Students went on a hunt for solids in our room and in magazines. We will focus on liquids and gases this week and students will share their matter they brought from home.

The highlight of our week was meeting our 4th grade buddies. The students were so excited to meet their buddy. We will do several activities with them this year. Here is a picture of them playing on the playground after they had popsicles.

Reminders: This week we will visit the library on Monday and the Science Lab on Tuesday.

Classroom News: August 1-5

We survived our first week of 2nd grade!! The students had a wonderful week. I was so impressed with how they were quickly able to get back into a routine. They truly are a wonderful group of students and I am excited for this year!

We spent the beginning of our week reading a variety of back to school books and learning about 2nd grade procedures and routines. We began creating our class Mission Statement and talked about the importance of the 4 B's. Be responsible, be respectful, be helpful and be safe.

On Monday, We read the story You're Finally Here, What Took You So Long? Students wrote about what took them so long to come to second grade. They then created their own bunny and wrote about what they hope to learn this year in second grade.

We also played a getting to know you Skittles game. Students chose a Skittle and based on what color they got, they answered the corresponding question with a partner. Here are a few pictures of the students getting to know each other.

We read the story Enemy Pie and talked about the importance of being a good friend. The students then made their own Friendship Pie that included words that describe being a good friend.

In math, we took a pre-test on place value. We will begin this unit on Monday. Students will practice building numbers with base ten blocks and learn how to identify the place and value of a digit. We will also begin learning about expanded form.

In science, we will begin our unit study of Matter. Students will begin to understand what matter is and that there are three main types of matter. On Thursday, students will bring home three baggies. They will find a solid, liquid, and a gas at home to bring in and share with the class. This will be due next Monday.

This coming week we will visit the Library and Computer Lab. Our ALP teacher, Mrs. Schwartz, will come and do a light bulb lesson with the students and on Friday our guidance counselor, Ms. Weston, will visit our room.

Below you will find some important dates and reminders for the upcoming week. I hope to see everyone Thursday night for Open House. The PTA meeting starts at 6:00 pm with our Open House session following from 6:30-7:30 pm.

Important Reminders:

1. Please make sure you are sending in a healthy snack each day.
2. Please initial your child's agenda nightly and clear out any papers in their green folder.
3.Please return all paperwork that was sent home last week. It is important that we get this as soon as possible.

Important Dates:

1. Thursday, August 11th- Open House
ALP meeting from 5:00-6:00 pm
PTA meeting at 6:00 pm
Classroom Open House 6:30-7:30 pm

2. Monday, August 15th- Matter Items due
3. Tuesday, August 16th-Zaxby's night