Blog

Today we came in and got our morning routine done before doing some morning work. Then we went to the rug where we said hello with a tap on the shoulder, had morning meeting, and played one round of 20 questions. Then we did some catch-up work before going to the computer lab where we worked on Lexia. When we came back we had snack and I showed the class some center games. We had PE/recess/lunch. We came back to read aloud, and play a math game on the smartboard. I taught them how to play a math game called Addition War. We took out the Nystronaunt Atlas where we looked through it and did some activities before silent reading and blog writing! See everyone tomorrow!!

How to play addition war at home:
Take a deck of cards. Aces are 1, Jack/Queen/Kings are worth 10. Jokers are the players choice. Then you split the cards up between the players (we play with 2 or 3 players at MOST right now). Each person flips over a card. Whoever adds the cards first wins the cards. (So if someone flipped a 5 and the other player flipped a 4 - whoever said 9 wins the card). Then the player with all the cards at the end - WINS!! This will be played with subtraction later on in the year.

This morning - there was a surprise! The gerbils came into school!! The students got to see them (and talk quietly around them because of their little ears!) before it was time for morning work. We went to the rug to have morning meeting and we talked about the rules for having the gerbils in the classroom before going over our day and playing a game of "Elf on the Shelf". During writing time, the students worked more on their Life Was Good writing before having snack. During center time, we went over the listening center - and listened to Do Not Ride Your Elephant to School and answered two questions as a class. Then it was time for library/recess/lunch. After lunch we met in the library classroom for read aloud before going into the multipurpose room to see the Mad Scientist perform!! Students will get a hand out on that tomorrow!! He was very cool - and had dry ice to show the students. Back at the classroom we went over the last of the All About Me bags before getting ready to go home!

Today we started out with morning meeting, where we said hello with a pinkie shake, and a quick activity of 20 questions. Then we did a writing activity about Life Was Good this summer because…..and they had to start a 5 sentence paragraph about their summer. Tomorrow they will finish and color their picture. Then we had snack and did a game of Fact vs. Opinion since those were the two vocabulary words so far this year. After, we started a spelling center which we did whole class so that they would get the hang of how to do it when real centers starts. It was off to art/recess/lunch before we came back to the classroom to read aloud. We did the last bit of free exploration in math with manipulatives before playing a more or less game on the smartboard. Some students presented their all about me bags – and we will do more of them tomorrow and throughout the week. The last part of the day was silent reading and getting ready to go home!

Reminders:
September 15th is Open House

Today we started out with some harder math problems and went over them before we went to the rug for morning work. We said hello with a pinkie shake and our activity was telephone. When we went back to our seats, we talked about hole punches and cards (to earn a trip to the treasure box). We also had a birthday treat today! After the treat - we all wrote a birthday card to this boy before going to PE. After PE, we came back to read aloud and do some free exploration of math manipulatives. The students worked on letters T and O before silent reading and packing up to go home!

What a funny day today was. We started out with a morning math problem and then morning meeting where we ended with a game from "I can bring _______ in Grandmother's trunk" (the students had to figure out the rule. We did a short vocab lesson on the word fact before we went to the computer lab. Before lunch we came back to the classroom and went over our morning math. Back at the classroom we did a Mad Libs before working together to do ABC order of some students names in partners. It was time to head home! Hopefully tomorrow will be cooler!!

Happy September!! Today we started off in morning meeting talking about September - and a whole new month! We had a greeting of "Jambo" today (Swahilli for Hello) and played a game of "Sit down if...." before working on an All About Me poster. This poster will be hanging for you to see when you come in for Open House (September 15th). Then we had snack before doing the spelling priority test and working on a picture to go with the rules we set up the first day of school. We went to library (yeah for air conditioning!!)/recess/lunch before coming back to the classroom to read aloud (That Was Good, That Was Bad, and an Arthur book) before working on a math t-shirt. Something else that you will see at Open House. We played two rounds of Around the World addition before silent reading and time to go home!

The second day of second grade was a success!! We started out with a morning math problem before having morning meeting. For our greeting today - we said "bonjour" and did an activity of "doggie doggie" and "the cold wind blows for those who love.......". Then the students came back to their seats and we talked about how to earn Husky High 5's and they wrote down how many they would like to earn this year and how they were going to do it. Then I gave them their spelling list that they placed in a sheet protector and in their writing folders. We also went over the math problems before we went to art/recess/lunch. Back in the classroom, I read to them Salt in His Shoes and then the students did a baseline math assessment before having some fun doing a scavenger hunt. For a treat (and since the wind was blowing...) we went outside to work on the handwriting letters L and I, and read silently before getting ready to go home.

Happy first day of school!!! We did a lot getting into a routine today - something that we will go over many, many times before the students have it down. But they came in and we had our morning meeting and played a couple of getting to know you games. The students then worked on a cubby tag and a quilt piece before having some snack. We played another game before talking about rules and starting a lighthouse with their goals on it. The students then went to music/recess/lunch before coming back to the classroom. I had a read aloud of The Jolly Postman before finishing the lighthouse and working on a second grade book. Then we practiced a fire drill and did some color coding of notebooks before silent reading and getting ready to go home! What a wonderful first day!!!

Today we started out with a new math packet before morning meeting and a game of 20 questions. We had reading and centers before it was off to have some snack. When we were done with snack we did another thank you letter and got to decorate a bird house before going out for recess. After lunch, we came back to go over those two pages of morning math, did the page of Kids and Cats, as well as a Trip to the Ballfield word problem before reading a few pages of The Frog Prince Continued. The students came back from music to meet with Mrs. Nowell's class to work on our Classroom Zoo project! It was time to get ready to go home!

Today we started out with some word ladder work before saying Good Morning ________, having morning meeting, and a game of Around the World Math. Then it was off to centers and reading before snack. There was a fire drill this morning so when we came inside we worked on some thank you letters before going out to recess. After lunch we came back to do a math riddle sheet, go over the word ladders, and finish up our Titanic book before going to PE. When we came back from PE, we had a very neat project to work on with first graders from Mrs. Nowell's class. The students are creating a Zoo! With their partners, they are going to work on finding out information about their animal and figuring out where a good place to put the animals where they would not bother others! (For example: the students should figure out that we should not put the zebras and the lions next to each other!) We will continue to work on this project a couple more times before the end of the school year.

The students did more math packet pages today before morning meeting and a game of No, No, No before a whole class lesson on fact vs. opinion. I had a smartboard lesson that I did with the students about alien facts and opinions before I read them some facts and they had to tell me what they thought it was. The students then got to do an activity with cutting out what they thought the facts were and what the opinions were. After snack, I took the students over to the carpet where I showed them two books on hot air balloons. We were starting a writing piece today all about balloons landing in their backyard so we had some good ideas about what kind of balloons there could be! Then they got to draw their balloon before starting their entertaining beginning and elaborative details. It was recess and lunch before we came back to work on the answers to the math packet and then a math forum problem about chances. I took out a paper bag and reenacted the problem with life savers! Since we did not have enough time to do the Titanic we read Max for President before going to music. When they came back, they got to silent read and get ready to go home!

Reminder:
Field trip forms are due.
The blue folders that are coming home is work for summer! Use if you wish.

Today we started with another cloze passage - I am SO proud of the students - they are getting so much better with these and are really thinking! We went over them before morning meeting and reading/center time. After a snack, the students and I did a Cause and Effect smartboard lesson where the students had to pick out the cause and the effect and take the pen to underline which was the cause and which was the effect. Then we went over the word antonyms and I wrote them on the smartboard. The students took one of the antonyms and started a story with the certain word (lets say down) and ended the story with the person doing the opposite (up). Then it was time for recess/lunch. When we came back I read to them Chapter 3 of the Titanic and we answered the questions in the packet together as a class before going to our garden to plant!! Since none of our plants grew, we got to take the leftover seeds we had a planted new plants!! When the students came back from PE, we did a science experiment with sugar cubes in hot water and in cold water and asked the question which one dissolved the fastest. It was silent reading and time to go home!

Today we started out with a name card greeting before moving into morning meeting and a game of (groan) 4 corners before reading and center time. Afterwards the students and I talked about the different spellings for the sound /a/ - they are ai, ay and a - consonant - e. Working in groups, the students came up with as many words as they could. During writing time, the students worked on their letters and a spring pop-up before going out to recess. When we came back from lunch - we started on a project for Mother's Day before doing a read aloud and off to music. When they came back from music they had silent reading before getting ready to go home.

Today the students started out with a hello and a shoulder touch before morning meeting and a game of 4 corners. Then we went into centers and reading before snack time. After snack, the students took out their writing, and they worked on finishing their stories up. I got to conference with a lot of students before it was time for recess. After lunch we came back and worked on a Sun Glyph before reading a book called The Wednesday Surprise. The students were so surprised that it was the Grandmother that did not know how to read and so we talked about why the author kept that as a surprise - and how the book would be different if the author told us right away that the Grandmother was learning how to read. Such a great book! It was off to PE. When they came back - we got to do a science experiment, mixing salt and gravel together. They took both materials and put them in a cup and a strainer was placed over the top. They got to see that the salt went right through to the other cup - while the gravel stayed put.

Reminders:
-Home book reports were due today
-Thursday is our Field trip - students need a brown paper lunch\
-Friday is our Comfy/Cozy day - students can wear PJ's or comfy clothes!!

We started the day off with some tricky morning math problems which ate in a little bit to our morning meeting time. So we went straight into calendar before shares and a game of "A What?" before heading to reading and centers. After a snack, the students went over 5 more words for spelling, must, does, because, part, even. Then I handed out a Feelings page for writer's workshop and the students took that page and wrote their own feeling and the rest of the class had to guess what feeling the character was. It was interesting the different takes on the feelings. Then we had indoor recess/lunch. When we came back, the students checked their stuffed animals in their "Just Right Box" before going over morning math. Then we did a little work with pattern blocks before moving into Charlotte's Web and off to PE. We went over a few more things in changes today and will make some ice for tomorrow's lesson!!

Today we had a ball toss, morning meeting, and game of hangman before reading and centers.
Snack
For spelling, I had the word part up on the smartboard, and the students realized that the r changes the sound of the a. So each student got to come up and write an ar word on the board. We had some good ones! (smart, car, chart, mart, Mark..)
The students worked on their Reader's Theater's before going out for recess/lunch.
After lunch was the book fair - and we came back to do some designs with pattern blocks. We read a little Charlotte before going to music.
When they came back they silently read their new books before getting ready to go home!

Happy ides of March! Today we started off with a hello and a wave, morning meeting, and right into centers and reading. For snack, we had a birthday boy and had cupcakes!! Then we did a quick spelling review before going into a short mini-lesson about SOBA. We learned that we can combine two sentences into one with a comma and a choice between 4 words: So, Or, But, And. Then we wrote a birthday note before indoor recess and lunch. After recess we came back and they took a short geometry and measurement test before going over morning math and reading another chapter of Charlotte's Web. After PE, the students came back and we went over the book about Living on an Army Base before silent reading and time to go home!

Funny story:
We are reading Cam Jansen stories in guided reading group and I was telling the students that Eric is Cam's sidekick. There was a group of boys talking about it and another student said, "yes a sidekick is someone who is a friend, but it is also someone who tells the future." Overhearing this I just laugh and say "do you mean psychic?"

Today we started out with a name tag greeting before morning meeting and a game of Sit Down If, before reading and centers. Then we did a spelling lesson on the two meanings of right (the direction, and “you’re right!”) we talked about the antonyms (left and wrong). Afterwards, we went over some phrases: *right off the bat, All right for you, the right of way, Right on!, in the right, right side up, to have a right, and to turn out all right. Then we went to the computer lab to do some writing before recess and lunch. When we come back from math we talked about lines of symmetry and went over a website about lines of symmetry before doing another little “Mr. Egg” – which is the website were they learn about time. It was time for music class, and when the students came back they each went to another class to silent read before going home!

Reminder:
Tomorrow is the Camp out!!

"Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?" - that is how we said good morning to everyone before morning meeting and a quick game of Mash. It was right into centers and reading before having snack. During spelling, we had a competition against the boys and the girls who could come up with as many _ink and _ump words. Then we wrote a birthday note to a birthday girl (and in the middle practiced a fire drill) before going out to recess and lunch. The students came back and we worked on a math problem, tangrams, and then went over morning math. I taught them another way to add high numbers. If we had two numbers like 39 + 22. We could do it like this:
39= 30+ 9
+22= 20+2
_____________
50 + 11 = 61 (or if they could not answer those two numbers they can do this:)
50= 50+0
+11= 10+1
_____________
60+1=61

Then we read two Dr. Seuss books before going to PE. After PE we went to Mrs. LeBlanc's class to do second step and when we came back, we finished the Dr. Seuss book and had silent reading before going home!

Reminders:
Friday is our Camp Out!!

Happy Monday!! Today we started out with a Guten Morgan greeting, morning meeting, and a game of 20 questions before it was time for centers/reading. The students had snack and then we had spelling lessons about ck and k ending words, had a review and then went through 5 new words. The students then took out their Olympic Journal and we added more tallies to the medal count, and then the students went to a page and there were some words missing from sentences and the students filled in what they thought. It was time for recess/lunch. When we came back the students and I went over some words that we went over in December about shapes. We talked about vertices, polygons, quaderlateral, sides, and equal sides. The students took out the book page that they did and reviewed it with students in the class. We are going to make it into a book that each student can take home to stump the parents! Then we read The Sweetest Fig and talked about what the students thought the lesson in the story was - one student summed it up as "treat others the way you want to be treated because who knows what will happen!!". It was time for PE. After PE we went over some more character reports, worked on our sunrise/sunset chart before getting ready to go home!

Reminders:
-Wednesday Dress Like your Favorite Book Character
-Thursday - Camp Out!
-Friday - Scholastic is due