January 31

This morning we went to the Tech Lab! (Mamdouh)
We read the story Geoffrey the Groundhog Predicts the Weather and looked to see how Geoffrey solved his problem in the story! (Ozzy)
We continued exploring ways to measure the length of objects using non-standard units of measurement in math.
In writing workshop, we realized we could write an opinion story about our least favorite object in our collection. (Phin)
We ended the day with Mr. Mendell doing another STEM activity. (Hailey)

Note:
*Report cards will be available after 4 today on the portal. Please refer back to the Eblast Mr. Heinle sent out today for portal information. (I do not use the portal; teachers use a different system so my help is extremely limited besides referring you back to his Eblast!)
*I look forward to our March conference where we will be able to go over all questions that you may have about your child's report card. I will give you information about March conferences when I get it!

January 30

Today we talked about the "ore" and "or" sound in some words! (Huck)
We looked for facts and opinions in the story The Class Pet.
In math we discussed how to measure length with different kinds of objects! (Sandy)
In writing workshop, we met with our writing partners and saw their favorite item from their collection. We told them if we agreed or not! (Zoe)
We talked about groundhogs and read about them in a Scholastic News!

Reminder:
Scholastic book orders are due this Friday if ordering books.

January 29

This week we will read books, sing songs, and discuss what we can learn about animals as they grow and change.
Our new spelling words have "es" endings! (Hailey)
We read the story The End of Summer and discussed the facts and opinions in the story!
In math we talked about using a starting line when comparing the length of objects! (Corey)
In writing workshop, we looked at our new opinion writing checklists to help us see how we are writing our opinions. (Sky)
We ended the day talking about our sense of taste! (Jeffrey)

Note:
Please click on the January's Weekly Newsletters tab above to see more about this week!

January 26

It was fun to see all the crazy hair this morning!
We started our day taking our "ng' and "nk" spelling test.
We also talked about snowy days in our Scholastic News. (Bennett)
In math we compared the length/height of more than 2 things.(Lia)
In writing workshop, we discussed how giving reasons for our opinions help us be more convincing to others! (Callie)
We ended the day talking about our sense of sight!
Have a great weekend!

January 25

We read the story The King Sings a Song. We found many words in the story that used our spelling features this week.
This morning we also went to the Tech Lab!
In math, we started our new math unit on length!
In writing workshop, we discussed how we are going to use our collections to write our opinions about items from our collection!
We ended the day talking about our sense of touch!

Reminder:
Crazy Hair day tomorrow!

January 24

We read the fairy tale The Ugly Duckling and discussed how the duckling grew and changed in the story. (Bella)
We also reviewed our spelling features (ng/nk) and how to use a verb that ends with "s" correctly in a sentence.
We went over our math test from yesterday together. (Lia)
We heard mystery sounds and guessed what the sound was by using our sense of hearing! (Joshua)

Notes:
*Scholastic book orders are going home today. If you are interested in ordering books, orders are due Feb. 2!
*Tomorrow is 2nd grades snack fundraiser. Snacks are $1. Information went home on Monday!

January 22

This week we will explore what we learn as we grow and change.
Our new spelling words have the endings "nk" or "ng". (Hailey)
We also practiced comparing and contrasting animals from the story Something Else to Do. (Zoe)
In math, we took a practice test on adding and subtracting. (Huck)
In writing workshop, we used the OREO strategy to tell our opinions. (Alannah)
We ended the day in STEM with Mr. Mendell!

Notes:
*Please click on the January's Weekly Newsletters tab above for more about this week.
*See flyer sent today about 2nd Grades Healthy Snack Day this Thursday.
*We will begin using our collections tomorrow in writing workshop, so please send them in if not done so already!

January 19

This morning we took our spelling test.

We also went to the Tech Lab! 

In math, we worked on solving addition and subtraction word problems!

In writing workshop, we talked about the OREO strategy and how we will use it when we start writing our opinion stories!

We ended the day watching a video with our first grade friends!

Have a great weekend!

Note:

*Today the class voted for our STUCO representatives from our class. Lia and Bennett were voted today! Congrats to them both!

*Some kids are complaining that their ear buds are not working. Please ask your child if this is the case for them.

*I love seeing all of the collections being sent in this week. Please remember to send your child's ASAP.

January 18

This morning we went to NPE's Winter Concert and listened to the Orchestra and 5th Grade Chorus! (Jonathan)
Since we are starting our new writing unit on Opinion writing, we talked about the difference between opinions and facts! (Phin)
In math, we reviewed using our subtraction strategies! (Callie)
This afternoon we discussed our sense of smell and used our sense of smell to figure out 3 mystery smells! (Ozzy)

Notes:
*Please send in your writing workshop collections by next Monday. See this weeks newsletter for more information about collections!
*We've been having more discussions about appropriate behavior and school expectations. I know these snow days/delays impact us and our kids, but I'd appreciate more conversations at home.

January 17

We read the story A Place to Play and put 6 events from the story in the correct order.
It was also a nice story that helped us see how a community can change over time!
In math we worked on another strategy to help us subtract from a large number.
We ended the day talking about worrying with Mrs. DeSanctis!
It was a busy, short day!

January 16

This week we will read stories, sing songs, and discuss how places can change.
Our new spelling words have y's at the end that make a long i or a long e sound! (Mamdouh)
We read the story We're Moving and discussed the sequence of events in the story. (Jeffrey)
In math, we learned how to use a new strategy to help us subtract from a big number. (Corey)
In writing workshop, we wrote our first opinion story. (Bennett)
We talked about our brain and how it needs our five senses to find out what is happening in the world around us!

Notes:
*Please click on the January's Weekly Newsletters tab above to see more about this week.
*Information about writing workshop collections are noted at the bottom of our newsletter. Please send collections by next Monday!

January 12

This morning we took our long e spelling test.

Then we went to the middle school for our field trip. It was fun to do some activities for our community with Jonathan's mom and her class!

We read about different ways penguins work together in our Scholastic News.

We reviewed the addition strategies we've been practicing in class. (I know this math chapter may be challenging but please know we are trying to expose your child to different ways to work with numbers. If they are not grasping a strategy, my hope is that they use whatever strategy they are most comfortable with, even if it is using a number line!)

We ended the day singing in Hoot!

I hope you have a great weekend!

Reminders:

*No school on Monday!

*The longer weekend may give you a chance to do extra reading for our "Build a Snowman" reading project this month!

January 11

This morning we did Daily 5. (Sky)

It has been nice getting back to our normal routines again!

In math we reviewed double facts! (Andrew)

We read some stories about Martin Luther King Jr. and discussed how he helped change America. (Sandy)

We are looking forward to our field trip tomorrow!

Please remember sack lunches with drinks (no thermos). 

Your child can wear their NPE shirts if they have them too!

 

January 10

Today we reviewed some of the different spelling patterns that we have learned so far this year!
We read the story Honey Bees and discussed facts from the story. (Jeffrey)
We talked about double facts in math like 4+4 (double 4) and 7+7 (double 7). (Hailey)
In writing workshop we wrote a retelling for the story The Dark at the Top of the Stairs. (Huck)
We ended the day talking about Martin Luther King Jr.

Reminder:
On Friday, students will need to bring a sack lunch from home that we will take on our field trip!

January 9

We reviewed our spelling patterns "ee" and "e".

We also discussed how to break longer words into 2 smaller ones to make it easier to read!

In math we worked on a new strategy to help us add large numbers together. If a number is greater than 10 we can break it into a number bond with 10 and the left over ones!

We wrote one more teaching book to help us see how much we learned in our information writing unit!

We ended the day reading about Martin Luther King Jr in our Scholastic News.

January 8

Well this has been an interesting way to start 2018!
We are moving on to our last week in our reading/spelling unit!
Our NEW spelling words have a long e sound made by "ee" or "e"!
We read about ants and discussed how insect communities are like a community of people.
We went to the Tech Lab!
We reviewed how to make a group of 10 when adding 2 large numbers together! Our math homework tonight is over this skill.
We shared our finished teaching stories during writing workshop!
Have a safe afternoon! 

Note:
*Please click on the January's Weekly Newsletters tab above to see more about this week!

January 3

We read the story Life in the Forest and discussed why we thought the author wrote the story! (Ozzy)
We also learned about the inflected ending -ed! (Alannah)
In math, we continued working on ways we can add larger numbers by making one into a group of ten! (Mammdouh)
In writing workshop, we finished editing our teaching stories so we can begin our writing celebration tomorrow! (Bella)
This afternoon we made a resolution for the new year!

Notes/Reminders:
*Please return MLK permission slips ASAP.
*In folders today you will find information about our Winter reading project "Build a Snowman"! It is a lot like the "Grow a Pumpkin Patch" reading project we did in the Fall. I'm excited to see how many will complete their snowmen!

January 2

Happy New Year!
This week we will talk about the new year! (Sandy)
Our new spelling words have a long u sound and a silent e at the end! (Joshua)
We will read stories, sing songs, and discuss how plant and animal communities are important to each other!
In math, we practiced adding two numbers by making the biggest one a 10! (Phin)
In writing workshop, we went back to our stories and added some special "features" to give our readers more information about our topic.
It was a good day back!

Notes:
*Please click on the January's Weekly Newsletters tab above to see more about this week.
*Please return MLK field trip permission slips by this Thursday!